INDIANAPOLIS -- Tough economic conditions are adversely affecting car dealerships, slowing shopping traffic to a crawl and causing those who want to buy to have trouble getting a loan.

Worries on Wall Street have caused car sales to stall in central Indiana, television station WRTV reported. One dealership told WRTV that it hadn't made a single sale in four days.

As one of the top car-producing states in the country, Indiana is more susceptible to booms and busts in the auto industry.

Shoppers who are serious about buying and who have good credit are still on the market, and automakers have ramped up incentives to try to lure those people.

Lindsey Curtis said she was nervous about trading vehicles until she found out about the incentives currently available.

"It was a lot easier, I thought," Curtis said. "I feel there are actually a lot of good deals out there. For what I was paying on my current car, I knew that I could get a better deal. So, it was part of the reason I was looking to get a new car."

The automotive industry is the third largest employer in the U.S. As the car business goes, so goes the economy.

Some dealers said that they are still doing OK in spite of economic troubles.

"It's very important to the economy. Not only do we stop selling cars, manufacturing jobs slow down, the trucking business that ships cars to dealerships slows down," said Eric Spersrud, general manager at Andy Mohr Ford in Indianapolis. "It's kind of a waterfall effect."

People who cut deals between banks and borrowers said that while there might be fewer lending sources for buyers that there is as much money available to loan as ever.

"They're just regulating the loans more, wanting a little more down payment participation of the customer, a little more documentation on the whole deal," said Joe Shimer, finance manager at Andy Mohr Ford. "It is tightening up a little bit, but those loans are still available."

Showrooms are seeing less floor traffic -- less casual lookers who might become customers.

While nearly everyone has a vested interest in seeing the economy improve, dealers said that many of the incentives they are currently offering will dry up once it does.