Sonic Automotive, Inc.
1
Q3 Earnings Review
October 25, 2011
Exhibit 99.2

Sonic Automotive, Inc.
2
Forward-Looking Statements
This
presentation
contains
“forward-looking
statements”
within
the
meaning
of
the
Private
Securities
Litigation
Reform Act of 1995.  These statements relate to future events, are not historical facts and are based on our
current
expectations
and
assumptions
regarding
our
business,
the
economy
and
other
future
conditions. 
These statements can generally be identified by lead-in words such as “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”,
“intend”, “plan”, “foresee”, “may”
, “will”
and other similar words.  Statements that describe our Company’s
objectives, plans or goals are also forward-looking statements.  Examples of such forward-looking
information we may be discussing in this presentation include, without limitation, further implementation of
our operational strategies and playbooks, future debt retirement, capital expenditures, operating margins and
revenues, inventory levels and new vehicle industry sales volume. 
You are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, involve
risks
and
uncertainties
and
actual
results
may
differ
materially
from
those
projected
in
the
forward-looking
statements as a result of various factors.  These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, (a)
economic conditions in the markets in which we operate, (b) the success of our operational strategies, (c) our
relationships with the automobile manufacturers and (d) new and used vehicle sales volume. These risks and
uncertainties, as well as additional factors that could affect our forward-looking statements, are described in
our Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2010 and our Form 10-Q for period ended June 30, 2011.
These forward-looking statements, risks, uncertainties and additional factors speak only as of the date of this
presentation.
We
undertake
no
obligation
to
update
any
such
statements
.

Sonic Automotive, Inc.
3
Sonic Automotive Q3 2011
o
Quarter in Review
o
Financial Results
o
Operations Recap
o
Summary and Outlook

Sonic Automotive, Inc.
4
Overall Results
Grow the base business
Revenues up 13%
New vehicle revenue up 13%; Volume exceeds industry
growth
Used revenue up 17%
F&I revenue up 20%
Fixed Operations revenue up 5%
SG&A to Gross declined to 78.8%
Income from continuing operations up 39%
Q3 2011 diluted EPS from continuing operations was $0.33 per
share vs $0.25 in prior year period

Sonic Automotive, Inc.
Third Quarter Results
5
Q3
2011
B/(W)
than Q3
2010
$
%
Revenue
$ 1,993
$ 223
13%
Gross Profit
$ 303
$ 21
7%
Operating Profit
$ 54
$
7
15%
Interest
& Other
$ 22
$
2
8%
Continuing Ops:
Profit (after tax)
$ 19
$
5
39%
Diluted EPS
$ 0.33
$
0.08
32%
SG&A as % of Gross
78.8%
150 bps
(amounts in millions,
except per share data)
Focus on base
business is
driving growth
Double-digit
revenue growth
continues
J3 increasing
vehicle
shipments

Sonic Automotive, Inc.
SG&A
150
bps
6
Continue to drive YOY SG&A
to Gross % down
Controlling expenses and
higher gross generation
(amounts
in millions)
Q3 2011
Q3 2010
$
$
Gross Profit
$ 303
$ 282
SG&A :
Advertising
$ 14
$ 13
Compensation
139
132
Rent & Related
31
32
Other
55
49
SG&A Total
$ 239
$ 226
% of
Gross
% of
Gross
4.6%
45.9%
10.1%
18.2%
78.8%
4.5%
46.8%
11.5%
17.5%
80.3%
Sonic Automotive, Inc.

7
(amounts in millions)
YTD Q3
2011
Expected
Q4 2011
Estimated 
2011
Real Estate Acquisitions
All Other Cap Ex
Subtotal
Less: Mortgage Funding
Total Cash Used –
Cap Ex
$ 80
56
$ 136
(54)
$ 11
6
$ 17
(15)
$ 91
62
$153
(69)
Sonic Automotive, Inc.
Capital Spending
$ 82
$ 2
$ 84

Sonic Automotive, Inc.
New Retail Vehicles
8
8.4%
6.9%
(2.9%)
Sonic
Mix Adjusted Industry
SAAR
Q3 2011
Q3 2010
B/(W)
Volume
27,941
25,780
8.4%
Selling Price
$ 35,997
$ 34,381
4.7%
Gross Margin %
6.6%
6.6%
0 bps
GPU
$ 2,391
$2,267
$124
Gross Profit
$ 67 million
$ 58 million
14.3%

Sonic Automotive, Inc.
Used Retail Vehicles
9
* -
Includes: used gross + used reconditioning gross + used F&I gross
Q3 2011
Q3 2010
B/(W)
Retail Volume
Used Related Gross*
Used to New Ratio
$
78 million
26,608
.95 to 1
22,987
$
71 million
.89 to 1
$
7 million
15.8%
Q2
2009
Q3
2009
Q4
2009
Q1
2010
Q2
2010
Q3
2010
Q4
2010
Q1
2011
Q2
2011
Q3
2011
12%
24%
18%
26%
20%
14%
17%
17%
11%
16%
YOY Unit Volume Change
10 Consecutive
Quarters of
Double-Digit
Volume Growth

Fixed Operations
10
Q3 2010
Q4 2010
Q1 2011
Q2 2011
Q3 2011
$284
$285
$292
$300
$298
Q3 2010
Q4 2010
Q1 2011
Q2 2011
Q3 2011
$141
$141
$144
$148
$145
Revenue
Gross Profit
3%
5%
Increase in
wholesale
parts activity
pressured
margin rate
Customer
pay up 4%
Overall gross
profit up 3%
Sonic Automotive, Inc.

Sonic Automotive, Inc.
11
Summary
Base business continues to grow
New vehicle market share continues to increase
Used retail vehicle volume continues to grow at double-
digit rate
Automotive retail industry continues its steady recovery
Forecasting
a
12.5
–
12.7
million
SAAR
Expect Japanese brands to continue improvement in Q4
Increasing continuing operations earnings estimate to 
$1.33 -
$1.37 per share for FY 2011