Exhibit 99.1

Sonic Automotive, Inc. Fourth Quarter 2010 Adjusted Earnings up $7.4 million or 74%; Vehicle Sales
Continue Double Digit Growth Trends

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – February 22, 2011 – Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE: SAH), one of the nation’s largest automotive retailers, today reported that 2010 fourth quarter earnings from continuing operations were $1.02 per diluted share compared to $0.46 per diluted share in the prior year quarter. On an adjusted basis, 2010 fourth quarter earnings from continuing operations were $0.30 per diluted share compared to $0.19 per diluted share in the prior year quarter. The adjustments for both periods, which include primarily impairment expenses and income tax benefits, are detailed further in the attached tables.

For the full year 2010, the Company reported earnings from continuing operations of $1.58 per diluted share compared to $1.07 per diluted share in the prior year. On an adjusted basis, full year earnings from continuing operations were $0.99 per diluted share compared to $0.81 per diluted share for the prior year period. The adjustments for both periods are detailed further in the attached tables.

Fourth Quarter 2010 Highlights

	•		Total revenues up 17% over prior year quarter
	•		New vehicle volume up 18%
	•		Used vehicle volume up 17%; Record annual volume and gross profit
	•		Parts and Service revenue up 8%; Record annual gross profit

Business Overview – Strong growth in all areas of the business

Commenting on the fourth quarter, B. Scott Smith, the Company’s President, said, “We are pleased with our operating results this quarter and proud of the way our dealerships are embracing our operating playbook best practices. Sonic Automotive benefited from an improved automotive retail environment and our ongoing focus on growing our core business. We continued to see significant growth in new and used vehicle sales in both our domestic and our luxury/import dealerships as our eCommerce and other advertising strategies continued to take effect. We capped off a very successful quarter in December by having the most profitable month in the history of our Company.”

New and Used Vehicles – New retail volume easily outpaces industry growth; Used volume continues double digit growth

Commenting on the Company’s vehicle sales, Jeff Dyke, the Company’s EVP of Operations noted, “The growth in our new vehicle business easily outpaced the overall industry growth of 13.5%. Our new vehicle retail revenue was up approximately 20% compared to the fourth quarter last year. We expect to see continued growth in this area as the industry continues its steady rebound and as we begin to introduce our new vehicle playbook in 2011.”

Relative to used vehicle sales, Mr. Dyke stated, “We are proud to be the used vehicle leader among the public franchised automobile dealer groups. Even with the double digit growth we’ve enjoyed for several years now, we believe significant future growth opportunities remain in this piece of our business as we continue to implement the more advanced stages of our strategy. The most exciting thing about the growth opportunities in new and used vehicles is the impact it has on the other areas of our business.”

Parts and Service – Revenues up 8%; Gross profit up 6%

Sonic’s parts and service revenue for the fourth quarter was up 8% compared with the prior year quarter. Mr. Dyke stated, “Our parts and service business continued the growth trend that we’ve seen all year. Our merchandising efforts, our focus on customer service, and the growth in our new and used vehicle business are helping us retain customers and grow our parts and service business.”

2011 Outlook

Scott Smith concluded his comments by stating, “We expect to see continued steady growth in the automotive retailing sector. We are targeting 2011 new vehicle industry volume of 12.5 million units. We currently expect earnings per share from continuing operations of between $1.18 and $1.28 for the full year 2011. We will have further comments on our 2011 outlook on our earnings call later today.”

Presentation materials for the Company’s February 22, 2011 earnings conference call at 11:00 A.M. (Eastern) can be accessed on the Company’s website at www.sonicautomotive.com by clicking on the “Investor Relations” tab under “Our Company” and choosing “Webcasts & Presentations” on the right side of the monitor.

To access the live broadcast of the call over the Internet go to:

www.sonicautomotive.com

A live audio of the call will be accessible to the public by calling (877) 791-3416. International callers dial (706) 643-0958. Callers should dial in approximately 10 minutes before the call begins.

A conference call replay will be available one hour following the call for seven days and can be accessed by calling: 800-642-1687, Conference ID: 41490497, International callers dial (706) 645-9291.

About Sonic Automotive

Sonic Automotive, Inc., a Fortune 500 company based in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the nation’s largest automotive retailers. Sonic can be reached on the web at www.sonicautomotive.com.

Included herein are forward-looking statements, including statements with respect to growth in new and used vehicle sales, future success and impacts from the implementation of our various operational playbooks, future new vehicle industry volume and expected earnings per share. There are many factors that affect management’s views about future events and trends of the Company’s business. These factors involve risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results or trends to differ materially from management’s view, including without limitation, economic conditions in the markets in which we operate, new and used vehicle sales volume, the success of our operational strategies, the rate and timing of overall economic recovery and the risk factors described in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2009 and the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ending September 30, 2010. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking information.

Sonic Automotive, Inc.

(In thousands, except per share, unit data and percentage amounts)

			Three Months Ended													Three Months Ended
			As Reported								As Adjusted					As Reported								As Adjusted
			12/31/2010				Adjustments				12/31/2010					12/31/2009				Adjustments				12/31/2009
	Revenues
	New retail vehicles		$	975,849			$	-			$	975,849				$	811,914			$	-			$	811,914
	Fleet vehicles			58,363				-				58,363					50,798				-				50,798
	Total new vehicles			1,034,212				-				1,034,212					862,712				-				862,712
	Used vehicles			437,258				-				437,258					370,015				-				370,015
	Wholesale vehicles			40,705				-				40,705					41,551				-				41,551
	Total vehicles			1,512,175				-				1,512,175					1,274,278				-				1,274,278
	Parts, service and collision repair			285,357				-				285,357					264,269				-				264,269
	Finance, insurance and other			47,361				-				47,361					38,138				-				38,138
	Total revenues			1,844,893				-				1,844,893					1,576,685				-				1,576,685
	Total gross profit			284,525				-				284,525					256,409				-				256,409
	SG&A expenses			(224,155	)			-				(224,155	)				(209,660	)			5,165				(204,495	)
	Impairment charges			(117	)			117				-					(17,753	)			17,753				-
	Depreciation			(9,381	)			-				(9,381	)				(11,014	)			2,536				(8,478	)
	Operating income			50,872				117				50,989					17,982				25,454				43,436
	Interest expense, floor plan			(5,921	)			-				(5,921	)				(4,887	)			-				(4,887	)
	Interest expense, other, net			(15,319	)			-				(15,319	)				(20,286	)			2,833				(17,453	)
	Interest expense, non-cash, convertible debt			(1,739	)			-				(1,739	)				(2,235	)			-				(2,235	)
	Interest expense / amortization, non-cash, cash flow swaps			519				(519	)			-					(6,410	)			6,410				-
	Other income (expense), net			(3	)			-				(3	)				(9,196	)			9,198				2
	Income (loss) from continuing operations before taxes			28,409				(402	)			28,007					(25,032	)			43,895				18,863
	Provision for income taxes — benefit (expense)			37,409				(48,006	)			(10,597	)				53,091				(61,965	)			(8,874	)
	Income (loss) from continuing operations			65,818				(48,408	)			17,410					28,059				(18,070	)			9,989
	Income (loss) from discontinued operations			(1,464	)			602				(862	)				(13,809	)			10,831				(2,978	)
	Net income (loss)		$	64,354			$	(47,806	)		$	16,548				$	14,250			$	(7,239	)		$	7,011
	Diluted:
	Weighted average common shares outstanding			66,042				-				66,042					65,634				-				65,634
	Earnings (loss) per share from continuing operations		$	1.02			$	(0.72	)		$	0.30				$	0.46			$	(0.27	)		$	0.19
	Earnings (loss) per share from discontinued operations			(0.02	)			-				(0.02	)				(0.21	)			0.16				(0.05	)
	Earnings (loss) per share		$	1.00			$	(0.72	)		$	0.28				$	0.25			$	(0.11	)		$	0.14
	Gross Margin Data (Continuing Operations):
	Retail new vehicles			6.5	%							6.5	%				7.1	%							7.1	%
	Fleet vehicles			3.5	%							3.5	%				3.1	%							3.1	%
	Total new vehicles			6.3	%							6.3	%				6.9	%							6.9	%
	Used vehicles retail			7.3	%							7.3	%				7.7	%							7.7	%
	Total vehicles retail			6.6	%							6.6	%				7.1	%							7.1	%
	Wholesale vehicles			(2.7	%)							(2.7	%)				(6.4	%)							(6.4	%)
	Parts, service and collision repair			49.4	%							49.4	%				50.4	%							50.4	%
	Finance, insurance and other			100.0	%							100.0	%				100.0	%							100.0	%
	Overall gross margin			15.4	%							15.4	%				16.3	%							16.3	%
	SG&A Expenses (Continuing Operations):
	Personnel		$	130,676			$	-			$	130,676				$	116,683			$	-			$	116,683
	Advertising			10,463				-				10,463					11,802				-				11,802
	Rent and rent related			32,515				-				32,515					33,559				(1,091	)			32,468
	Other			50,501				-				50,501					47,616				(4,074	)			43,542
	Total		$	224,155			$	-			$	224,155				$	209,660			$	(5,165	)		$	204,495
	SG&A Expenses as % of Gross Profit			78.8	%							78.8	%				81.8	%							79.8	%
	Operating Margin %			2.8	%							2.8	%				1.1	%							2.8	%
	Unit Data (Continuing Operations):
	New retail units			27,011													22,882
	Fleet units			2,289													1,895
	Total new units			29,300													24,777
	Used units			21,429													18,338
	Total units retailed			50,729													43,115
	Wholesale units			6,501													6,636
	Other Data:
	Continuing Operations revenue percentage changes:
	New retail			20.2	%												11.0	%
	Fleet			14.9	%												(10.7	%)
	Total New Vehicles			19.9	%												9.5	%
	Used			18.2	%												22.8	%
	Parts, service and collision repair			8.0	%												0.0	%
	Finance, insurance and other			24.2	%												11.9	%
	Total			17.0	%												10.2	%
	Description of Adjustments:		2010								2009
	Continuing Operations:
	Lease exit accruals		$	-							$	1,091
	Franchise tax assessment			-								2,924
	Property impairment charges			117								15,553
	Franchise agreement impairment charges			-								2,200
	Cash-flow swap ineffectiveness and amortization			(519	)							6,410
	Derivative mark-to-market			-								1,150
	Depreciation add-back			-								2,536
	Debt restructuring charges			-								2,833
	Loss on debt extinguishment			-								9,198
	Total pre-tax adjustments		$	(402	)							43,895
	Tax effect of above items			152								(20,651	)
	Valuation allowance recovery			(48,158	)							(41,314	)
	Total adjustments		$	(48,408	)						$	(18,070	)
	Discontinued Operations:
	Lease exit accruals		$	859							$	23,236
	Property impairment charges			-								3,170
	Total pre-tax adjustments			859								26,406
	Tax effect of above items			(257	)							(9,440	)
	Valuation allowance recovery			-								(6,135	)
	Total adjustments		$	602							$	10,831

Sonic Automotive, Inc.

(In thousands, except per share, unit data and percentage amounts)

		Twelve Months Ended												Twelve Months Ended
		As Reported								As Adjusted				As Reported								As Adjusted
		12/31/2010				Adjustments				12/31/2010				12/31/2009				Adjustments				12/31/2009
Revenues
New retail vehicles		$	3,438,988			$	-			$	3,438,988			$	3,014,960			$	-			$	3,014,960
Fleet vehicles			207,212				-				207,212				214,988				-				214,988
Total new vehicles			3,646,200				-				3,646,200				3,229,948				-				3,229,948
Used vehicles			1,776,581				-				1,776,581				1,451,870				-				1,451,870
Wholesale vehicles			149,041				-				149,041				147,002				-				147,002
Total vehicles			5,571,822				-				5,571,822				4,828,820				-				4,828,820
Parts, service and collision repair			1,128,054				-				1,128,054				1,071,825				-				1,071,825
Finance, insurance and other			180,968				-				180,968				154,696				-				154,696
Total revenues			6,880,844				-				6,880,844				6,055,341				-				6,055,341
Total gross profit			1,114,678				-				1,114,678				1,032,672				-				1,032,672
SG&A expenses			(896,697	)			647				(896,050	)			(829,220	)			4,015				(825,205	)
Impairment charges			(249	)			249				-				(23,460	)			23,460				-
Depreciation			(35,110	)			-				(35,110	)			(34,879	)			-				(34,879	)
Operating income			182,622				896				183,518				145,113				27,475				172,588
Interest expense, floor plan			(21,536	)			-				(21,536	)			(19,812	)			-				(19,812	)
Interest expense, other, net			(63,343	)			1,464				(61,879	)			(78,284	)			11,992				(66,292	)
Interest expense, non-cash, convertible debt			(6,914	)			-				(6,914	)			(679	)			(11,300	)			(11,979	)
Interest expense / amortization, non-cash, cash flow swaps			(4,883	)			4,883				-				(11,769	)			11,769				-
Other income (expense), net			(7,525	)			7,665				140				(6,677	)			6,746				69
Income (loss) from continuing operations before taxes			78,421				14,908				93,329				27,892				46,682				74,574
Provision for income taxes — benefit (expense)			17,504				(53,985	)			(36,481	)			29,275				(61,464	)			(32,189	)
Income (loss) from continuing operations			95,925				(39,077	)			56,848				57,167				(14,782	)			42,385
Income (loss) from discontinued operations			(5,996	)			625				(5,371	)			(25,619	)			15,457				(10,162	)
Net income (loss)		$	89,929			$	(38,452	)		$	51,477			$	31,548			$	675			$	32,223
Diluted:
Weighted average common shares outstanding			65,794				-				65,794				55,832				-				55,832
Earnings (loss) per share from continuing operations		$	1.58			$	(0.59	)		$	0.99			$	1.07			$	(0.26	)		$	0.81
Earnings (loss) per share from discontinued operations			(0.09	)			0.01				(0.08	)			(0.45	)			0.27				(0.18	)
Earnings (loss) per share		$	1.49			$	(0.58	)		$	0.91			$	0.62			$	0.01			$	0.63
Gross Margin Data (Continuing Operations):
Retail new vehicles			6.7	%							6.7	%			7.0	%							7.0	%
Fleet vehicles			3.0	%							3.0	%			3.5	%							3.5	%
Total new vehicles			6.5	%							6.5	%			6.8	%							6.8	%
Used vehicles retail			7.9	%							7.9	%			8.5	%							8.5	%
Total vehicles retail			6.9	%							6.9	%			7.3	%							7.3	%
Wholesale vehicles			(3.4	%)							(3.4	%)			(3.7	%)							(3.7	%)
Parts, service and collision repair			49.8	%							49.8	%			50.4	%							50.4	%
Finance, insurance and other			100.0	%							100.0	%			100.0	%							100.0	%
Overall gross margin			16.2	%							16.2	%			17.1	%							17.1	%
SG&A Expenses (Continuing Operations):
Personnel		$	526,577			$	-			$	526,577			$	470,293			$	-			$	470,293
Advertising			46,908				-				46,908				44,736				-				44,736
Rent and rent related			130,739				-				130,739				131,262				(1,091	)			130,171
Other			192,473				(647	)			191,826				182,929				(2,924	)			180,005
Total		$	896,697			$	(647	)		$	896,050			$	829,220			$	(4,015	)		$	825,205
SG&A Expenses as % of Gross Profit			80.4	%							80.4	%			80.3	%							79.9	%
Operating Margin %			2.7	%							2.7	%			2.4	%							2.9	%
Unit Data (Continuing Operations):
New retail units			98,820												90,664
Fleet units			8,331												8,697
Total new units			107,151												99,361
Used units			90,290												75,795
Total units retailed			197,441												175,156
Wholesale units			24,128												25,271
Other Data:
Continuing Operations revenue percentage changes:
New retail			14.1	%											(18.4	%)
Fleet			(3.6	%)											(31.8	%)
Total New Vehicles			12.9	%											(19.4	%)
Used			22.4	%											8.1	%
Parts, service and collision repair			5.2	%											(2.2	%)
Finance, insurance and other			17.0	%											(14.2	%)
Total			13.6	%											(12.2	%)
Description of Adjustments:		2010								2009
Continuing Operations:
Hail storm related expenses		$	647							$	-
Lease exit accruals			-								1,091
Franchise tax assessment			-								2,924
Property impairment charges			249								18,066
Goodwill impairment charges			-								1,094
Franchise agreement impairment charges			-								4,300
Cash-flow swap ineffectiveness and amortization			4,883								11,769
Derivative mark-to-market			-								(11,300	)
Debt restructuring charges			1,464								11,992
Loss on debt extinguishment			7,665								6,746
Total pre-tax adjustments		$	14,908							$	46,682
Tax effect of above items			(5,827	)							(20,150	)
Valuation allowance recovery			(48,158	)							(41,314	)
Total adjustments		$	(39,077	)						$	(14,782	)
Discontinued Operations:
Lease exit accruals		$	859							$	27,586
Property impairment charges			-								4,992
Goodwill impairment charges			-								1,586
Total pre-tax adjustments		$	859							$	34,164
Tax effect of above items			(234	)							(12,572	)
Valuation allowance recovery			-								(6,135	)
Total adjustments		$	625							$	15,457