CHARLOTTE, N.C. — October 27, 2009 — Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE: SAH), the nation’s third-largest automotive retailer, today reported that 2009 third quarter earnings from continuing operations were $0.22 per diluted share which includes an after-tax gain of $0.01 per diluted share, related to the Company’s repurchase of convertible notes. This compares to a loss from continuing operations of $0.38 per diluted share, in the prior year quarter. The results for the prior year quarter include the after-tax effect of impairment charges, lease exit accruals and hurricane damage of $0.53 per diluted share.

B. Scott Smith, the Company’s President, said, “We are pleased with what we were able to accomplish this quarter at Sonic Automotive. In addition to continuing to post strong operating results we completed a very successful public refinancing of our 2010 debt obligations. The offering in late September allowed us to de-lever our balance sheet, remove some extremely dilutive convertible debt from our capital structure and mitigate future refinancing risk in the near term. This also paves the way for what we believe will be a successful refinancing of our upcoming syndicated credit facility. This offering would not have been possible without the strong fundamentals of our business model which is evident in our consistent operating performance and cash flow generation throughout this business cycle.”

Commenting on the Company’s new car sales, Mr. Smith noted, “The combination of increased customer traffic from the CARS program and the continued execution of our e-Commerce strategies resulted in Sonic posting its strongest year-over-year new vehicle performance so far this year. We have now had eight consecutive months of new car market share gains. In addition to the improved unit volume, our new vehicle retail margins were up 70 basis points to 7.6% and our new vehicle days supply was at 39 days.”

Overall used vehicle unit volume was up 25% and total used vehicle revenue was up over 18% for the third quarter of 2009 compared to the third quarter of 2008. Jeff Dyke, the Company’s EVP of Operations, stated, “Our used vehicle volume continued to grow throughout the quarter despite the heavy emphasis on new vehicle sales stemming from the CARS program. Our used-to-new ratio, which has continued to improve throughout the year, was at 80% for the third quarter. Our certified pre-owned business, which has been a consistent strength for Sonic, remains strong at 34% of our overall used vehicle volume. We are growing our used vehicle business by continuing to expand our presence across the entire spectrum of the used vehicle market.”

Sonic’s parts and service revenue for the third quarter was flat with the prior year quarter while the gross margin at 50.6% represents an improvement over the prior year third quarter margin of 49.6% and the second quarter 2009 margin of 50.3%.

Mr. Dyke stated, “Our parts and service business continues to add a substantial amount of stability to our results of operations. We have steadily grown our fixed operations margin every quarter this year as a result of the pricing, merchandising and other strategies being implemented with the rollout of our parts and service playbook. We have every reason to expect this trend will continue as the rollout progresses.”

Presentation materials for the Company’s October 27, 2009 earnings conference call at 11:00 A.M. (Eastern) can be accessed on the Company’s website at www.sonicautomotive.com by clicking on the “For Investors” tab and choosing “Webcasts & Presentations” on the right side of the monitor.

To access the live broadcast of the call over the Internet go to: www.ccbn.com or www.sonicautomotive.com

A live audio of the call will be accessible to the public by calling (877) 791-3416. International callers dial (706) 643-0958. Callers should dial in approximately 10 minutes before the call begins.

A conference call replay will be available one hour following the call for seven days and can be accessed by calling: 800-642-1687, International callers dial (706) 645-9291 Conference ID: 34082140

About Sonic Automotive

Sonic Automotive, Inc., a Fortune 300 company based in Charlotte, N.C., is the nation’s third-largest automotive retailer, operating 153 franchises. Sonic can be reached on the web at www.sonicautomotive.com.

Included herein are forward-looking statements, including statements with respect to future debt refinancing. There are many factors that affect management’s views about future events and trends of the Company’s business. These factors involve risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results or trends to differ materially from management’s view, including without limitation, economic conditions, risks associated with acquisitions and the risk factors described in the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed August 21, 2009. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking information.

Sonic Automotive, Inc.
Results of Operations (Unaudited)
(in thousands, except per share, unit data and percentage amounts)

		Third Quarter Ended								Nine Months Ended
		9/30/2009				9/30/2008				9/30/2009				9/30/2008
Revenues
New retail vehicles		$	776,578			$	889,237			$	2,005,486			$	2,700,879
Fleet vehicles			48,789				53,234				164,160				278,007
Total new vehicles			825,367				942,471				2,169,646				2,978,886
Used vehicles			365,501				308,158				1,034,444				994,906
Wholesale vehicles			33,220				64,995				97,478				216,378
Total vehicles			1,224,088				1,315,624				3,301,568				4,190,170
Parts, service and collision repair			255,372				256,867				768,003				787,928
Finance, insurance and other			41,302				43,259				110,663				139,355
Total revenues			1,520,762				1,615,750				4,180,234				5,117,453
Total gross profit			257,468				259,360				729,727				816,348
SG&A expenses			(203,694	)			(220,413	)			(588,834	)			(656,799	)
Impairment charges			(339	)			(25,476	)			(4,164	)			(25,809	)
Depreciation and amortization			(8,080	)			(8,286	)			(24,523	)			(23,562	)
Operating income			45,355				5,185				112,206				110,178
Interest expense, floor plan			(4,324	)			(8,987	)			(14,368	)			(31,591	)
Non-cash interest expense, convertible debt			7,818				(2,696	)			1,556				(7,991	)
Interest expense, other, net			(19,305	)			(15,859	)			(57,496	)			(40,803	)
Other income (expense), net			2,442				(9	)			2,504				88
Income (Loss) from continuing operations before taxes			31,986				(22,366	)			44,402				29,881
Income tax (provision) benefit			(13,506	)			7,301				(19,093	)			(13,598	)
Income (Loss) from continuing operations			18,480				(15,065	)			25,309				16,283
Discontinued operations:
Loss from operations and the sale of discontinued franchises			(3,848	)			(17,878	)			(10,681	)			(30,581	)
Income tax benefit			962				5,977				2,670				9,174
Loss from discontinued operations			(2,886	)			(11,901	)			(8,011	)			(21,407	)
Net income (loss)		$	15,594			$	(26,966	)		$	17,298			$	(5,124	)
Basic:
Weighted average common shares outstanding			42,305				40,138				41,130				40,447
Earnings (Loss) per share from continuing operations		$	0.43			$	(0.38	)		$	0.61			$	0.40
Loss per share from discontinued operations		$	(0.06	)		$	(0.29	)		$	(0.19	)		$	(0.53	)
Earnings (Loss) per share		$	0.37			$	(0.67	)		$	0.42			$	(0.13	)
Diluted:
Weighted average common shares outstanding			63,195				40,138				52,529				40,626
Earnings (Loss) per share from continuing operations		$	0.22			$	(0.38	)		$	0.42			$	0.40
Loss per share from discontinued operations		$	(0.05	)		$	(0.29	)		$	(0.16	)		$	(0.53	)
Earnings (Loss) per share		$	0.17			$	(0.67	)		$	0.26			$	(0.13	)
Gross Margin Data (Continuing Operations):
Retail new vehicles			7.6	%			6.9	%			7.3	%			7.2	%
Fleet vehicles			2.9	%			4.8	%			3.7	%			2.3	%
Total new vehicles			7.3	%			6.8	%			7.0	%			6.8	%
Used vehicles retail			7.8	%			8.4	%			8.3	%			8.9	%
Total vehicles retail			7.5	%			7.2	%			7.4	%			7.3	%
Wholesale vehicles			(5.4	)%			(1.9	)%			(3.3	)%			(1.9	)%
Parts, service and collision repair			50.6	%			49.6	%			50.0	%			49.6	%
Finance, insurance and other			100.0	%			100.0	%			100.0	%			100.0	%
Overall gross margin			16.9	%			16.1	%			17.5	%			16.0	%
SG&A Expenses (Continuing Operations):
Personnel		$	118,345			$	116,949			$	337,737			$	365,618
Advertising			10,734				12,817				31,333				42,405
Facility rent			22,560				27,257				67,225				68,736
Other			52,055				63,390				152,539				180,040
Total		$	203,694			$	220,413			$	588,834			$	656,799
SG&A Expenses as % of Gross Profit
Personnel			45.9	%			45.1	%			46.3	%			44.7	%
Advertising			4.2	%			4.9	%			4.3	%			5.2	%
Facility rent			8.8	%			10.5	%			9.2	%			8.4	%
Other			20.2	%			24.5	%			20.9	%			22.2	%
Total			79.1	%			85.0	%			80.7	%			80.5	%
Operating Margin %			3.0	%			0.3	%			2.7	%			2.2	%

		Third Quarter Ended								Nine Months Ended
		9/30/2009				9/30/2008				9/30/2009				9/30/2008
Unit Data (Continuing Operations):
New retail units			24,305				26,025				60,998				80,405
Fleet units			1,971				2,772				6,800				11,572
Used units			19,360				15,444				55,062				49,617
Wholesale units			6,612				8,636				17,414				27,559
Average price per unit:
New retail vehicles		$	31,951			$	34,169			$	32,878			$	33,591
Fleet vehicles			24,753				19,204				24,141				24,024
Used vehicles			18,879				19,953				18,787				20,052
Wholesale vehicles			5,024				7,526				5,598				7,851
Other Data:
Same store revenue percentage changes:
New retail			(12.7	)%							(25.9	)%
Fleet			(8.4	)%							(41.0	)%
Total New Vehicles			(12.4	)%							(27.3	)%
Used			18.6	%							3.9	%
Parts, service and collision repair			(0.7	)%							(2.7	)%
Finance, insurance and other			(3.8	)%							(20.2	)%
Total			(5.9	)%							(18.4	)%

		9/30/2009				12/31/2008 (1)
ASSETS
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents		$	614			$	6,971
Restricted cash			106,913				—
Receivables, net			163,161				247,025
Inventories			657,475				916,837
Assets held for sale			176,128				406,576
Other current assets			16,900				16,822
Total current assets			1,121,191				1,594,231
Property and Equipment, Net			378,170				369,892
Goodwill, Net			403,048				327,007
Other Intangibles, Net			79,685				82,328
Other Assets			22,674				32,087
TOTAL ASSETS		$	2,004,768			$	2,405,545
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current Liabilities:
Floor plan notes payable		$	605,059			$	921,023
Other current liabilities			224,377				277,938
Liabilities associated with assets held for sale			53,123				199,482
Current maturities of long-term debt			105,750				738,447
Total current liabilities			988,309				2,136,890
LONG-TERM DEBT			556,243				—
OTHER LONG-TERM LIABILITIES			109,562				71,132
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY			350,654				197,523
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY		$	2,004,768			$	2,405,545