Sonic Automotive to Speak at Merrill Lynch Conference on March 23, 2005

CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 21 -- Sonic Automotive, Inc. , a leader in automotive retailing, announced that Lee Wyatt, executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer, will present at the Merrill Lynch Retailing Leaders and Household Products and Cosmetics Conference at 3:20 p.m. Wednesday, March 23 at the Pierre Hotel in New York.

The presentation will be available for download after the March 23 presentation 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.

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 www.sonicautomotive.com .

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