TRADITIONALISTS may lament the fact Rolls-Royce is now owned by BMW, which became custodian of the marque in July, 1998. But the fact is that without German influence the famous British automotive nameplate would likely have slipped into automotive irrelevance and the title of "world’s best car" would probably belong to yet another German saloon. Almost one hundred years after Englishman Charles Rolls and engineer Henry Royce hatched a plan to produce the world’s finest motor cars (on May 4, 1904), Rolls-Royce is still the epitome of automotive luxury and engineering excellence. For proof, one need look no further than the million-dollar 2004 Phantom saloon, just two of which call Australia home.