I wonder why rental car companies haven't started buying up some hybrids to add to their lineup. I know that they want to get their maximum return on an über cheap car with no extras, but I think people would want to rent a hybrid. The thought of not having to shell out extra money in gas would want me to step up a class or two in car rental price.
Hey, buddy, PhillyCarShare does rent the Toyota Prius. Cool idea. We use them at my firm. They also have other small pickup trucks. It is funny that the majors aren't in it...or is it because they're all owned by Detroit auto companies and they don't have a hybrid in the mix? Hmmm.
Posted by: Frank | October 06, 2005 at 08:55 AM
Well, they don't really rent them conventionally, do they?. I thought you had to be a member and pay monthly fees? I'm talking about flying into town or whatever and needing a car for the week as a tourist/visiter. Like Hertz, Enterprise, National, Avis...
Posted by: albert | October 06, 2005 at 09:01 AM
Hybrids are relatively new to the market. They need to gain experience with maintaining them.
Still, the price of gas doesn't really affect their profits, since we pay for the gas. It's a bells and whistles kind of feature right now, like the GPS thing.
This time next year, I'd be surprised if Enterprise isn't using them.
Posted by: Jerome Gaskins | October 06, 2005 at 09:21 AM
I've never rented a car before, but from what I've been told, they're not exactly impeccably maintained.
I wasn't talking about the price of gas affecting their profits directly. I meant that we, as the renters, would be more inclined to rent a car that would, over a few days, save us money and that I'd pay a little extra to step up a class of cars to rent a hybrid.
Posted by: albert | October 06, 2005 at 09:29 AM
actually car companies may want to consider donating hybrid cars to car rental companies. lots of people consider buying hybrids but are unsure about how they drive and whether they feel like they will feel like they have much power when you step on the gas. if people who rent cars end up trying out hybrids--to feel the quick response and to notice how cheap they are to fuel up, it might generate more sales in the long run
Posted by: upyernoz | October 06, 2005 at 10:01 AM
Now that would be an interesting move. Someone like Toyota offering up a few thousand cars across the US and maybe even sweeten the deal up a little more by providing a year of free maintenance or something to the dealers so that they just can't say no.
Posted by: albert | October 06, 2005 at 10:07 AM
It may not be the majors, but there are options out there. A Google of "hybrid car rental" not only got me to this blog list, but also turned up BetterWorldClub (http://www.betterworldclub.com/travel/hybrid.htm) and FoxRentACar (http://www.foxrentacar.com/), amongst others. You can get hybrids, electric, natural gas, and in Hawaii, the "BioBeetles"
Posted by: Kevin | October 26, 2005 at 02:07 PM