“Reliable” and “safe.” Those are the two words a Latina friend of mine used to describe her Honda Civic. When she was involved in a traffic accident that totaled her car in 2010, she needed a new one. When it came time to buy, she opted for reliable over flashy and chose to buy a Honda brand.
She wasn’t alone. Over 70% of new cars bought by Latinos in 2010 were Asian brands. Ironically, many of those cars were manufactured in Alabama, a state this recently passed a virulently racist and anti-immigrant law (HB56) targeting Latinos.
The home of HB56 is also home to a many foreign manufacturers, including Honda. In the 1990s, those companies helped revitalize the state’s ailing economy, the same economy which is now threatened by an anti-immigration law that threatens to send the state back to a pre-civil rights era.
Honda’s company motto is “respect for the individual.” It now faces a unique opportunity to show the country that it stands by its company slogan and by its loyal Latino customers. It’s time they show they don’t support hate.
Over the years, many Latinos, much like my friend, have turned to Honda for safety and reliability, and the company has always answered the call. Will 2012 be the year Honda turns it back on Latinos, or will they provide a safe, reliable existence for the Latino community of its home state?
Tags: alabama, immigrant rights
