The automotive media have their hands full chronicling the slow motion train wreck known as The Big 2.5. But there's another pile-up in progress. Here in the States, Volkswagen of America (VWoA) has transformed itself from a highly profitable purveyor of mesmerizing motors to a struggling brand with an ugly, overpriced and unpopular lineup. To properly parse this fall from automotive grace, let's start with the Phaeton.
The Phaeton was VW's uberluxe sedan. The concept was so brand-defiling that the normally sycophantic buff books felt free to unleash juvenile taunts about the $70k “people's car.” While the VW-badged Mercedes tank killer gave birth to the immensely lucrative Audi A8 and Bentley Continental GT, it was an epic miscalculation that revealed a startling lack of focus.
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