the front passengers by a cowl or bulkhead, often with its own folding windshield. Decline in popularity The phaeton and the touring car were popular up to the 1930s, after which they were largely replaced by the convertible, which also had a retractable roof, but also included side windows so that the car could be completely enclosed. The Willys-Overland Jeepster was the last true phaeton produced by a major US automaker, and was introduced ten years after the previous phaeton to be offered by an American manufacturer. 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. It provided a "Spartan but adequate appointments" that included hinged front door vent windows and plastic side curtains rather than roll-up glass windows. 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." In 1952, a year after Willys last offered the Jeepster, Chrysler Corporation built three 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. These were dual-cowl phaetons custom-built on stretched versions of the company’s Imperial Crown Limousine chassis. 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. During the 1956 model year, Mercury marketed the four-door hardtop versions of its Montclair and Monterey models as "phaetons." In 2004, Volkswagen introduced a vehicle with the name Phaeton, which has a typical four-door sedan body style. See also Coupé Grand tourer Roadster Runabout References Car body styles