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Page 66
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H. E. Gibbon
• Today (Friday) is one of the most important dates in the 1971 calendar for the president of the Scottish Motor Trade Association, Harold E. Gibbon. When the Scottish Motor Show opens at the Kelvin Hall the die will be cast and credit or criticism will be his.
Harold Gibbon is a director of Appleyard Gibbon Ltd. formerly James Gibbon Motors Ltd. This year's president is, of course, one of the "privileged" ones who has a motor show during his term of office, but Harold Gibbon has approached this show with perhaps a little apprehension. Breaking with tradition his council decided that it would be, at least on the surface, a manufacturers' show with distributors manning the stands. For the first time ever tyre manufacturers will not be displaying.
Harold Gibbon does not foresee that the European pattern of shows will affect the Scottish shows of the future and he anticipates that they will continue to be biennial. He does, however, predict that British manufacturers will participate less and less in foreign shows because of the cost involved in transferring vehicles from Britain to Europe for a one-week stand.
In order to meet the challenge of Europe, Harold expects British manufacturers to close their ranks and co-operate to a greater extent than at present. On the home front, because of economic pressures, he prophesies that during the next five years many small distributors will disappear, and a distribution pattern similar to that now operated by the Ford Motor Company will emerge.
Large group working is the salvation of the motor industry, in his opinion, as it is on the operating side where he expects to see expansion only through group working.
Harold Gibbon estimates that on aggregate the president devotes slightly more than three months in his presidential year to the affairs of the Association but he confesses that he has not allowed it to interfere with his one pastime — golf. He is a member at both West Kilbride and Whitecraigs Golf Clubs and plays off the very respectable handicap of 9.
Harold Gibbon has been in the retail motor trade since 1938 apart from the war years when he served in north-west Europe, first as an infantryman in the Highland Light Infantry and later as a major in the Seaforth Highlanders. His ambition at the moment is to see his daughter take an honours degree in economics this year at Strathclyde University.