The Second Coming: Volkswagen To Bring Phaeton Flagship Back To US In January

People wont buy it if it's the same price (or slightly lower) as the A8 - even if it was a better car.....they will have to be very careful with pricing this time around or it will fail like last time...

Couldn't agree more and a 2nd failure would be a disaster for VW.

There's something very redundant about this car.

Just build the frickin Microbus for once! At least it has a chance of success.

Audi must be shaking in their boots.... Agreed ... LOL

Just build the frickin Microbus for once! At least it has a chance of success. .... Agreed !!!

I predict it will sell worse than the first try.

Depends on the price.

I guess VW didn't learn from their mistakes the first time 'round, so they're going to repeat them. Hey VW, listen up!

(1) If you want to play in the luxury market, create a luxury brand, or use an existing one. Like Audi. The name Volkswagen is synonymous with practicality and economy, not luxury.

(2) If you want to play in the luxury market, look the part. Creating a car that looks like an Uber-Jetta won't cut it, no matter how great the fit, finish, or quality of the wood, leather, and paint.

They need to go against the Equus and not the other established rivals like Mercedes and BMW, did I mentioned its own sister - Audi. It has to be significantly cheaper than the competition and obviously, people will buy German engineering rather than the copycat Hyundai.

German car mag Autobild's rendering of the 2015 VW Phaeton
http://i.auto-bild.de/ir_img/1/0/7/5/8/2/5/VW-Phaeton-Illustration-Heckansicht-729x486-5c7437c4bd8f2a90.jpg

VW Phaeton interior
http://car.kak.net/bilder/vw/vw_phaeton91s.jpg
http://car.kak.net/bilder/vw/vw_phaeton90s.jpg
http://lovelyrides.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Volkswagen-Phaeton-Interior.jpg
http://visualogs.com/images/2013/03/2005-Volkswagen-Phaeton-Lounge-Study-Table-Wallpaper.jpg

In Germany, Volkswagen sold 108 Phaetons in June (873 first six months Jan to June 2013), while Mercedes sold only 94 S-Class in June (1,381 first six months 2013) according to KBA, Germany's Federal Transport Authority (PDF file) . [According to Autobild, the worldwide sales of the Phaeton were at 10,270 in 2011 and 9,332 in 2012.]
http://tinyurl.com/op6uzer

The Germans know much more about making, testing, driving and buying luxury cars than others. Obviously the Phaeton had certain excellent qualities for Germans to spend so much money on it. Unfortunately for the Phaeton, North Americans foolishly desire the illusionary status myths of Mercedes and BMW cars.
http://web.mit.edu/krugman/www/mercedes.html

Most Phaetons are sold in Asia, especially China which has fueled a 'boom' for the aging Phaeton.
http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/news/vw-phaeton-rekordabsatz-china-sorgt-fuer-phaeton-boom-3340553.html

As long as the next Phaeton is hugely successful at displacing or eating into Mercedes, Lexus, Jaguar and Hyundai in Asia, it does not matter for VW if only a small number of Phaetons are sold in North America. Obviously VW and Audi will make sure that the VW Phaeton and Audi A8 are not direct competitors.

When the VW Phaeton first came out, it held its own in several tests:

Motor Trend comparison test, 2004: first place Audi A8L, second place: 2004 Lexus LS 430, third place Volkswagen Phaeton V8, fourth place: Mercedes-Benz S430, fifth place (tie) Jaguar Vanden Plas, BMW 745i.
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/luxury/112_0409_luxury_sedan_comparison/viewall.html

German car mags gave first place to the Phaeton over familiar names...

VW - Phaeton W12 4Motion four-seater (521 points) defeats Mercedes S 600 L (518 points)
http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/vergleichstest/vw-phaeton-besser-als-die-s-klasse-759114.html?show=2

VW Phaeton V8 4Motion (490 points) defeats Lexus LS 460 Ambience (469 points)
http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/vergleichstest/vw-phaeton-gegen-lexus-ls-460-schwere-los-752920.html?show=2

VW Phaeton V8 4Motion defeats BMW 740I
http://www.autozeitung.de/auto-vergleichstest/bmw-gegen-vw-teil-8-bmw-740i-und-vw-phaeton-v8-4motion

VW Phaeton V6 TDI 4Motion (496 points) defeats Jaguar XJ 3.0 V6 D (471 points)
http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/vergleichstest/jaguar-xj-3-und-vw-phaeton-v6-tdi-der-eine-fegt-der-andere-schwebt-4178548.html?show=2

You have too much time on your hands. Try making some friends.

PQ40: Actually it's you who have too much time on your hands -- as you're here spending your time posting meaningless comments. Pity you feel unhappy that it's easy and fast for me to write a factual post that challenges your closed mind and the cars you sell.

"Actually it's you who have too much time on your hands -- as you're here spending your time posting meaningless comments."

Lol, wow! Great logic, but there was a meaning to my post as I stated a fact, and gave you advice. : )

"and the cars I sell"??? Well I'm not sure what that means as it makes absolutely no sense, but ok.

PQ40: "I stated a fact"
You obviously don't know the difference between 'fact' and 'assumption'.

PQ40: " and gave you advice."
Asking me to be your friend is not good advice for me :)

But you can't deny this fact: the vast majority of Phaeton comments before mine were opinions born from bias and ignorance.

I own a Phaeton and it's still a very nice car. I won't buy another one though, not because the car wasn't everything I expected from it and more, but because of substandard customer service by VWNA and my local dealership. If I am going to by a car this expensive I also expect a commensurate level of commitment by the company. They failed and I'm talking with my wallet.

Second time wont be a charm. Give it up VW -your not upscale and never will have enough snob appeal to warrant these products. Leave that to your child companies and stick to the formula that made you so successful in the first place (over priced auto parts & Nazi war products -tanks, Bugs, Kubelwagon etc).

If Hyundai can sell the upscale Equus and Genesis... Volkswagen can certainly sell the Phaeton. No doubt the next generation Phaeton will be a big hit, especially in Asia.

When it first came out, the Phaeton was praised by testers and customers for its high quality, luxury and attention to details, such as draft-free air conditioning. Volkswagen's Transparent Factory assembled the Phaeton and also, until 2006, the Bentley Continental Flying Spur. The Phaeton had engines from V6 to V12. Its 10-cylinder turbo-diesel was considered a technical masterpiece.

Demand in China has increase global sales of the Phaeton since 2010. [China is also the biggest market for the Mercedes S Class as the Chinese buy more than half of S-Class cars made].

China is now the number one buyer of Phaetons. Of the 10,270 Phaetons produced in 2011, 7,827 were sent to China. Reasons for the Phaeton's attractiveness in China: Luxurious interior that others cannot tell from the outside of the car - this speaks to Asian values ??such as modesty and understatement. After China, the next biggest buyers of the Phaeton are Germany, South Korea, Russia, Britain.

As long as Asia and Russia buy lots of the next-gen Phaetons, VW does not have to sell many Phaetons in the USA. In the USA, the Phaeton in VW showrooms could simply be a halo car exhibit that enhances the perception of the VW brand even further.