AutoNation (AN)

officers on our behalf, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Federal Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “seeks,” “projects,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. We intend for our forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and we set forth this statement in order to comply with such safe harbor provisions. You should note that our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or when made and we undertake no duty or obligation to update or revise our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Although we believe that the expectations, plans, intentions, and projections reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. The risks, uncertainties, and other factors that our stockholders and prospective investors should consider include, but are not limited to, the following:

 

The automotive retailing industry is sensitive to changing economic conditions and various other factors. Our business and results of operations are substantially dependent on new vehicle sales levels in the United States and in our particular geographic markets and the level of gross profit margins that we can achieve on our sales of new vehicles, all of which are very difficult to predict.

 

We believe that many factors affect sales of new vehicles and automotive retailers’ gross profit margins in the United States and in our particular geographic markets, including the economy, fuel prices, credit availability, interest rates, consumer confidence, the level of personal discretionary spending, unemployment rates, the state of housing markets, auto emission and fuel economy standards, the rate of inflation, the level of manufacturers’ production capacity, manufacturer incentives (and consumers’ reaction to such offers), intense industry competition, the prospects of war, other international conflicts or terrorist attacks, severe weather events, product quality, affordability and innovation, the number of consumers whose vehicle leases are expiring, and the length of consumer loans on existing vehicles. Changes in interest rates can significantly impact industry new vehicle sales and vehicle affordability due to the direct relationship between interest rates and monthly loan payments, a critical factor for many vehicle buyers, and the impact interest rates have on customers’ borrowing capacity and disposable income. Sales of certain new vehicles, particularly larger trucks and sports utility vehicles that historically have provided us with higher gross margins, are sensitive to fuel prices and the level of construction activity. In 2008, new vehicle sales were impacted by unfavorable economic conditions in the United States, including the continued turbulence in the credit and housing markets, and experienced a significant decline. See the risk factor “Our results of operations and financial condition have been and could continue to be adversely affected by the conditions in the credit markets and the declining economic conditions in the United States” below. Additionally, in 2008, volatility in fuel prices impacted consumer preferences and caused dramatic swings in consumer demand for various vehicle models, which led to supply and demand imbalances.

 

In the fourth quarter of 2008, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of new vehicle sales in the United States was 10.3 million. In comparison, full-year U.S. industry new vehicle sales were 13.2 million in 2008 and 16.1 million in 2007. We expect that the U.S. automotive retail market will remain challenging in 2009. Our new vehicle sales may differ from industry sales due to particular economic conditions and other factors in the geographic markets in which we operate. Economic conditions and the other factors described above may also materially adversely impact our sales of used vehicles, parts and automotive repair and maintenance services, and automotive finance and insurance products.