Front-End vs Back-End
Gross profit is what a dealership actually makes on a deal, and in automotive retail it's almost always split into two separate numbers: front-end and back-end.
The profit built into the price of the vehicle itself — the difference between what the dealership paid (invoice, plus any manufacturer incentives) and what the customer actually pays. This is the number most people think of as "the profit on the car," and it's often thinner than buyers assume, especially on competitively-shopped, high-volume models.
Profit generated after the vehicle price is set — financing reserve (the spread between the rate the dealer secures and the rate the customer is charged), and margin on F&I products like extended warranties, GAP insurance, and appearance packages. On many deals, especially thinly-margined ones, back-end gross matters as much or more to overall profitability than front-end.
A salesperson who thinks only about front-end gross may leave real deal value on the table by rushing past the F&I conversation, and an F&I manager who doesn't understand how thin the front-end already was may push products in a way that damages trust the sales side worked to build. Understanding both halves is what makes a "whole deal" mentality possible.