[wtwo3]

I haven't read the article, but I think it's important to give context in reference to how the automotive market has evolved as a whole rather than simply look at BMWs direction in a vacuum. As a whole the automotive world is evolving towards tech, safety, comfort - basically all things that scream - "we know you'd rather be doing anything else but driving, so let's at least give you as much comfort as possible and maybe even remove you from the equation with some self-driving tech."

From that angle BMW is one of the few brands left which still offers manual cars. And sure the M3/M4 may have grown in size and weight, but in their class they're still among the lightest (c63/RS5).

So while BMW is moving away from catering to enthusiasts... most others have long moved away already.