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The Godfather Of Short Form Car Content - RussFlipsWhips

The Godfather Of Short Form Car Content - RussFlipsWhips

The Doug Horner Show Mar 10, 2026 68 min
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About this episode

RussFlipsWhips shares his journey from a young car salesman struggling to sell Lincolns to becoming a pioneering short-form automotive content creator. Starting with awkward YouTube videos, he found success by blending humor and education, especially on TikTok, where his relatable sketches and insider tips went viral. Russ emphasizes the importance of creating content that resonates with consumers, not just salespeople, and how authentic, educational videos build trust and generate leads. He also discusses the challenges of managing sudden popularity and the evolving landscape of social media in car sales.

Topics: appraised trade backend products BDC commission CRM dealership inventory dealership markup digital retailing front-end gross internet lead
Cars: Cadillac Escalade Lincoln Aviator Lincoln Corsair Lincoln Navigator Mercedes-Benz G-Class
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Technical Too Afraid to Ask
Lincoln Aviator
Dinkun Chen (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Car

Lincoln Aviator

"The brand new Lincoln Aviator, unannounced, showed up at our dealership. And I think that happens at every dealership."

The Lincoln Aviator is a fancy SUV made by Lincoln. It's like a big, comfortable car that can carry people and stuff, with lots of nice features inside.

Term

trade-in

"I think it was smart customer trades in their lease. I did like the Karen, like, no, no, no, sales guy, go ask your manager. I can trade in my lease, I have equity, I did the research."

Trading in means giving your old car to the dealer when you buy a new one, so you don't have to pay as much money. Sometimes you even get extra value if your car is worth more than you owe.

Term

lease equity

"I can trade in my lease, I have equity, I did the research. So it was like funny, but like there was also people like who truly didn't know you could trade in a lease, you know."

Lease equity means your leased car is worth more than what you still owe on it. This extra value can help you get a better deal when trading in or ending your lease early.

Concept

leasing a car

"Some people don't know that you could, because a lot of people equate the word lease with like renting a house. You can't trade in your apartment, you know, you can't get out of it early and have equity."

Leasing a car means you pay to use it for some years but don't own it. You usually have to give it back later, but sometimes you can trade it in or buy it.

Mercedes-Benz G-Class
Dinkun Chen (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Car

Mercedes-Benz G-Class

"I'm sure you've seen some Mercedes, maybe even some G-Wagon or something crazy equity in them."

The Mercedes G-Wagon is a fancy SUV that looks like a box and is good for off-road driving. People often get good value when trading it in or ending a lease early.

Term

Rear-Wheel Drive

"He ordered four Rear Wheel Drive aviators."

Rear-Wheel Drive means the car's engine powers the back wheels, which helps with how the car drives and handles.

Term

invoice price

"And what we're gonna do is they're all for invoice right now, true invoice. Whatever it is, call me, text me, I'll send you a picture."

Invoice price is what the dealer pays for the car before selling it to you. It's a starting point for figuring out how much the car really costs.

Term

BDC

"Was that because like you all had like around robin system with the phone? We didn't have a BDC at the time, and it was just the phone rang to the showroom employer went, beyond Lincoln, this is Christy."

BDC is a team at car dealerships that answers calls and messages from customers and helps set up meetings to buy cars.

Term

out-of-state leases

"And dude, the tough thing is, and I don't know if you guys do this, we didn't have a process for out-of-state leases. I just started guessing, and it worked really well a couple times, like really well."

Sometimes people lease cars from a dealer in one state but live in another, which can make the paperwork and taxes tricky.

Term

digital retailing

"At that time, I didn't have a process, we didn't have digital retailing, we had e-leads, and you know, you're manually putting in money rates, factors, taxes."

Digital retailing means you can do a lot of buying a car online, like seeing prices and filling out forms, instead of going to the dealership for everything.

Term

registration fees

"MichigangoesoffofliketheMSRorthelikethesellingpriceofthevehicle. Yeah. It'slikeapercentofthesellingprice. Soifyousellan$80,000,youknow,Lincoln,that'slikean$800regfee. InOhio,it'slikeahundredbucks."

Registration fees are money you pay to the government to make sure your car is allowed to be driven on roads. The amount can be different depending on where you live.

Term

MSRP

"MichigangoesoffofliketheMSRorthelikethesellingpriceofthevehicle."

MSRP is the price the car company says a new car should cost when you buy it from a dealer. It's like a suggested price to help buyers and sellers agree.

Term

Route One

"IunderstoodtheconceptofRouteOneandratesandmoneyfactorsandyouknow,catcashandtrack."

Route One is a way to get a loan to buy a Ford or Lincoln car directly through the car company. It can make buying a car easier and sometimes cheaper.

Term

money factor

"IunderstoodtheconceptofRouteOneandratesandmoneyfactorsandyouknow,catcashandtrack."

Money factor is like the interest rate you pay when you lease a car. It helps decide how much your monthly payments will be.

Company

VAuto

"They,youknow,theywenttoVAuto,theyprintedthebookout,theyputthebookoutonthedesk,theytheystructuredthedeal."

VAuto is a tool that car dealers use to figure out how much to charge for used cars and trades, so they can sell them at the right price.

Term

subvented rate

"LincolnAutomotiveFinancialServicesifwe'regettingasubventedrate."

It's a special low-interest loan rate that the car company helps pay for, so you pay less money when you borrow to buy a car.

Term

appraised trade

"AndIhadwatchedsomeappraisedtrades. IhadliterallylikewhentheyputthecarinVauto,likewhatpercenttomarket?"

When you trade in your old car at a dealer, they check how much it's worth. This is called appraising the trade.

Term

percent to market

"IhadliterallylikewhentheyputthecarinVauto,likewhatpercenttomarket?"

This means setting the price of a car a little higher or lower than what other similar cars are selling for, to help it sell better or make more money.

Company

UVI

"and wherethecodereallycrackediswhereIdidaUVIdeal. And it's so funny. Have you done UVI? Yeah, and I really like that company, by the way. I think that that's a cool product."

UVI makes special machines that use ultraviolet light to quickly dry or harden coatings. This helps make car paint or decals last longer and look better.

Concept

CRM

"You have a phone, you have a CRM, you have the ability to get these cars moved."

A CRM is like a digital address book that helps car sellers keep track of people who might want to buy a car and what they talked about, so they can sell better.

Concept

dealership inventory

"If you have access to this inventory and you have a phone to call people and a phone to make content..."

Dealership inventory means all the cars a dealer has ready to sell to customers.

Concept

internet lead

"If the phone rings, maybe you answer it first, you get an internet lead, maybe it's good, maybe it's not."

An internet lead is when someone shows interest in buying a car by contacting the dealer online, so the salesperson can reach out and help them.

Concept

lease incentive

""Well, like a week later, I promoted like a new lease incentive. He called me, bought a car. Boom.""

A lease incentive is like a special deal that makes it cheaper or easier to rent a car for a few years instead of buying it. It helps people save money when they sign a lease.

Lincoln Navigator
Kevauto (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Car

Lincoln Navigator

""Didn't buy a car for me, wanted a navigator. He really liked the navigator.""

The Lincoln Navigator is a big, fancy SUV that can carry lots of people and has nice features inside. It's a popular choice for families or people who want a comfortable ride.

Cadillac Escalade
Baron Maddock (CC BY 4.0)
Car

Cadillac Escalade

""His wife, she was an Escalade girly. He brought her in.""

The Cadillac Escalade is a big, fancy SUV that looks cool and has a strong engine. Many people like it for its style and comfort.

Lincoln Corsair
Dinkun Chen (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Car

Lincoln Corsair

"...and I think we put him in a Lincoln Corsair, traded in his car. Um, and it was just like so cool."

The Lincoln Corsair is a fancy small SUV made by Lincoln, a company that makes luxury cars. It's designed to be comfortable and have nice features for people who want a nicer car.

Concept

NADA association

""...you'rethepresidentoftheNADAassociationandyouhavetheauthoritytodictatewhatanexactpayplanwouldlooklikeforcarsalespeople.""

NADA is a group that helps car dealerships by giving them advice and rules to follow. It helps make sure car sellers and buyers have a good experience.

Concept

dealership markup

"Because if you sell 10 cars at a dealership and that's all you made was $500 a car, you are worth five grand a month. That is worth $5,000. I don't care what market you were in. You sell 20 cars, that dude deserves a $20 or $10,000 paycheck."

Dealership markup is the extra money a car dealer adds to the price of a car so they can make a profit and pay their workers.

Term

frontend gross

"Now, I think it should be a minimum of $500 a car, no guarantee, and a small commissionable upside on backend products and frontend gross."

Frontend gross is the money a dealership makes from selling the car before selling extra things like warranties or insurance.

Term

commission

"Now, I think it should be a minimum of $500 a car, no guarantee, and a small commissionable upside on backend products and frontend gross."

Commission means a salesperson gets extra money when they sell a car, so the more they sell, the more money they make.

Term

backend products

"Now, I think it should be a minimum of $500 a car, no guarantee, and a small commissionable upside on backend products and frontend gross."

Backend products are extra things a dealership sells with the car, like warranties or insurance, which help them make more money.

Concept

salesperson monthly contribution

"What would you think is the minimum that a salesperson should be contributing on a monthly basis? I mean, obviously every dealership, every market is different. If you're just going to take your classic, you know, dealership that, you know, wants to do between 100 and 150 cars. I think you should have a showroom of salespeople where your worst guy is doing 12 to 15, and this is scalable."

This means how many cars a car seller should sell each month to do a good job at their work.

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