I haven't had a Detroit car in 50 years, so my view is different than yours. Motor Trend just judged the M2 a better driver's car than the 2023 Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0
https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2...n-test-review/ but they were comparing auto-auto, so maybe a large part of your beef is with the tranny. For a BMW I don't find it bad, but there are better ones out there. Good for you for knowing what you want.