We have regrouped, learned from the previous unfortunate experience and with the help of BMW of North America, we have rescheduled our live webcast with Jack Pitney, Vice President of Marketing. To make the deal even harder to refuse (yes, such a cliche), we will conduct the interview and webcast directly from the BMW booth at the 2010 New York Auto Show that begins tomorrow.

Our Senior Editor, Josh Lewis (also a guest host on MotorTrend radio), will give Jack the opportunity to tell us more about the marketing side of “Joy” and to clarify some of the previous assumptions that it will replace the iconic, “Ultimate Driving Machine” slogan.

The live interview will take place on Thursday, April 1st beginning at 2:30PM EST (1:30PM CST; 11:30AM PST).

So mark your calendars and bookmark your browsers, spread the word and we’ll see you on April 1st. Thank you for your support. Last week, Jack sent us a short statement outlining the scope of this live webcast.

To my fellow BMW enthusiasts:

I’m writing today to clarify some unfortunate miscommunication that began several weeks ago. Precipitated by an erroneous report in the Wall Street Journal and followed by the national television introduction of our new advertising campaign, some have speculated that we are getting rid of our iconic “Ultimate Driving Machine” brand claim. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In the end it is a brand’s products that define it within the marketplace, and never has this adage been more true than at BMW. For more than eight decades our engineers have defined their mission as bringing the joy of driving to life. Put succinctly, to build the Ultimate Driving Machine. This has been, and continues to be, BMW’s core mission. And this is why our Ultimate Driving Machine brand claim has endured… it is founded on a truth that remains as relevant today as when the company was first founded.

Through our new advertising campaign we celebrate the core mission of the BMW brand; to bring the joy of driving to life. It is the end-result of the Ultimate Driving Machine.

I remain thankful that I work for a company with such a clear sense of purpose. And I remain even more thankful that we have such a devoted family of owners that are so keen to protect and defend the brand. Thank you for that.

For those interested, I invite you to join me in an on-line chat regarding our new campaign as well as some of the exceptional new products soon coming to market. With 19 new models launching over the next twelve months, we at BMW are uniquely placed to capitalize on the momentum in the market.

Thank you again for your continued enthusiasm. Truly, there is only one Ultimate Driving Machine.

Respectfully,

Jack Pitney

Vice President, Marketing

BMW of North America