Twist Of Phaeton

                                                                          

Twist Of Phaeton - Volkswagen Phaeton

The speedo needle is flickering in the upper regions of 220 kph and the road ahead is Casanova straight, has a faultless surface and my lane is devoid of any traffic. Push my right foot down any more and the sole of my shoe might scrape onto the front wheel. The needle is still moving to the right till it begins to settle around the 230 kph mark. Then, the type of sections that the world’s fastest roads are so proud about ends, and since overspeeding fines are steep and your license is apparently wrested away, I bend over backwards and settle at a pace befitting the stipulated 80 kph speed limit.

Driving on the autobahn is awesome and exciting. Unless you’re behind the wheel of the flagship Volkswagen, the Phaeton. Though that might seem condescending, it isn’t. VW went out to build the numbest car known to mankind, and they are sure that many a Richie Rich would spend top dollar to get one of these into his personal parking lot. Seems like quite a paradox, doesn’t it? Glance at the Phaeton and you can see how under-designed it is. It is built like a proper Panzer, but looks as inoffensive as possible. Simple is good, the Germans believe, and that should make you want one, it seems. Opulent Indians who can afford this S-Class competitor want sober automobiles; something refined that doesn’t scream for attention like a political party canvassing for the elections. But VW didn’t ask me what I wanted from a premium segment car (predictably, since I’m light-years away from being a member of the intended target customer group), and they went right ahead and did what they do best — build a grand factory to make sober cars costing top dollar. But the Phaeton isn’t hollow gold, really. To get under the skin of this car, you need to think differently. You have to steer clear of the common stereotype that moneyed folk are brainless and classless twits who date women with more silicon in them than that valley in north California. The Phaeton is a car that few would understand, much less aspire to own, and that suits them well enough. The glass factory in Dresden, also called the ‘Transparent Factory’ produces a hefty 24 cars a day. The time taken to fit the windshield on the Phaeton is probably longer than that taken by a Japanese factory to completely manufacture 24 cars, half a dozen tubas, some karaoke machines and a minivan.