Sonic Automotive Mourns the Loss of William P. Benton, Long-Time Director
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Long time Sonic Automotive, Inc.
director, William P. Benton passed away on February 19, 2009.
Mr. Benton, 85, served on the Sonic Automotive, Inc. Board of Directors
since just after the company went public in 1997. Mr. Benton retired from
Ford Motor Company as Vice President of Marketing worldwide after a
distinguished 37-year career with the company. During that time, Mr. Benton
held the following major positions: Vice President/General Manager of
Lincoln/Mercury Division, Vice President/General Manager of Ford Division,
four years in Europe as Group Vice President of Ford of Europe and a member of
the company's Product Planning Committee, responsible for all products of the
company worldwide. Most recently, Mr. Benton was Vice Chairman of Wells Rich
Greene and Executive Director of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide in New York until
1992.
"Bill Benton is one of the finest people I have ever been around and his
contributions to Sonic Automotive will be greatly missed," said Bruton Smith,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sonic Automotive. "It is truly a sad
day for Sonic Automotive. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bill's family and
many friends."
About Sonic Automotive
Sonic Automotive, Inc., a Fortune 300 company based in Charlotte, N.C., is
one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States operating 164
franchises. Sonic can be reached on the Web at www.sonicautomotive.com.
