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8. Volkswagen Phaeton
The truth is that the Phaeton is a pretty darn fine sedan. Heck, it shares an engineering platform with the Bentley Continental GT/Flying Spur. Another truth is that few people care. That’s because there is a substantial disconnect for most buyers, whether German or American, between spending something North of $70,00 for a sedan and seeing the VW brand logo in the middle of the steering wheel.
The car was the brainchild of former VW CEO (and current supervisory board chairman) Ferdinand Piech. He is the grandson of Volkswagen Beetle designer Ferdinand Porsche, and the head of the Piech clan, which also controls Porsche AG. In other words, what Piech wants…Piech gets. And he wanted a VW branded sedan that would rival a Mercedes-Benz S Class, BMW 7 Series. Period. The idea still strikes many as weird given that Volkswagen AG also operates Audi, and thus has the Audi A8 to take on the big boys, as well as Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti.
The announced goal was 20,000 Phateon sales worldwide a year. The reality has been about 6,000. There was so little interest in the U.S. for the car that former VW CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder yanked from U.S. distribution. He did so without consent from Piech, and it was a move that, in part, cost the CEO his job. Now, that’s a vanity project!
Why it’s so dumb: As good a driver as the Phaeton is, and was from the beginning, the number of people wanting to spend upwards of $100K for a loaded sedan with a VW bags on it is pretty much restricted to German government heads and Piech family and staff. A true vanity project by the chairman with no one in a position to tell him he was off the tracks.
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