@teleskier: yup I also felt a little bit snobbed by this guy doing ED of his M5 at the same time we were picking up our X1, and even after I mentioned having a 1M (snobbism even between M models!). As for passing him up the Stelvio let's just say that the skill of the driver can have a bigger influence than the badge on the back of the car on some roads. Heck I even passed an M3 in my X1 with a passenger and the trunk full of luggage on the Nurburgring
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@Paradoxical: the "sporty" versions of BMW cars are now called "M Sports package" and have M badges everywhere: it's a marketing exercise! They are milking the "M" branding for all its worth.
Yes, they are still better/sportier versions of the car with upgrades to many things from the regular model (and yes I'm sure some engineers from the M division may even have been involved in selecting some if those upgrades) but a proper ('full fat') M version of the car it yet another level above. Can you put one more M badge in the back of your tuned up M sports X1? Of course you can! Does it make it the equivalent of an hypothetical X1M? Probably not. Does it make you look like all those guys with those tuned 135s trying to argue on the 1M forums that their cars are just as good as the 1M? Probably yes...
Oh and you did loose a credibility point when arguing about the 1M DCT not being able to handle as much torque as the 6 speed auto: the 1M only ever came with a manual transmission.