MUNICH, Germany—Deep in the mechanized heart of BMW's assembly plant here is a tiny but significant symbol of Australian ingenuity. Amid the 1,200 robots and other automated machinery is a buffing machine dusting car shells with emu feathers.

GOODWOOD, UK—If you’ve ever seen a Rolls-Royce with a painted pinstripe down the side—that long, thin dead-straight line that goes from the just behind the headlights to just before the taillights— you’re seeing the artwork of Mark Court. That’s his job and his alone—and he does it by hand.