No kidding, the Phaeton is an absolutely kick ass car, and Americans were too stupid to look past the VW emblem and see reality. The body is made in the same Dresden plant as Bentleys, and it shares many of the same parts. Its a brilliant car, and I’d take one over an S class or 7 series any day.

Please don’t waste your time – nobody wants it. Be smart and bring on the GX-3!!!

Oh yeah, here’s a good supporting video about the Phaeton from Top Gear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmGNRMOpg7E

I want one, used anyway. It’s an absolute bargain with its abysmal resale value. Let someone else take the hit.

i really liked the Phaetons low profile styling. i mean this thing looked amazing in black.

Y’know, they’re great used-car buys. I test drove one last summer and was quite impressed. Luxurious, composed… a very well built car that makes the driver feel like he’s worth a million bucks. Its depreciation is awful on owners, but it’s wonderful for used-car buyers.

My questions are: can folks at the dealership service them? and can the parts make it somewhat quickly?

The Phaeton is a very impressive car with an incredible W12 engine, high performance and very luxurious. But the problem is that VW logo on a $100k car. This car is very much worth $100k but humans have weak egos and would rather spend that kind of money on a car that is inferior to the Phaeton but has a more prestigous logo. Its more about the brand than the product and thats what the problem with the Phaeton is. People are just too stupid to realise that product is more important than the name. Its like all those stupid highschool girls who would rather spend $80 on a pair of jeans from the GAP than spend $20 for the exact same pair of jeans produced at the same factory, but branded with an unknown logo meant for sale at a discount department store.

^ I’d give you 35K

I agree Veda. The A8 still retaims its value because it is an Audi

The Phaeton is a great car that is clearly overpriced for what the market will bear. It doesn’t seem to give you enough, though, to spend money on it, rather than on an S or 7 series car. Having said that, it’s a raging used car deal, I’ve seen good medium mileage cars in the upper 20’s. If I didn’t need better gas mileage, I’d have jumped on it.

Stupidity is always better the second time around
DrFill

I’ll bet it’ll be a TDI-powered vehicle this time, to differentiate it from other luxo’s using VW’s signature technology. That’s the only way I see it working, although it is a very nice car with any motor.

The last one was a great car.
At least Hyundai thought so.
Now we have two jabronis selling Lobster from the back of their car!
Sweet!
DrFill

id say my verdict is pretty consistent with everyone else, this has to distance itself from the A8, such as the idea of the 5 door type thing they were talking about a few months ago, because while this is a great car, and i solely stick with VWAG cars, i would put my money out for the A8.

Phaeton is a great car… I like A8s, but the older ones which were just perfect mobster cars…

http://designercars.be/biler/Audi-A8-0.jpg

Yum.

i drove one with the w12 and one with the v10 tdi and it was great. although not as sporty as the a8 (its made of cheaper steel, opposed to the aluminium a8). and nothing beats v10 diesel torque.

Who is gonna pay that money to get a VW no matter how good OR NOT it is… it still says VW !!
Get a Maserati Quattroporte instead

Edsels rock

People who build cars in glass houses… (literally a building enclosed with glass)… should know when a car is a loser.

A bad investment is usually written off, time to move on.

All right, Porsche really needs to buy Volkswagen AG, because VW clearly cannot make any good business decisions for itself.

i loved the phaeton and was sad when they took it away from the states. its always a nice surprise to see one on the road now here. hopefully they will sell better when they bring them back. i would buy one.

TOZO, Ferdinand Piech of Porsche is behind much of the drive to send VW upscale.

It’s always amusing to hear how “blind” and “stupid” Americans were for ignoring this self-parody of a car. Those of you who actually defend the Phaeton might want to try answering this: what, exactly, is the point of paying the same $100,000 for a version of the Audi A8 that weighs an extra SIX HUNDRED POUNDS and wears a lower-class name? Nevermind that the A8 might be the least respected of the big luxury barges to start with.

Sorry, but the Phaeton was as much a failure in logic as it was in emotional appeal.

VW’s marketing is a bit strange. They’re so concerned with taking the VW to luxury status which is not necessary because they already have the Audi brand. The Passat used to be the bench mark for family sedans, and now every manufacturer builds a better car. The Accord makes you reconsider even getting a luxury car. Maybe they should get back to the basics and build superior everyday cars and leave the luxury for the Audi brand. Let’s be honest, VW has a history of being every man’s car, and who wants to drop 70-90K on a VW, it’s not realistic.

I can’t believe Volkswagen is relaunching this anchor. At the very least they don’t have the premium dealership experience required to sell this car. Regardless of how well it drives, it is a Volkswagen. Based on the endless number of problems I have had with my crappy four-year-old GTI (I bought it at the end of the model cycle, when you think they would have worked out the bugs) there’s NO WAY I would drive a car as complicated as this from VW. Why can’t they just admit they made a huge mistake going upmarket in this country and learn from the experience instead of trying to save face? Madcap – what Americans don’t appreciate is paying lots of money for a car that literally comes apart in your hands.

vLane you stupid piece of crap, the Phaeton is not a 100K version of an Audi A8, its a 100K version of a Bentley Continental GT / Bentley Continental Flying Spur. The platform all those cars share is the “D1″ platform. That makes the Phaeton an absolute steal, only you’re too stupid to do any research and figure out what a Phaeton really is…so I’ll tell you. Its a Bentley level car at 1/2 to 1/3rd of the price.

Maybe VW can take it downmarket.

Great car, bad idea

whoa, guys over here are really polite !! !! calling names is not worth when involved in adiscussion regarding… cars, if the car is a VW then it gets comical.

Great thinking there Madcapp… maybe VW should further increase the Phaeton’s already incredible value by selling a $1,000,000 version under the Bugatti brand, thus making the Phaeton an ABSOLUTE SUPER DUPER STEAL at 1/10th the price!

Madcapp: Hence my point for having a 35K slightly used semi-Bentley. ha ha… if it weren’t for the technical problems with used ones on the market, which is probably the reason they’re for sale, I’d be driving one right now.

Repeating the same procedure again and expecting different outcome is the first definition of insanity.

I agree with planet_drive. No matter how good this car is (or may have been if one refers to its presence in the U.S. market), people who spend this much on a new vehicle in this price point simply can’t look past the large “VW” in the Phaeton’s grille. If the car is/was as good as some of you have claimed above, then it is truly a shame.

I think there is room in VW’s lineup for a sedan that is larger than the Passat. It just needs to be sold at a price that is closer to the price of a fully loaded Passat. I think a lot of people were confused and shocked by the price gap between the Passat and Phaeton; in their minds, they just couldn’t justify the Phaeton’s hefty price tag. I think this overshadowed what the Phaeton had to offer. Hopefully, VW has learned it lesson and positions the next generation accordingly.

That big VW used to stand for something…like a good quality car you could put your hard earned money into and drive.

Now VW has become a leper, at least in the US market.

The real shame is a classic restored VW commands good money, more $$ than a good condition used VW on a car lot.

All right LimpyPenis640-if the Phaeton’s such a great idea, how come it couldn’t sell AT ALL? I mean, it didn’t. And they pulled the car out so fast. Who would have thought that an over-priced, over-bland VW would not have sold? And Piech had too low of a say-so in VW, due to VW-law (u know…), which is why Porsche needs to buy V-Dubb in the first place, snoop.

Shut up TOZO, I want my used Phaeton. Yes, people the car is certainly worth the price. Buy a new one asap!

Nice car with a stupid name. But I’d definately look at one with a W12 on a used car lot.

I’ve seen a couple around town, owner by doctors. Took a moment to realize what it was by the size.

Anyway. I’m not sure if the Phaeton will work in the US. VW just doesn’t have the rep in the US to float this one. But if they can get people to drop $50k+ for a Tourag, then this may still be worth a shot… at below the price of and Audi A8!

the Pheaton is nice especially the W12…
but im more of a Mercedes S63 AMG feller…

In all honesty, the Phaeton W12 is one of the best vehicles, let alone sedans, on the road today. It’s only flaw was it’s marketing and perception. The actual vehicle itself was and is immaculate. It sounds like the “new” Phaetons will not be nearly the same car that emerged in 2004 with 12 cylinders, 400+ horsepower, all-wheel drive, and the refinement of (literally) a Bentley.