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                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.3

                      CONSENT TO BE NAMED AS TRUST MANAGER

         I, Nelson E. Bowers, II, hereby consent to be nominated as a trust
manager of Automotive Realty Trust of America, and to be named as a nominated
trust manager in the Form S-11 Registration Statement filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission by Automotive Realty Trust of America.

Dated:   March 25, 1998

                                        /s/  Nelson E. Bowers, II 
                                        -----------------------------------
                                             Nelson E. Bowers, II