[V8] Phaeton anyone?

[GEORGE TUR]

I sat in one at a local VW dealer's lot, Hamilton Cars (?) in New 
Jersey, that was up for resale, and it was pretty impressive. The fit 
and finish on it was very, very good and the mechanic there said that 
the ride is very good, that the V8 engine is solid but might be a bit 
under powered for the car. It's I believe a couple of hundred pounds 
heavier than the A8 with the same engine. I've seen the W12 on the road 
and the acceleration from that car is fantastic, it definitely has power 
to spare. The cars are great highway tourers according to the owners, 
very smooth, quiet and controlled on the highway. Too heavy for the 
twisties though.

 From what I've read the cars are not problematic except for some early 
electronic gremlins that were cleared up with recalls. What I'm leery 
about is that the Phaetons appearing on the market now are all coming 
from second or third owners. Given that these cars never caught on and 
were being resold at big discounts the second and third owners were 
usually people who couldn't afford cars of this type and the maintenance 
that they require. Practically all of the Phaetons I've seen for sale 
are coming from non VW car dealers. Sounds just like what the V8 market 
was, so I would be very careful about picking up one of these beasts 
unless you're willing to go through a painful initiation rite. :-)

George


On Mon, Nov 2, 2009 at 8:16 AM, Roger Woodbury wrote:

> I was looking at eBay's auctions yesterday, and happened onto the VWs.
> There was this VW Phaeton W-12 four seater that I thought looked 
> pretty
> neat.
> And no, I am not going to buy one, nor am I particularly interested, 
> but I
> must concede that I am curious about the car.  Like the V8 Quattro, in 
> its
> time and in its market, it was enormously expensive and a total sales 
> and
> marketing flop.  Still and all VW turned up the burners under this 
> one, and
> I suspect that mechanically and reliability wise they may be a very, 
> very
> good automobile.
>
> I wonder if any lister has had one, or even driven one.  Although I 
> have
> looked, I have never seen one, not in anywhere in Maine that I have 
> been,
> nor anywhere else on the road when I have traveled.
> So, my observations:  first of all, the four seater is neat I suppose, 
> but
> all of those cars have enormous rear leg room. Very nice if you have 
> someone
> riding in back with enormous legs, but that makes the car rather long, 
> I
> would think.
>
> Speaking of long, it seems that the car's platform is the opposite of 
> the
> V8:  it seems to be ALL wheelbase and not a lot else, whereas the V8 
> is a
> pretty short wheelbase with overhangs. That makes the V8 nimble in 
> tight
> places, and I wonder if the Phaeton is a lumbering brute when taken 
> off the
> smooth boulevards of southern California?
>
> Any comments?
> Roger
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