However, Toyota Motor Corporation is trying to get the message out that credit is not the problem.
"In our case, credit is not the biggest challenge. Our biggest challenge is consumer confidence," said Toyota's U.S. sales chief Jim Lentz. "The vast majority of our customers are able to get approved for car loans."
Earlier this week, the National Automobile Dealers Association said that some of their members weren't able to secure loans for customers with good credit. However, Toyota and many of the nation's car dealers are saying that this mentality has been blown out of proportion. Reportedly, it's the customers' fears - not credit scores - that stop them from purchasing a new vehicle.
Lentz said current market factors - including high fuel prices, a collapsing housing market and the crisis on Wall Street - are making life harder for dealers than it has been since the early 1990s.
Source: Detroit News