Cars. What does the typical audiophile drive?

A modded Yugo.

I have two cars. The around-town daily driver is a '95 Volvo 850 turbo. The Hoo-Hah Mobile is a 2004 VW Phaeton with the W-12 engine.

The Phaeton was a marketing flop, which makes used the used car bargain of all time. I paid $53,000 for one with 18,000 miles. I intended to drive it only 5,000 miles a year, but I've now put close to 13,000 miles on it in 12 months. I'm finding all these excuses for road trips.

Other than it not having a turbocharged engine, the Phaeton is virtually the same car under the sheet metal as the Bentley Continental Flying Spur, which costs $200,000 in the version that people typically buy. Among other things they both have the same sound system, and it's damn good.

Biggest problem is speeding tickets. Two on the same day last summer.

I really liked the Phaeton, and the only reason I didn't buy one (well, there were several) was that the dealers were totally clueless and the wait for one in that piano black with the fitted rear seats was long- they were not stocking the best ones near me (go figure, I'm near NYC, you'd think they would);
second, I just didn't need to be driving a limo as my daily- right now, using a 993 to bob and weave. Three, they gave no price incentives, and by the time they figured out that they might need to, I had moved on, and the car was a dead letter.
Too bad, it was a nicely built car, and the reverse chic thing of a VW badge on an over the top car was appealing to me. I guess I was in the vast minority though. They must be absolute bargains now. Enjoy.

I bought my used one from what has to be the most clueless dealer on the planet. I live in Seattle and the dealer (Luxury Motors) is located in suburban Chicago. I did the deal on the Internet and used a car shipper. It was an incredible headache. One screwup after another. Oh, but the car!

I bought it for long-distance curising, but when the Volvo's busted I drive the Phaeton in town and it's great. Still, I'd be a bit leery of doing it a whole lot given the rotten streets in U.S. cities including Seattle.

Anyway, you ought to look on Auto Trader.com for Phaetons. I just saw a 2004 W-12 with 22,000 miles asking $44K. If the title and inspection check out, that's an unbelievable bargain. There are only about 400 of these cars in North America. It flopped because of the badge-status mentality of the luxury car buyer. To me, it's an automotive I.Q. test and the high-end American consumer flunked.

I've ridden in every luxury car in the book, and none of the rest of them come close. I owned a '91 Mercedes 560SEL (last of the Wehrmacht staff cars) in perfect condition until I had an unhappy encounter with a highway barrier, and the Phaeton makes it seem like a Crown Vic by comparison.

I thought I was an audiophile until this Phaeton turned me into a hopeless car nut. Every time I drive it I say to myself that I'm really not qualified to own this nice a car. The bargin reminds me of the Stereophile reviewer who listened to the Vandersteen Quattros and realized that for $7,500 they outperformed everything else he'd ever heard.

Cars can make hi-fi seem downright cheap.