The nation and the global economy remain in the grips of a pronounced recession, and a universal economic rule has been 'belt-tighten and eliminate unnecessary expenses.'

Still, as the comic character Pogo reminds us, another universal economic rule is 'Thems that has, gets.'

It's a sign of the times. Ultra-high-end luxury car manufacturers Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, and Lamborghini - - previously thought to be immune from the recession - - are seeing the global recession affect their businesses.

United Kingdom-based Rolls-Royce says demand is falling fast in the once giga-GDP growth regions of China and Dubai, and Italy-based Lamborghini said it expects worldwide deliveries to decline in 2009 after rising a modest 1% in 2008, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.

"My Maserati does one eighty five,
I lost my license, now I don't drive."
-- "Life's Been Good," Joe Walsh

U.S. auto sales most likely will register yet another year-over-year decline when Big Three auto manufacturers report November sales on Tuesday.

But that's not to say that all segments of the auto market are in free-fall, revenue wise: sales of many high-end or luxury cars are doing just fine. Sales of many high-end luxury cars are flat or down just slightly this year, in contrast to double-digit declines seen in typical vehicle categories.

Ferrari's U.S. sales are down just 3%, Mazerati's sales are up 10%, and Rolls-Royce's sales have risen an eye-opening 32%, according to data collected by Autodata.

It's been a great decade . . . for the gentry

Economist David H. Wang said the luxury car statistics are consistent with a macro-consumption theme pervasive throughout the decade: for the most part, luxury brands and super-exclusive brands did well.

"One thing the decade's economic policies did accomplish was a substantial increase in wealth among upper income groups, especially the already wealthy and the super rich. Most people earning more than $300,000 a year have had their best decade ever," Wang said. "That's been very good for luxury product sales, like luxury cars, luxury homes, fine art, jewelry, and vacation homes. Unfortunately, the decade's income and wealth gains at the high end doesn't mean too much for broad-based consumer demand, and for the overall U.S. economy." Wang added that he does not have a rating on or an investment stake in any auto manufacturer.

As most of us struggle with surging gas prices, food costs and the possibility of losing our jobs, it's good to know that one little niche of people are oblivious to the current economic environment, and continue on with business as usual.

Sales of Fiat's Maserati brand are up 16% this year, as the rich continue to buy the $115,000 car. Add on that the Maserati gets a whopping 13 miles per gallon in the city and 19 on the highway.

Maserati's are being sought after by buyers wanting something better than your typical Mercedes-Benz, yet more affordable than Italian competitors Ferrari and Lamborghini. Nice to know that even these buyers are impacted by sticker shock!

According to an article in Bloomberg, Wes Brown who is an automotive analyst commented: "If you've got money, you want people to know you've got money, and people want to find something that not everybody has,'' Brown said. "They are saying, `I don't want a BMW or Mercedes, which you can see on every corner.'"

We all know that problem! Who can afford to buy a Maserati? The company says that the typical buyer is a 54-year-old male with household income of $750,000.

For those of you who decided to leave your car at home and take the bus in order to save a couple of bucks, you'll be glad to know that by freeing up the road, that new Maserati owner will have less traffic to deal with and be able to take the car up to its top speed of 177 miles her hour.

Who cares if gas is over $4 a gallon?

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer's fund has no position in any stock mentioned, as of 7/10/08.

The folks at Nokia (NYSE: NOK) must be feeling wealthier lately. After all, the stock has had a nice rally.

Well, the firm has actually launched a new, high-end luxury phone. It's yours if you're willing to shell out $25,000.

A little far-fetched? Not really. You see, it's a branded Ferrari phone. In fact, it's part of the company's 60-year anniversary.

Oh, and there are only 60 phones available. So, don't expect this to move the needle for Nokia.

But, it does show that big companies can come up with good ideas. And, with the surge in wealth in developing countries, the Ferrari phone should get Nokia some nice marketing points.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) together with Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD) has been sending bloggers who write about technology and about Microsoft free laptops. The laptops have Microsoft's new operating system Windows Vista installed on them for the bloggers to try and perhaps (favorably) review on their blogs. No strings attached, according to the bloggers.

As Microsoft is preparing for the launch of Windows Vista next month, it seems that its PR firm has taken the initiative to harness the ever increasing power of the blogging community, especially those power houses whose blogs are read by millions seeking advice on software, computers, gadgets and brands.

The (really cool) supercompact Ferrari Acer laptops sent to bloggers were installed with Windows Vista Ultimate, the business edition of Vista.

I'm not sure what, if anything, this indicates about Microsoft -- desperation or a simple PR stunt? Or maybe, more than anything, it shows something about the power of bloggers.