RE: New boss for BMW M
Wednesday 24th September 2014
Typically PH news doesn't focus on the comings and goings of industry bigwigs but this deserved special attention. Franciscus van Meel will be BMW M's new Chairman of the Board of Management from January 1, with former boss Dr Friedrich Nitschke stepping down after 36 years with the BMW Group.
As industry moves go it's a big oneNot heard of van Meel before? There's no real reason you should have, but his background is fascinating. His last role was as MD of Quattro GmbH from 2012 until the beginning of this year. He had been with Audi since 1996 and had 'held various management positions in chassis development and the technical steering of vehicle projects' according to BMW's press blurb. So a few highlights in that period as far as chassis development goes (B7 RS4, R8 for example) but many less inspiring cars too.
New boss for BMW M
Quattro's chief chassis and steering man to head BMW M - should we be worried?
As industry moves go it's a big one
The bigger picture is even more interesting though. It is believed van Meel fell out with Audi R&D boss Ulrich Hackenberg over the R8 replacement and its development delays. The R8 E-Tron saga was also believed to be a contentious issue between the two. Having been removed from his Quattro position van Meel was originally to take a prominent role in China with Audi keen to retain him but evidently the offer wasn't to his liking. By all accounts Dr Hackenberg isn't a man to be trifled with; if you don't like his way of doing things then you know what to do it would seem...
Anyway, back to van Meel. Though we all like to deride (pun intended) fast Audis for rather lacklustre dynamics its most recent efforts (i.e under van Meel's tutelage) have been pretty good. See last year's RS6, S1 and S3 for example. He comes into an M Division on great form also with the M3/M4 extremely well received.
It all appears something of a coup for M Division and it will be intriguing to see when, or indeed if, any significant changes are implemented during next year. Keep an eye out for the swift development of the next Audi R8 too...
[Sources: CarScoops, Car&Driver, Autocar]
Discussion
I have a feeling that this is all part of BMW changing over the next few years. They have just produced a front wheel drive car and are offering 4wd on the new 3 series. Like the Jaguar X-Type when it was launched it was introduced with 4wd in a so as not to frighten away customers who were used to RWD Jaguars. Are BMW doing the same thing here? Getting us all ready for 4WD and eventually FWD cars? With the new number designations for different models are they paving the way to having odd numbered cars FWD and even numbered cars RWD. I'm probably being a bit paranoid, but BMW are getting bigger and want more sales.
Why would anyone be worried? Do you think this guy is going to come in and say "right, I insist that all future M BMW's must steer like an Audi"?
Does it not occur to people that brands are the way they are because of what their customers want? This man in not incompetent and neither are the BMW board who chose to hire him. Audi themselves have been on record as saying the reason they make the steering on their cars the way they do is because customers actually want that - despite what anyone on here says, the fact is they make a LOT of money giving customers what they want. If BMW's M department has a different set of goals/ethos when it comes to chassis development/steering feel etc then why would he change that?
These kind of moves happen in business all the time - as far as I see it there's nothing to see here! If you feel that bringing in van Meel is a bad idea then maybe you should worry that bringing in say, Andy Palmer to Aston Martin will mean cheap, plasticky-looking interiors and boring (but reliable) looking cars because he worked at Nissan...
Does it not occur to people that brands are the way they are because of what their customers want? This man in not incompetent and neither are the BMW board who chose to hire him. Audi themselves have been on record as saying the reason they make the steering on their cars the way they do is because customers actually want that - despite what anyone on here says, the fact is they make a LOT of money giving customers what they want. If BMW's M department has a different set of goals/ethos when it comes to chassis development/steering feel etc then why would he change that?
These kind of moves happen in business all the time - as far as I see it there's nothing to see here! If you feel that bringing in van Meel is a bad idea then maybe you should worry that bringing in say, Andy Palmer to Aston Martin will mean cheap, plasticky-looking interiors and boring (but reliable) looking cars because he worked at Nissan...
DM525i said:
I have a feeling that this is all part of BMW changing over the next few years. They have just produced a front wheel drive car and are offering 4wd on the new 3 series. Like the Jaguar X-Type when it was launched it was introduced with 4wd in a so as not to frighten away customers who were used to RWD Jaguars. Are BMW doing the same thing here? Getting us all ready for 4WD and eventually FWD cars? With the new number designations for different models are they paving the way to having odd numbered cars FWD and even numbered cars RWD. I'm probably being a bit paranoid, but BMW are getting bigger and want more sales.
BMW have been offering 4wd on the 3 series in LHD markets since the E30 (although the E36 was RWD only) so I don't see this as a way of moving everything to FWD. While it looks a certainty the next 1 series will be fwd it will platform share with the Mini, not guarantee that the larger BMW's will go FWD.DM525i said:
I have a feeling that this is all part of BMW changing over the next few years. They have just produced a front wheel drive car and are offering 4wd on the new 3 series. Like the Jaguar X-Type when it was launched it was introduced with 4wd in a so as not to frighten away customers who were used to RWD Jaguars. Are BMW doing the same thing here? Getting us all ready for 4WD and eventually FWD cars? With the new number designations for different models are they paving the way to having odd numbered cars FWD and even numbered cars RWD. I'm probably being a bit paranoid, but BMW are getting bigger and want more sales.
I very much doubt that there is any cause for concern in this.Do you think that BMW chose him because they didn't have any other engineers or managers who could produce front-driven cars?
The Audis are that way because the engineers are told to make them that way and are given a budget to do it. It's not because this man has a particular affinity for it.
The same is true at BMW or Jaguar or Mercedes or Cadillac or any other company really.
A bit late for concern, seeing that we already have all wheel driven, automatic, forced induction, ///M cars - all things once decried as "not part of the ///M ethos".
It was inevitable, given the competition's wholesale adoption of such technologies years before, plus market forces as dictated to by emissions regs and official fuel consumption figures etc - but it's a shame nonetheless.
BMW Motorsport used to stand clearly apart from Mercedes AMG and Audi Sport with their often unique offering of a manual gearbox, NA engine, RWD & LSD, now they're all much of a muchness to me.
ALPINA seem to be doing more interesting things to me of late than ///M...
It was inevitable, given the competition's wholesale adoption of such technologies years before, plus market forces as dictated to by emissions regs and official fuel consumption figures etc - but it's a shame nonetheless.
BMW Motorsport used to stand clearly apart from Mercedes AMG and Audi Sport with their often unique offering of a manual gearbox, NA engine, RWD & LSD, now they're all much of a muchness to me.
ALPINA seem to be doing more interesting things to me of late than ///M...
Zwolf said:
ALPINA seem to be doing more interesting things to me of late than ///M...
What sort of interesting things are Alpina doing to you? 
I agree though, the M division has been moving in on Alpina's turf for a while now it seems, but I still like and possibly now prefer the Buchloe approach. B3 Tourer for me please, yum yum!
Zwolf said:
A bit late for concern, seeing that we already have all wheel driven, automatic, forced induction, ///M cars - all things once decried as "not part of the ///M ethos".
It was inevitable, given the competition's wholesale adoption of such technologies years before, plus market forces as dictated to by emissions regs and official fuel consumption figures etc - but it's a shame nonetheless.
BMW Motorsport used to stand clearly apart from Mercedes AMG and Audi Sport with their often unique offering of a manual gearbox, NA engine, RWD & LSD, now they're all much of a muchness to me.
ALPINA seem to be doing more interesting things to me of late than ///M...
Not sure things are quite so bleak tbh!It was inevitable, given the competition's wholesale adoption of such technologies years before, plus market forces as dictated to by emissions regs and official fuel consumption figures etc - but it's a shame nonetheless.
BMW Motorsport used to stand clearly apart from Mercedes AMG and Audi Sport with their often unique offering of a manual gearbox, NA engine, RWD & LSD, now they're all much of a muchness to me.
ALPINA seem to be doing more interesting things to me of late than ///M...
As a fanboi, I was somewhat dismayed at the production of an X5M and X6M especially when a Z4M was not on the cards. However, the new M3 and M4 (lighter than the previous model) seem very well regarded (aural stimulation excepted) and the new 'M Performance' sub-brand is coming up with some crackers - M135 and M235. I can't wait to see what the new full fat M2 is like.
For enthusiasts, in a world of DSG/CVT etc, the M235 is available with both an LSD and manual box, (manual an option on the M3/M4 too).
It should be also noted there there have been rumours regarding an M version of the i8!
All in all, I think the future is bright for BMW M.
g3org3y said:
Not sure things are quite so bleak tbh!
As a fanboi, I was somewhat dismayed at the production of an X5M and X6M especially when a Z4M was not on the cards. However, the new M3 and M4 (lighter than the previous model) seem very well regarded (aural stimulation excepted) and the new 'M Performance' sub-brand is coming up with some crackers - M135 and M235. I can't wait to see what the new full fat M2 is like.
For enthusiasts, in a world of DSG/CVT etc, the M235 is available with both an LSD and manual box, (manual an option on the M3/M4 too).
It should be also noted there there have been rumours regarding an M version of the i8!
All in all, I think the future is bright for BMW M.
As a fanboi, I was somewhat dismayed at the production of an X5M and X6M especially when a Z4M was not on the cards. However, the new M3 and M4 (lighter than the previous model) seem very well regarded (aural stimulation excepted) and the new 'M Performance' sub-brand is coming up with some crackers - M135 and M235. I can't wait to see what the new full fat M2 is like.
For enthusiasts, in a world of DSG/CVT etc, the M235 is available with both an LSD and manual box, (manual an option on the M3/M4 too).
It should be also noted there there have been rumours regarding an M version of the i8!
All in all, I think the future is bright for BMW M.
Compelling product range, a lot overlap & competition between their own products, good for consumers.
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