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17/06/2008 04:59. Gasoline prices notwithstanding, luxury car makers are unable to restrain themselves. They are driven to develop ever more capable performance cars, which are, of course, anything but frugal when consuming fossil fuels.

A large share of the attitude is the imperative to be competitive and profitable. But it depends on a select group of well-heeled buyers for whom gasoline at even $10 a gallon - the price in some European areas in the summer of 2008 - is not a disincentive.

There are many high-performance machines, ranging from wildly expensive two-seat exotics to more affordable muscle, sports, and grand touring cars. Most are toys, bought for pure driving pleasure. On the other hand, there are the relatively affordable, as well as marginally practical, subcompact and compact... // Boston Globe