SMMT defends its Show
Page 18
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I WAS SURPRISED and disappointed to read your editorial "Nothing to show" CM, October 23.
You refer to the scarcity of pre Show publicity around the • country. Yet, this year the SMMT spent a record £3.4 million on promoting and staging Motor Show '82. Within this budget we had an extensive and varied advertising and promotional programme, organised by professionals in the business of highlighting such events.
As for your comment that SMMT did little to attract Parliamentarians to the Motor Show, I do wish you could have joined us on one of the numerous tours for Ministers, Civil Servants and MPs. On these tours no opportunity was missed to introduce views on the heavier lorry and the need for implementation of the Armitage proposals. I suggest the message came across loud and clear and could have influenced the Secretary of State's recent announcement.
We were delighted to welcome a member of your own staff, Mike Rutherford, to the Press briefing given by Transport Minister, David Howell and would have been pleased for Commercial Motor to cover any of the now traditional, and we hope educational, Ministerial visits. ANTHONY FRASER Director Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders