Sonic Automotive 8K Reports Sequential Growth in Second Quarter Earnings | SAH 28 Jul 09

Exhibit 99.2

•This presentation contains statements that constitute “forward-looking

statements”

within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of

1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

•These forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but only

predictions by our company and/or our company’s management.

•These statements generally can be identified by lead-in words such as

“believe,”

“expect”

“anticipate,”

“intend,”

“plan,”

“foresee”

and other

similar words. Similarly, statements that describe our company’s

objectives, plans or goals are also forward-looking statements.

•You are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are not

guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties,

and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the

forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Among others,

factors that could materially adversely affect actual results and

performance include those risk factors that are listed in Sonic

Automotive’s

Form 8-K filed on May 28, 2009.

Cautionary Notice Regarding

Forward-Looking Statements

Second Quarter 2009

Earnings Review

July 28, 2009

Sonic Automotive Q2 2009

Conference Call Topics

•

Quarter in Review

•

Financial Review

•

Operations Review

•

Closing Comments

Quarter in Review

Once again, posted strong operating results

Gained new vehicle market share

Record used retail volume

Improving service customer pay

Expanding fixed operations margins

SG&A costs reduced

Building on our solid foundation

Profitable, generated cash

Financial Review

(amounts in millions, except per share data)

Operating

Margin before

impairments

was 2.9%,

down 10bps

from last year

6/30/2009

6/30/2008

Revenue

1,392.6

1,796.6

Gross Profit

241.8

282.4

Gross Margin

17.4%

15.7%

SG&A as %

of Gross Profit

79.7%

77.8%

Operating Margin

2.6%

3.0%

excluding impairments

2.9%

Income from

Continuing Operations

3.1

16.4

Diluted EPS from

Continuing Operations

0.07

0.40

Diluted EPS from

Discontinued Operations

(0.07)

(0.18)

Three Months Ended

Operating Results -

Q2 vs. Q1

2009

Better /

(Worse)

6.8

5.6

3.8

4.9

10.6

1,266.9

1,392.6

9.9%

230.4

241.8

5.0%

192.4

192.8

(0.2%)

(amounts in millions)

Adjusted Pre-tax income calculated as follows:

As Reported

Impairment Charges

Non-cash Interest/Debt Restructure Costs

Quarter-to-quarter performance:

Revenues

Gross Profit

SG&A Expenses

Operating Income

30.4

36.5

20.1%

Pre-Tax Income -

Adjusted

11.7

20.0

70.9%

SAAR

9.5

9.6

1.1%

11.7

20.0

Adjusted

Sequential Diluted Earnings per Share

(1) Includes the impact of 12.2M shares related to the conversion feature on our new

notes

these

notes

were

outstanding

and

dilutive

both

quarters.

2009

As Reported

0.09

0.07

Adjusted for Unusual Items

0.16

0.26

Memo: Diluted Shares -

Actual

40.3M

41.6M

Diluted Shares -

Adjusted

52.5M

53.8M

Basic Shares

40.1M

41.0M

Adjusted for share Dilution

(1)

0.14

0.22

Debt Restructuring

(amounts in millions)

Face Value of Debt

$85.6

Discount related to Embedded Derivatives

11.3*

* Amortized over 16 months ($2-$3 million per quarter)

Debt Discount

Debt Structure

(amounts in millions)

6/30/2009*

3/31/2009*

12/31/2008*

Revolver

80.0

99.9

70.8

5 1/4% Notes

105.3

6 % Notes

85.6

4 1/4% Notes

160.0

8 5/8% Notes

275.0

Falcon Notes

18.8

19.3

19.7

Mortgages Payable

112.3

113.2

114.1

Other

6.5

6.6

Total Debt

738.3

779.2

751.6

$41 million reduction since 3/31/09

$13 million reduction since 12/31/08

Total Floorplan

834.3

930.1

1,120.5

$96 million reduction since 3/31/09

$286 million reduction since 12/31/08

* Excludes debt discount/premium

Debt Covenants

Covenant

Actual

2009

Liquidity Ratio

>= 1.10

1.18

Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio

>= 1.15

1.36

Secured Debt to EBITDA Ratio

<= 2.25

1.63

Compliant with all covenants

Capital Spending

Q1 2009

Q2 2009

Projected

2009

Capital Spending

Facility Improvement

$14.6

$4.0

$48.7

Maintenance Cap Ex

5.8

2.2

13.8

Total

$20.4

$6.2

$62.5

Memo: Mortgage Funding

$0.0

$40.2

Spending Contingent Upon Mortgage Funding

(amounts in millions)

10.6%

14.5%

13.5%

66.2%

67.2%

69.0%

Q2 2008

Q1 2009

Q2 2009

All Other

Rent & Related

SG&A

Continuing Operations

83.5%

77.8%

79.7%

•Total SG&A

expenses were

down 12.2% or

$27 million from

the prior year

•

Excluding rent,

all other cost was

down 100bps,

despite drop in

gross profit.

Substantial

reductions were

made in

essentially all

other categories

Operations Review

Our People

Results

–

and

beyond

Associate engagement up

Execution improved

High productivity

Goal:

Employer of Choice

Address Causes of

Turnover

Record Low Turnover

IMPROVED

PROFITABILITY

April

May

June

South East

Texas

Central

California

Total Sonic*

136

Operations Review

Sonic vs. Local Market

* Bps difference between Sonic and the local market competition.

Operations Review

Used Vehicles

Q2 used to new ratio 1.01 –

all time record

Preliminary July –

retail unit volume up 20%

Q1:09

Q2:09

Change

Retail Volume

16,253

19,449

19.7%

YOY % better/(worse)

(4.0)%

12.8%

Used Retail Margin

9.3%

8.0%

(142) bps

Used to New Ratio

0.93

1.01

777 bps

Days Supply

29.4

29.7

Operations Review

Fixed Operations Revenue

Year-over-Year

Customer Pay Total Q2:

Luxury Imports

3.0%

Non Luxury Imports

(1.9%)

Detroit 3

(6.6%)

(1.1%)

(12.3%)

(3.3%)

(15.0%)

(9.0%)

(3.0%)

Customer Pay

Warranty

Internal

Total

Operations Review

Fixed Operations Trend

-1.0%

-0.5%

0.0%

0.5%

1.0%

1.5%

2.0%

(120)

(100)

(80)

(60)

(40)

(20)

Service CP

-0.4%

0.6%

1.5%

1.7%

Overall

Margin

(99)

(20)

(30)

Q3 08

Q4 08

Q1 09*

Q2 09

*adjusted for business days

Pct chg.

Basis point chg.

Steady year-

over-year and

sequential

improvement

CP Revenue Growth

Margin Change

Summary

The results speak for themselves

Great performance in a tough economic climate

Profitable and generating cash

Business is sound

Building operationally and culturally for the long term

We will continue to focus on:

Our people

Our strategies

Sonic Automotive (SAH) 8-KSonic Automotive, Inc. Reports Sequential Growth in Second Quarter Earnings