BLACKS ASKED TO BOYCOTT JAPANESE CARS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 12, 1992                   TAG: 9202120114
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: C7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BALTIMORE                                LENGTH: Medium
BLACKS ASKED TO BOYCOTT JAPANESE CARS
The head of the NAACP on Tuesday urged blacks not to buy Japanese cars because of what he called a reluctance among Japanese automakers to establish dealerships owned by blacks or build plants in inner-cities.
"This is not Japanese bashing. We don't hate anybody," said Benjamin Hooks, the group's executive director. "But we want to take care of our own."
Blacks have a big stake in the survival of the Big Three U.S. automakers, which have treated them far better than their Japanese counterparts, Hooks said.
More than 140,000 black Americans are employed by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, in the plants where the cars are made and in the corporate offices, he said.
"I just resent people saying that we don't make a good product. That's like someone talking about your wife or mother and saying they don't do a good job," Hooks said.
Hooks said he has never owned a foreign car and drives a Chrysler van.
There were 259 minority-owned dealerships among the Big Three automakers last year, compared to 11 Japanese dealerships - eight selling Toyotas and three selling Hondas, he said. He didn't give total numbers of Big Three and Japanese dealerships.
Recent talks between the NAACP and Japanese officials have been disappointing, Hooks said. He said the idea his organization is getting is that the Japanese won't go out of their way to promote blacks or build plants in inner-city areas.
"The [American] automobile industry has in fact been a leader in providing expanded employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for African-Americans," Hooks said.
Bob Butorac, a spokesman for American Honda Motor Co. in Torrance, Calif., said the Japanese car manufacturer has made progress in minority hiring and promotion and will continue to do more. He said Honda has about 3.7 percent minority dealers.
Edd Snyder, the black owner of Mid-State Toyota in Delaware, Ohio, said Toyota treated him very well when he wanted to become a dealer. He said when he told the company he wanted to own a dealership they required three things - experience, training and strong financial backing.
Snyder said the NAACP appeal is simplistic because the global economy has blurred the definition of "Made in America."
"People have to think," he said. "I operate in a worldwide economic community. I have [Toyota] Camrys here built in Kentucky."

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB