Oh dear, a thread about scenic deserts that has gone on for 13 posts and no one has mentioned the experience of staying at historic Furnace Creek Inn, an upscale hotel in Death Valley National Park.

The single best desert drive that (most) standard cars could ever take is the Titus Canyon road. The half day hike from Golden Canyon to Zabriskie point, returning back through the main wash, is also a delight.

There is a lot more that is accessible to regular cars -- for starters: Ubehebe crater, Scotty's Castle, the sand dunes, Badwater, Dante's view, Devil's Golf course, and (if you drive slowly and carefully and ignore the "4wd only" sign) the Racetrack.

Of course, to get the full experience here, you should have an off-pavement vehicle and be capable of driving it. Then, among many other possibilities, you would be able to take a long day trip from Ballarat in Panamint Valley up Goler Wash road, over the pass, and drop back down into Death Valley. You'd see and explore many old gold mines, some very dramatic desert scenery, and the incredibly eery Manson family ranch.