Long term debt and capital lease obligations excluding short term financing current.

No definition available.

Name:	gpi_LongTermDebtAndCapitalLeaseObligationsExcludingShortTermFinancingCurrent
Namespace Prefix:	gpi_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount equal to the present value (the principal) at the beginning of the lease term of minimum lease payments during the lease term (excluding that portion of the payments representing executory costs such as insurance, maintenance, and taxes to be paid by the lessor, together with any profit thereon) net of payments or other amounts applied to the principal, through the balance sheet date and due to be paid more than one year (or one operating cycle, if longer) after the balance sheet date.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 840
-SubTopic 30
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6455398&loc=d3e45280-112737

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 840
-SubTopic 30
-Section 45
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6455314&loc=d3e45023-112735

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_CapitalLeaseObligationsNoncurrent
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Face (par) amount of debt instrument at time of issuance.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 835
-SubTopic 30
-Section 55
-Paragraph 8
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=34725769&loc=d3e28878-108400

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 835
-SubTopic 30
-Section 45
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6451184&loc=d3e28551-108399

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentFaceAmount
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Represents the aggregate of total long-term debt, including current maturities and short-term debt.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtLongtermAndShorttermCombinedAmount
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Weighted average interest rate of debt outstanding.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtWeightedAverageInterestRate
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Date which lease or group of leases is set to expire, in CCYY-MM-DD format.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LeaseExpirationDate1
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:dateItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of long-term debt and capital lease obligation due after one year or beyond the normal operating cycle, if longer.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher SEC
-Name Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB)
-Number Topic 6
-Section H

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongTermDebtAndCapitalLeaseObligations
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Including both current and noncurrent portions, carrying amount as of the balance sheet date of other forms of debt not elsewhere specified in the taxonomy with initial maturities beyond one year or beyond the normal operating cycle, if longer.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher SEC
-Name Regulation S-X (SX)
-Number 210
-Section 02
-Paragraph 19, 20, 22
-Article 5

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_OtherLongTermDebt
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Carrying value as of the balance sheet date of uncollateralized debt obligation (with maturities initially due after one year or beyond the operating cycle if longer), excluding current portion.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_UnsecuredLongTermDebt
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongtermDebtTypeAxis=gpi_A5.00SeniorNoteMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongtermDebtTypeAxis=gpi_A5.25SeniorNoteMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongtermDebtTypeAxis=gpi_OtherRealEstateRelatedLongTermDebtMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongtermDebtTypeAxis=us-gaap_CapitalLeaseObligationsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

Long-Term Debt (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
Long-Term Debt (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Jun. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Net carrying amount of liability component	$ 1,284,330	$ 1,251,555
Long Term Debt And Capital Lease Obligations Excluding Short Term Financing Current	33,390	52,021
LONG-TERM DEBT, net of current maturities	$ 1,250,940	1,199,534
Lease Expiration Date	Jun. 01, 2034
5.00% Senior Note [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unsecured Long-term Debt, Noncurrent	$ 539,690	538,933
Debt Instrument, Face Amount	550,000	550,000	$ 200,000	$ 350,000
5.25% Senior Note [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unsecured Long-term Debt, Noncurrent	295,320	295,156
Debt Instrument, Face Amount	300,000	300,000
Real Estate Related and Other Long-Term Debt [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Real Estate Related and Other Long-Term Debt	389,593	365,564
Capital Lease Obligations [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Capital lease obligations related to real estate, maturing in varying amounts through June 2034 with a weighted average interest rate of 9.8%	$ 49,727	$ 51,902
Debt, Weighted Average Interest Rate	9.80%	9.80%