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Filed under: Sedan, Volkswagen, Luxury
Whatever
Volkswagen has done to get to the position of dominance in the European - and indeed the global auto industry, it's clearly been working. But some of its decisions still leave us scratching our heads. The
Phaeton is one such four-wheeled decision.
A Volkswagen sedan that shares its platform with the
Bentley Continental Flying Spur, the Phaeton offers the space, luxury and meticulous engineering standards you'd expect of a
Mercedes-Benz S-Class or
BMW 7 Series, in a package decidedly bereft of the badge cachet that goes with it. VW clearly spent big dollars developing the vehicle, so when sales never really materialized, we were hardly surprised that plans were floated to phase it out in favor of something a little more cost-effective for both buyer and manufacturer, closing the enormous canyon between the current Phaeton and the
Passat and
CC ranges that sit below it.
In fact, we've read reports for years now stating that VW will/will won't follow up the Phaeton with a new model - it's one of the most cyclical future product stories in the entire auto industry. This latest report from
Motor Trend suggests that Volkswagen is planning to replace the current Phaeton in 2015 or 2016 with another model in the same mold, downsizing in neither price point nor scale - and bringing the new model back to the North American market in the process. MT suggests the Phaeton will be an technological wonder, going with smaller engines (no W12), forced induction power and available hybrid and plug-in models. Us? we wouldn't be surprised to see the Phaeton adopt the new twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine found in the
2013 Bentley Continental V8.
Apparently VW is keen to retain the buyers who have enjoyed their Phaetons thus far, giving them the conservatively styled, anti-prestige alternative to the luxury sedans built by its sister company
Audi and its own retiring executives - including Group CEO Martin Winterkorn and his product chief Ulrich Hackeberg - something of a parting gift.
Volkswagen to follow similar formula for new Phaeton originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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February 14th, 2012
Filed under: Concept Cars, Sedan, Volkswagen, Luxury
The
Volkswagen Group had a whole lot and then more to show off at the
Frankfurt Motor Show this year. There were about a dozen vehicles rolled out at the pre-show VW Group evening, and then more once the show opened the following morning. For the Volkswagen brand itself, the
new production Up! was the main focus, sharing the stage with the
Nils concept, the
Beetle R showcar and the
Polo rally car. But there was, according to the UK's
CAR magazine, to be one more major debut.
That additional concept car would have been a preview of the next-generation
Phaeton, but apparently VW's corporate strategists opted to hold it back so as not to detract from the Up! runabout. Instead, it will likely show off the concept second-generation luxury sedan at another show in the near future, but the production model isn't expected to come until 2015.
When it does, we'll find out what strategy the Phaeton will have switched to. Insiders suggest it will be downsized to slot in between the
Audi A6 and
A8 (rather than compete directly with the latter) and could include one or several less traditional (and more practical) bodystyles in addition to a traditional four-door sedan.
We're also likely to be looking at smaller engines than the eight, ten and twelve-cylinder mills currently on offer, all in an effort to sell the new Phaeton to more customers than the current model, one in two of which reportedly stay in Volkswagen's hands as VIP shuttles.
Volkswagen passes on showing Phaeton concept in Frankfurt, new car expected for 2015 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Sep 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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September 22nd, 2011
Filed under: Sedan, Volkswagen, Luxury
2011 Volkswagen Phaeton - Click above for high-res gallery
During a business background event on Sunday at its North American headquarters in Herndon, Virginia,
Jonathan Browning,
Volkswagen of America's CEO confirmed to Autoblog that the company's short-lived
Phaeton sedan isn't likely to return to America any time soon.
Despite a flurry of reports to the contrary since the Phaeton left the U.S. market after the 2006 model year, Browning confirms that the luxury sedan is not part of the brand's ambitious plan to sell 800,000 units in North America by 2018. That said, while it's unlikely to return to North America in that time frame, VW is not completely ruling it out. According to Browning, the large luxury sedan segment is something that VW will eventually field an entry in once again ("It is not a case of if, but when") - but at the moment, it sounds like the return of the Phaeton is likely to be couple of generations away.
VW CEO Browning: Phaeton not in the cards any time soon originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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January 10th, 2011
Filed under: Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Technology, Videos, Volkswagen, Luxury
There are a lot of impressive things about the
Volkswagen Phaeton. Like the notion that a Vee-Dub could share its underpinnings with a
Bentley, and the sheer
chutzpah of taking the People's Car up-market to compete with the likes of the
Mercedes-Benz S-Class,
BMW 7 Series and its own sister-company's
Audi A8. But few factors stand out quite like the
Transparent Factory.
While most automotive assembly plants are greasy behemoths sequestered off on the fringes of industrial cities, the assembly plant that puts together the Phaeton (as well as the
Bentley Continental Flying Spur, until its transfer to Crewe in 2006) stands as a squeaky-clean, glassed-in pantheon to the automobile right in the heart of downtown Dresden, Germany.
Volkswagen developed a number of brilliant technologies for use in the factory, from the moving wood floor and electronically-tracked nuts and bolts to the magnet-driven robots that shuttle the parts around the facility and the cargo tram that delivers them there. All of this and more is on display to visitors as well as customers coming to take delivery directly on premises. It's a wonder to behold: Discovery's
MegaWorld series went by to check it out, and you can too with the video
after the jump.
Thanks for the tip, RosenBrodi!Continue reading Video: Inside Volkswagen's cutting-edge Transparent Factory in Dresden
Video: Inside Volkswagen's cutting-edge Transparent Factory in Dresden originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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November 9th, 2010
Filed under: Etc., Volkswagen, Earnings/Financials
Ferdinand Karl Piëch, head of the
Volkswagen Supervisory Board and grandson of
Ferdinand Porsche, knows that nothing lasts forever - especially, life. The
VW boss man has his mind on his money while his family has his money on their minds.
Piëch, born in 1937, has recently shifted his holdings into two Austrian foundations; Ferdinand Karl Alpha and Ferdinand Karl Beta. The reason behind this move is to protect the company in the event of his death. That's to say, if he dies his family can't start selling off shares like platinum hot cakes. His wife Ursula Piëch will assume control of the foundations upon his passing.
As stipulated in his will, the assets can be sold only when the managing board, the advisory board of the trust and at least nine of Piëch's 12 children all provide a "yes" vote. As you would expect, some members of the family are a little miffed. Also, under the stipulations presented in the will, Mrs. Piëch is not allowed re-marry or divorce Ferdinand after he passes on. If she does go out and find a new hubby, she gives up control of the foundations.
[Source:
FOCUS via
The Truth About Cars | Image: Nigel Treblin/AFP/Getty]
Report: Ferdinand Piech finalizes will that protects his VW/Porsche shares from the kids originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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September 21st, 2010
Filed under: Sedan, China, Europe, Volkswagen, Rumormill, Luxury
2011 Volkswagen Phaeton - Click above for high-res image gallery
This time, with feeling. According to both
Bloomberg News and
USA Today,
Volkswagen is once again considering bringing the ill-fated
Phaeton back to the U.S. market. The reasons behind the move are many, but center around VW's intention to triple its market share here in the land of the free by 2018. In order to do that, the company is planning on rolling out its luxury bruiser one more time, bolstered in part by the success
Hyundai has seen with its
Genesis sedan. Of course, that particular luxury cruiser doesn't cost anything close to the Phaeton's $85,000 MSRP - even the Korean automaker's forthcoming
Equus range-topper will likely not command that sort of money - and its success in the U.S. remains as-yet unproven.
Bloomberg spoke with Juergen Borrmann, the director of the carmaker's Dresden facility. Borrmann said that the company is gunning for the U.S. and that by the time the model hits our parking lots, it will be completely reworked.
Consider us interested.
Supposedly, the American version will feature a slew of different engine choices compared to the cars currently on sale in Europe and China, as well as a significantly different interior materials. According to the report, our model will share very little with the next-generation car set to hit the market next month. Hey, if at first you don't succeed...
[Sources:
Bloomberg News,
USA Today]
Reports: Phaeton coming back to the U.S... again originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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August 19th, 2010
