2009 VW Routan

VW has started advertising for its new minivan, the Routan. The ads, which are meant to be amusing, place the tongue squarely in the cheek with some offbeat humor. Brooke Shields stars in the ads, which started to appear this weekend. She implores women to have babies “for love, not the German engineering” in the Routan ads and the mockumentary, which you can see at www.routanboom.org or www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDZSxFLcMVg. It’s actually a clever campaign, which suggests that a steep rise in childbirth is the result of couples wanting to get a Routan and its “German engineering” – not for love. The problem with the ad is that the Routan, though it is a VW, is not engineered by Germans or in Germany. To call it badge-engineered isn’t exactly correct, but this “German-engineered” minivan is actually a Dodge Grand Caravan. The styling difference is significant from the Dodge, but that’s the only difference – styling. The Routan is manufactured in Chrysler’s Windsor, Ontario assembly plant, built alongside the Grand Caravan and the Chrysler Town & Country. The VW’s engines and transmission are from the Chrysler, as is the interior layout. Chrysler kept its Stow n’ Go and Swivel n’ Go seats, as well as its optional table that fits in-between the 2nd and 3rd rows, for itself, however.

So how does VW get away with calling the Routan’s engineering “German”? They apparently revised the Routan’s suspension and steering and improved the driving dynamics to make it feel and handle more like a VW (they also revised the styling, as mentioned above). When they agreed to this arrangement, Chrysler was still part of DaimlerChrysler (a German company), so they might have been able to do nothing and still claim the German connection. Alas, Chrysler is an American company again, so VW had some work to do.

To the casual observer, this child will not look anything like it’s American parents, so many will choose this van simply because it’s not American. How ironic that the leader (and inventor) of minivans since their inception 25 years ago will increase its sales by selling a version whose main selling point is that it is not American.