Justifying a Six-Figure Car

The world's top luxury cars cost a fortune. Is it morally defensible to blow that kind of money on a car? We think it is Look in the mirror and say "I deserve a car that costs more than most people's homes." If you can't, then you may want to read something else. Yes, we know, spending obscene amounts of money on a car, especially one that burns gasoline like barbecues burn lighter fluid, is, well, obscene. Sort of. But we can live with ourselves because not only are we providing a livelihood for hundreds of talented engineers, designers, and craftsmen and their families in Stuttgart, Solihull, Modena, and Crewe, but also because we are keenly alive to the fact that an exceptionally well-made and strikingly beautiful car is no less a work of art than a fine paintingParking WizardOnly 1,000 Rolls are made each year at its relatively new, €100 million factory in Goodwood, Britain, whereas Toyota sold nearly 450,000 Camrys in the U.S. alone last year. Moreover, the Rolls is almost entirely handmade and can be built to the owner's specifications. It also features such state-of-the-art technology as an aluminum space frame body, aluminum panels, composite front fenders, and a modified 6.75 L, 48-valve BMW V12 engine capable of 453 horsepower and 531 ft. lb. of torque, which can accelerate from 0 to 60 in 5.7 seconds. (Not bad for a car that weighs 5,622 lbs.) Inside, the car is upholstered in 450 pieces of leather cut by a computer-guided knife, lamb's wool rugs, and perfectly matched exotic woods. It might not be for everyone and, yes, is a bit on the pricey side. What if you fancy something a little more down to earth? For the 2007 model year, Lexus debuted a never-before-seen feature for its Lexus LS460 L: automatic parallel parking. The NP Navigation sensors detect the position of surrounding cars and the direction of the vehicle's wheels, while a control module power-steers the auto into tight spaces. The LS460 L's base MSRP is $71,000, and this feature is an option for only about $1,200 extra. The carmaker has patented the technology, but expect to see variations on automatic-parking systems appear in other super-luxuries in coming years.