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Let's go at NEC
Page 4
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THE PROPHETS of doom are predicting the first NEC Show as a disaster in both attendance and financial terms. There can be no doubt that the cost of mounting this Show is vastly greater than the cost of the 1976 Earls Court Show.
It can be predicted with almost equal confidence that the extra cost will not be met from increased attendance over the aggregate attendance at the Car and Commerical shows in London. This one will cost the industry a lot of money.
So what should the industry do? Accepting that the money has been spent, it should take a bigger return from the Show than was first planned. The entire venture abounds with possibilities.
The world's press will be at NEC, so here is an opportunity to show the world that Britain is back in business. Let them see what we have achieved despite industrial disputes.
The Show will also give the commercial vehicle sector a golden opportunity to show the general public and the "juggernaut" journalists what a highly responsible and efficient business road transport really is. Mercedes Benz is giving a lead in this respect.
And finally the Show can be used as a teach-in for those manufacturers who are still dragging their feet on European harmonisation of weights and dimensions.
The 1978 Motor Show is full of opportunities which the industry cannot afford to miss.
Road transport has longbeen the target for unwarranted, unjustified and damaging attacks by those who claim for themselves the name "environmentalists' ; we all live in the same environment but road transport makes a major contribution to the quality of life we enjoy.
NEC must be the industry's environmental platform throughout the Show.