David C. Vorhoff Joins Sonic Automotive, Inc. Board of Directors

CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sonic Automotive, Inc. announced today that Mr. David C. Vorhoff has been appointed to the Company's Board of Directors. Mr. Vorhoff will also serve as a member of the Company's Audit Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

Mr. Vorhoff is a co-founding Partner of McColl Partners, LLC, and has served as a Managing Director of the firm since its founding in 2001. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, McColl Partners provides investment banking services to middle-market companies and financial institutions, and advises clients in three primary areas: mergers and acquisitions; raising private capital; and strategic advisory and valuation assignment. Prior to 2001, Mr. Vorhoff was a Managing Director of Banc of America Securities' Health Care Group and of NationsBanc Montgomery Securities Health Care Group in New York, and of NationsBank Capital Markets' mergers and acquisitions group in Charlotte. During his 20 years of investment banking experience, Mr. Vorhoff has executed numerous advisory and financing assignments in such industries as retail, business services, apparel and textiles, printing and packaging, building products, financial services and diversified manufacturing. Mr. Vorhoff is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and he also earned a master's degree in business administration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

O. Bruton Smith, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are delighted to add an individual of Dave Vorhoff's caliber to our Board of Directors. Dave has tremendous experience in investment banking and financial services, and we are confident that he will make valuable contributions toward the Company's continued success."

Sonic Automotive, Inc., a Fortune 300 company based in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States operating 174 franchises and 38 collision repair centers. Sonic can be reached on the Web at http://www.sonicautomotive.com/.