Asbury Autogroup Appoints Chief Financial Officer; Former Chrysler Financial Executive Joins with 25 Years of Auto Industry Experience

    STAMFORD, Conn.--May 7, 2001--Asbury Autogroup, the third largest dealership network in the United States, today announced the appointment of Thomas F. Gilman as Chief Financial Officer, a new position that reports directly to Brian Kendrick, Chief Executive Officer of Asbury Autogroup.
    Mr. Gilman, (50), will be responsible for all financial aspects of Asbury's business strategy and will have the company's Finance, Tax, Financial Planning, Treasury, Acquisitions and Risk Management under his management.
    Mr. Gilman, former Vice President of Daimler Chrysler Corporation, also served as Chief Financial Officer of Chrysler Financial Company, where he helped consumers and dealers finance vehicles worldwide. Prior to that, Mr. Gilman spent 25 years in various financial positions at Chrysler Corporation and played a key role in assisting their dealerships.
    "We are pleased to have expanded our senior management team with an industry veteran who has the extensive financial experience that Tom Gilman gained at both Chrysler and Daimler Chrysler," said Brian Kendrick. "Tom will play a critical role in executing Asbury's corporate growth initiatives and will be instrumental in providing support to our dealership network. Along with other recent senior level hires, Tom's addition completes our senior management team. Between our seasoned operators and our talented Corporate staff, Asbury undoubtedly has the finest team in the automotive dealership industry...hands down."

    About Asbury Autogroup

    Asbury Automotive Group L.L.C. operates 123 automotive retail franchises and is the third largest automotive retailer in the United States with pro forma 2000 revenues of $4.8 billion. Asbury sells, finances and services a diverse range of foreign and domestic automobile brands. The company is pursuing a disciplined strategy consisting of focused acquisitions in high growth markets followed by aggressive integration, resulting in strong same store sales growth. The company is comprised of nine regional groups most of which are ranked first in their respective market. Additional information available at www.asburyauto.com.