Bentleys & Bugattis Selling Much, Much Faster Than Hondas & Hyundais

Car sales are hot, hot, hot right now. In 2014, automakers moved 16.5 million vehicles in the U.S., and even conservative analysts predict that number could hit 17 million in 2015. Last month, U.S. light vehicles sold at a rate 13.7 percent higher than the same time last year -- even with frigid temps that often keep buyers at home. 

But as quickly as mass-market vehicles from Chrysler, GM, and Toyota may be selling, they're not moving nearly as fast as ultra-luxury rides. According to Bloomberg, sales of six-figure vehicles grew more than five times as fast as sales of mainstream cars and trucks last year, and there's little indication that the segment is slowing.

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Why the boom?

Global recovery from the Great Recession: It took longer than many would've liked, but it appears that most of Planet Earth has bounced back from the financial meltdown of 2007-2009. Undoubtedly, one of the biggest trouble spots was Europe, but even that region is on the road to wellness. Consider Rolls-Royce: the brand saw a global sales increase of 12 percent last year, but in Europe, the figure was closer to 40 percent. (In the U.S., it was 30 percent.)