NEW YORK — A $5 billion government bailout aimed at reviving General Motors Corp.'s ability to make car and truck loans has dealers hopeful that cash-strapped consumers will return to their showrooms.

GMAC Financial Services, the automaker's troubled financing arm, yesterday loosened its tight lending standards, which in recent months have made it more difficult for would-be car buyers to get loans. GMAC's move is the first in which a financial institution has said it will use money from the $700 billion bank bailout to offer more affordable credit to consumers.

Detroit-based GM is offering zero or low-interest financing on some slower-selling 2008 and 2009 models over the next week — a promotion made possible by the billions provided to GMAC.

The government funds, on the heels of the $17.4 billion automaker bailout approved by the Bush administration earlier this month, could provide relief to auto dealers. They have blamed the industry's steep drop in sales partly on a lack of affordable credit.

Michael Martin, who owns Chevrolet and Saturn dealerships in Manassas, Va., said he thinks the loans will be key to turning around the auto industry, adding that GMAC's easing of credit restrictions sets an example for banks that have yet to use their bailout money to free up consumer loans. The funding follows GMAC's approval as a bank holding company and is expected to help it avoid bankruptcy.

Vehicle sales have fallen sharply this year, plunging 37 percent in November to their worst level in more than 26 years, with every major automaker reporting a drop of more than 30 percent. GM is among the worst hit, reporting a 41 percent slide for the month, with company executives blaming a lack of easily available credit.

GMAC said that as a result of the government aid, it will resume offering auto financing to customers with credit scores as low as 621, instead of the minimum score requirement of 700 put in place two months ago as a result of the tight credit markets.

Marc Cannon, a spokesman for Florida-based AutoNation Inc., which has 264 dealerships, noted that even if consumers have faithfully paid their bills for years, one or two missed payments along the way can drop their credit score into the 600s.

"They're not lowering standards, they're bringing more people into the game," Cannon said of GMAC. "These people are still customers and they're still good people you want to help get into the right vehicle."

Scott Talbott, a financial services lobbyist in Washington, estimated that 49 million more Americans will have eligible credit scores under the loosened restrictions. But he said it will still be tough to attract car buyers, as consumers are worried about their jobs.

"If unemployment rises, people are going to reduce spending. So all of these programs are contingent upon the overall economy and the restoration of consumer confidence," Talbott said.

"A new car or home is wonderful, but a job is better."

U.S. sales of new vehicles, which are down about 16 percent through the end of November, are expected to drop further in 2009 as a result of the recession.

Joe Piane, sales manager at Ostrom Chevrolet in the Los Angeles suburb of Montebello, said his dealership's sales have been "devastated" since mid-October, when financially strapped GMAC tightened credit.

He's not optimistic about the outlook. "I'm a believer that we never had a big economic boom. We just had a lending quagmire," he said. "I don't think business is ever going to be back to usual."