The scenario I outlined does not require possession of the written offer to get source code. Possession of the knowledge in it, yes. But not possession of the offer. In particular it is reasonable to require you to know that you have to provide a VIN number to get the software. It is also reasonable for you to know what number to call, or address to send, or fee to pay, or even what to say to get to someone knowledgeable enough to have a chance of answering your questions.
In fact this email thread said that there is a website where you can enter the VIN and get the source code. I doubt it validates that you are who you say you are. If that website is world readable, I'd say that the GPL is satisfied.
(The email thread also made it clear that the people who responded from BMW Australia didn't themselves understand the license. But that is no surprise for an odd request of random people in a big company.)
The scenario I outlined does not require possession of the written offer to get source code. Possession of the knowledge in it, yes. But not possession of the offer. In particular it is reasonable to require you to know that you have to provide a VIN number to get the software. It is also reasonable for you to know what number to call, or address to send, or fee to pay, or even what to say to get to someone knowledgeable enough to have a chance of answering your questions.
In fact this email thread said that there is a website where you can enter the VIN and get the source code. I doubt it validates that you are who you say you are. If that website is world readable, I'd say that the GPL is satisfied.
(The email thread also made it clear that the people who responded from BMW Australia didn't themselves understand the license. But that is no surprise for an odd request of random people in a big company.)