VW Phaeton

Tasty · 01-19-06, 12:46

I had no idea that VW made a $90,000 car. First of all I would NEVER spend that much on a VW, and second of all I saw one in downtown Houston the other day off of Fannin and it was TOTALLY uninspiring in real life. Is it just me or do the Jetta, Passat, and Phaeton all look remarkably similar. VW's styling has gotten very bland IMO. The Phaeton may be nice on the inside and run like a scalded ape, but it looks like Joe Average's commuter car.

4830Deuce · 01-19-06, 01:12

yeah...For every 5000 no joke 5000 A8's I see I see one VW phaeton...Thing was a flop from the begining...no onw wants a 70,000Plus dollar VW...

-Justin

chinobox · 01-19-06, 01:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4830Deuce

yeah...For every 5000 no joke 5000 A8's I see I see one VW phaeton...Thing was a flop from the begining...no onw wants a 70,000Plus dollar VW...

-Justin

Not defending anyone but... why not?

SpoiledMan · 01-19-06, 01:23

Well, because.....

Doesn't matter, the market has spoken and they wont be imported to the states any longer. Too much for a car with V and W on the back and it doesn't stand out at all.

pigeonbus · 01-19-06, 01:43

I love the Phaeton. The interior is very beautiful, it has tons of features, and I believe it really has a street presence. Something about it makes it look very powerful and like the top-line luxury sedan that it is. I don't know where everyone gets the whole "bland-look" from. I've never mistaken one for a Passat, let alone a Jetta. Yeah it's not crazy and edgy but it would be stupid if it was an over-the-top design.

The "VW" name just did it no good. However, this cannot be said for the Touareg, which I believe is doing quite well, no? Also another awesome looking product.

SpoiledMan · 01-19-06, 01:46

I would never argue that it isn't a quality product made of very good materials but it has no "pedigree" to put it in the price category that it magically appeared in.

Accumulator · 01-19-06, 02:24

Even though I'd go Audi myself, I'll play devil's advocate just for grins:

I *like* the idea that it doesn't look like an obviously expensive car and doesn't scream "I'm trying to impress people". Sorta like the way I take the S4/6/8 badges off my Audis so they're more stealthy and even took the A8 badge off my wife's car. I genuinely like the understated look of the Phaeton, it's the soft ride and too-electro/non-analog interior features that put me off. If they made a GLI version of the V12 one I might've even thought about one.

And, heh heh, tip to VW: you'd sell more of your SUVs here in the states if you gave it a different name

SpoiledMan · 01-19-06, 02:39

Accumulator, I agree with what you're saying but they missed the "middle market with this car. If they were going to market the Phaeton here it seems to *me* that it would have made more sense to have a car that filled the gap between the $3x,xxx dollar Passat and the $7x,xxx+ dollar Phaeton. The other spin off "luxury" brands allow steps to get to the top dog. I guess one could argue that the Touareg (sp?) is in the middle but a car would have been better, no? It's nice for the company to have something for it's loyal customers to grow into but not so nice to think that they can suddenly afford a car that's more than twice the price of the previous TOL car.

drewski59 · 01-19-06, 02:54

Yes, the Phaeton is a nice car. Competes hurdle for hurdle with Benz, BMW, and for some reason, Audi. It has tons of luxury features, an extremely smooth ride, and lots of power. But for that price??

If they sold it for $50,000, it'd be one of the best values out there for a luxury car. But they didn't.

And now, it's a failure.

On the upside, the Car and Driver test Phaeton was in town, and I got to talk to the driver, and he said that resale was horrendous on those. He said he'd buy a two-year old one without hesitation, as it'd be almost half-price.

I'd buy one for half-price, but otherwise give me a BMW or Audi anyday...

4830Deuce · 01-19-06, 03:30

Im not saying its a bad car...Im saying that most people looking in that price range rather have a BMW badge, 4 rings or a three pointed star on their cars. One of the reasons the american car market sucks, people in the US seem to look for status not build quality. They want the most features for the cheapest amount possible with the biggest name, which adds up to a crap car that is mediocre at everything, instead of being amazing at one thing. Look at fords model line up right now, they have like 2 or three cars in every car category ***! Do one or none in each and make them the best, then you might be able to sell some cars…GOD! The phaeton is a great car, its a A8 for less money you cant get better then that. Start flaming!

-Justin

Spilchy · 01-19-06, 03:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Accumulator

I *like* the idea that it doesn't look like an obviously expensive car and doesn't scream "I'm trying to impress people".

That's *why* nearly everyone buys a car that expensive. And that's why most people don't buy that car.

Nearly every wealthy person I know, drives a fancy car and they know jack diddily about it or vehicles in general. I know a family well that trades in their two Merecedes every few years and buys with cash, the next 2 near most expensive ones Mercedes makes. And one of them sits parked in a garage in their summer home in the Hamptons and is barely driven except around town with all the other exotics owned by clueless car people.

People say $80k for a VW?! Forget it!

Tasty · 01-19-06, 03:48

I agree with most of the opinions on here that the Phaeton is a flop. Sales declined 52% this year, the number one decline in sales?: Volvo C70 Convertible. No one with that kind of money wants to buy a car from a company that also markets their cars to yuppie/hippie looking people in Jetta commercials. People that drive Benz and Mercedes, etc. get to be in a bit different class. I don't want to be in a $90K car and have someone pull up next to me in a car by the same maker that sells for one-fifth of what I paid for ultra luxury. They make Beetles for crying out loud.