Congressional Representative Barney Frank from MA has introduced legislation that would rework the second half of the $700 billion federal financial bailout to include government help for auto dealers. The provision would help dealers obtain financing for their 2009 auto inventories, and would also help dealers provide financing to customers. Only $350 billion of the total $700 billion package has been released this far, and Congress is now seeing the approval process as a way to reform the original bill.
Dealerships and would-be car buyers both are suffering under the ongoing credit crunch, with neither group able to obtain the financing needed to get car sales moving again. Frank’s dealer provision will almost certainly undergo changes and challenges before the approval of the second chunk of money passes Congress, but so far it looks like buying a car might get a little easier by spring of 2009.
Tags: Auto, credit, dealers, financing