Sonic Automotive, Inc. announced on July 26 that it has completed or entered into agreements to purchase five dealerships.

The dealerships have combined revenues of approximately $275 million annually. Completion of transactions is subject to normal closing conditions and manufacturers approval. The acquisitions are closed or are expected to close by late in the third quarter of 2001 or early in the fourth quarter. Funding for the acquisitions will be provided by cash from operations.

The dealerships acquired or to be acquired are:

- Buena Park Honda, Harbor City Honda and West Covina Toyota, all located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area

- Nils Sefeldt Volvo, located in Houston, Texas

- Capitol Ford in San Jose, Calif.

All dealerships are being acquired in areas where Sonic has existing operations. These dealerships will complement Sonic's existing operations, improve brand diversity, build local market share and take advantage of the Company's existing management infrastructure in these markets, according to B. Scott Smith, president and chief operating officer of Sonic. "These acquisitions increase Sonic's portfolio of luxury and high quality Asian import brands such as Honda and Toyota," Smith said.

"These acquisitions demonstrate our continued commitment to execution of our 'hub and spoke' acquisition growth strategy by adding additional 'spokes' in three of our markets," Smith said. "We are also expanding our exposure to strong brands such as Honda, Toyota, Volvo and Ford. Impact on earnings per share from these transactions in 2001 will be minimal. However, we believe the expected impact on 2002 earnings per share will be $0.06 to $0.08."

About Sonic Automotive, Inc.

Sonic Automotive, Inc., a Fortune 300 Company and member of the Russell 2000 Index, operates 165 franchises and 30 collision repair centers.

Sonic can be reached on the Web at www.sonicautomotive.com.