Sheer Driving Pleasure

Is it just me, or has this catchphrase and similar disappeared altogether from BMW marketing?

Am I talking nonsense or is this a palpable shift in the brands positioning?

Yep, done and dusted. Nowadays, its all about JOY!

"The Ultimate Driving Machine"or "Sheer Driving Pleasure" always appears below the BMW symbol in whatever corner of the ad the logo is situated, the JOY campaign is slowly fading out as well. The "The Ultimate Driving Machine" hasn't put luxury buyers off buying BMW in the last 20 years and will equally unlikely do so in the future. And with the next gen of BMW's to be based on significantly lighter platforms, that tagline will be truer than ever.
http://www.bmwblog.com/2012/01/06/the-ultimate-driving-machine”-slogan-makes-a-comback/
http://www.bmwblog.com/2009/11/04/the-ultimate-driving-machine-the-perfect-slogan/
^A quick history of the slogan^

Now very often "The Ultimate Driving Machine" or "Sheer Driving Pleasure" is in reference to the Toyota GT86. Before it was Alfa Romeo.

You'd hope so. Seems like Audi has been gunning for this title for some time now, and appears to be convincing quite a few Jurnos it there (i.e C&D).

The GT86 has had a ridiculously positive impact on the brands image. More so than any single car should have. I've heard kids 10-16 refer to the car as 'fully sick', 'mad' and 'bitchin'. In the long run this is exactly what Toyota wanted.

Drive one. I assure you, its a great driving experience.

It has changed perceptions of Toyota which is what the brand needed after its strong association with Camron Diaz and other environmental yuppies in Hollywood who own a prius.

I don't know where you got that. Because in fact it is just those 10-16 kids that hate the car saying it has not power and "ridiculous torque of 205 Nm" when all other rivals make at least 300 Nm.

Those kids obviously haven't driven a GT86

In the world of appealing to teenagers, badge and looks is all important, and the GT-86 definitely doesn't have the former, and to some, not the latter. The average teen is able to name off 1 car from Lambo, 1 Ferrari and 1 Porsche if your lucky, so a petite Toyota sports car will not appeal to them, if they even have any knowledge of its existence whatsoever ( the lowest level of cars that appeal to them is around the 3er Coupe/A5 mark ) At least this lack of badge appeal, and relative of power will scare away the wankers, and keep only proper driving driving enthusiasts and aficionados in the '86/BRZ However its not the least bit surprising that, presumably, well-informed teens have a positive opinion of these cars

Sorry Hof and Levi, I've heard these words being uttered by a few groups of teenage boys, personally. These guys may not have a clue what the output is like, nor how the car drives, but from a design/desirability point of view they were clearly impressed. When's the last time a Toyota evoked that sort of response from pubescent teens.

I think the GT86 is a much bigger hit so far in Europe, it seems. Out here it's a mere Scion, and at least via the groups I'm around/witness, I haven't heard much hype about it.

It is the other way round. ZX6 is a hit in Japan and USA. Here, in Europe, the ZX6 is just not enough powerful, many prefere a Golf GTI or Mégane RS. Also here many hate RWD.

France. Ask any 40 year old man,most will say RWD has bad grip, FWD is more secure. Among the younger ones, that is another thing, many friends bought used E8X and have fun "drifting". In Germany most will say "Quattro". So RWD is losing appeal in Europe.

If not BMW or Mercedes, can you tell me what other RWD cars there are? Most cars that were RWD are now FWD or AWD (F4-T layout) at best.