Volkswagen Execs Contemplate the Phaeton’s U.S. Failure
Volkswagen is considering the return of the Phaeton, but, now, they are calculating why it flopped so hard the first time around.
Stefan Jacoby, CEO of the Volkswagen Group of America, told Automotive News, “We did a lot of things wrong with the car. It was too high-priced, and at the beginning we had some quality issues that we were not fast enough to solve.
Comments
The Stig
Calculating why it flopped the first time? Gee I don't know - because you could get a car from a REAL luxury line for the same or less as a VW? Isn't not that hard of a mystery guys.......
Bill
These guys can't be for real! Why did it flop? Most Americans still yearn for the days of cheap VW's held together with chewing gum and bailing wire and priced accordingly. Toyota is looking at a lease "sweetener" to move their ultra-desirable new super coupe at far lower price points than this VW, and BMW and Mercedes are chewing away at the entry level luxury market which VW could arguably master with a little work, some quality control, and some innovative engineering (can we say DIESELS). As GM and Ford struggle to determine whether technology might soon make traditional V-8's obsolete, VW wonders what went wrong with their whole Phaeton idea---absolutely freakin' incredible!!
Bill
Correction to earlier message, read Nissan for Toyota.
Iain
I agree with all of the above. Plus I would add that the dealers had no clue how to sell this car or market to those in a position to buy one. I once drove the big VW and thought it was a nice car. I asked the dealer for the lease details - they could not tell me that day or a week after the residuals, the lease factor or the deal. Nuttin'.
The majority of high-end luxury cars are leased by individuals or businesses. If vW wants to make progress in the $50k+ end of the market, they need a new set of dealers....like Audi!!!!
mo
the problem with VW is skoda. in europe skoda took the place of the old VW as it is the cheapest brand in the VW group. VW went higher and more expensive, even sometimes to the price margins of audi. VW should think of sending skodas to the US, with almost everything mechanical shared between the two brands, skoda is a winner when it comes to the price.
Jeb
Here's the real question...would you buy a used Phaeton? What's the going rate on a gently used low-miles one? I hear they're spectacular cars if you're not going for prestige.
Ducati Minor
No, I would not buy a used Phaeton--or a new Volkswagen, for that matter.
If VW's management is this ignorant, the brand deserves the trouble it has on these shores.
Garfield134
I am NOT interested in buying a $50k or higher VW. Volkswagen means "people's car". VW has far too many quality problems. 5 years ago when I bought my current car, the Passat was high on my list. The car was great fun to drive, solid and comfortable. What knocked it off? Price, reliability, re-sale value, and it REQUIRED premium fuel, even for the base model. These faults were definite show stopper.
What did I buy? 2002 Accord EX 4 cyl 5 speed. 118k miles later, 2 repairs. Windshield wiper relay at 45k miles, and rear disk brake caliper stuck at 112k miles. I average 32 mpg on regular gas.
Cicero
The next version is supossed to be less expensive, but still to expensive to be a VW, I love diesel engines but $40,000-$55,000 for a VW? No way
RL
LIke other comments it is not hard to figure out why the thing flopped. I figured that out when VW announced their plans for it and knew it would flop. I am surprised VW didn't figure it out too. VW needs to let Audi be it's up market brand and work on the quality issues that have been a problem all along for both VW and Audi.
Chris
Hey how about not making it look like a fat Passat?
Trinks
The Phaeton is the wrong car for the wrong market with the wrong engines, the wrong name, and the wrong price point.
Garfield134
If I wanted a premium VW, I'd buy an Audi...
fantasyfreddy
yes, lower price and diesel would help it sell... and I do think Audi might be a better name to sell under, but what is really funny is that VW sells tons of Bentleys, which are Phaetons with facelifts!
Bart
Did VW do ANY market research? The Phaetons were great cars with the reliability of a fruit fly sold by already-disheartened dealers that didn't have a clue. I know of one Audi dealer that exchanged two A8's for Phaetons under lemon laws after the Phaeton had been withdrawn and there were no more to swap out. Is the main driver for a return of the Phaeton to shore up the dealers' margins while they await a more rational VW line-up? I agree that a full diesel line-up could be the path. Don't repeat VW's past history of insufficient pipeline of a new model. Do they realize that Ferrari does that intentionally, but it won't work for them!? I just don't know how VW dealers have survived, and a Phaeton roll-out like last time won't help...unless the purpose is to put warranty business in their shops.
craig k
This borders on the absurd. America is going into a recession and a change of values (this country loves it's pendulum swings). The need/demand for upgrades at every turn from every brand will shrink. An uber VW - no. Why would ostensibly smart people be so naive? I can only put it down to ego gone mad within one division living in the shadow of another. The big crime is the lost money, jobs and brand equity of such pig-headed activity.
Louis C. Kleber
Is Volkswagen's management on another planet?
CARSON44
I think that if the VW badge in the grille had only been a bit larger, say the size of a fricken basketball, they'd have been golden. When the car was introduced at the Detroit auto show, the hall was packed, and a very polite young lady was reciting the virtues of this car. I sat in the car for 15 minutes alone,I was resting, the crowd ignored it. If it had been a YUGO, they would have paid more attention. This could have been a hint.
Post new comment