Lithia Motors Jumps to No. 2 on Fortune's Most Admired Company List for Auto Retailing, Service Category

MEDFORD, Ore.--March 8, 2004--

Company No. 1 in 'Social Responsibility;' Among Three Oregon Businesses Honored

Lithia Motors, Inc. -- the nation's ninth largest auto retailer and Oregon's third-largest publicly traded company -- was again named to Fortune's list of America's Most Admired Company survey, capturing the No. 2 ranking in the Automotive Retailing/Services category.

The position is a one-spot jump from No. 3 in 2003. Lithia is the only company among the top three in its category to better last year's overall survey score. This is the fourth year in a row that Lithia has been honored by the magazine in its annual survey, which ranks the nation's top eight "most admired" companies in 64 industries.

"We believe our strength of integrating and improving the operations at the stores we acquire has helped us secure a place at the top of our trade," said Sid DeBoer, Lithia's chairman and CEO. "Being named to this list is truly a tribute to everybody here at Lithia and their continued efforts in making the car-buying process a positive experience."

In 2003 Lithia acquired approximately $330 million in annualized revenues. It increased its number of dealerships by 15 percent by adding 11 new stores, including 23 brand franchises and its first dealership in Montana. Lithia now operates in 12 Western states. Lithia's first 2004 acquisition was Reno (Nev.) Jeep Chrysler in February, the company's sixth dealership in that area.

"Not only have we increased our revenue run rate to $2.7 billion, but we have also upped our employee base by more than 300 people in the last 12 months," DeBoer said.

The Fortune list ranked Lithia as the category leader in "social responsibility," one of eight key attributes used to measure each business against its competition. The company finished no less than No. 3 in any of these areas among the eight companies in the Automotive Retailing/Services category.

Based in Medford, Ore., Lithia Motors is one of three businesses to represent the state, joining Nike (Beaverton) and Monaco Coach (Coburg). Six states had fewer companies than Oregon on Fortune's list, with California leading the count (75 of the total 592 surveyed businesses).

Lithia has also moved up in the magazine's prestigious Fortune 1000 list. In 2003, Lithia ranked 590, a solid increase from the No. 736 spot in 2002. The 2004 list will be unveiled in April.

About Fortune's Most Admired Company List

Since 1983, Fortune magazine has sought to find the most respected brands in the U.S., based on peer evaluation. This year's No.1 overall brand: Wal-Mart.

For the industry list, the Hay Group -- a Philadelphia-based, global human resources firm which has conducted the research for the Most Admired Companies list since 1997 -- started with the 10 largest companies by revenue in 64 industries, including foreign firms with large U.S. operations. (In some cases it included 11 companies.) Then it asked 10,000 executives, directors, and securities analysts to rate the companies in their own industries on eight criteria, using a scale of one to 10.

The eight key attributes that helped rank each company in each individual category: innovation, employee talent, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term investment, quality of products/services.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc. is a Fortune 1000 and Russell 2000 Company that sells 25 brands of new vehicles and operates 79 stores and 148 franchises in 12 Western states and over the Internet through "Lithia.com-America's Car & Truck Store." Founded in 1946, Lithia expanded from one dealership to a $2.5 billion industry-leading dealer group by 2003. Lithia became a publicly traded company in 1996 and today pursues an aggressive acquisition strategy, retailing more than 95,000 new and used vehicles in 2003. Lithia also sells used vehicles; arranges finance, warranty, and credit insurance contracts; and provides vehicle parts, maintenance, and repair services at all of its locations.