Phaeton No Longer Targeting Upper Crust Mercedes - New Focus Is The Chrysler 300 And Ford Taurus

As it should have been, take notes Hyundia Genesis & Equus

Take norte @Car4Life the Genesis has no problem meeting is sales goals and initial orders on the new one are brisk. The Equus sells nearly as well as a Jaguar XJ.

Better strategy

If this is a true Avalon/Azera/Taurus/Impala competitor then there might be hope for VW, but it will come down to sane pricing, excellent styling, and much lower rate of trips to the dealer for unscheduled warranty work. They need to drop the Phaeton name because the Phaeton was a failure. That said, VW should probably stay with it because left to their own devices, the car could be named the Tarshiquia.

I think the Pheaton came before the 300C and of course before the revised Taurus. Seeing that that the offerings from Ford & Chrysler can costs upwards to $50k...i wonder how much content will be eliminated from the Pheaton to get it down in that pricing category.

Excited for VW about the strategy for the new Phaeton. I assume its pricing will also be competitive with the 300 and Taurus without compromising what sets it apart.

Oh dear! These 'cars' the Phaeton is supposed to 'compete' with are a pile of rubbish. About the only decent looking cars (before we go further) that are sold in America made by American marques (do you hate the 'brand' word?) are Corvettes and the current brave attempts to get through the deadly venomous struggle of GM BS to produce a distinctive Cadillac. Here in Beirut (where currently posted) we see plenty of Caddys- rather nice, and the last American saloons with any character. America is barely capable of producing a decent vehicle it seems. We recently had a classic car show here in Beirut, there were old Corvettes and some stunning cars from the 50s and 60s. What happened to you guys since then? This blobby, derivative 'Chrysler 200' is a disaster. Do you remember real Chryslers at all? They had something of the chutzpah of Packards once upon a time. Ah, but you bumped those off.....
The big Ford is a ripoff of any decent German car, although it looks nice enough. So to compare such junk with the Phaeton is frankly gross and if VW try this they do not deserve American sales. But I gather from correspondence that American VW dealers and the perception of VW there are totally different from our experience in Europe.
I was overjoyed to finally be able to afford a secondhand Phaeton just 2 years ago. It competes/compares with nothing, unless you look at a Bentley Continental, with which it shares its running gear.The A8 is a hard riding sports saloon, not in competition with the Phaeton, which is a limousine in character. I sincerely hope that the next Phaeton will line up alongside ours as one of the finest cars ever produced, much nicer to own and more original than a boring Matrioshka Mercedes or faux ferocious ugly Bimmer. But maybe a bunch of guys who need to tote guns all the time in public are not ready for a real car any more... Needless to say, I won't be coming over...

Well that statement demonstrates clearly what you (don't) know.

No way is the next gen Phaeton designed with the US in mind. VW of America has so little impact on Germany that they aren't pulling the Phaeton downmarket on their own. The rumor of the Phaeton going downmarket has been around for a while but the US isn't really influencing that very much at all.

You guys are joking, surely? These American barges are hardly luxurious with their cheap interiors and poor styling. How can anyone say the Phaeton, with air suspension, permanent 4 wheel drive, 18way electric seats, electrically closing doors, electric boot lid, leather interiors, real wood matched veneers, and optional V8 or V12 engines is not a luxury car? Evidently you have never seen one nor driven one. Hardly surprising considering the apparent state of US VW dealers and the little advertising VW seems to have made for this car. In Europe, anyway, VW is seen as a premium 'brand' and the Phaeton, I repeat, if you did not read this a little carefully, shares all its running gear and electricals with the Bentley Continental. Not luxurious? I love this Autospies, but i get cheesed off with the crap some of you write without knowing the facts. And these large American saloons you mention are mainly knockoffs of German designs anyway.All engine, large body, poor cheap interiors. Of course Kia and Hyundai will knock them off the top in sales eventually, as they do know how to make luxury. Unless you know about Bentleys and Rolls Royces, you have no knowledge of real luxury. The Phaeton is in that class, albeit far more subtly and discreetly, which is why we who own them adore them like no other car. Open your eyes, find an old Phaeton, have a look at the timeless elegance, the beautiful handmade interiors, then you will understand my frustration. And by the way, no 'recalls' on Phaetons, unlike those wonderful Toyotas. Thank God for Elon Musk, I say, at least you have one other good American car in Tesla.

I really don't want to be offensive against the good old US of A, but I love cars and do remember when I first saw the original Oldsmobile Toronado, the first Buick Riviera, the Pontiac Trans Am Widetrack, and I feel so sad for what has become, with a very few exceptions, of fine old American marques of car. I recently saw a 1960s Chrysler Imperial LeBaron here in an exhibition. It was from another planet. I despise what GM has done, they ruined Pontiac, Olds, Saab, and now have all these problems of recalls. Only Cadillac can look to the sky, and GM has even cheapskated on their plans for a big benchmark luxurious saloon to return to the level they once occupied as America's greatest luxury car. Do not mention Lincoln. So what are you left with? The faux gangster Chrysler 300? Not so bad, but luxurious? I think not. As a car the American Passat has more gravitas, but you all find that boring. Shame. The rich folks here in Beirut are also slaves to Mercedes and BMW, although I have to admit to a great regard for the A8L and the increasingly popular Jaguar XJL. I really do not believe this nonsense about VW ever dumbing down the next Phaeton. They want a halo car, and they will make it, and perhaps this time the word will get out as it should have first time. However, thanks to all the petrol heads choking on the obvious, I am the happy owner of something truly lovely and EXCLUSIVE!

Phaeton would have been a great name for a Bugatti, too bad they squandered it on a VW...

The problem with both the CC and Phaeton is market placement. I never bought the notion that the Phaeton was necessary for VWAG to do Bentleys when the more sophisticated Audi A8 platform existed. The problem with the CC is that it's priced like an Avalon but is smaller than the current Passat and does not sell well. The Avalon sold almost 71K units last year to the CC's paltry sub 16K number which represented an almost 25% drop in sales over the previous year. VW desperately needs a coherent 3 sedan strategy: Jetta-->Passat-->"Avalon" that are seductively styled and sanely priced. VW dealers are also wanting a "Hyundai" warranty because that would do wonders with customer satisfaction.

The blame for the lack of success of Phaeton in US markets falls squarely on VWNA, IMHO.