CHICAGO - Resource Automotive, Inc. announced that Lithia Motors, Inc. has been named F&I Dealer of the Year by F&I and Showroom magazine.

The award was presented to Steve Justice, F&I training manager, during a special ceremony at the magazine's Industry Summit 2011 in Las Vegas. Lithia was one of seven operations named a 2011 F&I Pacesetter, or finalist for the F&I Dealer of the Year award.

Lithia was founded in 1946 by Walt DeBoer as a Chrysler Plymouth Dodge franchise and has been headed since 1968 by chairman and CEO Sid DeBoer.

Lithia becomes the magazine's 11th F&I Dealer of the Year, an award sponsored this year by Resource Automotive. The Medford, Ore.-based group, which operates 86 dealerships in the Western and Midwest United States, represents one of the nations largest publicity traded dealer groups.

"I think our field of F&I Pacesetters was the strongest we've had in a long time," said Gregory Arroyo, executive editor of F&I and Showroom magazine. "What really stuck out to us about Lithia was their support team. Not many dealer operators have a team devoted solely to ensuring compliance, as well as monitoring performance levels and training F&I producers."

Chris Holzshu, CFO for Lithia, stated, "We're proud not only to be a top performer in this critical segment of dealer operations, but also to be recognized for our commitment to compliance and training."

Mike Frosch, president and COO for The Warranty Group, said, "Resource Automotive supports Lithia's strategy of building customer loyalty with every transaction, and we are honored to have played a part in their outstanding performance."