Ok well we have very different definitions of what constitutes a new character then :p
To me these are skins, they are what happens to Mario when he puts on the Metal Cap, it's still Mario. In the past being able to race as a gold version of any character you want would have been a reward for achieving something in a game, now it's just a separate character.
This is like when in a co-op game you play as the same character as one another, it doesn't feel right.
When clone characters take up spaces in Smash it's a bit disappointing... to me this is more of a waste.
Btw I didn't like Dry Bowser for the same reason, this isn't just about this game.