Dear Team,

In an effort to help with communication throughout the North Central Region, we are pleased to introduce to you the first issue of the "North Central Region Newsletter".

The goal of our newsletter is to communicate current regional events and information with all of our associates. As you may be aware, we spend most of our time working with each store's General Managers, Controllers and Department Managers. One of our goals for 2010 and beyond is to find a way to better communicate with our entire team. This newsletter is the first step in achieving that goal. Though this newsletter will have a lot of information about all things Sonic, it is not meant to replace a phone call or an e-mail. We are available to you whenever you need us.

Throughout this edition of the newsletter you will find Upcoming Events, Sales Recap Information, and Contact Information for the North Central Corporate Team and the region's Dealer Operators. We encourage you to reach out to one another to share and discuss ideas.

In closing, we would like to thank each and every one of you for all that you do every day; always taking care of our customers and just getting the job done. We are proud to be your teammate.

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

A car that shifts manually gets 2 miles more per gallon of gas than a car with automatic shift.

If you put a raisin in a fresh glass of champagne, it will rise and fall continuously.

In early 1900s America, "jay" was a slang term used to describe a naïve or foolish person. Thus, when such a pedestrian decided to ignore traffic signals and street signs, he was referred to as a "jaywalker".

If the tracks on a typical compact disc ran in a straight line, they would travel for about three miles.

Ironically the only member of ZZ Top without a beard has the last name Beard.

The antibacterial components of antibacterial soaps needs to be left on a surface for about two minutes in order to work. Most people are not this patient, and end up washing off the soap before the antibacterial ingredients can do their job.

Dear Ann Landers (aka Esther Lederer) and Dear Abby (aka Pauline Phillips) were not only sisters but twin sisters.

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

• Why is abbreviated such a long word?

• If Barbie is so popular, why do we have to buy her so many friends?

• Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?

Who is the North Central Team?
North Central Corporate Team
Taking Flight?
2010 Playbook Reviews
Q1 Operating Reviews
January 2010 Sales Recap

"To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart."
- Donald Laird

Taking Flight
1/2010
Starting in January, Jeff Dyke our EVP of Operations, and Scott Smith, our President and Chief Strategic Officer, will be visiting all of the stores. Jeff and Scott will be in 56 cities in 62 days to personally meet with all of you.

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!!

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.

January 2010
New Cars Sold: 962 vehicles
Used Cars Sold: 967 vehicles
Service Sales: $3,349,498
Parts Sales: $2,166,159
Body Shop Sales: $467,000
Employee Turnover: 3.4%

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.