Interim Financial Information Interim Financial Information (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

Interim Accounting Policies [Abstract]

New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standard Update ("ASU") 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), that amends the accounting guidance on revenue recognition. The amendments in this ASU are intended to provide a framework for addressing revenue issues, improve comparability of revenue recognition practices, and improve disclosure requirements. The amendments in this accounting standard update are effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016 with no early adoption permitted. However, the FASB recently agreed to propose a one-year deferral of the effective date for all entities along with the option to adopt the standard as of the original effective date. The Company is currently evaluating the method of adoption and the impact the provisions of the ASU will have on its consolidated financial statements.

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-03, Interest-Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30) simplifying the presentation of Debt Issuance Costs. The amendments in the accounting standard require debt issuance costs to be presented on the balance sheet as a direct reduction from the carrying amount of the related debt liability. The amendments in this ASU are to be applied retrospectively and are effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015. The Company does not expect the adoption to materially impact its financial statements.

Basis of Presentation [Text Block]

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. ("U.S. GAAP") for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments of a normal and recurring nature considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included in the accompanying unaudited condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Due to seasonality and other factors, the results of operations for the interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results that will be realized for any other interim period or for the entire fiscal year. For further information, refer to the Consolidated Financial Statements and footnotes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 (“2014 Form 10-K”).

All business acquisitions completed during the periods presented have been accounted for using the purchase method of accounting, and their results of operations are included from the effective dates of the closings of the acquisitions. The allocations of purchase price to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed subject to change within the purchase price allocation period (generally one year from the respective acquisition date) and are assigned and recorded based on estimates of fair value. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Segment Reporting Disclosure [Text Block]

Business Segment Information

The Company, through its regions, conducts business in the automotive retailing industry including selling new and used cars and light trucks, arranging related vehicle financing, selling service and insurance contracts, providing automotive maintenance and repair services and selling vehicle parts. The Company has three reportable segments: the U.S., which includes the activities of the Company's corporate office, the U.K. and Brazil.

Consolidation, Variable Interest Entity, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Variable Interest Entity

In 2013, the Company entered into arrangements to provide a related-party entity that owns and operates retail automotive dealerships a fixed-interest-rate working capital loan and various administrative services for a variable fee, both of which constitute variable interests in the entity. The Company's exposure to loss as a result of its involvement in the entity includes the balance outstanding under the loan arrangement. The Company holds no equity ownership interest in the entity. The Company has determined that the entity meets the criteria of a variable interest entity (“VIE”). The terms of the loan and services agreements provide the Company with the right to control the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance, the obligation to absorb potentially significant losses of the VIE and the right to receive potentially significant benefits from the VIE. Accordingly, the Company qualified as the VIE's primary beneficiary and consolidated the assets and liabilities of the VIE as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, as well as the results of operations of the VIE beginning on the effective date of the variable interests arrangements to March 31, 2015. The floorplan notes payable liability of the VIE is securitized by the new and used vehicle inventory of the VIE. The carrying amounts and classification of assets (which can only be used to settle the liabilities of the VIE) and liabilities (for which creditors do not have recourse to the general credit of the Company) included in the Company's consolidated statements of financial position for the consolidated VIE as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, are as follows (in thousands):

	March 31, 2015		December 31, 2014
Current assets	$	14,447	$	19,049
Non-current assets	26,179		31,783
Total assets	$	40,626	$	50,832
Current liabilities	$	12,821	$	16,374
Non-current liabilities	16,732		15,955
Total liabilities	$	29,553	$	32,329