In yet another quarterly earnings report indicative of economic concerns in the United States, the country's largest car dealership, AutoNation, Inc., posted lower than anticipated profit numbers on Thursday, February 7, with particularly serious reports coming from Florida and California.

For the fourth quarter of the year the company's net income saw a decline of 31 percent to $51.7 million compared to the previous level of $75.2 million. Net income stood at $278.7 billion down from $316.9 billion in 2006.

Florida and California combined represent approximately half of the company's market for new vehicles and about 20 percent of new vehicle sales for the nation. The current retail market in those two areas was described as "challenging" in a statement issued by Mike Jackson, CEO.

He added, however, that "AutoNation continues to have confidence in California and Florida and views them as healthy markets over the long term. We believe that in 2008, U.S. new vehicle industry sales will decline to the mid-15 million unit level from 16.1 million units in 2007. However, the recent action by the Federal Reserve to reduce interest rates could improve the automotive retail outlook in the second half of 2008."

AutoNation is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and employs approximately 25,000 workers at 322 franchises in 15 states.