Depreciator II: The Return of the VW Phaeton
We reported earlier that next-gen Phaetons would be coming stateside eventually, and now Auto Motor und Sport confirms that the Clarkson-approved uber-Passat's return to the US market in 2009 has been officially announced. The Phaeton was first introduced to the American market in 2002, when Ferdinand Piech decided that Volkswagen to match Mercedes model for model. The car RF called " as marketable as a Rolls Royce bread van" was cut from VeeDub's American lineup in 2006. Since its introduction, Volkswagen has sold just 33k of the stealthy sedans worldwide. News of a U.S. relaunch comes as VW estimates a 1300-unit increase in production of Ferdinand Piech's luxury car for 2008. Will the W12-powered Wolf im Schafspelz Kleidung sell any better than it did the last time around? Nein. But if you discount VW's down market dealerships, the fanatically engineered Phaeton (windshield wipers rest on alternate sides of the blades) could well be the best used luxury car bargain the U.S. has ever seen.
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Replay SLLTTAC "The Phaeton, Audi A8, Touareg, Bentley Continental, and Porsche Cayenne, as well as the forthcoming Porsche Panamera, are variants of the same platform." the official name of Phaeton and Continental's platform is Volkswagen Group D1 platform built under official name VW611. Thats Steel based construction. The A8' platform is aluminium based and name is D3 which means THEY ARE NOT THE SAME.Porsche borrowed Cayenne's platform for touareg and audi took tha same platform, prolong it ant built Q7. Audi A3, Golf, Seat Leone, Skoda Octavia use the same exact platform with small changes and cars still have totally different characters. Another thing about Phaeton is, that car was entry in high end world and they tried so hard to make it high quality. that car is not for racing is for enjoying. it has better quality than & series, even the materials used in the interior are better than bmw's,. Also comparing Phaeton to A8 is crazy as much as comparing A3 to golf, A4 to passat...VW are functional family cars, audi's are sporty prestige cars.
Most here in the US seems uninformed The Phaeton share almost everything with the Bentley Continental and they were built side by side in the VW glass factory in Dresden until Bentley production was moved to the UK. Not only are the platform the same, the W12 is the same engine (except for the 2 turbos) and the V8 uses the Audi 4.2. In Europe it also has the same brakes as the Bentley. See them parked next to each other and you also see that they share the same interior gimmicks and design of center console, steering wheel etc… It is almost surprising the VW hardly saved any feature for the Bentley like the wood panes covering the vents and the breathing dash, the 4 zone climate etc. All suspension, undercarriage is the same, all electronics in the same positions etc I don’t think the VW dealerships know much so service it at the Bentley shop instead, expensive, yes, but smile when you are driving a 160 car for much less, 04s available from 20k now… The car is better than all the competition including the A8, or it is as good as the Bentley :-) The Phaeton is in a class of its own and by the way, I drive an A8, great car and more sporty than the Phaeton but my A8 is not a disguised Bentley
Love my $25,000 ride! Dreams do come true. Always wanted one but yes just didnt have $80,000 to blow. I bought my dream car with 57,000 miles and a bumper to bumper 24/24 extended warranty all included in my $25,000 price tag! And to top it off the dealership VW Boucher in Sturtevant, Wisconsin(Ray Braschko)treated me like I just spent $80,000. If I was rich, which I'm not, I would buy a new 2011 when it hits the floor. Stefanl said it right. Its not an A8 its a Bentley for a lot less. Yes the gas mileage sucks. So what do you expect for a high end dream car? An aftermarket set of 19" rims and this car can pass for a Bentley. For those of us that love our VW's we get it.
Just a bump to this thread.... The Phaeton is a Great car!... I have 3 W12's. The best cars I have ever owned! They make me smile every time I touch the gas pedal. I can't count the number of times someone has stopped me at a stoplight, and wanted to know what it is. I found them head and shoulders above the Mercedes 550, Lexus, and a 750 series BMW. The build quality is hand built, and on par with Bentley. Check out the " glass factory VW built in Dresden". I bought mine with bumper to bumper warranties, and have used them occasionally, so, my costs have been only oil changes. There is a web community of some really great passionate people on vwvortex.com, that are are the best resource on the web. I look forward to the day that these autos are brought back to the US. ( potentially next year). The past depreciation and the current prices create an incredible deal on a d- badged Bentley Continental.