Document And Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Apr. 26, 2013 Common Class A [Member]	Apr. 26, 2013 Common Class B [Member]
Entity Registrant Name	LITHIA MOTORS INC
Document Type	10-Q
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		22,977,404	2,690,027
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Central Index Key	0001023128
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2013
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1