BMW

Once again, the fuckin Manning is caught being less than honest with the population............ did a "deaL" (PERHAPS) fall through.......... a former senior Executive of BMW was very firm that this is not the way that Company does business.....

BMW says it has no deal with Manning
2008/11/13


There's a new twist to the story about the supply of VIP vehicles for two international summits in Port of Spain next year. Now, the Trinidad Express is reporting that the German automaker BMW has denied that it has any deal with Prime Minister Patrick Manning to supply the vehicles for the conference.

Bavarian Motors Ltd, local agents BMW, issued a statement saying it has not had any direct discussion with the government of Trinidad and Tobago or Manning about the supply of the luxury vehicles for the summits.

It denied any connection between a recent visit by its managing director Gordon Borde to Munich, Germany and Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s statement about Government leasing vehicles for next year’s summits, directly from BMW.

Bavarian Motors said it had responded to tenders issued by the National Insurance Property Development Company (Nipdec) to provide vehicles for the summits and “is awaiting a response to its proposals.”

It said Borde attended the annual Importers Conference in Munich from October 28 to November 1 at the invitation of BMW and “had absolutely no knowledge of a visit being paid to Munich and BMW by the Prime Minister.”

It added, “Neither did Mr Borde have any contact with the Prime Minister during his visit to Munich...

There is absolutely no truth whatsoever in any suggestion that Mr Borde accompanied the Honourable Prime Minister on his visit to Munich.” That seems to contradict what Manning told reporters last week at his post cabinet news conference.

Manning announced that he had personally visited the showroom of a large BMW dealer in Germany and sealed the deal under which the Germans would ship the vehicles to Port of Spain for temporary use for both conferences and then take them back.

In dismissing local offers the prime minister said they were too costly. “The local people...put a price on the alternatives that is so high, that you have little alternative but to purchase the cars, which we are determined not to do. We don’t need 200 cars.”

Manning was in Munich from October 30 to 31, to address the “Day of the Americas” conference hosted by the Business Association of Latin America.

Both Borde and Manning were in Germany at the same time.

Manning did not say that he met Borde or any representative of BMW's local agents, Bavaria Motors Ltd. And he didn't say who he met. He told reporters, "I visited the BMW showroom in Munich, we had discussions on the matter and I have to discuss it with our people here.”

Based on Bavaria Motor's Ltd.'s statement and Manning's confirmation that he held talks with BMW, it would seem that the prime minister bypassed the local agent and went directly to the German company's representatives in Munich.