You can’t blame it all on the economy.

That’s one of the three messages that Grant Cardone hopes car dealers will take away from watching him help turnaround the business of one of their brethren in the premiere episode of the new show Turnaround King, which is set to begin at 9 p.m. EST Sunday on the National Geographic Channel.

“Number one, the economy is problematic, not the problem,” said Cardone, a New York Times best-selling author who consults with struggling companies on how to turn their businesses around.

Cardone — who is also an auto industry sales/management trainer and NADA University Partner trainer — spoke with Auto Remarketing on Thursday afternoon about the show’s first episode.

In the second section of the two-part debut episode of the unscripted reality show, Cardone is in Keyport, N.J., to work with Straub Buick GMC.

He first goes undercover and uses hidden cameras to shed light on why he says the store is in such grave danger. After his investigation, Cardone identifies himself to the dealership and helps the store carve out its strategy.

The show has a positive tone and message, but the Turnaround King won’t shy away from dealing some “tough love," Cardone said.

Business is better for car dealers these days due to two reasons, according to Cardone, dealers got their finances on the right track and pent-up demand has lifted sales.

“Their business has not improved because of the skills of the dealer, unfortunately,” Cardone said.

He later explained: “That is good news and bad news because they cannot reduce expenses anymore and the economy has proven not to be dependable. Car dealers’ businesses have not improved because their people have. That is the problem.”

Cardone said he  is not doing the show to beat up car dealers and said he wants to show the business in the “best light possible.”

He also hopes to demonstrate to viewers just how much dealers have contributed to communities and stress how they embody the tradition of small business in America.

“They’re critical and vital to the American economy,” he said.

There is some work to be done, though.

Cardone’s third takeaway for dealers: They need to stop worrying about competing and instead “learn to dominate their sector.”

In other words, don’t simply compete with your peers, but offer something that no one else does.

“They don’t need to do ‘best practices,’ they need to do ‘only practices,’ to set themselves apart,” he stressed.

To see a preview of Turnaround King, visit http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/turnaround-king/5930/Overview5#tab-Videos/10526_00.