[Allpar News System]

Chrysler executives have confirmed that the Volkswagen Routan, essentially a reskinned Chrysler Town & Country  with different suspension tuning, has been dropped. Allpar first reported on the end of Routan production in November 2012, but it was not officially declared at the time. Some critics preferred the styling and ride of the Volkswagen Routan to the Dodge and Chrysler vans.

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[windsorboy]

In other news... the Earth is round.

 

[ImperialCrown]

I actually preferred many of the styling queues of the Routan over our own domestic minivans. It was an attractive ride.
Speaking with VW dealers and customers, the Routan was always the red-headed step child of the model line.
62TE transaxles were a headache with shifting harshness and reliability issues and technicians were totally unfamiliar with the vehicle and warranty parts were probably a pain to get.
Once some customers found out after buying one that it was a Chrysler product, many felt upset and let down. "I would have never bought it if I knew it was a Chrysler".
Production went up and down over the years and it was to be discontinued and then got a reprieve and this happened over and over again.
VW is coming out with their own minivan anyways. The Routan was probably always an interim measure. There was a rumored retro microbus at first, but now it looks like the CrossBlue may happen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Routan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Microbus_Concept
http://www.caranddriver.com/news/volkswagen-crossblue-concept-photos-and-info-news

 

[Stratuscaster]

If I recall, when Wolfgang Bernhard left Daimler he landed at VW, and the deal was brokered at that point. Have to imagine that it was likely much cheaper for VW to have Chrysler contract build minivans for them than get the Sharan US-certified - and I'm pretty sure that the Sharan at that time was nowhere near as competitive for the North American market anyway.

 

[Bearhawke]

I actually preferred many of the styling queues of the Routan over our own domestic minivans. It was an attractive ride.
Speaking with VW dealers and customers, the Routan was always the red-headed step child of the model line.
62TE transaxles were a headache with shifting harshness and reliability issues and technicians were totally unfamiliar with the vehicle and warranty parts were probably a pain to get.
Once some customers found out after buying one that it was a Chrysler product, many felt upset and let down. "I would have never bought it if I knew it was a Chrysler".
Production went up and down over the years and it was to be discontinued and then got a reprieve and this happened over and over again.
VW is coming out with their own minivan anyways. The Routan was probably always an interim measure. There was a rumored retro microbus at first, but now it looks like the CrossBlue may happen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Routan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Microbus_Concept
http://www.caranddriver.com/news/volkswagen-crossblue-concept-photos-and-info-news

Reliability: I'd take most Chrysler products over pretty much anything out of Europe.

The irony is that the Routan was/is arguably the most attractive current platlorm Mopar minivan out there........and I won't even touch on the appearance of the Honda or Toyota competition.

 

[codypet]

Reliability: I'd take most Chrysler products over pretty much anything out of Europe.

The irony is that the Routan was/is arguably the most attractive current platlorm Mopar minivan out there........and I won't even touch on the appearance of the Honda or Toyota competition.

The refresh did wonders for the minivans though. I think I started foaming when I first saw the 2011 T&C in black. Chrysler has been lucky that Toyota and Honda have botched the styling of their minivans for their last two generations. They kind of conservative styling of the Chrysler minis I think ads to their appeal. They're very understated and practical. Not showy. Even the turbo minis were so subtle you'd never know they could potentially eat your lunch.