If you've stepped inside a new-car showroom over the past three months, you may have noticed that it has not exactly been business as usual.

The vehicles are priced well and there are plenty of attractive incentives on the table for those prepared to buy.

But arranging financing for some customers has been anything but a slam-dunk.

The big issue is access to credit – for the dealers who need it to purchase vehicles from the manufacturers, and for consumers who need it to purchase or lease new vehicles from the dealers.

In the good old days (prior to last October), availability of credit was rarely a problem. Dealers and consumers borrowed money all the time without any constraints. But when the credit markets tightened up in the U.S. last fall, it had a ripple effect in Canada.

During the past three months, new-car sales in Canada have been steadily declining because access to credit has been so difficult to obtain.

Faced with further declines in vehicle sales and more setbacks in the automotive sector, the Canadian government had to do something to kick-start our industry.

In the new federal budget announced on Jan. 27, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty proposed a credit package worth about $12 billion for the automobile industry, hoping to stimulate the market.

The government plans to create "a Canadian-secured credit facility, with up to $12 billion to support financing of vehicles and equipment for consumers and businesses."

What does this mean for Canadian car buyers?

It means they will have easier access to credit when purchasing and leasing cars. Today, even individuals with good credit history are being turned down by banks. This has put an incredible strain on dealers and manufacturers.

The federal credit program will have a positive impact on vehicle leasing in Canada, a segment of the market that has been particularly hard hit during the credit squeeze.

The Toronto Automobile Dealers' Association and the Ontario Automobile Dealers' Association support the program.

It doesn't solve all of the issues affecting our industry, but it's a step in the right direction.

Flaherty has said he will keep the program in place for as long as necessary. During periods of economic uncertainty, governments need to be flexible, and the decision to support the program indefinitely sends a positive signal to car buyers and dealers.

From a dealership perspective, the program will provide manufacturers with the means to extend credit to dealers, which will allow them to start purchasing cars again. If some dealership lots have looked a little bare of late, that's why.

I think the program will also give dealers the confidence to begin advertising and marketing more aggressively. Many dealers have scaled back their marketing efforts in recent months, waiting for signs of a market recovery before investing any more ad dollars.

I can't say the market has completely turned around yet, but I do believe the federal stimulus program provides a clear signal to dealers and consumers that accessing credit will now be much easier.

For consumers, the budget contained another element worth noting: tax cuts for individuals.

The proposed tax cuts would affect Canadians in the lowest income tax brackets by raising the upper limits on their taxes. It's not a huge break, but every bit helps.

If you've been sitting on the fence about purchasing a new vehicle, or if you've been denied credit when trying to buy a vehicle, then now's your chance to revisit your local dealership.