ABSTRACT
Would you buy a $100,000 Volkswagen? While the very idea seems ridiculous, consider the fact that Volkswagen launched just such a car in 2003. The Phaeton was the brainchild of Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piëch, who bet that such an over-the-top creation would add some golden luster to the Volkswagen brand. Not surprisingly, the Phaeton was a bust. When it was introduced to the US market in 2004, the car barely registered any sales. After Volkswagen offered a $10,000 buyer incentive, a total of 1433 Phaetons were sold that year. In 2005, sales declined to 820. Volkswagen finally pulled the Phaeton from the US market after the 2006 model year, with a grand total of 3354 cars sold. Toyota sells that many Camrys in the US every three days.
