Mr "Limited but Hard to Get" Kay Segler is moving away from BMW M 1st of May 2011

[eeghie]

According to the German "Auto News", Kay Segler apparently will stop on the 1st of May at BMW M. He will be succeeded by Friedrich Nitschke, a previous staff member at both development and accounting (!). Mr Segler will move to Mini Branding.

Thx for the 1M and hopefully successor mr Nitschke can improve on the communication around cars on allocation.

[In German] http://www.auto-news.de/auto/short-n...pitze_id_29504

[T1T2GRE]

Wow, that was quick. WTH happened here...?

Aside from the allocation debacle, I think he's been steering the M Division into a good direction. Although the purists are still whining about the trend toward forced induction, it's not the end of the world. A lot of those powerplants are still pretty impressive. And, you've got give the guy some credit for the sheer ballsiness of the M3 pickup (admittedly a polarising fun-project).

I kind of liked the breath of fresh air.

And, oh...that Members-Only sport jacket. That's good stuff

[JasonCSU]

April Fools?

[cracka]

Appears to be legitimate... the same is being reported multiple places, some even claiming to have "checked it twice" based on the date.

"Dr. Nitschke" scares me a little.

[as7920]

I don't know what to make of it. Good or bad?

[cracka]

So much for goosepeemples.

[///M1]

In some ways I hope it is not an April Fool's day joke, was never a fan of Kay and his over-marketing approach. Not what an ///M head should be, the products should speak for themselves. Leave the blah blah to other brands looking to gain market share at the expense of the leader (i.e. the followers/posers).

///M GmbH needs engineers to lead it, not MBA/marketers (which was Kay's top 'quality'), nor bean counters (which funnny enough Nitschke is, by virtue of being an accountant).

Or maybe the new guy is related to the famous Friedrich Nietzsche, so now we have a Philosopher at the helm!

[MyCorvette]

What Dr. Segler have done in the M dept that I do not like does not lie in putting turbos in the M product, but the most important thing is what his vision to run the M department. From his bio (manager in the sales/marketing domain) it appear that he use a salesman way to make a product, not from the technical aspect.

No offense but more straitforward: how one manager prioritize these two factors: 1. profit; 2. technical advantages? To run the MINI brand, 1 > 2 is absolutely OK; but the M dept. is a performance/technical oriented sector, therefore 1 > 2 seems not work well. Look at how the 1M is made: every time I heard the official ads/promotions of 1M, especially the technical one, I remember the fable of 'The Emperor's New Clothes', this will be a permanent joke in the M history from my point of view.

[Mark M]

Forced induction is not Kay Segler's sole doing. It was forced on him by growing govrenment pressures. Forces for reduced emissions, greater economy, consumer demands for more power. It is a design paradignm and turbos are the way of the future due to such constraints. Not just an M thing.

[GeeRam]

Originally Posted by ///M1

///M GmbH needs engineers to lead it, not MBA/marketers (which was Kay's top 'quality'), nor bean counters (which funnny enough Nitschke is, by virtue of being an accountant).

Couldn't agree more......

[Drillslinger]

The X5/6 M's and turbo charged M motors were the legacy of Dr. Segler's predecessor.

[///M1]

Originally Posted by Drillslinger

The X5/6 M's and turbo charged M motors were the legacy of Dr. Segler's predecessor.

They indeed were, yet I find it very 'questionable' that out of all existing ///M cars, Kay's personal one is...the X 6 ///M! I think that sums it up!

But agree you can't blame him for forced induction, it is where the world is headed to. Look at AMG and Quattro GmbH (makers of RS Audis), FI will soon be seen 100% throughout their offerings/platforms.

[///1M]

Originally Posted by ///M1

They indeed were, yet I find it very 'questionable' that out of all existing ///M cars, Kay's personal one is...the X 6 ///M! I think that sums it up!

But agree you can't blame him for forced induction, it is where the world is headed to. Look at AMG and Quattro GmbH (makers of RS Audis), FI will soon be seen 100% throughout their offerings/platforms.

+1
S/D and market dynamics will continue to force manufacturers in this direction.

[Redadair]

Don't believe this post. Mr Segler came to the M division from Mini. He was responsible for the very limited and rare 2006 Mini Cooper S JC Works GP.

Okay, it's true. Here is a link to more info. why would he move back to mini?

http://www.motoringfile.com/2011/04/...mw-m-for-mini/

[NPVPositive]

Originally Posted by Redadair

Okay, it's true. Here is a link to more info. why would he move back to mini?

http://www.motoringfile.com/2011/04/...mw-m-for-mini/

I hear that the chairman of BMW learnt about Kay's taste in leather jackets and sacked him on the spot!!




He built the 1M, that makes him ok in my book.

[as7920]

Well for me he at least he must have done something right.

Will be trading in one of his earlier creations (Mini Cooper S) for one of his latest creations (1M).

Surprised his stay was so short. Wonder if he walked or was pushed?

[1Mer]

The enhusiasts on these forum's think the 1M is a job well done but this may not be the opinion of BMW Corporate. Maybe the 1M is only a sucess for the customers who got one?

Corporate Viewpoint...

Performance of the 1M is too good - too close to M3?
Profitability not enough - Limited Production?
Hard to get/Limited Colors - alienating customers?

Maybe, Dr Kay and BMW Corporate don't agree with each other about the future direction of M development (1M vs X5/6M). If he is not allowed to take the M division in the direction he wanted then he is probably happy to go back to Mini.

[///1M]

Originally Posted by 1Mer

The enhusiasts on these forum's think the 1M is a job well done but this may not be the opinion of BMW Corporate. Maybe the 1M is only a sucess for the customers who got one?

Corporate Viewpoint...

Performance of the 1M is too good - too close to M3?
Profitability not enough - Limited Production?
Hard to get/Limited Colors - alienating customers?

Maybe, Dr Kay and BMW Corporate don't agree with each other about the future direction of M development (1M vs X5/6M). If he is not allowed to take the M division in the direction he wanted then he is probably happy to go back to Mini.

1Mer,
I don't necessarily interpret his move as a negative. He may be viewed as a star at BMW who gets great results, and perhaps he is needed at Mini to improve some aspects of their business performance.

[Diver]

Turbos on M series cars may lead to lower prices and increased performance. Note how the 1M is not that much more expensive than a 135i. Reworked production turbo engines cost less than bespoke high revving 6, 8 and 10 cylinder engines of the past. Besides, getting rid of the gas guzzler tax is significant. It's $1300 on an M3 and zero on the heavier and insanely powerful X5M.

[Grey Dove]

Originally Posted by ///1M

1Mer,
I don't necessarily interpret his move as a negative. He may be viewed as a star at BMW who gets great results, and perhaps he is needed at Mini to improve some aspects of their business performance.

+1

[Redadair]

Originally Posted by NPVPositive

I hear that the chairman of BMW learnt about Kay's taste in leather jackets and sacked him on the spot!!




He built the 1M, that makes him ok in my book.

Mine too!

I say thanks to Kay for bringing the 1M to life even if it is as limited as his special edition Mini. Only 415 Mini GPs were produced for US.

[sho-one]

I'm sure theres more to it than we know. Makes no since for them to move him back to mini so quickly unless they were not satisfied with his performance.

The future is force induction and I don't blame him for that at all, but I didn't like the marking double talk that surrounded the 1 M and the artificial lack of availably. With such high demand, they could totally make enough to satisfy people who want one and make it available to military sales. Too much of this project felt like a marketing exercise (granted the 1M is an awesome car with the m3 drive-train, unique bodywork, and the "IS" engine, but it always felt like they would try to talk it up far past what it is "tighter tolerances and other bs")

I would of loved to have purchased a 1M and I loved it for what it was, but the whole marketing fiscal and lack of availably (i had a deposit down until there was no military allocation) gave me a sour taste from BMW.

And so I purchased a used Z4m coupe, cause it was cheaper, a little more special to me, and mainly cause it was available without bs.