Phaeton

The Volkswagen Phaeton coming back stateside...

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a car fan, I love cars. I am not a specialist in building cars or anything, I just admire cars. And I am also a Volkswagen fan. I own a Jetta, I would love to have a GTI, CC, and Touareg one day. Not all at the same time of course.

But there is one thing I am going to be critical with Volkswagen about, okay maybe two things. Why no Scirocco for the United States??? Okay so I know the answer to that. Volkswagen is afraid that it would cut into both GTI and Audi A3 sales. But still I would love to have a Scirocco. But anyways on to my big critical opinion with Volkswagen. It has been rumored and announced the Volkswagen is planning on bringing the Phaeton back to the United States.

This is the 2002 Volkswagen Phaeton

For those of you who do not know the Phaeton was last in the United States from 2002-2006. The Phaeton was created in 2002. It lasted those five years in the US with disappointing numbers for Volkswagen. In 2004, Volkswagen sold 1,433 units and by 2005 that number dropped to 820. As a whole Volkswagen's sales for the Phaeton did very poorly in the US. Why? Well to start off the car costed $85,000. Yes, $85,000. I price that I find way too expensive for a Volkswagen or any full size car not branded as a BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Lexus, etc. Point is it is not a luxury brand car, but it is marketed as a luxury car. It is made to compete against the BMW 5 and 7 series, and worst for Volkswagen the Audi A6. So I would imagine that it would cut into A6 sales. And could cut into A7 sales. But in my eyes it should be a closer competitor based on looks with the Toyota Avalon. I just think Volkswagen needs to market it as a cheaper car, I dont mean cheaper as in a car no one wants, but a car around $40,000. Not $85,000.

But how I mentioned that based on appearance it looks like it would compete with the Avalon. Based on the engine it leaves the Avalon in the dust. The Avalon produces 268 HP and 248 ft lbs of torque. The Phaeton on the other hand, has four gas engines producing: 237 HP and 232 ft lbs of torque, 276 HP and 273 ft lbs of torque, 330 HP and 317 ft lbs of torque, and finally a W12 engine producing 444 HP and 413 ft lbs of torque. Not to mention that VW also has 2 TDI versions of the Phaeton.

Other cars that I see as competitors to the Phaeton are the modern American muscle car, the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300. Especially when you consider that there is the base Charger, RT Charger, and SRT8 Charger and 300.

I am not saying that VW should not bring back the Phaeton. Honestly I wouldnt plan on bringing it back after having those poor numbers. Nor as a buyer am I that interested in purchasing it, but if VW lowers the price and makes it a special car worth having then it can be interesting. Just do not sell it at $85,000. Which I think is a reason why it failed. Sell it for $40,000-$50,000 and I think they could have a winner. Rumors are that the Phaeton could come stateside as early as 2013, but other rumors state 2015. Volkswagen has said that they want to bring it stateside when the new Phaeton is made. I just hope it is not as plain as this one. I really hope they make it good looking.

Midnight Club

Alright so as I mentioned before I am a HUGE car fan. One of the first things I did when I bought my Playstation 3 was buy Midnight Club Los Angeles. I thought it was an awesome game that improved on Midnight Club 3. First of all I liked the game taking place in one city. Midnight Club 3 took place in San Diego, Atlanta, Detroit, and Tokyo. San Diego, Atlanta, and Detroit were kind of fun to play in, but got old really quickly. I think San Diego could have been better if they would have added mountains into the game. Tokyo was my favorite city, but it did not feature much as it was really just a side mission city. Having Midnight Club Los Angeles focused on one city it really made the game fun because it allowed the game to have different racing modes with more of a story. Another thing I liked about Midnight Club Los Angeles was that there was no choppers. They were really annoying in Midnight Club 3. And it was even more annoying that it took awhile to get sportbikes. Sorry for those of you who like choppers, but I do not. I do not find them sporty or part of the racing culture. Another good thing was the inclusion of police chases. Sure it got annoying sometimes, but it made the game feel more real.

Despite being a good game, Midnight Club Los Angeles could have been so much better. The two big problems in my opinion are the lack of cars and lack of mountain racing. Sure they feature mountain races, but not a lot of them, and all the mountains have rails. There is no punishment for making a bad turn. At least when you are near the ocean if you go into the water you damage out. There were not enough SUVs in the game.

There are two cities I do have in mind for the next Midnight Club game.

The first, Miami, I think this would be a great city to base the next game in because of it's street racing and car culture as well as crime and drug history. Plus how can I deny that Miami is a beautiful beach city with beautiful women. For this game they could really make a story based off of drug lords and street racing. And Miami is known for it's exotic car culture. Which means more potential exotic cars and luxury cars for the game. Miami also has some really good streets for a racing game.

Finally, Tokyo, okay so it has been done before, but I think in the next game they could really expand on Tokyo and really give the city and it's people/street racers a story. Tokyo and Japan are so closely affiliated to the racing scene. And I think one of the best parts about Japan for this game would be the Yakuza. For those of you who do not know, the Yazuka is basically the mafia in Japan. I think something that would be awesome about Tokyo would also be the different types of racers. For example Rockstar could include: drifters which Japan is famous for. But also have different types of racers from illegal underground racers to rich kids. What would really make this game a huge improvement in terms of Tokyo is the mountains. Tokyo has some beautiful mountains and if they were included they could do wonders for the game. Especially relating to the drift scene and falling off the side.

Some improvements for the next game:
Turn signals
Cars that swerve to get out of your way and do not just run into you
Pedestrian casualties. In MCLA if you hit someone they were like a ghost, but I think the next game should include casualties which would make police a little smarter in terms of knowing your crimes
Also being able to customize your character. Much like how in MC3 you could change outfits and characters.
And one of the biggest things: more cars. Now i know this could get expensive for Rockstar because they have to pay car companies to use their product, but here are cars I would love to see in the game.

Audi A3 and Q7
BMW M3, M6, and X5M
Cadillac CTS-V and Escalade
Ferrari: 458 or California
Ford Focus ST
Honda Civic Si and S2000
Hyundai Genesis and Genesis Coupe
Infiniti G, M, and FX. Infiniti also has the new Infiniti Performance Line G-Coupe
Jaguar XK
Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT
Lamborghini Aventador
Lexus IS F and LF-A
Lotus Elise, Exige, and Evora
Mazda Speed3
Mercedes-Benz C63
Nissan 370Z, Maxima, and new GT-R
Porsche 911, Panamera, and Cayenne Turbo
Subaru WRX STi and BRZ
VW Golf R
Bugatti Veyron
Pagani Zonda
Koenigsegg
Bentley
Rolls-Royce
McLaren
Honda CBR1000RR
Suzuki GSX-R1000
Yamaha R1


Basically what I am saying when it comes to cars is keep the ones already in the game and just add these cars to the list. Also give the option of coupe, hatchback, sedan, and convertible if the individual car has it...