phaeton

In the 1930s, if you had the means, you could have custom coachbuilder Fleetwood fabricate a one-of-a-kind Cadillac just the way you like it. Well-heeled customers would peruse a build book to pick and choose the accoutrements they most liked. About 15 months later, their custom-bodied Cadillac ...

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 ...

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! ...

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 ...

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 ...

It's not surprising that the latest batch of photos of the reworked 2011 Volkswagen Phaeton were all taken in China. The Middle Kingdom is by far the biggest market for VW where wealthy executives prefer to be driven rather ...

As impressive of a vehicle as the seminal Volkswagen Phaeton may have been, the uber-luxe German sedan was an unqualified flop of an experiment here in the United States. In some other parts of the world, though, VW's BMW and ...

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. And then again. That could very well sum up Volkswagen's strategy with its quizzical Phaeton. The flagship sedan – which took "the people's car" up-market into Mercedes ...

When it comes to the Phaeton, we really don't care what anyone else thinks. The only justification we'll offer is that back in the early 2000s, VW's ubermensch Ferdinand Piech took off the calf-skin gloves and dropped the ...

Episode #141 of the Autoblog Podcast marks the first time we're joined by a guest outside the Autoblog Inner Circle, and we're hoping that it's the start of a trend. This week, our interview couch is occupied by drift, rally and ...

At least as far back as March 2007, we were reporting that Volkswagen might bring back their range-topping and bank-draining Phaeton sedan to the States. Back then, it was the company's CEO Martin Winterkorn predicting the car's return ...

The Volkswagen Phaeton may not have gotten much love in the States, but V-Dub's range-topping saloon has soldiered on in Europe, undergoing a series of minor tweaks since its introduction earlier this decade. For 2011, the Phaeton is finally due for a comprehensive facelift, and these newest spy ...

Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2008 Volkswagen Phaeton.To put it charitably, the Phaeton never met the U.S. sales expectations set by Volkswagen, but that hasn't stopped VW execs from considering another push to market the luxobarge in North America. Sales of the facelifted Phaeton are ...

click above image to view more pics of the Passat CC in high-res Remember when Volkswagen launched the Phaeton, and everyone was like, What the heck are they thinking? Yeah, that was awesome. But it left a huge gaping hole in Volkswagen's product line-up between the Passat and the Phaeton. ...

Volkswagen has been struggling here in the US, but in emerging markets the German automaker is among the best. VW has been a big player in China since way before it was cool, and now Mr. Winterkorn and co. are focusing their attention on the booming India market. VW is planning on producing 240,000 ...

Although it came as a surprise to most (okay, all), Volkswagen plans to revive the Phaeton nameplate and possibly make a play for buyers of more high-budget coupes like the Mercedes SL. A few spy shots surfaced last month showing a test mule of VW's intentions, and although little was gleaned from ...

Volkswagen's Phaeton could not exactly be described as a run-away success. The German carmaker planned to make a modest 20,000 units, but only managed to sell a quarter that amount. But someone in Wolfsburg must have gotten an "if at first you don't succeed" fortune cookie, and they're determined ...

Click image for hi-res gallery of the facelifted VW PhaetonIt appears that the VW Phaeton will make a return to the Unites States market, according to Volkswagen CEO Dr. Martin Winterkorn. In an interview with Financial Times Deutchland, he essentially stated that to be successful with a product, ...

click the above pic for a galleryIt's not coming here, no need to get out of your chair. The Phaeton picks up a new nose, a ton of little tweaks, a new 3-liter TDI V6, and will be on sale in Europe this summer. It's a wonderful car -- gorgeously appointed and scrupulously assembled. Unfortunately, ...

This spot is as amazing as the fact that the Phaeton actually made it into production. Of course, its run didn't pan out (at least in the U.S.), but you have to admit the Phaeton's a hell of a car no matter the badge on the grille. This commercial is truly incredible, as well. The expressiveness, ...