Click above to watch video after the jump
In what could very possibly be the worst auto-related commercial we have ever seen, Volkswagen has somehow convinced Brooke Shields (really Brooke, are things this bad?) to shill its new, at least to VW showrooms,
Caravan Routan minivan. Apparently,
what the people want is a badge-engineered Volkswagen version of the Pentastar minivan platform. In the extended commercial, Shields attempts to explain with a straight face that Americans are getting pregnant just so they can buy a Routan and enjoy its German engineering. Except that it's not German engineered, unless you count the fact that Daimler was still married to Chrysler when the van was developed. We certainly don't. Sure, the Routan's Chrysler-sourced suspension was probably tweaked by Volkswagen, and it's got softer styling up front to differentiate it from its Auburn Hills-based brothers, but those credentials are far from enough to call it "German engineered". It's likely that the Routan is a perfectly fine minivan, maybe even markedly better than the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country, but does VW honestly think people won't realize it's true origins? To watch the absurdness unfold, click past the break.
[Source:
Volkswagen]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Victor 3:09PM (9/11/2008)
Chrysler powertrain and VW electronics....scary
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Silver 3:43PM (9/11/2008)
Indeed. The only idea worse than this commercial was VW and Chrysler building a minivan together in the first place.
BRING THE MICROBUS, VW!
This company is a ship without a rudder, blowing wherever the breeze may take it. Upscale, no, downscale. Sportier, no, more luxurious. German, no, American. Good grief, VW, pull yourselves together! *slap*
tekdemon 5:50PM (9/11/2008)
I really hope they improved the external bumper plastics over what Chrysler had put on...the bumpers on the Caravan are known to warp very badly (just look at Edmunds.com's long term 2008 Caravan).
SimbaDogg 5:25PM (9/12/2008)
stupid ass blue lagoon
Chaz 3:09PM (9/11/2008)
Neat idea, I think, and given the demographic, how important could it be that it's not as nice to drive (and likely much more reliable) compared to a real VeeDub?
The way I see it, this clever spot (though admittedly, the German engineering bit bugs me) could get people in this van for the same reason many people drive VWs, hipness.
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TJ 3:10PM (9/11/2008)
Does anyone have a complete laundry list of changes from the DC vans to this?
It is one thing to preemptively scream badge engineering, it is another to actually present a set of facts.
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Frylock350 3:43PM (9/11/2008)
They share basic components, they use the Chrysler powertrains (that's a positive in this case the 4.0 is a good engine, and its more reliable than anything comparable VW has), platform, etc. But VW engineered their own sheetmetal, front end clip, and interior.
What I want to know is how long until Dodge has a Caravan R/T sporting a HEMI.
mr.ed 10:09PM (9/11/2008)
Not much change it first glance. It appears that even the door skins are the same.
why not the LS2LS7? 4:35PM (9/11/2008)
It's the same platform. Same engine. Same wheelbase. They changed the sheetmetal a little and the interior even less.
It's badge engineering, plain and simple.
TJ 6:21PM (9/11/2008)
Again... I am looking for a laundry list of changes from a reputable source. I understand peoples impressions, what are the hard facts.
why not the LS2LS7? 6:52PM (9/11/2008)
Why would VW marketing put out a list of changes like that?
The car is a badge engineering job, is the marketing department going to get on board with showing how it really isn't much different?
Same platform. Same wheelbase. Same engine and drivetrain. Suspension is even the same, just tweaked a bit. With all that stuff off the table, the resulting list of changes is going to be rather meager and probably somewhat embarrassing.
tankd0g 7:42PM (9/11/2008)
You are not going to find a list of changes when their entire goal is to get you to believe it's not a modified Chrysler.
andyb 3:10PM (9/11/2008)
Problem is, many minivan owners are not car nuts and/or Autoblog readers.
Therefore many will think, cool, a German Engineerd Volkswagen Routan without realising that good old Brooke and VW are bending the truth to the point of lying
- its also a cringeworthy ad
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Paul 3:19PM (9/11/2008)
BINGO!
Its lies to an uninformed consumer base, plain and simple.
BigMcLargeHuge 3:28PM (9/11/2008)
Cringeworthy is an understatement.
I had my headphones on at work, so passerby's would not to be able to tell why I looked like I was being punched in the stomach every time Brooke said "German Engineering".
But I'm sure that is what it looked like.
fizzandpop 3:49PM (9/11/2008)
Let the breeders have this crap. I'm still at liberty to choose cars with only two seats and I can go to the pub whenever I want, get up when I want, smoke in the house and generally have a life free from those nasty little mini-hitlers that pass as children these days.
geo.stewart 5:39PM (9/11/2008)
fizzandpop,
glad to hear your gene pool will die with you.
J M C 3 7:03PM (9/11/2008)
"Breeders"? Fizzandpop.Your heterophobia is showing.
FFS 7:39PM (9/11/2008)
I remember seeing people arguing that the dodge neon was better than the plymouth and chrysler one ETC....
Razor 7:53PM (9/11/2008)
Chrysler Neon? Don't remember that one.