Quote:
Originally Posted by gnatty8 
So the Phaeton was only discontinued for the U.S. markets? Interesting. Wonder if that says anything about the immense power of brand in the United States? I am a BMW man, and could never see myself in a VW, ever. I actually doubt I'd even give the brand a chance since I can't think of a situation in which I'd find myself test driving a VW to be won over. That said, BMW earned my loyalty through terrific performance, excellent service, and what I find is pleasant styling. I don't think VW has ever had a car at my point on the demand curve. The Phaeton is nice, but I could never see myself driving it, or its closest competitors. Not me.
In 2004 (it actually was launched for sales in Europe in 2002) when I heard of the Phaeton, like most uninformed, I thought VW (V.A.G) was stupid for diluting its Marques by producing an identical car that would rival its A8 but after extensive research, I realized I was mistaken so in 2006 I ordered mine without even test driving one and I still smile with pleasure when I walk past it as it sits in the garage. I'm a 4 door full sized luxo barge buyer which people sometimes find odd considering I'm in my late 30s now and have been this way forever. I used to own a 740i Sport which I sold in my quest for the stealth luxo barge and ended up with the A8L which started my love affair with the V.A.G line of cars. I have flirted with the idea of getting an M5 a few times to replace the A8L as the sidekick of the Phaeton and still occasionally do but for now I'm aiming for 100% V.A.G which means my next upgrade car purchase would have to be either the W12 A8L or V10 S8. Below is the number of high end cars that was sold in Germany during the month of February 2009 472 Benz S-Class 390 BMW 7 Series 267 VW Phaeton 149 Audi A8 112 Benz CLS 18 Bentley 2 Rolls Royce 1 Maybach and extremely few Lexus and Jaguars. 
