CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Aggressively priced, nearly new vehicles are driving sales volumes and profits at Sonic Automotive Inc.'s EchoPark used-vehicle-only stores, including its outlet here, which sold 17 vehicles on a hot Monday late in June.

The Charlotte store, which opened in October 2018, is just a few miles from Sonic's corporate headquarters and has been profitable since its first full month. Built on the site of a former strip mall, the new store, decked out in green and earth tones, features a parklike entrance and 250 vehicles on the lot.

It doesn't feel like a car dealership. And absent the lifestyle-experience pictures featuring a topless Jeep full of friends or the happy dog leaning out a car's window into the wind, you might not know EchoPark sells cars.