The days of the status car are so over. Bentleys, Hummers, all of those big, hulking, look-at-me-I'm expensive behemoths — in the cold post-crash light, they just seem superficial. Silly. These days, the wealthy car-shopper is looking for something a little more low-key to drive. Something small and less gas-guzzly, but that still makes a unique statement about them. Happily, Neiman Marcus introduced the perfect model in their Christmas catalogue this morning: Cupcake Cars. Priced at a recession-friendly $25,000 a pop, they're environmentally friendly (they can't actually go on the street) and easily customizable. "The artist will make it with whatever topping you choose," Neiman Marcus spokeswoman Ginger Reeder — who discovered them when the artist, California-based Lisa Pongrace, showed them at Burning Man, of all places — tells Daily Intel. Best of all for competitive New Yorkers, these suckers are going to be really hard to get. "Well, she's an artist," Reeder said, when we asked about the wait time. "I'd give her three months." Get your order in before Paolo Pellegrini does.

Customized Cupcake Car [Neiman Marcus]