I do not have any problem with the current M line up, much less with this Lime Rock Edition. We can say whatever we want but the E9x M3 is not -and never has been- that great of a seller, compared with the happy days of the E46 and much less the E36. So BMW AG and BMW NA did -and still are doing- what it needs to done to move the sucker.
That's the way a real business is run.
However -and the only thing that I agree with the article- somebody in BMW AG is taking this "got to do what we got to do" to absurd levels with the M Division: now we have this M Performance line that applies to M cars. And they have the nerve to show official photos of this M5M aberration to showcase the stupidity.
That's where I have to say,
you are going to f**k this up. 
IMO, there are only two European tuning houses that set the standard for anybody else to follow: M and AMG. They got the history of purpose. And somehow it still mean something even for customers that do not give a damn about that history. Why? Because
word of mouth of that history was passed along by extremely satisfied previous owners with their cars somehow. That's perceived worth or value -maybe you do not know porn but you will know when you
see it. The same perceived value that makes somebody to plunk $56,000 for a F30 M-Sport 245hp 328i and not in a 420hp Infiniti M56 of the same price.
The problem with initiatives like the M Performance line is that they should stay as far away from the M Division as possible. The M Division does not need this kind of crap, they need superior and distinctive products that can make current owners pass along their satisfaction to future customers -like it was done before. Whoever in marketing thinks that this is like selling expensive soap needs to step down.