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Credit Facilities and Long-term Debt (Narrative) (Details)		9 Months Ended
	Jul. 24, 2017 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Jun. 25, 2018 USD ($) financial_institution finance_companies	Jun. 24, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total long-term debt outstanding		$ 1,327,346,000			$ 1,054,271,000
Line of Credit | Syndicated Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Number of financial institutions | financial_institution			20
Number of manufacturer-affiliated finance companies | finance_companies			7
Total financing commitment			$ 2,600,000,000.0	$ 2,400,000,000.0
Aggregate commitment, maximum borrowing capacity			3,000,000,000.0
Senior Notes | Senior Notes Due 2025
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total long-term debt outstanding	$ 300,000,000	$ 300,000,000			300,000,000
Stated interest rate (percent)	5.25%	5.25%
Redemption percentage price (percent)	100.00%
Percentage of principal amount redeemable (percent)	101.00%
Used Vehicle Inventory Financing | Line of Credit
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total long-term debt outstanding		$ 316,000,000			177,222,000
Used Vehicle Inventory Financing | Line of Credit | Syndicated Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total financing commitment			$ 318,000,000
Aggregate commitment, threshold percentage			16.50%
Revolving Credit Facility | Line of Credit
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Annual interest rate		3.76%
Total long-term debt outstanding		$ 60,058,000			$ 94,568,000
Revolving Credit Facility | Line of Credit | Syndicated Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total financing commitment			$ 266,000,000
Aggregate commitment, threshold percentage			18.75%
New Vehicle Floor Plan | Line of Credit
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Annual interest rate		3.51%
New Vehicle Floor Plan | Line of Credit | Syndicated Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total financing commitment			$ 2,000,000,000.0
Aggregate commitment, increase limit			$ 400,000,000
London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) | Used Vehicle Inventory Financing | Line of Credit
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate		1.50%
London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) | New Vehicle Floor Plan | Line of Credit
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate		1.25%
Minimum | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) | Revolving Credit Facility | Line of Credit
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate		1.25%
Maximum | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) | Revolving Credit Facility | Line of Credit
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate		2.25%

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