'SNAFU'D': Darkly Satirical Novel Provides Glimpse Into Automotive Retail

LOS ANGELES, April 24 -- Moe Graffiti has everything, yet has earned nothing. He is the walking definition of "dumb luck." Moe is the owner and proprietor of Grunion Bay Imports, a retailer of the Mako car company of Japan. Through an unbelievably lucky break in the late 70s and someone else's ingenuity, Moe has come into wealth and success. However, his success has made him neither savvy nor prudent. What's more, the people around him all know it and use it to their advantage. "SNAFU'D" (published by iUniverse) by Ted Miller is a tragically comedic look into the seedy crevices of retail car sales.

Among the collection of characters featured in "SNAFU'D" are Moe's crooked used car manager Roy, his inefficient office manager Bea, and Fat Armand, Moe's nemesis and the owner of Grunion Bay Imports' chief competitor. The only character that doesn't seem to have ulterior motives is Harry Landberg, Grunion Bay Imports' sales manager. Harry seems to oscillate from keeping the sales people honest and beating back Moe's half-baked schemes to make money, neither with much success.

Harry Landberg has taken Moe aside countless times to point out the fallacy of asking a used car manager to under-appraise trade-ins and it always falls on deaf ears. Last but not least, it's an invitation to steal. When a crooked used car manager learns that he's in a car below its value, he'll wholesale the car and make the company a hundred-dollar profit, stealing a hundred for himself. Moe, seeing the hundred-dollar profit, will be happy. But a sharp wholesaler, having to lay out a hundred or two in cash, makes the real money on the car. Having to pay taxes on money you pay thieves, wholesalers strive to average at least a thousand dollars per car when dealing with them.

As the plot of "SNAFU'D" develops, readers are carried through Moe Graffiti's narcissistic world. Women, self-delusion and Moe's endless quest to prove to the world that he's more than just an unbelievably lucky failure provide the satirical vehicle that propels "SNAFU'D" forward. As Moe's minor successes and spectacular failures unfold, readers will turn each page asking the same question: Will this be the moment when Moe Graffiti finally crashes and burns?