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Man on a mission: We talk to the boss of BMW M - Sympatico.ca Autos
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The man in charge of the most famous letter in the automotive world sits down across the table, flanked by a pair of public relations bodyguards.
To get a seat at this table, you have to go through three reception desks, each time providing credentials and explaining you have an appointment.
Dr. Kay Segler is the managing director of BMW M GmbH, the high-performance arm of the old German automaker. His division is besieged on both sides at the moment: enthusiasts think M has lost the plot, while the current market is pushing greener, smaller, more practical cars.
He has the weary but willing look of an automotive executive on his second day of interviews at the 2011 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. He’s wearing the usual uniform, a dark suit and tie. It feels like here-we-go-again, but then, he says something unusual:
“A man must have a passion for cars.”
He says the words quietly through a fine German accent – as if it is such a base notion it is almost embarrassing to speak aloud. Thing is, it’s something you never hear from auto execs. The passion for cars gets run over by product strategy and the difficulties of making a business case for a niche vehicle. Though, of course, he talked about those things too.
Before he’s hurried to his next interview, I pressed Segler about where his passion for cars comes from. Before he was old enough to have a licence, he remembers learning to drive on private roads. As a young man, this is where he developed a passion for cars.
“To just have the feeling that you are in control of a machine…was simply tremendous,” he says with a smile. “Let’s leave it like this.”
Man on a mission: We talk to the boss of BMW M - Sympatico.ca Autos
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The man in charge of the most famous letter in the automotive world sits down across the table, flanked by a pair of public relations bodyguards.
To get a seat at this table, you have to go through three reception desks, each time providing credentials and explaining you have an appointment.
Dr. Kay Segler is the managing director of BMW M GmbH, the high-performance arm of the old German automaker. His division is besieged on both sides at the moment: enthusiasts think M has lost the plot, while the current market is pushing greener, smaller, more practical cars.
He has the weary but willing look of an automotive executive on his second day of interviews at the 2011 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. He’s wearing the usual uniform, a dark suit and tie. It feels like here-we-go-again, but then, he says something unusual:
“A man must have a passion for cars.”
He says the words quietly through a fine German accent – as if it is such a base notion it is almost embarrassing to speak aloud. Thing is, it’s something you never hear from auto execs. The passion for cars gets run over by product strategy and the difficulties of making a business case for a niche vehicle. Though, of course, he talked about those things too.
Before he’s hurried to his next interview, I pressed Segler about where his passion for cars comes from. Before he was old enough to have a licence, he remembers learning to drive on private roads. As a young man, this is where he developed a passion for cars.
“To just have the feeling that you are in control of a machine…was simply tremendous,” he says with a smile. “Let’s leave it like this.”
