Has Uwe Gemballa been kidnapped???
 

First article about Uwe...

Uwe Gembella kidnapped???

Strange, but the comments on that first article were priceless. :thumbup:


Andreas

Maybe it's payback for doing this:

BTW did you see this comment? Maybe ILKO can bait him?

HELLO GOOD SIRS:
I am Mr. Ali Gemballa. My UNCLE Uwe Gemballa has recently been discovered in SOUTH AFRICA and greatly needs help in transferring a large sum of money into the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Opressive FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS have been seeking his money, and he wishes to move it safely out of the country. PLEASE reply to this and you will receive a sum of $50.000 USD for your assistance. Please this is URGENT.
Thank You
MR Ali Gemballa of SOUTH AFRICA

:corn::corn::corn:

German tabloid Bild is now reporting on their website that he has in fact been kidnapped. Link in German
I don't care much for his cars either but if this story turns out true, than jokes about this are a little out of place IMHO.

Slightly rude comment deleted...I hope Mr. Gemballa is released unharmed.

On it. :thumbup:

:D

Cut me a break here, his company and assets have been seized by German authorities and he just happens to get himself kidnapped at the same time.

Gee, what's wrong with that timeline???????

Sounds like he dashed to avoid arrest and if that's true, he deserves everything he gets in the long run.

ZP44

He's only offering you $50... Not $50K... Mr careful with that .000

In the US we only use the 10th's, not 100th's...

This is my first post, and a sad one.
I am friends with Uwe Gemballa and my company is a supplier to Gemballa GmbH in Leonberg, Germany.

I am frankly disappointed at the unsubstantiated trash that the internet media has spread about Mr. Gemballa. His company was NOT seized by the German Government and no vehicles have been impounded. A simple phone call to the Gemballa office will confirm this to anyone who bothers to check information.
Gemballa GmbH was visited by the authorities on Monday to inventory assets. This is a standard practice in Germany when the owner or CEO disappears. It protects everybody like banks, leasing companies, car owners, etc.

Sadly, Uwe Gemballa has been kidnapped in South Africa and is being held for a 1 million Euro ransom. SA and German Authorites are investigating, as well as Interpol.

Regardless of what you may think of his work, Uwe is a creative professional that has followed his passion for cars for nearly 30 years. He is deserving of our respect.

I encourage all to avoid bad taste humor (like the Nigerian 419 joke above).
Please join me in praying for his safe return.

If its real I may actually have to apologize....

:icon501::icon501::icon501:

I checked the Johannesburg Star, AP, UPI, NBC, CBS, ABC, BBC.....Nothing???Why has no local South African or major news network picked this story up??? and why did he, not the kidnappers, call and tell his wife he needed help and 1 million euro??? The mystery deepens..........

It's still all a bit strange and doesn't seem to fit together correctly...................Guess we'll have to wait for the real truth to come out since everything else about it out there seems to be just some guys opinion on various car forums.

ZP44

News story? Sadly, Gemballa's kidnapping is big news to us, but just another day at the office for a country that had 3000+ kidnappings for profit last year, 8 every day. That's just the beginning. Try 60+ murders per day, (23,000+ per year), plus#1 in the world in rapes per capita. Not your garden spot for a nice holiday.
In comparison, the USA had 16,000 murders last year, and has six times the population of South Africa.

When you add to this the fact that SA is about to host the second biggest sporting event in the world, the World Cup, its no wonder to me that they aren't very forthcoming with bad publicity.

I know Uwe Gemballa. And I know for a fact that he is kidnapped in South Africa. Fact.
It simply amazes me how people will believe BS stories in the press. They will believe some trumped-up nonsense about Uwe on the run from the German authorities. Yet when you call the German Authorities, they tell you that there are no charges against Mr. Gemballa and that he is not a suspect in any crime. They will also tell you that he is a missing person in South Africa.
The press says that the Gemballa factory is closed and that cars have been seized. Yet when you call the factory and want to buy something, the factory is open and it's business as usual. They vehemently deny that any cars were impounded. Have you seen even a single post from anyone who claims to be one of those mysterious Gemballa customers who had his car seized? Hardly.
Facts? Most of the internet automotive press are a bunch of muckraking jerks who pander to creeps who want to believe the worst in everybody.

Uwe's family is sick with worry and they have to hear all this nonsense. Shameful is too nice a word. Despicable is more like it.

Sorry for the rant. Uwe is my friend.

forgedwheeler, curious - what is your company?

dave

My name is Mike Burroughs
I am VP of Marketing and Sales for Advanced Structural Alloys in Oxnard, CA.

And I stand up for my friends.