Article: Ford Credit's goal: turn risky buyers into loyal customers. (Ford Motor Credit Co.)

Ford Motor Credit Co.'s bid for a piece of the $100 billion subprime automotive financing market is built on two 1990s trends: demand for used and off-lease vehicles, and personal economic instability.

Last week, Ford Credit said a new subsidiary would begin operating in the second half of 1996, offering retail vehicle financing to riskier credit customers - especially those hit by corporate layoffs and downsizing who formerly had good credit.

Ford Credit now buys A/B/C/D standard grades of paper although the company no longer uses those designations to rate customers.

An A-grade customer would be rated as almost certain to repay a loan, while each ...

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