Sonic Automotive Executive to Speak at the Stephens Specialty Retailing Conference on March 15, 2005

CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 11 -- Sonic Automotive, Inc. , a leader in automotive retailing, announced that Lee Wyatt, executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer, will present at the Stephens Specialty Retailing Conference at 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 15 at The Waldorf-Astoria in New York.

The presentation will be available for download after 2 p.m. March 15 at http://www.sonicautomotive.com/ by clicking on the Investor Relations tab and choosing Investor Presentations from the list on the left side of the monitor.

The Stephens Specialty Retailing Conference focuses on small- and mid-cap growth retailers with a particular emphasis on the automotive, sporting goods, consumer finance, and craft retailing segments. Stephens, Inc. is a full service, privately owned Investment Bank headquartered in Little Rock, Ark., with offices across the country in key markets, as well as abroad in London. Founded in 1933, Stephens is one of the largest investment banking firms off of Wall Street.

About Sonic Automotive, Inc.

Sonic Automotive, Inc., a Fortune 300 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is among the largest automotive retailers in the United States operating 192 franchises and 40 collision repair centers in 15 states. For more information about Sonic Automotive, visit http://www.sonicautomotive.com/ .