Volkswagen Phaeton... Not good enough?

abdul 65 amg · 21st August 2007, 15:00

extreme torque indeed the VW Phaetom was better than a S class but since the new gen of S class u cannot tell it anymore , but the Phaetom is great value for money when u buy it used one.The main problem it is badged VW and even Americans dont want to buy it.A new gen of Phateom will come in 3 years with a retractable roof roadster version to rival the SL From mercedes-Benz.The actual Phaetom is the same chassis than the Bentley Continental family and Audi A8.The Audi is the lighest because of aluminium use.Even pope benoit has got a Phaetomfrom VW.

extreme_torque · 21st August 2007, 15:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by chpk

There's no denying that phaeton was a engineering marvel.. everybody loved it.... but every body hated it because it was branded as VW at a AUDI cost and called it 'people's car' !! The amount of money invested on design for this car could have easily brought two new polo kind of cars for VW... but they went ahead with this car only bcoz of Piech and rest is history... it was foolish to take the brand upmarket when they already had AUDI in that market.... anyways, there is a new phaeton coming in 2009 and hope they dont make the same mistake...

A new Phaeton... I wonder whats happening... if the first one didnt worked because of the 'BRAND' I dont see why will this work. Another excercize for waste...

extreme_torque · 21st August 2007, 15:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by lurker

I fit the profile of a Phaeton customer to a 'T'. I love the Superb's/Phaeton's and their sort of understated looks. The only problem is I do not have the money to purchase a Phaeton. lol And neither am I going to start an IPO or nor am I about to sell a property to get one.

It is not that i do not love to drive BMW's or Mercs but in India, I somehow feel far better if i can drive something like the Superb or to stretch quite a bit a Phaeton and lead people to believe that i am in a Octavia or a Passat.

I mean the last thing I want is more attention and envious/jealous eye***** from all and sundry. And quite sure i am that there are quite a lot of people who can actually afford to buy a Phaeton think exactly like me too.

Goes un-noticed, away from the glare and gaze, in its own world knowing its better than its peers... there cannot be a better 'feeling' than this and I love the Phaeton for this.

ajmat · 21st August 2007, 15:49

Surprisingly, it did well in Taiwan so I understood from an old report in CAR.
The Hong Kong government bought a fleet for its ministers.
VW registered a lot of Phaetons to boost up sales stats and sold them to employees

EDIT
Here are current sales statistics - looks like S Korea is a major buyer - no VW brand baggage

Production Landmark
Quote, originally posted by PanEuropean »
Hi Ben:
I just finished reading an article in a VW publication that stated that the on September 5th, the 25,000th Phaeton was produced in Dresden.

Michael

Worldwide
2001: 371
2002: 4,262 [3403]
2003: 7,314 [5885]
2004: 9,034 [5485]
2005: 4,809 (Excluding Europe Sales) 4,414 Europe [6001]
2006: [5021]

Europe
Denmark 2002: 2
Denmark 2004: 6
Denmark 2005: 5
Denmark 2006: 9
Denmark 2007: 1
France 2004: 126
France 2006: Oct 7
Finland 2003: 5
Finland 2004: 2
Finland 2005: 1
Finland 2006: 9
Germany 2002: 1,994
Germany 2003: 3,104
Germany 2004: 2,678
Germany 2005: 3,211
Germany 2006: 2,371
Germany 2007: Jan 101 Feb 165 March 263 Apr 295 May 352 Jun 538 Jul 212
Greece 2002: 3
Greece 2003: 5
Greece 2004: 7
Greece 2005: 7
Italy 2003: 153
Italy 2004: 115
Italy 2005: 190 (188 old figures)
Latvia 2003: 5
Latvia 2004: 4
Netherlands 2002: 15
Netherlands 2003: 44
Netherlands 2004: 40
Netherlands 2005: 69
Netherlands 2006: 46
Netherlands 2007:Jan-May 20 July 2
Russia 2003: 10 (1st Qtr)
Slovakia 2003: 4
Slovakia 2004: 9
Slovakia 2005: 14
Slovenia 2003: 4
Slovenia 2004: 5
Slovenia 2005: 11
Spain 2006: 229
Spain 2007: Jan-May 60
Sweden 2002: 4
Sweden 2003: 11
Sweden 2004: 9
Sweden 2005: 6
Switzerland 2006: 36 (Jan-Sept)
Switzerland 2007: 18 (Jan-June)
UK 2004: 213
Europe 2002: 2,261
Europe 2003: 3,838
Europe 2004: 3,646

North America
Canada 2004: 93
Canada 2005: 34
Canada 2006: 7
USA 2003: 265 (343)
USA 2004: 1,939
USA 2005: 820
USA 2006: May 17 June 25 July 9 Aug 11 Sept-Dec 31 (233 Jan-Dec Total) Official 235 2 remain after 2006
USA 2007: Jan 2 Feb 4 March 3 April 3 May 4 June 1

Africa
Angola 2004: 38

Asia-Pacific
Australia 2004: 1
China HK 2006: Oct 35
New Zealand 2005: 4
North Korea 2005: 5
Singapore 2005/06:50
South Korea 2005:284
South Korea 2006:776
Taiwan 2004/2005: 300

source: VWvortex Forums: Phaeton Sales

phamilyman · 21st August 2007, 16:46

Hmm, it WAS sold as the bentley, or so wikipedia indicates:
Bentley Continental Flying Spur (2005) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

extreme_torque · 21st August 2007, 16:49

Is phaeton available as CBU in India?

doctorkats · 21st August 2007, 18:26

its all about mental brand positioning.
people have perceptions and preconceived theories about brands.
as a matter of rule the more populist the badge less the respect and more exclusive or rare more the respect.
VW has always been viewed as a people's car.never as a luxury car maker.
its the same reason the VW toureg isnt popular either.

iraghava · 21st August 2007, 18:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Is phaeton available as CBU in India?

Yes, contact VW India.

rubin2006 · 21st August 2007, 18:54

ITS a nice car though why it didn't sell well until now VW was no where near as serious for Indian markets as Mercedes is secondly , Indians have special space for BMW s and Mercedes so they will be the volumes players in India and Audi will take the 3 rd space probably in that segment

abhinav.gupta88 · 26th October 2007, 15:44

Here's A Phaeton Standing Near Second Stop Model Town

(P.S.) Sorry For Bad Quality Pic.

AMATMO · 26th October 2007, 19:17

looks like this is the third pheaton spotted delhi

abhinav i believe there is a thread for this in imports supercars section

already two are posted there

BTW the car doesnt look grand in the pic
maybe it will look different in flesh

vabs78 · 26th October 2007, 20:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

So if it was destined to be a failure I wonder why volkswagen made it so good, spending so much time and money on it and I wonder what marketing boffins were doing when the decision was taken.

It wasn't complete failure, VW built Bently Conti GT and Flying Spur from Phaeton which are fairly successful.

paganizonda · 28th October 2007, 20:27

The pheaton by any standards is not inferior to merc /beemr/audi but its those 2 v's (from which our very own pune bike maker seems to have inspired for their logo) on the grille that takes out the show.
Even Jeremy also ridiculed at it saying, that a 60 k pound by VW, iss no less than a big joke. But later when he rode it, he had to admit.

mclarenracer · 29th October 2007, 02:02

i have driven phaeton, i was going to buy used one this summer as a birthday gift but deal went bad at last point. pheaton has everything you would want in a big sedan, rear leg room is better than S class and bmw 7. one i was after was a $120,000 new but price of those cars fall faster than opel astra in India, dealer was ready to sell it for $34k with 30,000 miles but you can buy it for around $22k with 45000 miles, things break in those cars more than it would in an Audi, $2500 to replace a plastic behind driver seat. crazy. but given a chance next year i might pick 2 of them for $30K. still can't get my mind around this" v12 for less than $30K".

highwayblaze · 30th October 2007, 00:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajmat

Surprisingly, it did well in Taiwan so I understood from an old report in CAR.

Probably because they're made in china as well. Atleast I know there's a production line in China for Phaetons. Did someone mention it already?

21st August 2007, 15:00	#16
abdul 65 amg BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Brussels Posts: 252 Thanked: Once	extreme torque indeed the VW Phaetom was better than a S class but since the new gen of S class u cannot tell it anymore , but the Phaetom is great value for money when u buy it used one.The main problem it is badged VW and even Americans dont want to buy it.A new gen of Phateom will come in 3 years with a retractable roof roadster version to rival the SL From mercedes-Benz.The actual Phaetom is the same chassis than the Bentley Continental family and Audi A8.The Audi is the lighest because of aluminium use.Even pope benoit has got a Phaetomfrom VW.
	() Thanks

21st August 2007, 15:49	#19
ajmat Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 14,866 Thanked: 27,980 Times View My Garage	Surprisingly, it did well in Taiwan so I understood from an old report in CAR. The Hong Kong government bought a fleet for its ministers. VW registered a lot of Phaetons to boost up sales stats and sold them to employees EDIT Here are current sales statistics - looks like S Korea is a major buyer - no VW brand baggage Production Landmark Quote, originally posted by PanEuropean » Hi Ben: I just finished reading an article in a VW publication that stated that the on September 5th, the 25,000th Phaeton was produced in Dresden. Michael Worldwide 2001: 371 2002: 4,262 [3403] 2003: 7,314 [5885] 2004: 9,034 [5485] 2005: 4,809 (Excluding Europe Sales) 4,414 Europe [6001] 2006: [5021] Europe Denmark 2002: 2 Denmark 2004: 6 Denmark 2005: 5 Denmark 2006: 9 Denmark 2007: 1 France 2004: 126 France 2006: Oct 7 Finland 2003: 5 Finland 2004: 2 Finland 2005: 1 Finland 2006: 9 Germany 2002: 1,994 Germany 2003: 3,104 Germany 2004: 2,678 Germany 2005: 3,211 Germany 2006: 2,371 Germany 2007: Jan 101 Feb 165 March 263 Apr 295 May 352 Jun 538 Jul 212 Greece 2002: 3 Greece 2003: 5 Greece 2004: 7 Greece 2005: 7 Italy 2003: 153 Italy 2004: 115 Italy 2005: 190 (188 old figures) Latvia 2003: 5 Latvia 2004: 4 Netherlands 2002: 15 Netherlands 2003: 44 Netherlands 2004: 40 Netherlands 2005: 69 Netherlands 2006: 46 Netherlands 2007:Jan-May 20 July 2 Russia 2003: 10 (1st Qtr) Slovakia 2003: 4 Slovakia 2004: 9 Slovakia 2005: 14 Slovenia 2003: 4 Slovenia 2004: 5 Slovenia 2005: 11 Spain 2006: 229 Spain 2007: Jan-May 60 Sweden 2002: 4 Sweden 2003: 11 Sweden 2004: 9 Sweden 2005: 6 Switzerland 2006: 36 (Jan-Sept) Switzerland 2007: 18 (Jan-June) UK 2004: 213 Europe 2002: 2,261 Europe 2003: 3,838 Europe 2004: 3,646 North America Canada 2004: 93 Canada 2005: 34 Canada 2006: 7 USA 2003: 265 (343) USA 2004: 1,939 USA 2005: 820 USA 2006: May 17 June 25 July 9 Aug 11 Sept-Dec 31 (233 Jan-Dec Total) Official 235 2 remain after 2006 USA 2007: Jan 2 Feb 4 March 3 April 3 May 4 June 1 Africa Angola 2004: 38 Asia-Pacific Australia 2004: 1 China HK 2006: Oct 35 New Zealand 2005: 4 North Korea 2005: 5 Singapore 2005/06:50 South Korea 2005:284 South Korea 2006:776 Taiwan 2004/2005: 300 source: VWvortex Forums: Phaeton Sales Last edited by ajmat : 21st August 2007 at 15:57.
	() Thanks

21st August 2007, 16:46	#20
phamilyman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 5,968 Thanked: 4,642 Times	Hmm, it WAS sold as the bentley, or so wikipedia indicates: Bentley Continental Flying Spur (2005) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
	() Thanks

21st August 2007, 16:49	#21
extreme_torque Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Melbourne Posts: 4,377 Thanked: 5,105 Times	Is phaeton available as CBU in India?
	() Thanks

21st August 2007, 18:26	#22
doctorkats BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Noida Posts: 315 Thanked: 2 Times	its all about mental brand positioning. people have perceptions and preconceived theories about brands. as a matter of rule the more populist the badge less the respect and more exclusive or rare more the respect. VW has always been viewed as a people's car.never as a luxury car maker. its the same reason the VW toureg isnt popular either.
	() Thanks

21st August 2007, 18:54	#24
rubin2006 BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: delhi/calgary Posts: 286 Thanked: Once	ITS a nice car though why it didn't sell well until now VW was no where near as serious for Indian markets as Mercedes is secondly , Indians have special space for BMW s and Mercedes so they will be the volumes players in India and Audi will take the 3 rd space probably in that segment
	() Thanks

26th October 2007, 15:44	#25
abhinav.gupta88 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Delhi , India Posts: 4,092 Thanked: 325 Times View My Garage	Here's A Phaeton Standing Near Second Stop Model Town (P.S.) Sorry For Bad Quality Pic.
	() Thanks

26th October 2007, 19:17	#26
AMATMO Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Bangalore\GOA Posts: 1,456 Thanked: 7 Times	looks like this is the third pheaton spotted delhi abhinav i believe there is a thread for this in imports supercars section already two are posted there BTW the car doesnt look grand in the pic maybe it will look different in flesh Last edited by AMATMO : 26th October 2007 at 19:19.
	() Thanks

28th October 2007, 20:27	#28
paganizonda Newbie Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 13 Thanked: 0 Times	The pheaton by any standards is not inferior to merc /beemr/audi but its those 2 v's (from which our very own pune bike maker seems to have inspired for their logo) on the grille that takes out the show. Even Jeremy also ridiculed at it saying, that a 60 k pound by VW, iss no less than a big joke. But later when he rode it, he had to admit.
	() Thanks

29th October 2007, 02:02	#29
mclarenracer BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Seattle Posts: 115 Thanked: 11 Times	i have driven phaeton, i was going to buy used one this summer as a birthday gift but deal went bad at last point. pheaton has everything you would want in a big sedan, rear leg room is better than S class and bmw 7. one i was after was a $120,000 new but price of those cars fall faster than opel astra in India, dealer was ready to sell it for $34k with 30,000 miles but you can buy it for around $22k with 45000 miles, things break in those cars more than it would in an Audi, $2500 to replace a plastic behind driver seat. crazy. but given a chance next year i might pick 2 of them for $30K. still can't get my mind around this" v12 for less than $30K". Last edited by mclarenracer : 29th October 2007 at 02:04.
	() Thanks