Rolls-Royce sales glide smoothly ahead

BEVERLY HILLS -- Cruising one of the world's most glamorous shopping districts in an open Rolls-Royce convertible, you can't help but feel the love.

A man waves from a seat inside a coffee shop. Valet parking attendants at Spago restaurant hail the sapphire-blue whale. A panhandler in a white running suit accepts a crisp $5 bill and offers to drag race down Rodeo Drive for the pink slip: his overloaded pushcart vs. the car's 453 horses.

The driver, Paul Ferraiolo, politely declines. But as president of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars' U.S. operation, Ferraiolo knows that even in Beverly Hills, the city where more of his cars are sold than any other, the sight of a sparkling Phantom Drophead Coupé still creates a stir.

While the rest of the auto industry struggles, the good times are still rolling for Rolls sales. Millions of strapped Americans are cutting expenses. Even luxury car sales are down. But so far — knock on the convertible's hand-tooled teak deck hiding the folded top — the super-rich aren't buckling.

"They don't check to say, 'Can I afford a Rolls?' " says Alexander Edwards, president of the automotive division of consulting firm Strategic Vision, who is bullish on the brand.

Rolls-Royce, bought by BMW in 1998, is on pace to surpass the 322 cars that Autodata estimates it sold in the USA last year. For the first quarter, Rolls sold 149 cars, up 67% over the period last year.

Worldwide, Rolls sold only 1,010 cars last year — about one for every 915 Toyota Camrys sold in 2007. Then again, it takes a garage full of Camrys to add up to Drophead's jaw-dropping list price of $407,000. Yet, the Drophead is sold out through next year.

Exclusivity is Roll-Royce's appeal. Even its former stablemate Bentley, now owned by Volkswagen, offers cars at half the price of a Rolls.

"They are not trying to get everyone behind the wheel of a Rolls," says Brett Anderson, editor-in-chief of Robb Report, the lifestyle publication aimed at readers whose average net worth hovers around $10 million.