At GM dealerships the effects from the loosening of credit were unmistakable.
Richard Roy summed up the festive mood as customers streamed into Quirk Chevrolet in Manchester, NH, days after GMAC loosened tight lending restrictions, notes the Manchester Sunday News.
"Happy days are here again," Mr. Roy said between rounds of escorting shoppers around the dealership.
And the Central Michigan Morning Sun reports that General Motors dealers in central Michigan say the loosening of credit requirements by GMAC Financial Services has prompted an increase in traffic to their showrooms.
"I've got a showroom full of people," Jim Messick, general manager of Graff Chevrolet of Mt. Pleasant, MI, said. "It's really helped."
(See related comments from Jesse Toprak at Edmunds.com below)
Money is suddenly flowing for car and truck loans following last week's announcement of a $5 billion government investment in GMAC. Credit-flow eased after the government bought $5 billion worth of stock in GMAC and agreed to loan GM $1 billion to help GMAC's reorganization as a bank holding company.
Tim Machunsky, sales manager at Quirk, said he is already seeing the benefit.
"It's beyond hopeful. We have already seen an increase in sales by 20 percent. It's almost equal to what we were down," Mr. Machunsky said.
Wayne Makechnie, sales manager at Holloway Buick Pontiac GMC Cadillac in Portsmouth, NH, said details about the GMAC financing and the government's auto industry bailout are encouraging customers.
"The news of this has brought more customers into the dealership in the last few days," Mr. Makechnie said.
The manufacturer offering financing rates ranging from zero percent to 4.9 percent, depending on the vehicle, buoyed customer confidence, too, he said.
Scott Holloway, the dealership's owner, noted the upbeat atmosphere among the salesmen in his showroom. "They're definitely feeling more optimistic after the government stepped up and didn't let domestic manufacturers go out."
Some dealers said they think the loans will be key to turning around the auto industry, pointing out that GMAC's lifting of credit restrictions sets an example for banks that have yet to use their bailout funding to free up consumer loans.
