View source for Phaeton body

{{short description|Style of open automobile, popular in the early 20th-century}}
{{Other uses|Phaeton (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
[[File:Daimler Grafton Phaeton 1897.jpg|thumb|1897 [[Daimler Company|Daimler]] Grafton phaeton]]
[[File:Cadillac Series 452-B Dual Cowl Phaeton 1932.jpg|thumb|Dual cowl 1932 [[Cadillac V-16]]]]
[[File:Mercedes-Benz 300 D Adenauer (3567201923).jpg|thumb|The [[Mercedes-Benz 300d]] was marketed as a "pillarless phaeton"]]

A '''phaeton''' is a style of open [[automobile]] without any fixed weather protection, which was popular from the 1900s until the 1930s. It is an automotive equivalent of the [[Horse-drawn vehicle|horse-drawn]] fast, lightweight [[Phaeton (carriage)|phaeton carriage]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Definition of Phaeton |url= https://www.thefreedictionary.com/phaeton |website=The Free Dictionary |access-date=17 December 2017}}</ref> 

A popular style in the US from the mid–1920s and continuing into the first half of the 1930s was the [[#Dual cowl phaeton|dual cowl phaeton]], with a [[cowl]] separating the rear passengers from the driver and front passenger.<ref>{{cite book|last=Haajanen |first=Lennart W. |title=Illustrated Dictionary of Automobile Body Styles |edition=Second |year=2017 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-2404-4|page=71 |url= {{GBurl|id=gFwnDwAAQBAJ|p=71}} |access-date=17 December 2017}}</ref>

Phaetons fell from favour when closed cars and [[convertible]] [[car body style|body]] styles became widely available during the 1930s. Eventually, the term "phaeton" became so widely and loosely applied that almost any vehicle with two axles and a row or rows of seats across the body could be called a phaeton.<ref name="Terry"/> Convertibles and [[Hardtop Coupe|pillarless hardtops]] were sometimes marketed as "phaetons" after actual phaetons were phased out.

==History==
{{See also|Phaeton (carriage)}}
The term ''phaeton'' had historically described a light, open four-wheeled carriage. When automobiles arrived it was applied to a light two-seater with minimal coachwork. The term was interchangeable with ''[[Roadster (automobile)|spyder]]'', derived from a light form of phaeton carriage known as a ''[[spider phaeton|spider]]''.<ref name="Roberts">{{cite book|last=Roberts |first=Peter |title=Veteran and Vintage Cars |year=1974 |publisher=Octopus Books |location=London, UK |isbn=0-7064-0331-2 |page=111 |chapter=Carriage to Car |quote=''Phaeton'' &ndash; A light car with seats for two and the minimum of coachwork, similar to an early racing car. Phaetons could be double (four seats), triple, or closed. Sometimes also calles a spider, or spyder. }}</ref> Originally meant to denote a faster and lighter vehicle than a [[touring car]], the two terms eventually became interchangeable.<ref>{{cite web|title=Definition of Phaeton |url= https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/phaeton |website=Merriam-Webster.com |access-date=17 December 2017}}</ref>

A detachable folding or rigid roof could be added before a drive in preparation for inclement weather, and side curtains or screens could be installed once the roof was in place. This was mainly temporary and partial relief rather than the more permanent, watertight protection offered by a convertible. As a result, a phaeton was much lighter than the sturdier, weather-ready convertible. Since the body was entirely open, it was easy to add or remove an extra row of seating where space had been left in the original construction.

A phaeton differs from a convertible in having no winding or sliding windows in the doors or the body.<ref>{{cite web |title=Phaeton vs. Convertible? |url= https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/phaeton-vs-convertible.399070/ |publisher=Jalopy Journal - The H.A.M.B. |access-date=22 December 2020}}</ref>
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<gallery mode=packed heights="120px">
File:1917.hudson.phaeton.arp.jpg|1917 [[Hudson Motor Car Company|Hudson]] phaeton
File:Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8 Sala Phaeton.jpg|[[Isotta Fraschini]] Tipo 8 Sala
File:Studebaker Phaeton.jpg|1930 Studebaker
File:Ford A Typ180A DeLuxePhaeton1930 2.JPG|1930 Ford Model A
File:1934 ford model 40 750 De Luxe Phaeton.jpg|[[Ford Model B (1932)|1934 Ford Model B]]
File:1936 Toyota Model AB Phaeton 01.jpg|[[Toyota AB]] phaeton
</gallery>

==Doubles and triples==
There were also double phaetons, with two rows of seats, triple phaetons, and closed phaetons.<ref name="Roberts"/><ref name="Terry">{{cite book|last1=Terry |first1=Christopher W. |first2=Arthur |last2=Hall |title=Motor Body-building in All Its Branches |year=1914 |publisher=E. & F. N. Spon |location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/motorbodybuildin00terrrich/page/n18 1]–6 |chapter=The Varieties of Motor Bodies |url= https://archive.org/details/motorbodybuildin00terrrich |access-date=15 May 2014}}</ref>

After 1912, American use of the term began to be most closely associated with the "triple phaeton" body configurations that had room for three rows of seats, whether all three were installed or not. This also led to the term "phaeton" becoming similar to, and eventually interchangeable with, the term "[[touring car]]".<ref>{{cite book |editor1-first= Philip Babcock |editor1-last=Gove |editor1-link=Philip Babcock Gove |title=Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged |year= 1966 |volume=L-Z |publisher=G & C Merriam |location= Springfield, Mass. |isbn=0-7135-1037-4 |page=2417}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1= Culshaw|first1= David|last2= Horrobin|first2= Peter|year= 2013 |orig-year=1974|chapter= Appendix 5: Coachwork Styles |title=The complete catalogue of British Cars 1895 - 1975 |type=E-book |location= Poundbury, Dorchester, UK |publisher=Veloce Publishing |pages=482, 484|isbn=978-1-845845-83-4 |quote= Particular names originally associated with the Tourer tradition were Tonneau and Phaeton, the latter revived many years later, mainly in the United States up to the Second World War.}}</ref>

<gallery mode=packed heights="120px">
File:1924RollsRoyce.jpg|1924 [[Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost|Rolls-Royce 40/50]]
File:Duesenberg Convertible SJ LA Grand Dual-Cowl Phaeton 1935.jpg|1935 Duesenberg
File:Mercedes Double Phaeton.jpg|1905 Mercedes 28/50 PS double phaeton
File:President Johnson (USA) had besprekingen met Kiesinger te Bonn, lijfwacht Presid, Bestanddeelnr 920-2596.jpg|Cadillac phaeton carrying President Johnson, 1967, nicknamed the "Queen Mary" by his Secret Service detail
File:Chrysler Phaeton 1.jpg|1997 [[Chrysler Phaeton]] concept car
</gallery>

===Dual cowl phaeton===
Specific use of the term ''phaeton'' is with the ''dual cowl phaeton'', a body style in which the rear passengers were separated from the driver and the front passengers by a cowl or bulkhead, often with its own folding windshield.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schreiber |first1=Ronnie |title=Nothing Arrives in Style Like a Dual Cowl Phaeton |url= https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2015/08/nothing-arrives-style-like-dual-cowl-phaeton/ |publisher=The Truth About Cars |date=11 August 2015 |access-date=22 December 2020}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="120" align="center">
File:DUESENBERG MODEL SJ LAGRANDE.jpg|1935 [[Duesenberg Model SJ]] LaGrande Dual Cowl Phaeton
File:1956 Imperial Parade Phaeton - Dwight Eisenhower car - fvl.jpg|1956 [[Chrysler Imperial]] Parade Phaeton
</gallery>
{{clear left}}

==Decline in popularity==
[[File:Willy's Jeepster p2.JPG|thumb|1948 [[Willys-Overland Jeepster]], the last phaeton to be made by an American manufacturer]]
The phaeton and the touring car were popular up to the 1930s, after which they were largely replaced by the [[convertible (car)|convertible]], which also had a retractable roof, but also included side windows so that the car could be completely enclosed.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Taylor |first1=Thom |title=Sure, phaetons are fabulous; just don't try riding in the back seat |url= https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/pheatons-were-a-staple-of-pre-war-car-design/ |date=16 May 2018 |publisher=Hagerty |access-date=22 December 2020}}</ref>

The [[Willys-Overland Jeepster]] was the last true phaeton produced by a major US automaker,<ref>{{cite journal|url= http://www.hemmings.com/hcc/stories/2005/12/01/hmn_feature23.html|last=Matar |first=George |title=1948-1951 Jeepster |journal=Hemmings Classic Car |date=December 2005 |access-date=11 December 2012}}</ref> and was introduced ten years after the previous phaeton to be offered by an American manufacturer.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Arch |title=Jeep: The Unstoppable Legend |year=1994 |publisher=Publications International|location=Lincolnwoood, IL |isbn=0-7853-0870-9 |page=76 |chapter=Chapter Four &ndash; Postwar Plans for Willys: 1945-52 |quote=But it was an open car&mdash;the first American phaeton in a decade&mdash;and it certainly had a sporty flair.}}</ref> The post-World War II demand for automobiles - of any description - was an opportunity for Willys-Overland to build on the Jeep's military recognition and they evolved the 1946 Jeepster two-door station wagon to the 1948 phaeton.<ref name="Christies">{{cite web |title=1949 Willys Jeepster Phaeton |url= https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-1145965 |publisher=Christies |access-date=22 December 2020 |date=15 August 1998}}</ref> It provided a "Spartan but adequate appointments" that included  hinged front door [[quarter glass|vent windows]] and plastic side curtains rather than roll-up glass windows.<ref name="Christies"/> Marketed from 1948 to 1951, the Jeepster phaeton was a rather expensive niche vehicle and "though admired by many, it was purchased by relatively few."<ref>{{cite web|author=((The Auto Editors of Consumer Guide)) |title=Introduction to the 1967-1973 Jeepster Commando |date=30 October 2007 |website=HowStuffWorks.com |url= https://auto.howstuffworks.com/1967-1973-jeepster-commando.htm |access-date=22 December 2020}}</ref>

In 1952, a year after [[Willys]] last offered the Jeepster, Chrysler Corporation built three [[Chrysler Imperial Parade Phaeton|Imperial Parade phaetons]] for ceremonial use, one by New York City, one by Los Angeles, and one intended for the [[White House]], but ultimately used for events throughout the United States.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Siler |first1=Steve |title=Chrysler Imperial: The Most Beautiful Presidential Limo in History |url= https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a26410397/1953-chrysler-imperial-presidential-limousine/ |publisher=Car and Driver |date=19 February 2019 |access-date=22 December 2020}}</ref> These were dual-cowl phaetons custom-built on stretched versions of the company’s Imperial Crown Limousine chassis.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Heinzman |first1=Paul F. |title=Imperial Parade Phaeton |url=http://teamchicago.com/Imperial/prdphaet.htm |website=teamchicago.com |access-date=22 December 2020}}</ref>

{{clear}}

==As a model name==
In the late 1930s, Buick included a "convertible phaeton" body style, which was actually a four-door [[convertible]], as the doors had roll up windows in them and the car could be fully closed.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://img.inkfrog.com/click_enlarge1.php?image=34buick5h.jpg&username=automemories&aid=503866526 |title=Buick brochure |website=Img.inkfrog.com |access-date=15 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140517121151/http://img.inkfrog.com/click_enlarge1.php?image=34buick5h.jpg&username=automemories&aid=503866526 |archive-date=17 May 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url= {{GBurl|id=PO65ddhim6kC|q=Buick+convertible+Phaeton|p=48}}|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919121813/https://books.google.com/books?id=PO65ddhim6kC&hl=en|archive-date=2016-09-19 |title=Standard Catalog of Buick 1903-2004 |first=John |last=Gunnel |publisher=Krause Publications |year=2004 |isbn=0-87349-760-0 |pages=40, 41, 43, 45, 47–63 |access-date=11 December 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=McCourt |first1=Mark J. |title=The 1938 Buick Century Convertible Phaeton offers great bang for the buck |journal=Hemmings Motor News |date=March 2020 |url= https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/1938-buick-century-convertible-phaeton |access-date=22 December 2020}}</ref>

During the 1956 model year, Mercury marketed the four-door [[hardtop]] versions of its [[Mercury Montclair|Montclair]] and [[Mercury Monterey|Monterey]] models as "phaetons."<ref>{{cite journal|url= {{GBurl|id=wi0DAAAAMBAJ|q=1956+Mercury+phaeton|pg=36}} |page=136 |title=Four-door hardtop is the newest member of 1956 Mercury line |journal=Popular Science |date=January 1956 |volume=168 |issue=1 |access-date=15 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=1956 Mercury Hardtops brochure (Meet Mercury's new fleet of low-siluette hardtops ... featuring glamorous, new 4-DOOR ''Phaetons'') |url= http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Mercury/1956%20Mercury/album_002/1956%20Mercury%20Hardtops-01.html |website=oldcarbrochures.com |access-date=22 December 2020}}</ref>

In 2004, [[Volkswagen]] introduced a vehicle with the name [[VW Phaeton|Phaeton]], based on the Audi A8, which had a typical four-door [[Sedan (automobile)|sedan]] body style.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Joseph |first1=Jacob |title=Biggest Automotive Missteps: Volkswagen Phaeton - The "Peoples' Car" brand simply couldn't get away with a full-blown luxury sedan |url= https://carbuzz.com/news/biggest-automotive-missteps-volkswagen-phaeton |publisher=CarBuzz |date=22 July 2012 |access-date=22 December 2020}}</ref>

<gallery mode=packed heights="120px">
File:1934 Buick Series 60 Convertible Phaeton.JPG|1934 Buick "convertible phaeton"
File:1956MercuryMontclair.jpg|1956 [[Mercury Montclair]] Phaeton 4-door hardtop sedan 
File:2013 Volkswagen Phaeton V6 4MOTION TDi SWB Automatic 3.0.jpg|2013 [[Volkswagen Phaeton]] – a four-door hardtop sedan
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Brougham (car body)|Brougham]]
* [[Coupé]]
* [[Grand tourer]]
* [[Roadster (automobile)|Roadster]]
* [[Runabout (car)|Runabout]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Automobile configuration}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phaeton Body}}
[[Category:Car body styles]]