Document And Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Feb. 26, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
Common Class A [Member]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		23,176,372
Common Class B [Member]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		2,542,231
Entity Registrant Name	LITHIA MOTORS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0001023128
Trading Symbol	lad
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Public Float			$ 2,686,645
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Amendment Flag	false