“The feel of the wheel seals the deal” (car sales technique)

“The feel of the wheel seals the deal” is a selling technique rhyme used in the car industry. Once a customer gets a “feel of the wheel”—in a test drive, or taking the car home for a day or two—he or she will feel an attachment to the car.
 
“Automobile dealers like to say, ‘The feel of the wheel seals the deal’” was printed in Adweek on March 11, 2002. It’s not known where the saying originated.
 
     
11 March 2002, Adweek, “Embracing a cause” by Joel Brown, pg. 5:
Automobile dealers like to say, “The feel of the wheel seals the deal.”
 
Google Books
Scam-proof Your Life:
377 Smart Ways to Protect You & Your Family from Ripoffs, Bogus Deals & Other Consumer Headaches
By Sid Kirchheimer
New York, NY: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.
2007
Pg. 28:
The reason has to do with a saying popular among those in the business: “The feel of the wheel seals the deal.”
     
Twitter
Dam Sunwoo
@mrsunwoo
Do not test drive a car. “The Feel of the Wheel Seals the Deal”
8:44 PM - 20 Aug 2009
   
Twitter
Adam Jolley
@adamjolley
Learning selling techniques from the sleazeball at the car dealership last night.  “The feel of the wheel seals the deal.” Really?
10:50 AM - 4 Mar 2010
     
Twitter 
Jade Handy
@jadehandy
“The feel of the wheel seals the deal.” -sales consultant to Frankie on ABC`sThe Middle #rhyme
9:20 PM - 24 Mar 2010
       
Springfield! Springfield!
The Middle s01e18 Episode Script
The Fun House
(...)
The feel of the wheel seals the deal.
Say it.
- The feel of the wheel - Seals.
- Seals the deal.
- The deal.
Faster.
Feel of the wheel seals the deal.
The feel of the wheel seals the deal.
Resume selling.
 
Twitter
Justin Fuller
@TheFullerJ
“The feel of the wheel seals the deal…” Old car dogs say cheesy things. #carsales #wtf #carrapping
1:14 PM - 3 Oct 2017
 
CleanTechnica
Tesla Online Sales — Bigger News Than $35,000 Model 3
March 1st, 2019 by Steve Hanley
(...)
In sales, this is known as the puppy dog close. Let the customer take the product home and live with it for a while. Not 1 in 1000 will give it back. Why? “The feel of the wheel seals the deal,” goes one old saying in the car business.