Earl Hesterberg Operating Quotations

We are extremely pleased with our first-quarter results. Our consolidation and expense reduction initiatives, as well as our focus on the used vehicle business, are beginning to deliver the significant improvements that we anticipated when we implemented our strategic initiatives late last year. I am very pleased with the speed at which we are moving and believe it is a direct reflection of the strength of the operating team we have in place.

The appointment of regional CFOs is a natural step in the regionalization process we announced last November. Under John's leadership, this will create a very strong finance team that will improve our finance systems and analytical capabilities. Additionally, each of these regional CFOs possesses significant automotive retail experience and will be located with our regional vice presidents. This will enable them to support our regional vice presidents in standardizing and unifying our key operating processes, improving our cost structure and our overall efficiency levels.

We are very pleased to have experienced automotive people like Steve join our team. We need this type of leader to help us improve our overall operating efficiency while simultaneously growing our company.