1- it is 1 transaction for purposes of effecting your FICO score. Each seperate inquiry does still sho wup though and that could easily fool automated programs. Also not enough time has passed from ING to present they may not be sure if you have been approved somewhere and it just has not shown up.
2- You never signed a credit report, or gave verbal approval for them to do so? How did they get your SSN?
3- Probably- as both you will be closing a Auto Trade line to open another, and you will not have the albatross that is your brother around your neck with this loan app.
4- I doubt your score has dropped that severely based only on car loan inquiries, you may wish to get a copy of your report.
When you agrreed to cosign, you agreed to let the finance company submit your data to banks and to attempt to structure the deal in different ways to get it bought,
Unless you signed no credit application, and gave no approval to be on the loan, you are kind of stuck with the byproducts of this attempt.
Regardless- any "damage" will be more or less corrected by the passage of time in a few months.
