Quote Originally Posted by Ferrer View Post
I doubt sales forecasts were even in consideration when the Phaeton was green lighted. Forget about marketing, competition, price tag or badge. In objective terms the Phaeton was possibly the best F-Segment saloon money could buy, at least at launch. That it wasn't exciting or didn't have the right badge is besides the point. The Phaeton didn't deserve commercial failure, and I'd argue that if it didn't capture the public's imagination, it was the (potential) customer's fault not the car's.

You can also add the Lancia Thesis to your list. Also a seriously underrated car, a future classic and the last real Lancia by the looks of things...
Ah, the Thesis... now that is a COMPLETLEY different peace of meat. It may even be the complete opposite of the Phaeton, but it's very controverse design, the (at least for modern cars) non-existent reputation of Lancia and the lack of big engines made it a programmed fail, too. Sad, yes, but not suprising.
Of course it's the customers fault that the Phaeton failed, but as I already said, being good isn't enough in the luxury department. Just look at Maybach (I know, their exterior design is crappy, but if you ignore that, it's the best luxury car on the market).

However... I'll give you a single example for a working scheme: Fisker.