Auto Motives

If I know anything after more than 30 years of test-driving and reviewing cars and following automobile marketing and sales, it’s that you are what you drive. Cars are body armor you wrap yourself in each morning to greet the world. Like the clothing you wear, the car you drive says worlds about your personality and beliefs. A “dream” car, one of those ultra-luxury models that are reserved for the privileged few, says even more—the car you dream about owning reveals who you aspire to be.

So let’s start with a personality quiz. Which of the following most applies to you?

❑ I seek out the timeless and time-tested when I make a purchase.

❑ I enjoy new things and want to be part of the latest trends.

❑ I take my cues from successful people. I do not imitate, but I learn from others.

❑ I think there’s too much sameness in today’s world. I want to stand out.

❑ I value my privacy and do not want to attract attention to myself.

❑ If a dream can become reality, I’ll go for it.

You’ve mentally noted your answers and wonder how to apply your results to the purchase of a dream car in 2010. Read on. We’ll show you how to find the new luxury car for you.

You might want to own a Rolls-Royce Ghost if your wristwatch is a Rolex ("just because"), you travel in a private Lear jet, you want a family car to match your golf cart design, you make anonymous donations to charities and have never once driven your vehicle through a fast-food-drive-thru lane.

Happy days are here again.

No, Ronald Reagan has not returned to the White House, but Rolls-Royce did decide to resurrect a much revered model for 2010—the Rolls-Royce Ghost. Just as Republicans counter Democrats’ initiatives, Rolls-Royce resurrected the Ghost to take on Bentley’s Continental in a fight for faithful fans of British Upper Crust carriages.

The haunting Ghost carries a base price of $245,000 and will dart around faster than the friendly Casper. Under its bonnet (British for “hood”) is a 6.6-liter turbocharged V12 that produces a supernatural 563 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque. Coupled to an eight-speed automatic transmission, the engine blasts a Ghost from zero to 60 in 4.8 seconds. Top speed is governed at 155 miles per hour.

A unique feature today is clamshell doors, or suicide doors as they have been called, each side door opening opposite the other.

If you maintain a nautical interest, take a look at a 2010 Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe. This one offers an optional teak deck inspired by decks on classic racing yachts.

Each deck is hand-made from 30 separate pieces of teak cut from the same tree, to maintain consistent grain and pattern. The grooves are precisely machined and then covered with black yacht builders’ caulk. Two sealing coats and one finishing coat of liquid wax follow.

It’s all terribly expensive—but less than a mid-size yacht.

You might want to own a Bentley if Antiques Road Show is your favorite hour on TV, you find yourself saying “Things were better back when”..., you speak of “value” vs. “trendy” or you just want a killer car that turns heads while it accelerates your own head into the back seat.

This is a year of change for prestigious Bentley. Just as the Ghost of Rolls-Royce was resurrected, so is Bentley’s new model, the Mulsanne, which Bentley sold from 1980 to 1992.

The 2010 Mulsanne is, according to Bentley, the first all-new “from the ground up” Bentley since the 1930 Bentley 8-Litre. The Mulsanne is thoroughly modern, yet hearkens to Bentleys of yesterday. Consider the words of its chief designer: “To achieve this look,” says Raul Pires, “we spent a lot of time studying iconic Bentleys over time. The Bentley 8-Litre, Flying Spur of the 1950s, Brooklands, Azure and Arnage were all touch points. We wanted a more sporting and distinctive Bentley look.”

Hear, hear, my good man. You did it.

Under the Mulsanne bonnet is a six-liter V8 engine with 505 horsepower. Bentley says with the design of this new engine, emphasis was placed on torque, the power piece that quickens launch and adds grunt to any vehicle. The more-than-ample power flows through an eight-speed automatic transmission. The base Bentley Mulsanne price is $300,000.