In recognition for outstanding performance in automotive retailing, Power
Chevrolet Irvine has been named by General Motors as a 2003 Dealer of the
Year. The award is a rare achievement, given to just 110 of the more than
7,500 authorized GM dealerships nationwide.
"This is like winning the Super Bowl of automotive retailing," said Larry
Smith, general manager of Power Chevrolet Irvine. "It takes a great team
putting out an amazing effort day after day to reach this level, and we're
fortunate that our staff includes some of the most talented individuals in the
industry."
General Motors is the world's largest automotive manufacturer, and they
maintain their leadership position in the marketplace in part by reinforcing
and rewarding exceptional sales and customer service within their dealer
network. The Dealer of the Year award is the highest honor they offer, a
testimony to those retailers who exemplify the drive to achieve that GM seeks
in all of its authorized dealers.
The award follows one of the Power Chevrolet Irvine's most remarkable
years in its 35-year history. Later that month, they were recognized for their
performance in December, where they set their market's all-time new Chevrolet
sales record for a one-month period. In April, they received the Mark of
Excellence award for outstanding sales performance and customer satisfaction
in 2002. August saw the dealership break their earlier sales record, setting
a still-unbeaten mark of 497 new Chevrolet sales in a single month. They
received the Lutz-Cougar Challenge II award in December for outstanding truck
sales, followed by an AutoNation award from their parent company in January
for their role as a brand leader and, in April, a second-consecutive Mark of
Excellence award for their 2003 performance.
The dealership is an Irvine institution, occupying the same space for more
than a generation, first as Joe MacPherson Chevrolet, and more recently as a
member of the Power family of retail stores. It employs 108 associates and
produces annual sales of approximately $150 million per year.
About AutoNation, Inc.
AutoNation, Inc., headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is America's
largest automotive retailer. Ranked No. 97 on the 2004 Fortune 500 and a
component of the Standard and Poor's 500 Index, AutoNation employs
approximately 28,000 people and owns and operates 365 new vehicle franchises
in 18 states. For additional information, please visit
http://corp.AutoNation.com or www.AutoNation.com, where more than 100,000
vehicles are available for sale.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements and information included in this release constitute
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Federal Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may
cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be
materially different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Additional discussion
of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
management's projections, estimates and expectations is contained in the
Company's SEC filings. The Company undertakes no duty to update its forward-
looking statements, including its earnings outlook. This release contains
certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined under SEC rules, including
first-quarter 2003 net income and earnings per share from continuing
operations excluding the benefit of the first-quarter 2003 IRS tax settlement.
The Company believes such non-GAAP financial measures improve the transparency
of the Company's disclosure, provide a meaningful presentation of the
Company's results from its core business operations excluding the impact of
items not related to the Company's ongoing core business operations, and
improve the period-to-period comparability of the Company's results from its
core business operations. As required by SEC rules, the Company has provided
reconciliations of those measures to the most directly comparable GAAP
measures, which are set forth in the attachments to this release.
CONTACT: Marc Cannon, AutoNation, 954-769-3146, or
cannonm@autonation.com
SOURCE AutoNation
-0- 05/12/2004 P
/PRNewswire -- May 12/
/Web site: http://corp.autonation.com/
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(AN)
CO: AutoNation
ST: Florida, California
IN: AUT
SU: MAV AWD
KW-CH
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