Note 15 - Acquisitions (Detail) (USD $)			1 Months Ended	0 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	0 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
	Mar. 14, 2011 Franchise Rights Valuation [Member] Asbury Automotive Atlanta Acquisition [Member]	Mar. 14, 2011 Real Estate Appraisals Completion [Member] Asbury Automotive Atlanta Acquisition [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Acquisition of MVI Group [Member]	Dec. 05, 2011 West Texas Peterbilt Acquisition [Member]	Nov. 05, 2011 Acquisition of Peck Road Ford [Member]	Mar. 14, 2011 Asbury Automotive Atlanta Acquisition [Member]	Feb. 21, 2011 Heintzelman’s Truck Center Acquisition [Member]	Oct. 12, 2010 Metro Ford Truck Sales, Inc Acquisition [Member]	Jul. 12, 2010 Joe Cooper Truck Center LLC [Member]	May 24, 2010 Lake City Companies, LLC Acquisition [Member]
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Purchase Price	$ 2,800,000	$ 1,970,000	$ 104,500,000	$ 24,600,000	$ 10,000,000	$ 55,300,000	$ 4,700,000	$ 5,600,000	$ 1,200,000	$ 71,000,000
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Useful Life			15 years	15 years	15 years	15 years	15 years	15 years	15 years	15 years
Indefinite-lived Intangible Assets, Purchase Accounting Adjustments				1,700,000
Business Acquisition, Purchase Price Allocation, Goodwill Amount			17,340,000	7,301,000	90,000	22,022,000	1,050,000	2,957,000	1,100,000	9,298,000
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Liabilities Incurred										37,500,000
Business Acquisition, Contingent Consideration, at Fair Value										$ 2,000,000