Business Notes AUTOMAKERS

"It can't get any lower. It can't get any better for the customer," said Bennett Bidwell, head of Chrysler's motor division. Last week the automaker began offering two-year car loans carrying the lowest rate possible: 0%. That attention-getting number was part of Chrysler's response to incentives launched a few days earlier by Ford and General Motors.

To boost slumping sales, Ford and GM have offered a 2.9% rate for two-year loans, 5.9% for three-year terms and 6.9% on four-year deals on most 1988 and - '89 models. Chrysler offered the same rates on the three- and four-year plans. The automakers have also increased their rebates to as much as $2,000 on slower-selling vehicles. The Big Three are suffering a painful sales slowdown, partly because of rising interest rates. Sales of U.S.-made cars and trucks fell 12.6% in March, compared with the same month in 1988.