513: 129 Cars

Nov 30, 2025

Join Robin Semien, a dedicated reporter and producer, and Brian Reed, an insightful journalist, as they explore the high-stakes world of car sales at a Long Island Jeep dealership. They reveal the intense pressure to sell 129 cars to secure a lucrative bonus, showcasing the stark contrasts between struggling salesman Bob Tantello and top seller Jason Mascia. Delve into the strategies, absurdities, and emotional toll of the sales game, where unexpected twists can lead to triumph or failure by the month's end, making every deal a nail-biter.

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INSIGHT

Manufacturer Quotas Drive Risky Selling

Chrysler sets shifting monthly quotas that determine whether a dealership earns a huge bonus or nothing at all.
Dealers sometimes sell at a loss to chase that bonus because one car short means zero bonus.

ANECDOTE

Customer Upsold Into A More Expensive Jeep

Robin Semien recounts buying a used car and being upsold into a newer Jeep and an expensive warranty.
She left happy and convinced by the salesmanship despite paying more than her original target.

INSIGHT

Dealers Play Each Other As Much As Customers

Salespeople and managers intentionally misstate customer numbers to each other to create negotiation room.
That internal gamesmanship helps them extract more from customers during haggling.

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We spend a month at a Jeep dealership on Long Island as they try to make their monthly sales goal: 129 cars. If they make it, they'll get a huge bonus from the manufacturer, possibly as high as $85,000 — enough to put them in the black for the month. If they don't make it, it'll be the second month in a row. So they pull out all the stops.

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Prologue: It’s mid-October, 2013. Freddie Hoyt tries to rally his sales staff to sell 129 cars and trucks by the end of the month. Freddie’s the General Manager at Town and Country Jeep Chrysler Dodge Ram in Levittown, NY, on Long Island. Problem is, the customers are not cooperating. (7 1/2 minutes)
Act One: How we found this car dealer. (2 minutes)
Act Two: A quick primer of who’s who, and how the place works. (6 minutes)
Act Three: Salesman Bob Tantillo has the fewest sales of anyone at Town and Country this month. Robyn Semien spoke to him. (4 minutes)
Act Four: Salesman Jason Mascia has the most sales of anyone this month, as usual. Sean Cole spent a week with him watching how he does it. (8 minutes)
Act Five: The next-to-last day of the month. Deals fall apart, but not all of them. (10 minutes)
Act Six: The last day of the month begins. They have to sell nine cars by the end of the day. "God help us," Freddie says. (2 minutes)
Act Seven: Joe Monti’s real name is Joe Montalbano. But when he started in the car business, he didn't want to lose a sale because a customer couldn’t keep his name straight so he simplified it for the job. He's one of the managers of the used cars department at Town and Country. Sarah Koenig reports on what it'll mean if he doesn’t make this month’s goal. (7 minutes)
Act Eight: The last day of the month continues and the truism is accurate: some people get great deals because it’s the end of the month and they have to hit their goal. When you look at the numbers, the average car they sell in the last two days actually loses money. (4 minutes)
Act Nine: Salesman Manny Rosales keeps to himself in the showroom, with his own sales philosophy. He explained it to Brian Reed. (7 minutes)
Act Ten: The last day of the month ends. (8 minutes)

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