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I think this one could be filed under Whiskey Tango Foxtrot too.
Pig_Iron:
Done.
We got our usual VW propaganda in the mail a couple of months ago. This time with a nice picture of the Routan on it. So my wife says “I didn’t know VW was making vans.” And then I say “They don’t.” German engineering my ass, indeed.
Sort-of-clever but bordering on very creepy.
Turn off the sound and enjoy watching Brooke Shields.
Watching Brooke Shields? Why?
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? That’s funny.
That’s no lady, that’s Brooke Shields!
Ya…German engineered like the Linclon I drove yeaterday isn’t a Taurus under all the make-up!
I really don’t mind it being built off the Taurus platform as I like the basics, but I told the saleman to please relax with his “Its a Lincoln” salespitch.
I knew it was every other car off the assembly line down in Torrance, IL. The others in front and rear of it were the Sable and the Taurus.
Um, kids…the current generation of Chrysler minivans was engineered when the Germans had control of Chrysler. Remember DaimlerChrysler? You do, right?
So…it’s not exactly false advertising.
I had a good laugh when I saw this one the other day.
Two possibilities:
1. Someone forgot to tell the ad agency about the source of the van.
2. Daimler still owned and managed Chrysler when the van was developed, and some German engineers were working in Auburn Hills.
When I saw the headline, I thought “oh my, TTAC is a big heavy with the rude language lately”.
But when I saw the video I felt ashamed for VW, and thought the f**king idiots actually deserve to be kicked out of the market.
$24700 for a Chrysler van that has to be serviced at a VW dealer? No thank you. VW dealers are apparently going to need to buy new equipment to service the Routan since the electronics are all Chrysler sourced. I already feel bad for any idiot that buys a Routan.
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3793714
holy crap. is it just me, or is brooke shields twice as hot now as she was 20 years ago?
oh, yeah, the routan. that’s a dodge caravan with some different headlights and a VW circle glued on the front.
Personally, I’d be happy if it was 100% free of German engineering.
Thank you for finally calling out this commercial. I saw it on TV a couple days ago for the first time, and I just remember thinking, “I thought Chrysler was American.”
So does this bar Chrysler from getting any of the Detroit Bailout, since they are full of German engineering?
olivehead :
holy crap. is it just me, or is brooke shields twice as hot now as she was 20 years ago?
I suspect that your taste has just matured. And I agree.
Thanks for flagging this. Saw a full page ad in the paper this morning, and had to explain the whole sad, pathetic VW-bought-and-re-badged-a-minivan-from-Chrysler-who-used-to-be-owned-by-Mercedes story for my wife.
I now have no doubt that VW is where disgraced former Detroit execs go to die…..
psarhjinian
Funny…but you’re right on.
Way to many parts!
By the way, I wanted so much to like the newest vans from Chrysler.
But they look like my fridge!!
So I was looking foward to seeing what VW could do to save the van.
And in my opinion, they did.
At least now it has a good look (for a van).
And I only saw the car show versions, perhaps they are still nice inside.
Two words:
Blue Lagoon
Why does a couple with one baby need a minivan?
Talk about putting lipstick on a pig!
I saw this last night, and I knew I would see it here as well.
This ad is the most disappointing thing from VW in a long time, and that’s saying a lot. Perhaps we should all go by the dealerships and see what the poor sales guys say about it.
Brooke Shields isn’t creepy.
But the talking VW Bug is. The first time I heard that voice (a couple months ago?), I thought it was a spanish guy doing an impression of a german accent.
My God just look at the ugly square ass euro style exterior of Chrysler vans and try to tell me Daimlers hands weren’t all over these things. It is already well known that Daimler is the reason for all the sub-par plastic on the inside. German engineered maybe not but German styled for sure!
Why does a couple with one baby need a minivan?
Depends on your definition of minivan. The Mazda5 and Kia Rondo are minivans, the Caravan, Odyssey and Sienna are pretty damn big, if you ask me.
I say let VW make as many ads with Brooke Shields as they want. :)
I saw the ad on TV and thought the ad was “cute.” And yes, cute is a four letter word. But still, miles better than any Chrysler ad for the same product!
The talking German car is beyond weird, though. Almost like a Frenchman doing a fake French accent, it just grates on the ears.
WTF? Seriously, VW. WTF?
I didn’t realize the minivan segment was so hot that VW just had to get in at any cost, even if it meant rebadging an effing Chrysler.
Isn’t Chrysler thinking of rebadging the Altima?
How ’bout Saturn rebadging a Boxster S and selling it for the non-negotiable price of $40k!
John Horner: Brooke Shields is no pig, okay maybe she put on a few at one point…
The Chrysler ads on their website are way better than this one. Minivan ads should show kids doing stuff and enjoying themselves inside the van. Show TVs and swiveling seats and storage cubbys and cupholders.
I’ve never seen any minivan ads on TV. In fact I’m not sure of seeing any ads for an individual car recently. I guess the carmakers figure that New Yorkers are only interested in getting a deal and they only advertise incentive sales and generic dealer ads.
Dammit — Brooke is trapped in a little white box on my screen, so I can’t get to see her ’till after work… :-(
ok not that i am being an apologist here or anything. But we know this is a chrysler manufactured VW rebadged POS. However remember not too long ago chrysler was owned by Daimler and this iteration of the van that the Routan is based off of may have been at least partially engineered by the daimler folks. I know i’m stretching but once I took the chrysler’s previous overlords into account it made a little more sense.
This is a minivan directed entirely at yuppies. They either don’t know or don’t care that it came from Chrysler. They want the status they get from driving a VW, but they need space for a swarm of children.
As for the ad itself it fits with the current marketing that VW has pulled out in the US. It has some wit, but mostly gets people thinking about their products, and associating the product with fancy foreign engineering, fun to drive, etc.
re: “Talk about putting lipstick on a pig!”
John Horner / September 10th, 2008 at 11:07 am
that’s an very big vehicle to refer to as a pig. how about ‘lipstick on a…on a…a moose?’ yeah. lipstick on a moose. that’s more like it.
WOW!
its sick that at the end the dude says “You should have seen this coming”
Perhaps its a mistake by the add company, but then wow, the add company is so ignored by VW. Its sad, and folks will probably buy it with the same unawareness. I feel angry when I think all this. This is life. Serenity prayer needed.
Brooke is okay, but…
I miss Helga.
DearS I think that’s a German accented “we”, it’s kind of hard to make it out under the music.
I don’t honestly know if this qualifies for false advertising, but they (the advertising company & VW) are doing what they should be doing when marketing their vehicles; restating the same damn thing over and over again, and in VW’s case, the German Engineering schpiel.
Only car geeks guys know what the vehicle make is, but because it does have the VW logo on it, they need to market it just like any of their products to re-enforce their brand identity.
Not trying to defend what they’re doing, but this is marketing after all.
I hate all of the commercials touting “German engineering”. It’s so damn arrogant.
I was a bit disappointed to figure out that there was no talk of German Engineering one’s ass when I see a screencap of Brooke Shields.
Oh, the van? It stinks and I don’t like it!
Funny lines but what a crapload of “german engineering”. I hope you’re handy with a wrench and electrical systems.
Jesus! She had a baby for a Volkswagen Caravan!!
you’ve got to be kidding me