AUTOMOTIVE CRITICDan NeilPut the ill-fated Phaeton in...

AUTOMOTIVE CRITIC

Dan Neil

Put the ill-fated Phaeton in the driveway

Volkswagen’s folly may be your gain. Last month, the German auto giant announced it would discontinue the Phaeton, a four-door luxury super-sedan powered by either a V-8 or a mighty W12 engine. The 2006 models are the last. Apparently, consumers could not compute the notion of a six-figure Volkswagen.

The thing is, VW’s defunct dreadnaught is an awesome piece of car building, as swank and powerful in its way as a Bentley Continental GT or an Audi A8 -- no coincidence, that, since the car uses much of the same powertrain components, suspension and electronics as these cars, which are cousins in the VW family. It is certainly one of the half-dozen best sedans in the world.

So, my suggestion: Find one coming off a one- or two-year lease and save $30,000 or $40,000 on a car that did not sell well only because of badge snobbery. You’ll also have the satisfaction of driving one of the rarest cars on the road. VW has sold only 3,000 Phaetons since 2003. By comparison, Lamborghinis are as common as mailboxes.

VW Phaeton W12, originally selling for $101,300, now going for about $66,700. Check sites such as www.autotrader.com, www.cars.com, www.edmunds.com.

Getting your mouse up to speed

You’ve got the Ferrari -- you do have the Ferrari, don’t you? -- you’ve got the hat, you’ve got the T-shirt. What else can a loyal tifosi buy to show his love of Maranello? Presenting the Ferrari-branded Acer LCD monitor. Now you can look just like Ferrari Technical Director Ross Brawn on the pit wall, studying digital telemetry from Schumacher’s car. Never mind that you’re using Instant Messenger. It’s the thought that counts.

Actually, I’ve been in the Ferrari pits and, sure enough, these black-lacquer Acer monitors look just like the ones the F1 team uses. Two models, one 19-inch and the other 20-inch, are produced in limited runs of 1,000 each. Acer also sells a Ferrari laptop, in case you want to show your Italian colors at the espresso bar.

Acer Ferrari-branded 19-inch F-19 monitor, $550; 20-inch F-20 monitor, $760, available by Dec. 17 at www.tigerdirect.com.

When Edsels roamed the Earth

What is a man’s bathroom without a stack of half-read car magazines? A woman’s bathroom. Though there is no shortage of automotive buff books, Motor Trend Classic -- a graphically handsome and sophisticated new publication from the publishers of Motor Trend -- will be a top-of-the-pile addition to the library. Tapping into 60 years of gear-head archives and manned by marquee players in the world of automotive journalism, Motor Trend Classic promises a rich mix of American and European vintage iron. In the premiere issue, for example, is a charming feature about finding L.A. in a 1958 Edsel Ranger, with photos that perfectly re-create the hot tints and shadows of Kodachrome postcards.

Motor Trend Classic magazine, $19.95 for six bimonthly issues, www.motortrendclassic.com.

VIDEO GAME REVIEWER

Pete Metzger

Pleasingly portable

Allow us to make our case for the essential gift to give the gamer in your life: the Sony PlayStation Portable. Movies. Music. Internet. And above all, games. All in your sweaty little palms. On the couch. At the beach. On a plane. Anywhere. When held about a foot away, the bright 4.3-inch screen gives the illusion you’re watching a 32-inch TV. And the DVD-quality mini-discs offer a wide selection of films, from the cartoonish fun of “Kung Fu Hustle” to the Gelfing-populated classic “The Dark Crystal.” But, first and foremost, this is a game system. With quality graphics and a variety of titles (most even play wirelessly), no longer are the addictive and expansive worlds of Grand Theft Auto and Star Wars Battlefront II relegated to your home.

PlayStation Portable, $249.99, www.us.playstation.com.

Fido minus the fuss

“Daddy, can we get a puppy?” As far as gift wishes go, this one falls right between a new bicycle and a Barbie doll on the all-time popular list. But puppies tend to bark. And make a mess. And are really hard to wrap. Yet this is no longer a problem with the video game Nintendogs for the Nintendo DS system, a perfect replacement for the real thing. In the game, visit the kennel, select one of 18 breeds of cute and cuddly dogs, then care and train your new best friend. Take your pooch on walks, scratch his belly. All the fun, none of the mess. And the best part: an off-switch when it’s time for bed.

Nintendogs; $29.99, www.nintendogs.com.

Ugliness is in the eye of the beholder

For something with such a mean-spirited label, the Uglydolls are really quite cute. And while they might be a little too strange for the flyover states, they’re perfect little companions for cutting-edge Southern Californians.

Take Uglydog, for example. Sure he’s got the usual four legs and a tail, but he also got three little pointy teeth. And two pointy ears. Oh, and only one eye. And he’s pink. He’s got friends like Trey, with her three light blue eyes and three brains in each of the wavy humps on her head. (On the website, each of the 13 styles comes complete with its own back story.) The dolls make great throw pillows for those with a jacked-up sense of humor.

Uglydolls come in four varieties -- a 14-inch plush ($20), a 7-inch plush ($10), a vinyl version ($22) and a 4-inch keychain ($6) -- and are available at Tower Records stores, Wacko and online at www.uglydolls.com.

FASHION CRITIC

Booth Moore

Shoes on the move

We all know Manolo Blahnik thanks to “Sex and the City’s” favorite scribe, Carrie Bradshaw. And now there’s a book for those of us who can’t afford a closet full of his outrageously chic shoes on a journalist’s salary. “Blahnik by Boman” is a collaborative effort between the shoe designer and fashion photographer Eric Boman, who have been best friends for more than 30 years. In more than 165 photographs, Blahnik’s creations take center stage in an array of playful settings -- a nautical navy-and-white mule lounges on a sandy beach; a crocodile stiletto is lodged in the jaws of a crocodile; a chocolate brown sandal sits atop a box of chocolates; and a feather-flecked T-strap is caught in a black bird’s beak. The book is terrific fun, and for the shoe lover on your list, it should be almost as covetable as a pair of Manolos.

“Blahnik by Boman,” Chronicle Books, $85, www.chroniclebooks.com.

Elegant earphones

Bring on the ear bling. If the iPod was the must-have accessory last holiday season, this year it’s all about accessorizing that accessory. Shuga Buds are stereo-quality earphones studded with Swarovski crystals that make plugging in a fashion statement.

Shuga Buds, $45, Saks Fifth Avenue. Available at www.shugabuds.com in January.

Cutting-edge Razr

You care about the color of your shoes, your handbag and your car, so why not your phone? Finally, the techno geeks who design phones have caught up with the fashion crowd and the Motorola Razr is available in a swoon-worthy shade of magenta. As skinny as a starlet, the phone has already been spotted, pressed up to the ears of Hollywood It girls Paris Hilton, Eva Longoria, Nicole Richie, Kirsten Dunst, Jessica Simpson and Mischa Barton. With photo messaging and caller ID, a hands-free connection and global quad-band technology, it will keep you connected in London, Tokyo and L.A.

Magenta Motorola Razr, $299.99, T-Mobile stores, www.t-mobile.com.

Pricey personalized perfume

Eau de Britney Spears, eau de Sarah Jessica Parker, eau de Sean “Diddy” Combs ... how about eau de you? Fly to Paris and commission Jean-Michel Duriez, the “nose” of the fragrance house Jean Patou, to create a custom scent. To begin, the perfumier will take you on an olfactory tour of the city to determine your favorite scents (baking bread? roses? champagne?). Then he will weave them into a fragrance that you’ll receive a few months later in a Baccarat crystal bottle.

This ultimate indulgence begins at $65,000. Jean Patou Boutique, 5 rue de Castiglione, Paris. Phone: 011-33-1-42-92-07-22.