SUV's - Undesirable rental vehicles?

Do you notice anything interesting about this Budget Rent-a-Car page? (Click the image to see a larger version in a new window.)

For quite a few years now, we frequent travelers have heard the agent offer, "would you like a free upgrade to an SUV?" as if this was a gift! Today, while booking a rental car, I noticed that the cheapest vehicle offered by Budget is an "Intermediate SUV!" A "standard SUV" (aka land yacht) is less than $1 more than a compact car! These gas-guzzling, air-polluting behemoths are cheaper to rent than an intermediate sized car.

I hope this means that they are having trouble renting these SUVs. Perhaps they will cut back their purchases of these vehicles from the manufacturers, leading to less production of them.

I can only hope that gas prices climb another dollar or two. This should get more people (and policy makers) to wake up and demand more fuel efficient cars.

Flexcar.com

A work associate of mine rented a car in LA today from Flexcar. This company has cars at various locations throughout several US cities, including hybrids, that are available to rent. Once you are a member of Flexcar, you can just reserve one of these cars, use your membership card to open the door of the car, and drive away.

Fox Rent-a-Car Revisited

I gave Fox Rent-a-Car another chance. This went better than last time but I still can't recommend this company. See my previous posts here and here.

At San Diego Airport, there is no main car rental depot. The rental agencies are spread out in the community around the airport. So, you must take the shuttle bus for your rental company.

• Problem #1: While waiting for the Fox shuttle, it seemed as if 5 Hertz and Avis shuttles passed by, along with 3 each for Dollar, Budget, National and even one called Advantage.

When I got to the agency, I told the agent about my prior experience with their company in San Jose. Then, he left the room twice to speak to his boss and I overheard him speaking in hushed tones over the walkie-talkie to a co-worker. I gleaned from the whispers that they didn't have a Honda Civic Hybrid for me, the car I reserved. He quickly arranged an "upgrade" to a Prius. I was okay with that.

The car was great. I drove about 100 miles, mostly freeway. I loved watching the display of my fuel efficiency as I drove. I averaged a slightly disappointing 43.3 mpg. I was happy however about how little I was polluting the air.

Dropping the car off was a bit time consuming as well. The other major rental agencies do the check-out process at the car with a hand-held computer. At Fox, you have to go inside and wait in line to check-out.

Here are my overall ratings for Fox Rent-a-Car:

• San Jose:
• Don't count on them having the car you reserved.
  
• I have been assured by the franchise owner/manager that in the future, they will actually help you find another car (at a comparable price) if they are unable to provide you with one.

• San Diego:
• Don't count on them having the car you reserved.
• Definitely call them from the baggage claim area to confirm that a shuttle is on its way.
• Make sure you let them know if you are at the commuter air terminal.
• Leave extra time for pickup and drop-off.

The worst rental car ever

Yesterday I had the misfortune of renting a Chevy HHR from Avis in Southern California. The underwhelming 4-cylinder engine felt like I was riding on a large lawn mower. I can live with a weak engine, especially if it is a fuel efficient car (which the HHR isn't). I consider fuel efficient to be anything over 40mpg. The PR states that the car gets 30 mpg, which is in all likelihood fresh from a tune-up, going downhill with a strong tail-wind.

The fuselage of the car is large, nearly 15 feet long. Motortrend boasts, "[The HHR will] let you take your favorite eight-foot ladder wherever you go." And they mean inside the vehicle. Avis calls this a "mid-sized car". Chevy considers it an "SUV Crossover".

Frankly, I don't care that the design looks remarkably like the PT Cruiser. The worst part about this vessel, is the lack of visibility. It is as if the good people at Chevrolet have encased you in the lunar module and generously provided a couple of portholes in the back through which you can catch glimpses of earth. I am not sure what HHR stands for - and I can't think of a clever acronym at the moment. The car should be called the Chevy Blind Spot and should be avoided at all costs!

BTW: I have gotten into the habit recently, when renting a car, of asking if they have any Hybrids. We should all keep asking until the major agencies get a clue and start offering them.

Hybrid Rental Car - Denied!

I flew into San Jose this afternoon and reported to Fox Rent-a-Car to pick up my Honda Civic hybrid rental car. The guy at the counter informed me that they were out of cars, all cars. He said it could be hours or days until the cars came back in. I suggested that he could just find me a regular gasoline car but he repeated that they were completely out of cars.

I asked for prices at a couple of the other agencies and found the cheapest midsized car at Enterprise for $59/day. I took it as I didn't have any other options. Had I pre-booked the car, it would have certainly cost significantly less.

I am torn. On one hand I applaud Fox for carrying hybrid cars. On the other hand, I feel they left me high and dry by not even attempting to let me know that they had no car for me. They didn't even offer me a discount on a future rental. Somewhat reluctantly, I must recommend that people not book cars with Fox unless they are willing to face the same situation I did.

Hybrid Rental Car

I just booked my first hybrid rental car. It is for a business trip I am taking next week. Fox rent a car rents hybrid cars in various locations in California and Arizona. I booked a Honda Civic Hybrid. It was $44/day in San Jose which is a competitive price with the traditional gasoline engine cars. See my previous post on this rental company here.

I usually book my rental cars through one of the all-in-one travel sites. They don't offer hybrids and I wrote them an email asking them to carry them. If they hear from enough of us, the might start carrying them.