Power Chevrolet Irvine Named 2003 GM Dealer of the Year

In recognition for outstanding performance in automotive retailing, Power Chevrolet Irvine has been named by General Motors as a 2003 Dealer of the Year. The award is a rare achievement, given to just 110 of the more than 7,500 authorized GM dealerships nationwide.

"This is like winning the Super Bowl of automotive retailing," said Larry Smith, general manager of Power Chevrolet Irvine. "It takes a great team putting out an amazing effort day after day to reach this level, and we're fortunate that our staff includes some of the most talented individuals in the industry."

General Motors is the world's largest automotive manufacturer, and they maintain their leadership position in the marketplace in part by reinforcing and rewarding exceptional sales and customer service within their dealer network. The Dealer of the Year award is the highest honor they offer, a testimony to those retailers who exemplify the drive to achieve that GM seeks in all of its authorized dealers.

The award follows one of the Power Chevrolet Irvine's most remarkable years in its 35-year history. Later that month, they were recognized for their performance in December, where they set their market's all-time new Chevrolet sales record for a one-month period. In April, they received the Mark of Excellence award for outstanding sales performance and customer satisfaction in 2002. August saw the dealership break their earlier sales record, setting a still-unbeaten mark of 497 new Chevrolet sales in a single month. They received the Lutz-Cougar Challenge II award in December for outstanding truck sales, followed by an AutoNation award from their parent company in January for their role as a brand leader and, in April, a second-consecutive Mark of Excellence award for their 2003 performance.

The dealership is an Irvine institution, occupying the same space for more than a generation, first as Joe MacPherson Chevrolet, and more recently as a member of the Power family of retail stores. It employs 108 associates and produces annual sales of approximately $150 million per year.

About AutoNation, Inc.

AutoNation, Inc., headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is America's largest automotive retailer. Ranked No. 97 on the 2004 Fortune 500 and a component of the Standard and Poor's 500 Index, AutoNation employs approximately 28,000 people and owns and operates 365 new vehicle franchises in 18 states. For additional information, please visit http://corp.autonation.com/ or www.AutoNation.com, where more than 100,000 vehicles are available for sale.