172 cars their first month in business. The location had only averaged 30 cars per month previously. Four months after acquiring his first location, Miller got a phone call from Erwin Ashenfelter about buying a distressed dealership in Spokane, Washington. Miller conducted difficult negotiations with banks in Washington to loan him the necessary money. He also had difficulty getting inventory for the new dealership as it had no dealer code and no flooring line. Miller offered to pay cash and had the cars ultimately bound for Spokane shipped to Murray. Miller quickly bought another distressed dealership in Moscow, Idaho. In late 1980, Miller purchased another location in Phoenix, Arizona. The first years in business were difficult for Miller. He often teetered on the edge of failure. His uncle ran into financial difficulties that Miller considered a threat to the dealership. In October 1981, Miller bought out his uncle's share in the business. Miller paid for this by borrowing $700,000. The dealerships rebounded strongly in 1983 and 1984. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Miller acquired a number of automobile dealerships in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico, creating the Larry H. Miller Automotive Group. In 2007, Selling Power listed him as the tenth-largest U.S. automotive dealer, with 42 dealerships and sales of $13.5 million. Miller placed a strong emphasis on vertical integration to help his car business. For example, he started an advertising agency, a printing shop, and an insurance company. By the 1990s, Miller's reputation made financing new business ventures much easier. The Larry H. Miller Automotive Group sold its dealerships to Asbury Automotive in 2021 for $3.2 billion. Television After a failed attempt to start a television outlet on the last remaining VHF frequency in the Utah market, Miller purchased Salt Lake City independent station KXIV in February 1993. He later changed the call letters to KJZZ-TV as a reference to the Utah Jazz. From 1995 to 2001, KJZZ-TV was a charter UPN affiliate. In October 2000, Miller demanded the right to breach his contract with the network if it increased its "urban/ethnic programming" to more than two hours per week, due to lack of minorities within the Salt Lake Metropolitan. Restaurant In July 2000, Miller was sued by Casa Bonita, a Lakewood, Colorado restaurant, for violation of intellectual property rights and unfair competition. The suit alleged that Miller's restaurant, The Mayan, copied the trade dress of Casa