It also opened its first CarMax Car Buying Center, a test sitein Atlanta, which focuses on appraisals and vehicle purchases. Theopening is part of the locally based car dealer company's long-termeffort to increase appraisal traffic and achieve retail vehiclesourcing self-sufficiency, according to Austin Ligon, president andCEO.

Another seven superstore openings are planned for the back halfof the year. The company currently operates 71 used car superstoresin 34 markets and seven new car franchises, which are eitherintegrated or co-located with the used car facilities.

Comp sales at used car units were up 6% for the quarter,"modestly ahead of our expectations," Ligon said during aconference call. New vehicle sales dropped 11.7% compared with thesame quarter a year ago. Ligon said the drop reflected "the softernew car industry trends, particularly for the domesticmanufacturers that we represent, and our strategic decision toincrease targeted gross margin dollars per unit on newvehicles."