2015 VW Phaeton
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VW claims the next version of the Phaeton will be cheaper, and available in the US.
I’d say it would have to be a lot cheaper to have a chance…
In 2005 they sold only 820 of them. Hyundai sold almost 4000 units of the Equus last year in the US.
The Equus is not sold from a luxury brand, but it is cheaper than the Phaeton ever was in the US.
Not sure why they want to keep trying, when they already have Audi selling luxury cars.
What is the point????
Unless they turn it into some kind of “Super Passat”. A big car for about $40 000. Like the Avalon is to the Camry.
Vince, agree completely with your analysis. This makes absolutely no sense for VW unless they need to sell more "dressed down Audi's" over the curb to meet production quotas back home for this year.
and it looks like the previous generation Avalon
Toyota sells the LWB Camry under 2 names: Avalon and Lexus ES350. It's called getting more "shelf space" for your investment dollar. No doubt VW wants to do the same with the A6 & Passat-LWB (aka Pheaton). Same marketing that made GM #1 in all the world for over 50 years.
Thats an awful photoshop of the old model…
Hyundai marketed the hell out of the Equus, it's cheaper, and it's still a flop because no one wants to spend serious money on a Hyundai. That said, there was a business case for Hyundai to attempt to appeal to a luxury audience, and they should continue with it.
Unless VW commits to a huge marketing effort to help differentiate it from the A6/A8, this will flop again. When Audi and all the other VW brands exist to serve the luxury audience, I don't really see the point of this to begin with.
The Equus is only remotely a flop in the US because we're a bunch fo brand snobs stuck on Audi, BMW, and Mercedes. It's got the content to compete. Just gonna need another year where marketing works it some more.
The Phaeton would have to be decontented or dumbed down pretty serious (or built in China, LOL) to be cheap enough for Americans not to scoff. VW definitely shouldn't look to a stinkin' Avalon for inspiration. If any E-F segment car, they should look to Charger, 300, Maxima, or Azera.
@ April 9, 2013 at 3:14 PM
The Equus is a huge flop?
Says who? They are selling BEYOND Hyundai's expectations by a wide margin.
Also, for every two A8's sold, Hyundai sells one Equus. I'd say that's REALLY damn good for a "flagship" luxury sedan from Hyundai, a brand that isn't known for high end vehicles.
Wow, my eyes are bleeding… what a mish-mash of VW, Audi, and Skoda all in one quite boring car. This looks more boring than the Acura RLX, which I thought was impossible.
all posts here are by people who have not actually got a Phaeton themselves. the usual tripe. People who own and drive them love them.Try it some time and you might understand. Audis have a hard unyielding ride, Mercs have joined the fashion parade, Bimmers are ugly. a Phaeton is actually the same car as a Bentley Continental under its smooth chic understated skin, with a drop dead gorgeous interior to prove it. Ask any Phaeton owner and he might tell you, as I do, that it is,as intended by the genius who designed it, Dr Ferdinand Piëch, the best car in the World. why do you bother repeating tired platitudes instead of actually trying to live with this magnificent car?