FORM 3 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C.  20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility
Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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1. Name and Address of Reporting Person^*
Wyatt, E. Lee (Last)                      (First)                      (Middle)
c/o Sonic Automotive, Inc. 5401 East Independence Boulevard (Street) Charlotte,    NC   28212 (City)                      (State)                      (Zip)
2. Date of Event
Requiring Statement
    Month/Day/Year
04/22/2003
3. I.R.S. Identification
    Number of Reporting
    Person, if an entity
    (voluntary) 4. Issuer Name andTicker or Trading Symbol
Sonic Automotive, Inc.
sah
5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable)
   Director      10% Owner X Officer (give title below)    
   Other (specify below)
Description     Senior Vice President and Treasurer 6. If Amendment,
    Date of Original
    (Month/Day/Year)

7. Individual or Joint/Group
    Filing (Check Applicable Line)
X   Form filed by One Reporting Person      Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned

1. Title of Security
    (Instr. 4)
2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned

    (Instr.4) 3. Ownership Form:
    Direct (D)
    or
    Indirect (I)

    (Instr. 5) 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership

    (Instr. 5)

Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned

(e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security     (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable(DE) and     Expiration Date(ED)     (Month/Day/Year)   DE     /     ED	3. Title and Amount of     Underlying Securities     (Instr. 4) Title     /         Amount or Number of Shares	4. Conver-     sion or     Exercise     Price of     Deri-     vative     Security	5. Owner- ship Form of Deriv- ative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr.5)	6. Nature of       Indirect       Beneficial       Ownership       (Instr.5)
Options to Purchase	4/21/2004 (1) / 4/21/2013	Class A Common Stock / 75,000	$15.90	D

Explanation of Responses:

(1) These options vest in three (3) equal annual installments beginning on April 21, 2004.

By:	Date:
/s/ E. Lee Wyatt	04/22/2003
E. Lee Wyatt
** Signature of Reporting Person	SEC 1473 (07-02)
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. * If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v). ** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a). Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure. Potential persons who are to respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB Number.