Quote:
... even the best of car manufacturers often misused the body style definitions to make better advertising copy. Remember the VW Phaeton which actually was a 4-door sedan ...
Dave (O_D), first of all thanks for the clarification on the Victoria terminology. I thought, Victoria was a special body maker.
As for the
VW Phaeton, I respectfully disagree on both, the specific and general explanation.
Look, as you globetrotter know, Germany is another country, located at another continent. We use other terms and other standards. Sedan? Nobody in Germany knows, what it is. We call it limousine. German citizen helplessly shrug their shoulders at the mention of convertibles, shooting brakes, town cars and so on. It isn't a "misuse" but the local use of longstanding terms, defined by (German) law and written in every (German) lexicon and newspaper and school book.
Quote:
...Other pairings that are often confused are phaeton and touring...
If a German calls a Phaeton a Touring, then he is a well educated man. According to the German standard DIN 70011
"Superstructures for passenger cars; Designations and Terms” from March 1959 defined the “
Phaeton (Touring Car)” as an open passenger car with two or more seats, two or four doors and loose side parts that could be attached or buttoned in; the top had to be designed as a retractable or retractable scissor top or as a retractable or removable folding top.
But now back to the VW and their:
Quote:
"...body style definitions to make better advertising..."
.
Phaet
hon was the son of Helios, means "radiant", "to shine." Therefore, his name could be understood as, "the shining/radiant (one)" In Germany we write Phaet
hon w/o the second "h" and ready is the Phaeton. To give another example, let's have a look at the
VW Eos, please, named after another Greek goddess.
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