Dear Team,

What an awesome month March turned out to be. I would like to thank every associate in the North Central Region for all of their hard work and dedication in March. You did it and it was BIG!!

The Region finished March with 1506 new cars sold. This is the biggest new car volume month that we have had since last summer during the cash for clunker program. Our used car departments were on fire selling 1310 units and setting many single store all-time records. This shows that our Playbook execution is continuing to improve. Our parts departments, service departments and body shops came in with a WHOPPING $7.3 million dollars in gross profit and wrote over 19,000 repair orders. That’s amazing!! I can’t forget our Finance Departments. They participated in a big way with almost $2.0 million in gross profit.

As I look forward to April I see our best selling months ahead of us and am sure many more records will be set this spring and summer.

In April Jeff Dyke, Scott Smith and our Leadership Team from Sonic HQ in Charlotte will continue their 2010 Taking Flight Tours with stops in Michigan on the 15th and 16th of April and in the Mid Atlantic/DC market on the 28th and 29th. These meetings have been going very well and I look forward to all of our associates being able to spend the time with Jeff and Scott.

Good luck in April!! And remember to hold your Managers accountable for high levels of Associate Satisfaction and Flawless Playbook execution!!

Please feel free to contact Debbie Housholder or myself if I can do anything to help you.

Carpe Diem!!

Very sincerely yours,

Dave Koehler Regional Vice President

Debbie Householder Regional Controller

The North Central Region is made up of 19 stores (listed below) that represent 21 brands in Ohio, Michigan, Maryland, Virginia and Oklahoma. We have 1325 associates and in 2009 we generated over $960 million in total revenue. In 2010 we are forecasting over 10,000 new car sales, over 8000 used car sales, and over $50 million in service, parts and body shop gross. That is Big….together we are definitely a force to be reckoned with.

Columbus, Ohio
Hatfield Hyundai/Subaru- Tim Tweed, Dealer Operator
Toyota West- Jeremy Francis, Dealer Operator
Hatfield Kia- Jeremie Beckner, Dealer Operator
Hatfield Volkswagen- Mark Ludwig, Dealer Operator

Michigan
BMW of Ann Arbor- Nick Berinti, Dealer Operator
Mercedes-Benz of Ann Arbor- James Jayakar, Dealer Operator
Don Massey Cadillac of Plymouth- John Rossignol, Dealer Operator
Capitol Cadillac/Hummer of Lansing- Larry Burton, Dealer Operator

Rockville, Maryland
Lexus of Rockville- Don Nickles, Dealer Operator
Rockville Porsche-Audi- Steven Heller, Dealer Operator

Fairfax, Virginia
Honda of Tysons Corner- Mike Walker, Dealer Operator
Infiniti of Tysons Corner- Young Park, Dealer Operator
BMW of Fairfax- Mark McCollum, Dealer Operator

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Dub Richardson Toyota- Trent Conrad, Dealer Operator
Steve Bailey Honda- Mark Hoel, Dealer Operator

Tulsa, Oklahoma
Riverside Chevrolet- Jason Hughes, Dealer Operator
Riverside Toyota- AJ Giblin, Dealer Operator
Riverside Nissan- Michael Slahucka, Dealer Operator
Speedway Chevrolet- Todd McPherson, Dealer Operator

The third most-used language in the United States is American Sign Language.

While working on Pac Man, video game designer Tohru Iwantani was allegedly inspired by the shape of a pizza with one slice removed.

Tim Tweed
General Manager, Hatfield Hyundai/Subaru

Tim started with Sonic Automotive in 1984 as a salesman at Trader Buds Westside Dodge. In 1987, Sonic Automotive opened Hatfield Hyundai, and Tim successes at Trader Buds afforded him the opportunity to move into management where he became Hatfield Hyundai’s first Sales Manager.

In 1992, Tim’s outstanding leadership was rewarded and he was promoted to General Manager. Since the inception of the store, Hatfield Hyundai has out-sold and out-serviced every Hyundai dealership in the surrounding 13 State region which includes 180 stores.

Tim credits the success of the store solely on the people that make up the Hatfield Hyundai team. He and his team live by the philosophy that “Customer service is paramount and we don’t sell cars for a living, we take care of people for a living.” Living by this creed has brought them great success within our core competency of selling and servicing cars. And to emphasize how well it has worked, in March of this year, Tim and his team will post the most profitable month that Hatfield Hyundai has EVER had.

When asked "What is the best part of your job,” Tim quickly replied , “The best part is the 60 plus associates I have the pleasure of working with every day, some of which have been here for 10, 15 & 20 plus years."

Tim truly loves sharing his day with the people who surround him at work, and he refers to them all as part of his family. And when Tim is not with his family at work, he spends his time with his other family…his wife of 26 years, Stephanie, and two boys; Kyle who is 22 and Nathan who is 21, both of whom are in college.

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Judy Fernandez
Controller, BMW of Fairfax

This month, the Regional Corporate team would like to recognize Judy Fernandez. Judy’s positive attitude, leadership and dedication to Sonic are a huge factor in the success of BMW of Fairfax. Judy began her Sonic career at a Nissan store in 2002. Unfortunately, that store was sold to another owner 6 months later, and Judy stayed with the store. Fortunately for us, Sonic was able to get Judy back in May of 2004 when she joined the BMW of Fairfax team.

Judy has been married for 24 years and has three sons. Chris is an accountant (must run in the family) and is 28 years old, Eric is 21 and Ross is 19 and they both are in college at Mary Mount University. You can often find Judy on the sidelines of one of the boys Lacrosse games when she is not working.

When you ask Judy what she likes about her job, she’ll tell you, “Everything!” She realizes that may sound crazy to some people, but credits her enthusiasm to working for a great store, a great General Manager and a great management staff.

Thank you, Judy, for all of your hard work and commitment, and for being such a vital part of the Sonic team.

Alex Gitau
Porter/Shuttle Driver, Riverside Nissan

Alex has only been in the United States for around 3 years, and he has been with Riverside Nissan for approximately 2.5 of those 3 years.

Alex was actually born in the United States while his parents were attending Oral Roberts University. Upon his parents’ graduation, the Gitau family moved back to their home country of Kenya. Alex was raised in Kenya with his sister, and as they finished their high school education, both decided to go back to Tulsa to follow in their parents’ footsteps and get their degrees from Oral Roberts University as well. Alex and his sister are currently enrolled at Oral Roberts University.

When his colleagues were asked to speak about Alex, the consensus on Alex is that he is a “hard working, dedicated employee with a terrific positive attitude. Alex is always willing to go above and beyond for the customers at Riverside Nissan.”

Alex enjoys watching educational programming on television and working to learn more each and every day. Alex and his fiancé are planning to get married in December in his homeland of Kenya. They may return to Kenya after graduation, but for now, Sonic is excited to have him as a member of their team at Riverside Nissan.

Sonic Automotive is involved with many charitable organizations, one of which was founded by Bruton Smith, Chairman of Sonic Automotive and Speedway Motorsports, as a memoriam and legacy to his son, Bruton Cameron Smith, who passed away at a very young age.

Given his experience, Smith became passionate about wanting to help children in need and Speedway Children's Charities was created focusing on communities surrounding SMI speedways. The mission of Speedway Children's Charities remains true to the ideals it was founded upon in 1982: To care for children in educational, financial, social and medical need in order to help them lead productive lives.

Through the help of volunteers, donations and events, SCC provides funding for hundreds of non-profit organizations throughout the nation that meet the direct needs of children, including everything from educational support to the basic need of a coat or a simple meal. The vision is that every child has the same opportunities no matter what obstacle they are facing.

If you would like to learn more, donate or become a volunteer with Speedway Children Charities please visit our website.

The North Central Regional Team has over 150 years of combined dealership experience. It is our job to coach, train, motivate and most importantly listen to you, our teammates. It is important that we provide you, our associates (as well as our customers), with a world class experience when they work in or do business with any of our locations.

Email Link	Phone #	Title
David Koehler	614-207-9583	Regional Vice President
Debbie Housholder	614-402-7692	Regional Controller
Mike Cervantes	650-444-3800	Divisional Fixed Ops Dir.
Tim Milligan	972-365-0520	Regional Fixed Ops Dir. - OK
Phillip Chavka	734-368-0045	Divisional Used Vehicle Dir. OH,VA,MD,MI
Alan Stubbs	713-816-6418	Regional Pre-Owned Dir. - OK
Jack Dillon	614-206-7727	Regional Used Car Purchaser
Brian Caspersen	614-206-6667	Divisional F&I Dir OH, VA, MD, MI
Kelly Dyer	713-299-1652	Divisional F&I Dir - TX/OK
Steve Radulovich	248-240-2255	Divisional Sales Mgr Trainer
Shawn Dingle	918-271-4179	Regional Training Dir.
Greg Wiley	734-674-9411	Regional Loss Control Mgr
Sandy Glorioso	614-207-6897	Regional DAD
Venessa Coppess	614-465-8969	Executive Assistant

• How do they get the deer to cross at that yellow road sign?

• If Webster wrote the first dictionary, where did he find the words?

• If the #2 pencil is the most popular, why is it still #2?

• What was the best thing before sliced bread?

• Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?

Who is the North Central Team?
Sonic Spotlight
Upcoming Events
Associate of the Month
Speedway Children Charities
Monthly Sales Recap
North Central Corporate Team

If you have a personal Facebook page we encourage you to promote your dealership by becoming a fan!



Below are links to each dealerships Facebook fan pages:

BMW of Fairfax
BMW of Ann Arbor
Capitol Cadillac of Lansing
Don Massey Cadillac of Plymouth
Dub Richardson Toyota
Hatfield Hyundai/Subaru
Hatfield Kia
Hatfield Volkswagen
Honda of Tysons Corner
Infiniti of Tysons Corner
Lexus of Rockville
Mercedes-Benz of Ann Arbor
Riverside Chevrolet
Riverside Toyota
Riverside Nissan
Speedway Chevrolet
Steve Bailey Honda
Toyota West

"You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else."
- Albert Einstein

Q1 Operating Reviews
3/2010
First Quarter QORs will begin in March. This year our QORs will be held in the dealership and will be a two day event.

Day one will be operating reviews where we will review the prior month’s performance using our MOR report.

Day two will be focused on playbook reviews where we will, as a team, review real life execution in your service drive, on your showroom floor, in your F & I offices, etc. to ensure your execution is flawlessly aligned with our proven best practices.

Taking Flight
4/2010
Jeff Dyke our EVP of Operations, and Scott Smith, our President and Chief Strategic Officer, will be visiting Michigan stores on April 15 & 16 and the Mid Atlantic stores on April 28 & 29.

Jeff and Scott will be reviewing Sonic Automotive’s 2009 performance and will be sharing their vision of the future with all of us.

2010 Playbook Reviews
4/2010
This will begin again in April …are you ready? The Playbook process has been a HUGE success for our Region and our company. Being able to take our best store level practices and install them in every store in the company has improved our performances dramatically. The Plays have provided clear direction for all of our associates. It’s a "how to" book on operating a dealership in a variety of areas such as new and used vehicle sales, F & I , Service Drive, E-Commerce, Accounting, and more.. It works and we are proving it every day!!

March 2010
New Cars Sold: 1506 vehicles
Used Cars Sold: 1310 vehicles
Service, Parts, Body Shop: $7.3 million gross sales
Repair Tickets: 19,000+
Finance Department:
$2.0 million gross sales

If there is anything you would like to see as part of our newsletter please drop us a line!

If you or someone at your dealership is celebrating a milestone anniversary, new baby, outstanding achievment or any other recogniziable award be sure to let us know!

Please send all requests and comments to Venessa Coppess.