The 2009 Volkswagen Routan, a minivan introduced last September, is not setting sales records, except maybe on the wrong end of the chart. Built on the platform introduced by the Chrysler Town and Country, the Routan was "launched at the worst moment," according to Stefan Jacoby, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, noting that at the time auto sales were plummeting.

In December 2008, Volkswagen asked Chrysler LLC to temporarily halt production of the minivan in their Windsor, Ontario plant, since only 5582 of the original 22,037 units have been sold. Automotive News also recorded Mr. Jacoby lamenting that production of the Routan may not resume at all.

In November 2008, Volkswagen was experiencing a company wide slump, with sales totals which showed that the Routan was actually the second-best selling model in the VW line at the time. Even the talents of actress Brooke Shields in a series of quirky television commercials has not attracted the right kind of attention, as the future of the Routan lies in the balance.