There are times in life when you just need to ask yourself the question: Why? All to often in the automotive world customizers and tuning companies try and strut their stuff to see if they can improve on what the manufactures put out. Some succeed and others fail miserably. Choosing the car to put under the knife is an even bigger challenge as some car companies produce automobiles that are so good that they really don’t need any improvements.

You order a bedroom set for your son, but when it arrives, the mattress you thought would be included in the deal is missing. What do you do? If you’re Robert Caton of Hampshire, UK, you guzzle two bottles of cheap whiskey, hop in your ‘83 Rolls-Royce, and plow through the store in a drunken, poorly conceived rampage. Oh, and not on the first try either – he made two unsuccessful attempts to raze the store before finally succeeding in careening the Roller through the window, causing roughly $100,000 worth of damage.

After a 15-month pregnancy Rolls-Royce has finally given birth the new, frequently gossiped about, baby rolls. Developed under the codename RR4, details surrounding the “entry level” Rolls were leaked out in carefully orchestrated increments over the course of the past few months, leaving us with a hodgepodge of features painted on a largely blank canvas. Today, however, all the minutia have been cleanly pieced together with the unveiling of the Rolls-Royce Ghost.

Virtually indistinguishable from the 200EX concept coyly introduced back in March, the Rolls-Royce Ghost is indeed a more austere (if such a word can be applied to Rolls-Royce) version of its big brother, the flashy, hulking Phantom. A full 15-inches shorter than the aforementioned rapper’s delight, the Ghost was designed with simplicity in mind, aimed at highlighting function and performance while still maintaining the old world luxury synonymous with the brand. The result is, quite simply, a success.

Come live vicariously through us as we, the most prestigious automotive blog in the world, grace the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance with our stately presences. We’re sure to be the star attractions – forget the live unveiling of several never-before-seen new cars, and the endless rows of priceless works of automotive art sprawled out on the golf course greens like so many unobtanium sandtraps. Surely Jay Leno and the other celebrities will probably manage to jostle themselves into the photos of our expert appraisals of the class frontrunners, but we won’t be too upset. We’ll take a break from being the life of the Concours every so often to update you, our faithful readers. So check back often, and follow us at http://twitter.com/ridelust and in our Pebble Beach live coverage to catch all of the latest updates.

Image courtesy Pistonheads.

A loyal Pistonheads reader in Belgium shot these shocking pictures of this Silver Cloud II festooned with more flair than a TGI Friday’s waitstaff convention. From the flames to the hood scoop, this Roller is dripping with inconsistent messages. Imagine who would lurk inside – a mullet-sporting teenage Elton John? Anyways, there is a method to the madness, as we will reveal shortly.

In a thinly disguised attempt to quickly shed excess inventory, Bentley Motors has announced they will be holding a “one-off parts and accessories fair” at their headquarters outside of Cheshire. Stocked with some 7 million Bentley and Crewe-based Rolls-Royce parts for cars manufactured from 1955 on, Bentley’s PR department did a masterful job of making a quick garage sale for extra cash sound like an exclusive after-hours event at Bergdorf’s.

From our “Slow News Day” file:

Today, Rolls-Royce announced the appointment of Jolyon Nash as Director of Sales and Marketing, ushering in a new era of comically overpriced, ridiculously indulgent luxury (jealous? Us? Perish the thought!). Nash, who succeeds Graeme Grieve, is a graduate of the UK’s Greenwich University where he obtained a BA (Hons) Business Studies. Prior to joining the Rolls Ranks, Nash served as a dealer principal (and later as General Manager) for BMW Group in South Africa before joining Volkswagen in 2001. In 2005, Nash joined McCarthy Limited, one of South Africa’s largest Motor Groups, as Executive Director with responsibility for McCarthy’s Vehicle Import and Distribution business, Yamaha Distributors and McCarthy Financial Services.

Apparently, Rolls-Royce drew the same conclusions we did after getting a load of the Geely GE at the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show, and they aren’t happy. Presumably citing the huge radiator grill, suspiciously similar hood ornament, and a laundry list of interior accessories as substantive evidence, Rolls-Royce is reportedly discussing the possibility of taking formal legal action against Geely. Feigning innocence, Geely insists their $40,000 GE is merely a budget-friendly interpretation of RR’s famous $365,000 Phantom, as opposed to a blatant knock-off, but Rolls is apparently unconvinced. According to the company, Rolls-Royce is heavily investigating the potential copyright infringement, and although they have yet to take legal action, they are not completely removing the possibility from the table. “Our colleagues in Shanghai are taking a serious look at it,” a Rolls-Royce spokesman told the Daily Mail. “Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is very protective of its brand image and takes seriously any attempt to imitate its products.”

The Chinese are commonly held as the kings of copyright infringement, and nowhere is this more evident than with the new Geely GE. Produced by China-based Geely Automobile, the Geely GE is a dead ringer for the Rolls-Royce Phantom and mimics every one of its features right down to the extensive interior upholstery options and “starry night” headliner. As a matter of fact, aside from Geely’s badging, the only noticeable difference between the GE and Phantom Drophead Coupe is GE’s somewhat bizarre decision to outfit the GE’s rear passenger space with only a single, throne-like seat. Expected to debut officially next month at the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show, Geely seems dismissive of concerns that the GE is too similar to the Phantom to be considered an original product and expects to market the GE by appealing to the same pseudo-wealthy crowd targeted by the Chrysler 300.

Given that East Asia as a whole enjoys the dubious distinction of being the world’s leading exporter of sketchy-ass shit, the only thing that “shocks” us about the Geely GE is the fact that it doesn’t come with an exclusive set of genuine authentic 100% real Louis Vuitton luggage.

Expected to sit on the Rolls-Royce lineup as the smallest, most “affordable” model yet, the Rolls-Royce RR4 has once again made the headlines with the revelation of its engine specs. Unveiled in concept form as the Rolls Royce 200EX at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this month, little production information was given on RR4, leaving many of the more pertinent details up to heavy speculation (which we auto bloggers are very, very good at).

Apparently deciding to throw us a bone, Rolls-Royce CEO Tom Purves resolved one of our most burning questions today by announcing that the new Rolls-Royce RR4 will be powered by BMW’s 6.6L turbocharged 12-banger. Mated to the same 8-speed ZF gearbox found on the Phantom, the RR4 will be capable of producing well-over 500bph (upwards of 373kW/507PS), allowing it to stand toe-to-toe with it’s big brothers. Misleadingly referred to as the “baby” Rolls, Rolls-Royce CEO Tom Purves stressed that there’s nothing minimizing about the RR4, especially in terms of performance. “RR4 will deliver an authentic Rolls-Royce experience to owners, so expect peerless comfort and build quality. However, we have consciously engineered this car to be more involving and dynamic for those owners around the world that will wish to drive it themselves.”