Interim Financial Statements (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2013

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated condensed financial statements of PAG have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Certain information and disclosures normally included in our annual financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States have been condensed or omitted pursuant to the SEC rules and regulations. The information presented as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012 and for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2013 and 2012 is unaudited, but includes all adjustments which the management of PAG believes to be necessary for the fair presentation of results for the periods presented. The consolidated condensed financial statements for prior periods have been revised for entities which have been treated as discontinued operations through September 30, 2013, and the results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the year. These consolidated condensed financial statements should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2012, which are included as part of our Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No. 2013-02, “Comprehensive Income (Topic 220) — Reporting of Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income.” ASU No. 2013-02 requires disclosure of amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by component. In addition, we are required to present either on the face of the statement of income or in the notes, significant amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by the respective line items of net income but only if the amount reclassified is required to be reclassified to net income in its entirety in the same reporting period. For amounts not reclassified in their entirety to net income, an entity is required to cross-reference to other disclosures that provide additional detail about those amounts. We complied with the disclosure requirements of this ASU beginning with the quarter ended March 31, 2013.

In March 2013, the FASB issued ASU No. 2013-05, “Foreign Currency Matters (Topic 830) — Parent’s Accounting for the Cumulative Translation Adjustment upon Derecognition of Certain Subsidiaries or Groups of Assets within a Foreign Entity or of an Investment in a Foreign Entity.” ASU No. 2013-05 resolves the diversity in practice about whether Subtopic 810-10, Consolidation—Overall, or Subtopic 830-30, Foreign Currency Matters—Translation of Financial Statements, applies to the release of the cumulative translation adjustment into net income when a parent either sells a part or all of its investment in a foreign entity or no longer holds a controlling financial interest in a subsidiary or group of assets that is a business within a foreign entity. This ASU is effective prospectively for the first annual period beginning after December 15, 2013. We do not expect adoption of ASU No. 2013-05 to affect our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

In July 2013, the FASB issued ASU No. 2013-10, “Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815) — Inclusion of the Fed Funds Effective Swap Rate (or Overnight Index Swap Rate) as a Benchmark Interest Rate for Hedge Accounting Purposes.” The amendments in ASU No. 2013-10 permit the Fed Funds Effective Swap Rate to be used as a U.S. benchmark interest rate for hedge accounting purposes under Topic 815, in addition to UST and LIBOR. This ASU is effective prospectively for qualifying new or redesignated hedging relationships entered into on or after July 17, 2013. We do not expect the adoption of ASU No. 2013-10 to affect our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

In July 2013, the FASB issued ASU No. 2013-11, “Income Taxes (Topic 740) — Presentation of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit When a Net Operating Loss Carryforward, a Similar Tax Loss, or a Tax Credit Carryforward Exists.” ASU No. 2013-11 resolves the diversity in practice regarding the financial statement presentation of an unrecognized tax benefit when a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward exists. This ASU is effective for the first annual period beginning after December 15, 2013. We do not expect adoption of ASU No. 2013-11 to affect our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

Discontinued Operations

Discontinued Operations

We account for dispositions in our retail operations as discontinued operations when it is evident that the operations and cash flows of a franchise being disposed of will be eliminated from on-going operations and that we will not have any significant continuing involvement in its operations.

In evaluating whether the cash flows of a dealership in our Retail reportable segment will be eliminated from ongoing operations, we consider whether it is likely that customers will migrate to similar franchises that we own in the same geographic market. Our consideration includes an evaluation of the brands sold at other dealerships we operate in the market and their proximity to the disposed dealership. When we dispose of franchises, we typically do not have continuing brand representation in that market. If the franchise being disposed of is located in a complex of PAG owned dealerships, we do not treat the disposition as a discontinued operation if we believe that the cash flows previously generated by the disposed franchise will be replaced by expanded operations of the remaining or replacement franchises.

Combined financial information regarding entities accounted for as discontinued operations follows:

	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2013			2012			2013			2012
Revenues	$	15,158		$	107,391		$	162,953		$	332,878
Pre-tax income (loss)	(955		)	(817		)	(2,609		)	(13,673		)
Gain (loss) on disposal	(31		)	285			809			10,445

	September 30,		December 31,
	2013		2012

Inventories	$	10	$	44,649
Other assets	1,055		26,458
Total assets	$	1,065	$	71,107

Floor plan notes payable (including non-trade)	$	40	$	36,689
Other liabilities	2,552		14,590
Total liabilities	$	2,592	$	51,279

Estimates

Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The accounts requiring the use of significant estimates include accounts receivable, inventories, income taxes, intangible assets and certain reserves.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Accounting standards define fair value as the price that would be received from selling an asset or paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Accounting standards establish a fair value hierarchy which requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value and also establishes the following three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

Level 1		Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities

Level 2		Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted market prices in markets that are not active; or model-derived valuations or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities

Level 3		Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities

Our financial instruments consist of cash and cash equivalents, debt, floor plan notes payable, forward exchange contracts and interest rate swaps used to hedge future cash flows. Other than our fixed rate debt, the carrying amount of all significant financial instruments approximates fair value due either to length of maturity, the existence of variable interest rates that approximate prevailing market rates, or as a result of mark to market accounting.

Our fixed rate debt consists of amounts outstanding under our senior subordinated notes and mortgage facilities. We estimate the fair value of our senior unsecured notes using quoted prices for the identical liability (Level 1), and we estimate the fair value of our mortgage facilities using a present value technique based on our current market interest rates for similar types of financial instruments (Level 2). A summary of the carrying values and fair values of our 5.75% senior subordinated notes and our fixed rate mortgage facilities are as follows:

	September 30, 2013
	Carrying Value		Fair Value
5.75% senior subordinated notes due 2022	$	550,000	$	543,070
Mortgage facilities	101,445		101,777

- Definition

Disclosure of accounting policy for any discontinued operations. The results of operations of a component of an entity that either has been disposed of or is classified as held for sale is reported in discontinued operations if both: (a) the operations and cash flows of the component have been (or will be) eliminated from the ongoing operations of the entity as a result of the disposal transaction and (b) the entity will not have any significant continuing involvement in the operations of the component after the disposal transaction. If the entity elects to allocate interest expense to a discontinued operation, it may disclose its accounting policy for this election and describe its method of allocation.

+ References+ Details