Is the Volkswagen Phaeton Coming Back to the U.S.?

Angelina and Brad Pitt have one in LA
perfect car for luxury, big enough to armor and very down low, quiet, and you instantly DON'T look like an Audi, BMW, Benz, Rolls, Bentley douche bag

VW is so out of it's league (or at least the league it should be concentrating on) with this car! The Paeton is a wonderful car, but a car at this price must offer some type of cache'. That's why it failed the last go around. Furthermore, VW is limiting it's success by crowding it's own image brand, Audi. They would be best served being a German alternative to the likes of Honda, Ford, Toyota and the likes. Leave the Premium stuff for Audi and the sports stuff to Porsche.

Why is the VW USA group so obsessed with selling a high end luxury car?

The VW dealer network is in no way qualified to support a high end luxury car. Perhaps VW should mandate their dealer owners frequent visits to Lexus dealerships so they can learn what a Luxury dealer really is.

Besides, VW already has several divisions (Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, etc) that market high end luxury vehicles.

the Phaeton is a wonderful car, and VW should have kept it here. however, dealerships will need to be reorganized to maintain sale of such cars, perhaps a specialist. same should go for Hyundai with the Genesis and the Equus. For those who don't like it should obviously go shop somewhere else.

and I'm willing to bet that 8 out of 10 nay sayers can't even afford a Toyota Camry.

No one is ever allowed to criticize GM for brand and product overlap again. VW has taken over poster boy status fir that.

the reason why the Phaeton would work as a car "competing" against audi is because it would not have the brand image associated with audi. its the same reason why a Land Cruiser is bought over a LX. because lexus has a luxury image and toyota does not. if i were to drive a LX to where i sometimes have to go, then i would not be received well by people, but by driving the almost exact same Land Cruiser, they ask me questions about it and are not put off. this is why the phaeton would succeed. also i dont care it the dealership has a nicer waiting area or not. i like the local toyota waiting area better than the local BMW's. the people at the BMW are always sucking up and trying to show me new cars (and its my moms and they know that). when i go to the toyota dealership they take the car and then let me sit in peace and read or watch T.V. and when i look at showroom cars they tell me what's new and what's different about the cars, not how much it costs and how the one getting serviced is out of date and how i would look so much better in the new X6. i once had a sales guy tell me all about an X6 even after i told him that i had brought in my mom's car and that i drove a different brand and was not looking to buy a new car. he followed me around as i tried to avoid him, and when i asked him to give me a loaner car, he suggested we take a test drive so that i could experience the X6. it was really off-putting and we have had similar experiences at dealerships in other areas.

My girlfriend's dad has a V10 Tdi Phaeton here in Spain and although it seems nice, it gets the exact same fuel economy as the 7 series TT gasoline V8 (with 100 hp more).
That little "feature" aside, I could not fathom spending 100.000€ for that car when it offers nothing BMW/Mercedes/Audi offers other than it's unbelievable weight.

He has it because it wants to slip under the radar, which I do respect. I just don't 100.000€-respect it.

all you smart people arguing that the phaeton is a good car for US, please explain why was it a total flop?

I'm sure they've learned from the first go-around and expect to sell very few. Or at least position it at a price point where they can sell more.

It flopped because it doesn't scream "I'M RICH! LOOK AT MEEEEEEEE!!!!" Its too low key to appeal to those who would buy it. It has no flash to it, like a BMW 7 Series or MB S500. And that's what makes it so great to us "smart people". We want ultimate luxury without being a rolling billboard for ostentation and over-consumption.

For the record, as a kid, I liked the Black Beauty far more than the Batmobile, too.

ok, let me know when the mass manufacturing automakers start orienting their business strategy around minority groups that the one you cptmatt represent. I'll go straight to the nearest VW dealer and buy myself a phaeton.

Everyone is looking at GM with 2 luxury brand and the Buick is old a phase out. Then Toyota with Lexus, buyer are aging. Now VW is trying again with a $50k car that people don't think is even good enough to compete with its own brand Audi. Why can VW stick with an average people's car.

The Phaeton was a really great car. Its the one car Vw Made to a stanard i believe was ABOVE the similar Audi A8. People see the VW badge and think "Peoples Car". Well, this is still a People's car! Its a Rich People's Car. As Ctpax said, its not flashy enough to sell and the Vw badge is what hurt it. Also, it debuted when many people feared vw because of the Electrical Issues and the fact that only a handful of dealerships serviced Phaetons.

I think the Phaeton is a good idea, but i think Vw is going at it all wrong. I think they should make the Phaeton more of a Hyundai Genesis [sedan] Competitor, not an Audi A8. With that is to other things. Making the Passat smaller and more importantly, making the Jetta smaller AND lighter.

As it is now, vw is IMO just like Volvo. A tweener brand. Its the company you go to when you're above the level of Civics but dont want to get an Acura. Its where you go when you want something different. Unfortunately, it does come at a price above that of its competition. In the majority of its vehicles, its worth every penny over its competition. Only one that it wasn't worth spending the extra was the Phaeton. You could get a flashier Bmw 7 or Jaguar XJ cheaper.

Actually, towards the end of it's first lifecycle here in the US, the Phaeton was a screaming deal - you could have easily snagged up a V8 model for a shade over $40k.

That said, there was a reason (or reasons) for all those incentives, and most of the posters have already brought them to light. The good news is not that they are bringing the car back here (I still don't believe VW Brand should be impinging on sister brand Audi's market, unless it's priced ridiculously cheaper than an A8), it's that this will drive down the price of CPO Phaetons even more! Get'em while they're hot! (that is, if you can find one for sale)

It's no coincidence that VW is rethinking the Phaeton shortly after the Hyundai Genesis hit the market. I'm betting we see something a lot more competitive.