all cars are getting heavier as consumers generally prefer the swiss army knife approach and want "more", "bigger', "faster" in every new car they buy... this is the end result. It's only gonna get worse as most new cars after this generation will be electrified.
Positioning wise, I agree with many that it doesn't matter how BMW spends their ad dollars. All the EDM music and harbour drifting might portray a younger image but it's really just trying to get attention. In fact all the bashing we are doing on the internet is free advertising for BMW and getting ordinary shoppers to check out the car. Most people who have seen the car in real life have softened their stance or even reported positive impressions, so you can extrapolate where this is going ...
and to the gate keeping crowd who complain M is diluted, I say it's just a necessary evil. Just think of Porsche SUVs and how that saved the brand financially and allowed continuing brilliance of their sports cars. I hope hardcore/pure M models will come, but you can't expect them to come cheap as there's no economy of scale in them. Overall BMW's liberal use of M marketing isn't as bad as MB with AMG... as example I rarely hear "fake M" associated with a M340i but hear "fake AMG" all the time when someone describes a C43 or A35
