miscellaneous classic stuff
ANDRE BALDET
Andre Baldet, who passed away on the 7th March 2008 aged eighty four years, was a man whose energy, determination and competitiveness ensured that he lived an entire life surrounded by frenetic – sometimes frantic – activity. But it is the seven years following the opening of his fist Vespa dealership in Northampton in 1955 that brought him most consistently into the public eye. This golden age of expanding scooter sales provided a perfect backdrop for Baldet to demonstrate a flair for publicity and salesmanship that was unequalled amongst his peers.
The list of his stunts included a 3,620 ten-day tour of Europe with a Vespa combination (and camera crew), 3775 miles of the Isle of Man mountain circuit on a GS150 in less that one hundred hours (with Denis Christian) and riding to Paris for the weekend and returning for less than £10.Less planned activities included piloting a dual control Vespa from the pillion street up and down the local high street –much to the displeasure of the constabulary!
All of this had the desired affect – MotoBaldet (as his shop was called) being the most successful Vespa dealership of its day. Although principally remembered for his activities with Vespa, Baldet did have associations with other makes and even did a few publicity stunts for them as well – DKR and Diana being examples. He also entered a bubble car in the RAC Rally! Other notable achievements during this period include the invention of the dealer special with the “Arc en Ciel”of 1957.
Baldet was the first to admit that he was a salesman first and a scooter enthusiast second, so when even his abilities were not enough to halt the slide in scooter sales the dealership was left in the hands of others allowing him to concentrate his efforts on selling Citroen cars and aeroplanes – with predictable success. Although he moved back to his native France for a while, a return was made to Northampton where he even remarried his first wife, Didi.
The list of his stunts included a 3,620 ten-day tour of Europe with a Vespa combination (and camera crew), 3775 miles of the Isle of Man mountain circuit on a GS150 in less that one hundred hours (with Denis Christian) and riding to Paris for the weekend and returning for less than £10.Less planned activities included piloting a dual control Vespa from the pillion street up and down the local high street –much to the displeasure of the constabulary!
All of this had the desired affect – MotoBaldet (as his shop was called) being the most successful Vespa dealership of its day. Although principally remembered for his activities with Vespa, Baldet did have associations with other makes and even did a few publicity stunts for them as well – DKR and Diana being examples. He also entered a bubble car in the RAC Rally! Other notable achievements during this period include the invention of the dealer special with the “Arc en Ciel”of 1957.
Baldet was the first to admit that he was a salesman first and a scooter enthusiast second, so when even his abilities were not enough to halt the slide in scooter sales the dealership was left in the hands of others allowing him to concentrate his efforts on selling Citroen cars and aeroplanes – with predictable success. Although he moved back to his native France for a while, a return was made to Northampton where he even remarried his first wife, Didi.