Re: [A/S] Eurovan etc.

[hhamp5246@xxxx]

> As you were discussing towing with a Touareg, I thought you might like to
> see a road test that was done with a Touareg and an Airstream.
> http://rvlifemag.com/file331/bug331.html

A year ago VW admitted they were over stating the Touareg's abilities....

""Shame On You: Volkswagen Touareg SUVA CBS 2 Special ReportOct 30, 2003 
11:53 pm US/Eastern
NEW YORK (CBS) The ad sure is dramatic. It's part of Volkswagen'scatchy 
campaign for its new Touareg SUV, a luxury truck so tough it'sshown towing a 
massive Airstream trailer with ease, "Touareg, theVolkwagen that does what other 
Volkswagens don't."It wasn't just on TV, there's a Touareg pulling an Airstream 
in VW's national magazine ad. "I thought, well, this is perfect, it's 
theperfect car," says Airstream owner James Sinclair.

New Yorker James Sinclair owns an Airstream trailer similar to the one in 
Volkswagen's ad, and needed a new vehicle to tow it. So hewent to his local VW 
dealer for a test-drive. CBS 2's Arnold Diazreports. When asked if they assured 
him that it could pull the trailer,Sinclair told Diaz, "Yes, they did assure 
me that it could pull the trailer."He was sold, and paid over $42,000 for a new 
Touareg, but when he got home and hitched up his trailer he says it didn't 
work like the ad showed. "I just noticed that it wasn't driving very well.

It was porpoising, which means that when you hit a bump you can feel the 
whole car going like this."What's the problem? According to his local Airstream 
dealer theTouareg's towing hitch is not compatible with the trailer. "He said 
don't even try it, don't even attempt it."And when Sinclair tried to install a 
different hitch Volkswagen told him that would void his warranty! 

"I was very surprised, I was, Ifelt very deceived."While Volkswagen of 
America insists the Touareg can safely tow Sinclair's Airstream, unbelievably, the 
company now admits its nationwide TV and magazine campaign is misleading. The 
ads showing a larger Airstream being towed are a gimmick, they're simply not 
true!

"We did make a mistake." Volkwagen's embarrassed Press Relations Manager 
spoke with us via satellite from Detroit. Tony Fouladpour admitted the tongue 
weight of the trailer in the ad is too heavy for the Touareg, a fact VW's 
marketing department failed to check.

"It's our first SUV and our marketing folks wanted to be verydramatic in what 
the car can do," said Fouladpour. "They got a little too excited, they took 
too much artistic license."Artistic license? But this is a major ad campaign 
from one of the largest corporations in the world!

A lot of people would wonder, how could a big company like VW base anentire 
ad campaign on what's basically a phony premise? 

"I don't think they meant to be dishonest and as soon as we found out about 
it we wanted to take the most honest approach and that was to come right out on 
shows like this and say we made a mistake," adds Fouladpour.

But it was more than just a mistake to James Sinclair. He told Volkswagen to 
take the car back, "I'd call them everyday. I said Iwant my money back, I 
would like you to return my money, and the ysaid well, I don't know if that's 
gonna happen."

"Mr. Sinclair says he had been calling VW for weeks and had been told 
basically they couldn't do anything about it," Diaz asked Fouladpour. "Well, we are 
doing something about it, we are doing something about it right now," responded 
Fouldapour.

What they've done is pull all of these ads, but only after Shame on You 
contacted the company did it agree to give James Sinclair a full refund for his 
Touareg. "I think they realized that you guys were involved and it was gonna be a 
big deal."So into the CBS 2 Hall of Shame, we induct Volkswagen of America 
for trying to hook the public on its new SUV with a misleading ad.

VW says it's in negotiations to compensate other owners who were misled by 
the ads. It plans to send letters to every Touareg owner explaining its towing 
capabilities."