Interim Financial Statements (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Interim Financial Statements

Basis of Presentation

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, 2012 and December 31, 2011 and for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2012 and 2011 is unaudited, but includes all adjustments which our management 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, 2012, 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, 2011, which are included as part of our Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU No. 2011-04, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (Topic 820) — Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRSs.” ASU No. 2011-04 clarifies the application of existing fair value measurement and disclosure requirements, changes certain principles related to measuring fair value, and requires additional disclosures about fair value measurements. ASU No. 2011-04 is effective for periods beginning after December 15, 2011. We adopted the standard on January 1, 2012. Adoption of ASU No. 2011-04 did not affect our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-05, “Comprehensive Income (Topic 220) — Presentation of Comprehensive Income”, which requires the presentation of components of other comprehensive income with the components of net income. We adopted the standard on January 1, 2012. Adoption of ASU No. 2011-05 did not affect our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-11, “Balance Sheet (Topic 210) — Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities.” ASU No. 2011-11 will require disclosure of the effect or potential effect of offsetting arrangements on our financial position as well as enhanced disclosure of the rights of setoff associated with our recognized assets and recognized liabilities. ASU No. 2011-11 is effective for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2013. Since these amended principles require only additional disclosures concerning offsetting and related arrangements, adoption will not affect our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

In July 2012, the FASB issued ASU No. 2012-02, “Intangibles — Goodwill and Other (Topic 350) — Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment.” In accordance with the amendments in ASU No. 2012-02, we have the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events and circumstances indicates that it is more likely than not that an indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired. If, after assessing the totality of events and circumstances, we conclude that it is not more likely than not that the indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired, we are not required to take further action. We will adopt ASU No. 2012-02 during the fourth quarter of 2012 when our annual indefinite-lived intangible asset impairment assessment is performed. We do not expect adoption of ASU No. 2012-02 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 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,
	2012			2011			2012			2011
Revenues	$	42,002		$	114,129		$	141,031		$	388,871
Pre-tax loss	(393		)	(1,411		)	(12,581		)	(6,207		)
Gain on disposal	285			250			10,445			2,016

	September 30,		December 31,
	2012		2011
Inventories	$	28,436	$	48,203
Other assets	9,569		32,919
Total assets	$	38,005	$	81,122
Floor plan notes payable (including non-trade)	$	27,898	$	44,869
Other liabilities	6,226		10,951
Total liabilities	$	34,124	$	55,820

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

Financial instruments consist of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable, debt, floor plan notes payable, and interest rate swaps used to hedge future cash flows. Other than our subordinated notes, 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.