Base model-Series? $44,500. Top-line 5-er? $59,700. Independence? Priceless.

Those were the key auto transport messages from a luncheon with BMW’s U.S. marketing and product planning chief Jack Pitney, who snuck into Motown to discuss, among other things, the upcoming American launch of one of the maker’s most important product lines.

The all-new 2011 528i, 535i and 550i models have gone through a significant transformation, and now share much of their underlying platform with the latest-generation BMW 7 Series. But they also share a lower price tag with other high-line sedans, something that reflects what Pitney admitted is a “highly-competitive” U.S. luxury market. The 528i will officially hit American showrooms, on June 19, carrying a sticker that’s $1,400 under that of the outgoing model.

Notably, all three models will offer the option of all-wheel drive, as well as a no-charge pick of either an eight-speed automatic or a six-speed manual, the latter likely only to account for about five percent of overall sales, but still critical, stressed Pitney, to reinforcing the brand’s “Ultimate Driving Machine” image.

And yes, he stressed, while BMW has been playing with a second advertising tagline, “The Joy of Driving,” that long-lived “Ultimate” slogan isn’t going away. “That,” he insisted, “would never, ever occur.”