[clbmw]

Originally Posted by EnI

Mind the CEOs are executive officers = business managers, not technical / R&D directors.

CEO is there to EXECUTE business & product strategy decided by BMW AG Board of Directors, a strategy which had been greenlighted by BMW AG Supervisory Board.

So, a CEO coming form a rival company does not mean products of M GmbH will change (=become more Audi-like) because of that.

Van Meel is a great CEO, and BMW AG are very proud & happy to steal him from Audi (before anyone else could do it). Van Meel will definitely lead M GmbH as well as Nitschke have.

...

Regarding R8 ... Van Meel was very much in favor of e-tron version of R8, while the Audi's R&D boss & a majority of Director's Board were against it (at that time). There would be a significant differences in car architecture - depending on drivetrain being primarily ICE or (PH)EV - that's why that decision was so important.

So, therefore the new R8 is architecturally still an ICE car, and not a(n) (PH)EV - like eg. the BMW i8.

A possible e-tron version of R8 will be just a car with ICE architecture - featuring electric drivetrain ... and not being a car with EV-specific architecture.

That was the main reason van Meel left Quattro GmbH.

Also ... with BMW i program (and especially i8) now alive & kicking some of the know-how & tech can be trickled down to M cars as well. And having van Meel on board (prior to Quattro GmbH CEO he was a head of Audi's electro mobility program), a man with similar & compatible views (he is a true advocate of electro mobility), will make this strategy come to live even more effective.

So ... I would say BMW AG plans with M cars are to give M cars some "BMW i magic dust" ... Or, to give some i car a bit more of an M character. And therefore they wanted a CEO who totally supports electro mobility solutions.

Exactly, I'd eat my hat if one man coming from Audi could suddenly turn all M cars into understeering unbalanced tanks. It won't happen.

As for the supercar comments, Scott has already confirmed a few days ago this is in development, having someone on board who was passionate about adding electric to their top of the range car cannot be a bad thing... The P1, LaFerrari and 918 are all hybrid monsters, and as for needing AWD for power the more sensibly priced McLaren 650S manages its 650PS through the back wheels superbly for all the reviews I've read.

[SYT_Shadow]

How sad.

If it were someone internal or from Porsche, it would be a good thing. But Audi? The maker of fail wheel drive cars? of hanging V8s entirely in front of the front axle? Of understeering garbage?
Jeez!!!

[Teutonic]

Originally Posted by xDrive35i

That's why I'm moving to Porsche!

This kind of comments make me laugh.

First, everybody starts commenting on what kind of rotten eggs the new chicken will lay without even seeing one.

Second, maybe you are trying to convince yourself that it is a good move and that is a different story but don't try to justify your move based on nothing. I am almost sure that many in here don't care if somebody chooses Porsche instead of BMW.

[The Automotive Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow

How sad.

If it were someone internal or from Porsche, it would be a good thing. But Audi? The maker of fail wheel drive cars? of hanging V8s entirely in front of the front axle? Of understeering garbage?
Jeez!!!

Let's not judge. BMW will have it's first production 'Fail wheel drive' coming out soon with the next gen 1 series.

[xDrive35i]

Originally Posted by Tracus

This kind of comments make me laugh.

First, everybody starts commenting on what kind of rotten eggs the new chicken will lay without even seeing one.

Second, maybe you are trying to convince yourself that it is a good move and that is a different story but don't try to justify your move based on nothing. I am almost sure that many in here don't care if somebody chooses Porsche instead of BMW.

I was joking...well, I am moving to Porsche, but not because of this! I stopped liking the way BMWs drive: plain and simple. BMW no longer offers something to me that I can justify spending money on. I value different things now than I did when I started buying cars. Porsche and Audi suit my needs and wants better. That's all.

I could go into detail about what steered me in the other direction, but that wouldn't be fair to the people who actually like their cars. If you like your BMW, I'm glad you've found in your car what I expect to find elsewhere.

[onatuesday]

Originally Posted by STi2Three35i

As a former BMW owner (E46 M3, 2 E92 335s, 135, M6, and X5) .... and now owning a 2014 B8.5 S4, I can all promise you, you're in good hands.

Audi's are spectacular cars. Yes, BMW does great things... but some other things not so well. Same thing applies to Audis... some things great... others not so well.

Hopefully the addition of van Meel will make those not so great things about BMW a whole lot better.

Exactly. Hopefully we now will get the best of both worlds...mainly the driving dynamics of bmw matched with the interior and controls of an Audi.

[The Automotive Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by xDrive35i

I was joking...well, I am moving to Porsche, but not because of this! I stopped liking the way BMWs drive: plain and simple. BMW no longer offers something to me that I can justify spending money on. I value different things now than I did when I started buying cars. Porsche and Audi suit my needs and wants better. That's all.

I could go into detail about what steered me in the other direction, but that wouldn't be fair to the people who actually like their cars. If you like your BMW, I'm glad you've found in your car what I expect to find elsewhere.

Have you signed up on MacanForum.com, @xDrive35i? Great group of members, and tons of information on that site for the Macan.

[xDrive35i]

Originally Posted by Rev ///Me

Have you signed up on MacanForum.com, @xDrive35i? Great group of members, and tons of information on that site for the Macan.

I still like the resources and the community here. So I'm in both places.

[ManiacGT]

Nothing BMW do bothers or surprises me anymore. They've completely bastardised the brand and history. I couldn't be less passionate about them when once I idolised them.

[fecurtis]

Not sure why everyone is so up in arms about this. M has a long standing brand recognition and tradition which I doubt any CEO is likely to change since it's worked out well so far.

Reminds me of years ago when people were outraged that Alan Mulally took over for Ford and people thought he'd have no idea what he's doing since he came from Boeing...turns out they were wrong. Guess why he's a CEO (or was, he retired this summer) and all the naysayers weren't.

I mean the guy was in charge of cars like the Audi R8 and the entire RS line which no one would argue was dull or underpowered. Weird how short-sighted people are. Fun fact, M's former CEO who van Meel will be replacing was head of development for Mini (back in 2007) before taking over as the CEO of M GmbH in 2011. Weird, no one in 2007 were upset that M's CEO would create a bunch of high performance FWD hatchbacks.

But again, that's why these people are CEO's and none of us are.

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by Rev ///Me

Let's not judge. BMW will have it's first production 'Fail wheel drive' coming out soon with the next gen 1 series.

Correct

That is a massive fail on BMW's part. It's like Porsche making the 911 mid engined. You can't go against your core.

Anyway, that BMW will sell 5% of their cars in fail wheel drive does not change that Audi is a platform which is designed around FWD, whose cars understeer when at the limit and that is not a platform for enthusiasts

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow

Correct

That is a massive fail on BMW's part.

Am I the only one who thinks that's a stupid approach?

Do you know why I think it's stupid to think building a FWD BMW is a fail?

Look at the sales numbers of the Audi A3 and Mercedes CLA. Mercedes recently announced they're upping production because they believe they can sell DOUBLE the amount they currently are. As for the A3, Audi can't build them fast enough either.

So if you think it's stupid to get a slice of a very profitable demographic, not to mention a very sought after demographic (young working professionals, who may buy your more expensive offerings as they grow older and make more)...never be in charge of any business decisions.

Would I ever drive any of those cars? No, but given my daily commute, there's a ton of people that would. It also gives current entry level vehicles the wiggle room to move upmarket, like with Mercedes did with the latest C-Class and what Audi, I'm sure, will do with the next gen A4.

If all of you who think that car companies shouldn't reach out into new products, demographics and offerings, your companies would surely not last very long if you were ever calling the shots.

[SYT_Shadow]

BMW already has a competitor to the CLA and the A3. It's called a 1 series in Europe which has recently been joined by a 2 series
This exists in sedan, coupe and convertible form.

Please elaborate on why you think fail wheel drive opens the road to new markets. Most people do not care either way

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow

BMW already has a competitor to the CLA and the A3. It's called a 1 series in Europe which has recently been joined by a 2 series
This exists in sedan, coupe and convertible form.

Please elaborate on why you think fail wheel drive opens the road to new markets. Most people do not care either way

FWD = cheaper manufacturing costs = lower MSRP = more accessible to the general buying public.

The 1 Series isn't sold in the US (not yet anyway) and the 2 Series has a starting MSRP roughly $3k more than the A3 and the CLA (both at around $29k while the 2 Series starts at around $32k). My roommate recently purchased an A3 and despite it being a German car, they also come with a lot of standard features that are typically options for German luxury sedans. You put the options on a 228i that the A3 come standard with, you're now at around $38k-$40k. Plus a 2 Series is a coupe, whereas the A3 and CLA are sedans.

I don't know why you're asking me to elaborate, unless you missed the part where I said that the A3 and CLA have been sales successes, outselling the 2 Series by a considerable amount. It's why BMW wants a piece of that market. What more elaborating do I need to do?

More reading:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-0...u-s-youth.html
http://wallstcheatsheet.com/automobi...tml/?a=viewall

It just seems like a no-brainer decision. There's a lot of young people out there who'd love to own a German luxury car but don't want to spend upwards of $40k for a reasonably equipped luxury sedan. These young buyers are likely to stick with the brand and buy other, more expensive cars as they make more money. Not sure why many people knock on what sounds like a common sense approach to expanding current and future business. Just because it's FWD? It's harder to make a luxury RWD car for under $30k that gets good margins than it is with a FWD car.

[clbmw]

I think the term fail wheel drive is catching on

[M3 n X5M]

Knowing who the next CEO will be is part of what we may come to learn from a forum like this. It is probably front page news in some papers where BMW plants are located.

To stimulate reactions from such news in consumers is somewhat perplexing to me.

How the new CEO performed in his position at Audi must have been meritorious during the process of finding a new chief.

Why would we be able to imagine what that was? From a couple of interviews? From what we do not like about Audi autos?

It may be good to calm down here.

There is nothing unsettling in this news.

My take is to always evaluate the market. Over three or four years, I research each new car I will buy. And I do so based on its qualities, not on the people who built it or who led their construction. Did Joey Smith lead the suspension design? Did franky Smith design the body? Give me a break. You either like it or you don't.

I have also learned my lesson, the more rare the car, the more easy to run into a one of a kind issue, leading to complicated recalls or quality issues. So for all those who love BMW we need to see the numbers: yes production continues to grow, but is still way behind Toyota and other makers in many segments. In fact, BMW did not even think it was profitable to take resources to make a hyper car for years... So, we need to understand that and not exact prejudice on future products. We will see in the years to come what BMW has in hand and tell how much we like it.

Congrats to the new CEO.

[surewin]

Originally Posted by Josefinoe

I really hope this never happens, it was enough with the v8s being taken away, not the fun please

[SCOTT26]

Originally Posted by fecurtis

Am I the only one who thinks that's a stupid approach?

Do you know why I think it's stupid to think building a FWD BMW is a fail?

Look at the sales numbers of the Audi A3 and Mercedes CLA. Mercedes recently announced they're upping production because they believe they can sell DOUBLE the amount they currently are. As for the A3, Audi can't build them fast enough either.

So if you think it's stupid to get a slice of a very profitable demographic, not to mention a very sought after demographic (young working professionals, who may buy your more expensive offerings as they grow older and make more)...never be in charge of any business decisions.

Would I ever drive any of those cars? No, but given my daily commute, there's a ton of people that would. It also gives current entry level vehicles the wiggle room to move upmarket, like with Mercedes did with the latest C-Class and what Audi, I'm sure, will do with the next gen A4.

If all of you who think that car companies shouldn't reach out into new products, demographics and offerings, your companies would surely not last very long if you were ever calling the shots.

I am engaged in disagreement via PM with someone here who tells me that the Mercedes CLA is RWD.

No it isn't.

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by SCOTT26

I am engaged in disagreement via PM with someone here who tells me that the Mercedes CLA is RWD.

No it isn't.

You'd think a simple Google search would answer that question very quickly...

[Tallest]

Very interesting appointment.

Who is here curious to see the reviews of new Audi quattros? Would be quite a test. Because they are all so patchy through last 15 years, some good RS4 here, some crap RS5 there... Will be sad if M division loses consistency of making well handling cars because frankly M hardly made a shitty core product (unlike Audi, and by core I exlude the m50d and all that).

Cars becoming like new movies or new songs. They cater to everyone as much as possible, so they start lacking special character or love it/hate it traits. So is BMW with its FWD platform. Sucks but would rather get 4WD then.

[onatuesday]

Originally Posted by Malbolge

Very interesting appointment.

Who is here curious to see the reviews of new Audi quattros? Would be quite a test. Because they are all so patchy through last 15 years, some good RS4 here, some crap RS5 there... Will be sad if M division loses consistency of making well handling cars because frankly M hardly made a shitty core product (unlike Audi, and by core I exlude the m50d and all that).

Cars becoming like new movies or new songs. They cater to everyone as much as possible, so they start lacking special character or love it/hate it traits. So is BMW with its FWD platform. Sucks but would rather get 4WD then.

I'd hardly call the RS5 "crap". It's one of the most misunderstood/underrated cars I've ever seen just because some review sites don't like a car that doesn't kick its tail out for them to show cool videos in.

Pro race car driver, Randy Pobst on the other hand seems to get it:

"Given how high Randy was on the 507, we figured the less powerful, heavier RS 5 had no shot. We couldn't have been more wrong. Posting a best lap of 1:42.97, it was 0.48 second quicker, but Randy's comments suggested more like 4.8 seconds. "The R8 should be half this good! This car is fantastic. I adore it. It does such a great job utilizing all-wheel-drive traction off the corner, with zero push. You just drive in there and you think it's too early, but you just floor it and you're like, man, I should've gotten on the gas sooner. And no push, no oversteer -- it just drives right out of there, beautifully carving an exit line, using all the power. The gearbox is also very friendly. I just got more confident with carrying speed in and trusting the grip."

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...n/viewall.html

[Liberation]

Originally Posted by trinim3

I'd hardly call the RS5 "crap". It's one of the most misunderstood/underrated cars I've ever seen just because some review sites don't like a car that doesn't kick its tail out for them to show cool videos in.

Pro race car driver, Randy Pobst on the other hand seems to get it:

"Given how high Randy was on the 507, we figured the less powerful, heavier RS 5 had no shot. We couldn't have been more wrong. Posting a best lap of 1:42.97, it was 0.48 second quicker, but Randy's comments suggested more like 4.8 seconds. "The R8 should be half this good! This car is fantastic. I adore it. It does such a great job utilizing all-wheel-drive traction off the corner, with zero push. You just drive in there and you think it's too early, but you just floor it and you're like, man, I should've gotten on the gas sooner. And no push, no oversteer -- it just drives right out of there, beautifully carving an exit line, using all the power. The gearbox is also very friendly. I just got more confident with carrying speed in and trusting the grip."

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...n/viewall.html

Man...you know how it can get over here. Audi's and especially the RS5 is junk and not worthy to be mentioned in the same conversation as a BMW.

The RS5 is a phenomenal car! Especially, as an everyday car. I absolutely love mine and all the nonsense that is spewed about it here couldn't be further from the truth!