BMW DEALER NETWORK MAP SHOWS "PALESTINE" BUT NOT ISRAEL!

BMW website ^ | 8-8-02 | dfu

[doug from upland]

On the Al Rantel show, he has just exposed that when you go to the Middle East page for the BMW dealer network, the map shows "Palestine" but no Israel. Interesting.

Regional map in English -- CLICK.

A caller informed Al that Israel had its own page, but why weren't they listed on that map and what in the hell is "Palestine." There is no Palestine.

[mlocher]

that's the last straw. i will never, never, ever buy another bmw for as long as i live!!!

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Click on the word "Palestine" on the map. A new window comes up with an e-mail message. Tell them what you think. I did.

[SevenofNine]

OH MY GODDD YOU GOT BE KIDDING I did that

I think I send email to BMW telling them you just lost potential customer that totally uncall for

I THINK

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Check out this BMW link.

The main news item says:

BMW Owner Wins C1 in Pan Arab Campaign

Mr. Ahmad Bseiso, from Dubai was drawn as the lucky winner of a BMW C1 from a Pan Arab advertising campaign launched by the BMW Group regional office earlier this year.

The campaign which ran across Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and the GCC countries, invited all BMW owners to complete a coupon with a few personal details and in return they would receive free subscription of the re-designed BMW magazine and an opportunity to win the nifty C1.

“I love the design of the C1 and the fact that you don’t need to wear a helmet. It looks very sturdy and safe.” said Mr. Bseiso, the winner.

Commenting on the success of the campaign Ehab Shouly, Regional Marketing Manager, BMW Group Middle East said, “The main objective of our campaign was to collect an updated database of BMW owners and we are delighted to have received more than 6000 complete responses.”

The database is now ready to be used to keep direct contact with BMW customers and inform them about all upcoming product launches and events.

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The news items on the left side also detail Arab sales. BMW is marketing to the Arab elite who would not be appreciative of seeing the truth, which is that Israel is the correct country on the map. This did not stop me from telling BMW that they suck.

By the way, the news item above mentions the "GCC countries". What does that mean?

[mhking]

Looking at the map, I would presume that Israel is not listed since there is not a distributor in Israel. That's a deduction from noting the other countries that do not have listings.

That being said, using the term "West Bank" (as Associated Press and other firms/agencies use) would have been much more preferable to me than "Palestine."

[zoyd]

Looking at the map, I would presume that Israel is not listed since there is not a distributor in Israel. That's a deduction from noting the other countries that do not have listings.

They DO have an Israel office. There's another thread on this here:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/730051/posts

[kevlinsky]

Well, considering BMW made planes for the Nazis, I'm not extremely surprised. Even though the company was forced to shift how it made money and the fact that almost 60 years have passed, I wouldn't doubt that it still has anti-semitic leanings. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[bruoz]

Aircraft engines not planes.

[doug from upland]

I can't read it, but here is BMW ISRAEL -- CLICK

[sarasmom]

I hope you just forgot yor sarcasm tag,

Everyone is just a touch edgy nowadays....

[Moonmad27]

I'm reminded that the Animaniacs' song Yakko's World, a song made up of the names of every nation in the world surprisingly lists BOTH Israel and Palestine as nations, even though it was written a number of years ago. (Despite that pro-Palestinian nod, a Muslim "anti-Zionist" website lists Animaniacs when complaining about Arab stereotypes on TV! Ya just can't win!)

[SunStar]

From the BMW site

"BMW Group ME Regional Office, based in Dubai, U.A.E. is represented through its dealer network in all countries shaded in yellow which include Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, U.A.E., Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Iran and India.

[SunStar]

That being said, using the term "West Bank" (as Associated Press and other firms/agencies use) would have been much more preferable to me than "Palestine."

The map shows ALL of Israel, labled as "Palestine" (not just the West Bank.

[Campion]

Bayer Aspirin is on his list as well.

If he lives in the US, you can point out to him that the "Bayer Aspirin" trademark in the US is not owned by Bayer AG, and hasn't been since sometime during WW2. So he's really boycotting an American company to punish Germans, which may not really make any sense, but I'll leave that decision up to him. :-0

[mhking]

here is BMW ISRAEL

I stand corrected...

This doesn't look good for BMW. Doesn't Ford own at least part of them now? I know Ford owns Jaguar and Volvo, but I'm not sure on BMW.