The Congressional Oversight Panel, which was created to oversee Treasury’s spending of funds frokm the Troubled Asset Relief Program said, “The panel is deeply concerned that Treasury has not required GMAC to lay out a clear path to viability or a strategy for fully repaying taxpayers.” The panel also suggested that Treasury might wish to consider breaking up GMAC and merging the company’s automotive finance department back into General Motors, Co.

Such a move would restore GM’s financing operations to a model used by many other automakers, the panel, which is headed by Harvard University law professor Elizabeth Warren, said in its statement. Its report also said that GMAC lost $8.3 billion on its mortgage business last year, which represents more than 80% of its total net losses.

In a respone issued by GMAC, the company said, “We appreciate the panel’s responsibility to analyze history; however, GMAC’s management team is focused on the future. That includes continuing to provide the highest level of service to auto dealers and consumers in support of our auto partners, returning GMAC to a high level of profitability, and repaying the U.S. Treasury.”

Also addressing the issue was the Treasury Department itself, which released a statement saying, “Treasury continues to be a reluctant shareholder and to manage its investment in GMAC in a hands-off commercial manner consistent with the administration’s established principles that guide Treasury’s management of financial interests in private firms.”

Addressing previous decisions not to restructure GMAC, Treasure said, “After considerable analysis and deliberation, Treasury viewed the course taken as the least costly and least disruptive of all the options available.” Treasury maintains that support of GMAC was necessary because of the company’s dominant role in floorplan financing and that failure to do so would have undermined the government’s investments in the auto industry.

According to Automotive News reporters:

The congressional panel found that the government missed chances to increase accountability and ensure repayment of taxpayers’ money with its early decisions to rescue GMAC rather than pursue other options as part of a broader auto industry bailout.

On the other hand, because those hurting automakers were offering deep discounts in order to get cars off dealership lots, and because most dealers were willing to negotiate with the few car shoppers they did have, rather than let anyone walk away without a deal, 2009 was a fabulous year to buy a car.

So what does that mean for 2010? Well, for one thing, you can forget about those 0 percent financing car loans. Analysts are expecting to see a gradual increase in the number of cars being sold, and the prices of those cars, as the market slowly recovers. As that happens, automakers and dealerships will most likely pull back on the heavy incentives they previously used to hook buyers in an unstable market.

Equally relevant, however, is the state of the available inventory. As reported in U.S. News Rankings and Reviews Most dealers overbuilt 2009 models, then wound up having to sell cars at a discount in order to get rid of an oversupply. Production was scaled back for 2010 models, and car prices traditionally go up in January; conditions are ripe for an increase this year.

Nevertheless, there may still be bargains to be found. True, the discounts are smaller, but some dealers are still being fairly aggressive, though it’s generally one or two cars being less expensive than their competition, rather than industry-wide discounts. Also remember that there are fewer than 1,700 Pontiac and Saturn models left in the country, and since those brands are no longer in production, dealers aren’t worried about sales numbers.

Finally, remember that the best bargains are those that aren’t advertised. Ask about last year’s models, or paying cash. You may be pleasantly surprised.

According to an article recently posted at Philadelphia’s news portal Philly.com, even though the American economy is improving, getting a car loan is till a difficult prospect.

Last year, when the market was at its worst, consumers were largely unable to buy cars, either because they couldn’t qualify for auto loans at all, or because the loans they could qualify for came with frighteningly high rates. This year, the situation has improved somewhat, but credit is still an issue.

So how tough is it to get a car loan in today’s market?

John Murphy, lead U.S. auto analyst for Bank of America-Merrill Lynch told reporter Susan Tompor of the Detroit Free Press, “It’ll be tougher than it was three years ago, but it will be easier than it was in the first half of last year.” According to Tompor’s article, he also said that car sales may do better this year because of growing consumer confidence and cars that need to be replaced.

With car loan rates at record lows, it could be an excellent time to finance a new ride, but with loan qualification remaining difficult, it’s vital to do some homework before you ever test drive the new car or truck of your dreams.

Here’s some advice to help you through the process:

• Before you begin to shop, use a car loan calculator to determine how much you can afford.
• Consider many different sources of funds. While you can get financing at the dealership, you’ll probably get a better rate, a bigger loan, or both if you go through a credit union or bank.
• Always compare prices and deals before you commit. If you’re not certain a price is fair, consider visiting Kelley Blue Book or Edmunds to check prices.
• Be prepared to walk away if you think you’re not being offered the best deal possible.

Buying a car shouldn’t be scary; be proactive about maintaining good credit, get prequalified, and research the cars you like before you test drive, for the best buying experience.

Here’s how the thing works. You make purchases, you get points. You redeem the points for discounts on parts and maintenance bills or toward a vehicle down payment. The company is looking to issue 140,000 of the cards during year one, starting in October. The balances will be carried by U.S. Bank with Toyota maintaining all the customer data and such. (The customer info is confidential, but Toyota can use the data to take a look at purchasing trends.)

We’ve made no bones about the fact that this may not be the time to buy a car, especially if you have shaky credit. Yes, there are going to be good buys out there as automakers work to move their sluggish inventory, but the first question you must always ask yourself is can you afford that car? Can you afford to keep up with the payments? And the second questions is, what will I have to give up in some other area of my life to accomplish that? And this business of a Toyota card or one from any other automaker? My advice would be to think twice. If you already have weak credit, it’s not going to be strengthened by one more card in your wallet.