Gemballa in trouble

[Tech1_Mike]

Originally Posted by sid350 Well said... nice looking wheels on your avatar, what kind are they? The wheels are Tech1-109, Forged Alloys USA

[slick858]

Originally Posted by 150shot

I remember Vanilla Ice having a Gemballa modified Porsche....and I always wanted one modded with Gemballa since then! Hopefully everything is ok.

Is this a joke? The reason i asked is because i laughed pretty hard

[bonehead]

Originally Posted by slick858

Is this a joke? The reason i asked is because i laughed pretty hard

New Avalanche=love it
Vanilla Ice Avalanche=er....not so much.

[slick858]

At least we are on the same page.

[speedappeal]

Originally Posted by Tech1_Mike

Jalopnik knows absolutely nothing. Nothing! They are the National Enquirer of the automotive internet. They are guilty of Olympic "conclusion jumping".

Uwe Gemballa is missing in a very dangerous place. He has been missing since 2/8. I spoke to him on 2/7 from Dubai. That was a week before the authorities got involved.

Just so everyone knows, it is commonplace for the German Authorities to do a lockdown when the owner or CEO turns up missing. This is to protect company assets, leased equipment, bank assets, customer cars, etc. If Jalopnik had bothered to call even one reliable source, they would know this.

I strongly suggest everyone wait and see how this turns out before ruining the reputation of a man who has devoted his life to the passion of performance automobiles.

For the record, he hasn't been accused by anyone, of anything.

And yes, he is my friend.

Thank you for the sincere update Mike, please keep us all updated as you hear more.

[str8blst]

Any new news?

[996TT_STEVO]

Originally Posted by bonehead

New Avalanche=love it
Vanilla Ice Avalanche=er....not so much.

[onelove]

Originally Posted by MARKSKI@911tuning

What was he doing in that part of the country? No autobahns there thats for sure... odd to say the least...
hope he is alive.
markski

Actually I just read an article about the new Zonda being tested out there, guess they have some long straights going through the desert that is commonly used for high speed testing with permission from the government. *edited for more accurate information coming available*

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/16/r...-in-south-afr/

[Tech1_Mike]

Originally Posted by onelove

Actually I just read an article about the new Zonda being tested out there, guess they have some long straights going through the desert that is commonly used for high speed testing with permission from the government. Pretty cool fact I didn't know until this week myself, from reading more into the Gemballa deal though it sounds like he might have disappeared by choice.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/02/16/r...-in-south-afr/

It has been confirmed by German Authorities and the Gemballa family that Uwe has been kidnapped in South Africa and is being held for ransom.
As of this moment he is alive and has been in contact with his family.

In these cases, there is usually very little press coverage at the request of the authorities.

Please do your best to quash any rumors that this is a hoax or that Uwe is missing by choice. This situation is real and very dangerous.

[tr1ple6]

As everyone knows this year South Africa hosts the worlds largest sporting event and the worlds media as its eyes firmly fixed hoping that a juicy story like this comes along. With that in ming one has to ask why isn't this story big news on any reputable news outlet? I just did a search on google and could not find the story on cnn or sky, only many auto sites and blogs. I even did a search on google germany and still only auto blogs. I know he was alleged to have flown to SA but that is it. Surely a prominant international businessman going missing right before the World Cup is news worthy?

[Tech1_Mike]

Originally Posted by tr1ple6

As everyone knows this year South Africa hosts the worlds largest sporting event and the worlds media as its eyes firmly fixed hoping that a juicy story like this comes along. With that in ming one has to ask why isn't this story big news on any reputable news outlet? I just did a search on google and could not find the story on cnn or sky, only many auto sites and blogs. I even did a search on google germany and still only auto blogs. I know he was alleged to have flown to SA but that is it. Surely a prominant international businessman going missing right before the World Cup is news worthy?

World Cup or not, South Africa is a dangerous place. Online government reports show 50 murders per day, a rape every 40 seconds and their kidnapping rate is either third or fourth in the world, depending on which report you read..
Gemballa's kidnapping is big news to us, but I fear just another kidnapping to the corrupt South African authorities.

Data: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cr...me-kidnappings
Data: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur-crime-murders

[ColoradoSilver]

This may sound strange, but it sounds like they're being civilized about it. They have allowed him to speak with his family and don't seem to have an intent of causing him harm.

Hopefully they just intend to hold out for their demand and don't hurt him in the meanwhile.

I've heard stories about people being kidnapped and being treated very well by their kidnappers. Hopefully this is the case here.

This being said, I have no clue what the norm is for these happenings in S.Africa.

[tr1ple6]

Originally Posted by Tech1_Mike

World Cup or not, South Africa is a dangerous place. Online government reports show 50 murders per day, a rape every 40 seconds and their kidnapping rate is either third or fourth in the world, depending on which report you read..
Gemballa's kidnapping is big news to us, but I fear just another kidnapping to the corrupt South African authorities.

Data: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cr...me-kidnappings
Data: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur-crime-murders

Firstly, read this http://www.google.co.za/url?sa=t&sou...JA2VKGQk4yQlwQ Those statistics are totally misleading. More than 80% of kidnappings happen in South America and you will notice that they are all absent from that list, why, because according to the article I linked to the UN gave a voluntary questionaire to countries and most of them DID NOT even bother to submit a response. Are you trying to say that the USA has less than 2 kidnappings which is last on that list? If you knew anything about the South African or European media you would know how huge the World Cup is. I really don't think the average American can grasp the enormity of it. Any story that even hinted at South Africa not being ready for it made world news. I am pretty sure sky news would have ran this story had it been something other than Gemballa being on the run for tax evasion. Do I think he has been kidnapped, no. Could he have been a victim of some other crime, possibly.

[Tech1_Mike]

Uwe Gemballa's Dubai business partners have made numerous posts on other Porsche oriented forums.
They have been in direct contact with the Gemballa family in Leonberg. The family reports that they have received ransom demands from the kidnappers.
He is safe for now. That's all we know.

[seth_horwitz]

Originally Posted by tr1ple6

I really don't think the average American can grasp the enormity of it. Any story that even hinted at South Africa not being ready for it made world news.

Isn't that kind of the point? Police usually want to keep the media away when ANY kidnapping is in the process of being negotiated. The South African World Cup Organizing Commitee would want this kept quiet even more so. Most credible news outlets will give the police a little bit of time before reporting on a story if it helps a victim's safety. To claim that South Africa is a very safe place because this item isn't in the news is a bit misleading given crime data publicly available. (Regardless of which source you choose.)