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

BMW website ^ | 8-8-02 | dfu

[Wil H]

A response from BMW..

I am with BMW of North America, LLC. Your Internet posting was forwarded to me for response.

Today, it has been come to our attention the Middle East BMW website contains an error.

Since this is an international website and we are a subsidiary, we have alerted our parent company and asked them to take immediate corrective action.

On behalf of the BMW Group and BMW Worldwide, we sincerely apologize and are sorry we have offended anyone.

Thank you for contacting BMW

[discostu]

Apparently they don't have any dealerships in Israel. It's clear from the map that they only label counties where they have dealerships (no label on Iran), but you can still see Israel. Deep cleansing breaths people.

[discostu]

They made plane for the Kaiser too. They got started as an aircraft company (hence the propeller logo), and are a German company.

[billbears]

bump

[ContentiousObjector]

You aren't going to sell cars to Palistinians telling them they live in Israel,

[Eva]

I read this on Opinion Journal yesterday. I am waiting to see if BMW or Mercedes respond. I have never bought a BMW or Mercedes, but I have come close a couple of times. Now I will never, ever even look at one.

I can't understand this revival of anti-semitism in Germany. I guess the Germans are blaming the Jews for the infamy of Hitler's rule.

[Eva]

The Opinion Journal article said that Arab dealers in Germany are using cars to funnel money from terrorist supporters in Europe to the middle east, in an effort to get around the post 9/11 restriction. They are selling the cars to the organizations, shipping them to the middle east and re-selling them.

[Minutemen]

"Oh please,anti-semitism?"
Hey, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck....I would expect the BMW agency in Israel to be called "BMW Israel" There is no country called Palestine.....gimme a break! Of course it is "Marketing". It is also Liberal,Politically- Correct Bull S***. Do you think BMW has the nutz to "offend" Palestinians?

[ContentiousObjector]

BMW wants to sell them cars, why the hell would they want to offend them?

Reminding Palistinians they are in Israel is not going to sell them alot of cars

[Minutemen]

Oh, I understand now. BMW (and Mercedes) just completely "overlooked" a minor mistake of omitting Israel on all of its maps. I'll buy that.

[putupon]

BMW must want to bring back the good 'ol days when Adolf was in charge. Seig Heil and load the boxcars, plenty of oil from their friends in Saudi to run the crematoria.

[Minutemen]

I dont think your "average" palestinian buys many BMW's.
BMW's are for Arafat and his henchmen.

[Minutemen]

"BMW wants to sell them cars, why the hell would they want to offend them?"
Money before Morals- right?

[PhilipFreneau]

Israel has a distributorship. Go to this BMW web page, and click on "BMW Websites". Israel is listed in the Middle East column. Palestine and India are not.

[ContentiousObjector]

What do morals have to do with this?

They are selling cars, BMW calls their Israeli agent "BMW Israel" and they call their middle east agent on the west bank "BMW Palistine", would Palistinians buy cars from "BMW Israel"?

This isn't an issue of biblical proportions, they are just selling cars!

I doubt anyone outside Free Republic gives a damn, I doubt many if any Israelis give a damn!

[Minutemen]

Just a blatant omission of the entire nation of Israel (that happens to be Jewish), by a huge German car maker is no casual mistake.
Only Hitler could rationalize it. It bothers more people than you realize.

[MissouriForBush]

Thanks for the interesting post. I currently live in Munich, and I have often wondered how all the young Arab men I see driving a Mercedes or BMW around the city can afford them, especially since I never see them working anywhere. (I guess they are too busy collecting their "asylum" welfare benefits!) Whenever I have to take a train somewhere on business, I see these guys cruising all hours of the day in their shiny new wheels, doing the circuit around the scuzzy area where the main train station is located.

[Eva]

I went back to the Wall Street Journal site to re-read the story and found that the link to the BMW map has been disabled or moved by BMW. I guess they must have been getting alot of complaints. The mercedes link is still active, however.

[Bear Bottoms]

The Muslims...Islam are at war with the world. They are out for world domination and their goal is to rid the world of "infidels"...us. I could narrow that down to the current leaders of the world of Islam...and debate religious precedents...but it is to no avail. The fact remains that we have no friends in the world of Islam and to turn the other cheek is to enhance our demise.

[Bear Bottoms]

I find ignorance interesting. This is not a BMW issue. Islamic law forbids Israel. BMW's crime is doing business there, as well as, McDonalds, Pizza Hut etc. We are at war and we don't know it. Formula for loss.