Rolls-Royce

Nothing might so clearly communicate that you won’t ever “get” a car’s raison d’être, besides the fact that you couldn’t ever hope to buy one, quite like $87,424 in options on a Rolls-Royce with a base price of $284,900.

Start with the Starlight headliner in the back seat of the 2014 Rolls-Royce Wraith, made from 1,340 fiber-optic lights sewn into the liner by hand and run off a dimmer above you where you’d normally find the sunroof toggle. It's a dreamy place to let your mind wander, a piece of beauty and whimsy for just $10,000. And as a bespoke feature you can order your Starlight cluster in the exact constellation map of your choice; I’d maybe request the stars overhead on the night of my kid’s birth, just because. Neil deGrasse Tyson, your ride awaits.

Pulled from Rolls' dusty history of coupe names, the modern Wraith arrives as a 5,203-lb. roller with the industry's only rear-hinged doors, just as they were on the 1938 edition. I like so much of everything about the rakish exterior of the Wraith apart from the thoroughly massive rear pillars, if you can even call those slabs of steel pillars. As a result of that long slabby tail, the rear overhang starts looking exaggeratedly long. Wheelbase is, after all seven inches less than on the Ghost sedan, overall length being five inches less than on the four-door. But, c’mon, the car's a beauty, and I’m just hunting around for chinks in the armor.

As for those royal doors: They are enormous, with stainless-steel handles, and they weigh a ton. To handle the intrusion of physics into daily life, Rolls automates the opening and closing via a button right inside the small triangle window at either front pillar.