photo by steed media service

As an indubitable automotive aficionado, Marc Burt audaciously prognosticates that the auto industry will undergo such a metamorphosis in the next few years that it may be scarcely recognizable to car consumers and connoisseurs alike.

“The industry is topsy-turvy. I would expect that the industry will be very different in five years than it looks today,” says Burt, the senior manager for the office of inclusion and diversity at American Honda. “I think the landscape is changing on the dealer side, primarily because of the shifts in market shares of the manufacturers.”

Correspondingly, minority contractors’ positioning among automakers can be assessed as equally tenuous and precarious. Burt attended the recent Detroit Automotive Symposium to alert African American vendors, who’ve traditionally worked with domestic automakers, of the opportunities with Honda. “The reason I come here is because I enjoy getting an opportunity to find out what’s happening here in the way of minority suppliers who wish to do business in our industry, and specifically with our company,” he says of the Torrance, Calif.-based Honda. “Our company has been a long-term supporter of Rainbow/PUSH, and it’s good for us to have access and have dialogue with organizations that have dialogue with minority dealers and suppliers.” For more information, log onto www.honda.com. - terry shropshire

For more information, log onto www.honda.com.

Share this article with a friend


Enjoyed this article? Read more from our featured professionals below.