Sales of some luxury cars are feeling the pinch of a stumbling economy. But entry-level Italian performance automobiles? Non c'è problema!

By "entry level," we are referring, of course, to models like the Maserati GranTurismo, which starts at $115,000. That's positively a bargain compared with alternatives like the $360,000 Lamborghini Murcielago.

Sales at Fiat's Maserati brand have shot up 16 percent this year, while Bentley, Bugati, Ferrari, and Lamborghini have all languished.  

Yes, thrift is relative. Just as car buyers in the U.S. are seeking out more economical models, the inhabitants of Richistan are choosing somewhat less ostentatious luxury vehicles.

Rich Casesa, who sells Ferraris and Bentleys at Carriage House Motor Cars, a dealership based in Greenwich, Connecticut, says that sales are off as much as 30 percent this year, with a noticeable reduction in the number of young shoppers and buyers.

So, Wall Street's 28-year-old millionaires are thinking twice about blowing last year's bonus in one place. But don't think that the super wealthy are as spooked by $140 oil as the rest of us; for all the talk of "hybrid chic," for the really big spenders, gas guzzlers are still the rage.

That newly popular Maserati GranTurismo gets a paltry 13 miles to the gallon in the city, and 19 m.p.g. on the highway—compared with 48/45 for a Toyota Prius, or 19/29 for a Saab 9-3.

"It's not about gas. People who can afford these cars can afford to pay for gas," Casesa says. "They talk about it, but they're not really worried about it."

Porsche, whose overall sales rose 0.7 percent between last August and the end of May, had sales of its Cayenne S.U.V. skyrocket 47 percent during the period. That model has fuel economy of 14 m.p.g. in the city, 20 m.p.g. on the highway.

Things are similar at Mercedes. Last month, sales for the German carmaker rose 0.9 percent from a year earlier, but it counted its tank-like M-Class as one of only two models to experience sales growth (up 16.5 since June 2007). An ML550 averages 13 m.p.g. in the city, 18 m.p.g. on the highway.

At BMW, overall sales are up 2.4 percent so far this year, with BMW's X5 sport utility vehicle clocking a 30.5 percent increase in sales, despite getting a mere 14 m.p.g. in the city and 19 m.p.g. highway.

Rolls-Royce, which is owned by BMW Group, said deliveries were up 68.4 percent from the first half of last year. But a Rolls-Royce Phantom gets an average of 12 m.p.g. in the city and 25 m.p.g. on the highway.

You get the picture. But if the ultrawealthy aren't yet buying into the whole "low emissions" thing, perhaps at least the downturn is pushing them toward a more frugal sensibility?

"I crashed my [Ferrari] Enzo in Malibu last year, barely escaped the cops on foot, no less—and now I'm having a bear of a time finding a replacement," wrote one commenter on the Wall Street Journal's Wealth Report blog, in response to an item about Ferrari sales. "Sometimes I just wish I were poor. It must be nice not having any problems, just drifting through life without any real responsibility, without a care in the world."

Never mind.