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rental cars
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rental cars
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Rent, Smuggle, Return: Coyotes Choose DCX!
Last night, we dreamt we were square-dancing in the water-skiing secton of a sporting-goods store with Udo Dirkschneider. Scotto was there, too. For some reason it seemed entirely logical. Even more logical than that, and not nearly as fantastic, is the fact that human smugglers have gotten hip to using rental cars, rather than their own vehicles, to take their charges across the border into the United States. Thus, if the vehicle is impounded, it's up to the rental company to retrieve the vehicle. Apparently, Dodge and Jeep vehicles are the favored choice, as their suspensions tend to sag less under a heavy load. Which brings to mind the question, "How Many Udos could one fit in a Grand Cherokee?" More »
news
Rental Car Merger In The Works: Would You Rent a Dollar Thrifty Alamo National Taurus?
A merger may be in the works between the cleverly named Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group and Vanguard Rental, which operates the Alamo and National brands. The deal could be worth as much as $3 billion and push the combined company into the No. 3 slot in the rental game, behind Hertz and Enterprise. The car rental business isn't what it used to be thanks to problems with the airline industry, which provides demand, and the auto industry, which used to provide cheap cars. Hard to believe an industry dependent on domestic airlines and automakers is having trouble... More »
news
Avis Putting WiFi in Rental Cars
The people who try harder are adding one more way to chew up your daily rental car allowance: for eleven smacks a day, our circuit-geek brothers at Gizmodo report, you'll soon be able to add a WiFi hotspot to your car. The service works via cell towers and offers up speeds somewhere between dialup and DSL. While our Gizbros' thoughts immediately went to in-car smut, we think it'd be a handy tool for getting directions, especially if the car's lacking GPS. Then again, what's a map cost? Two bucks? More »
news
You Rent It, You Wreck It, You Pay For It: How Not To Get Screwed On Your Rental Car
Our consumer-friendly friends clued us in on an article in the LA Times last week on the right way to make sure your rental car experience doesn't include a random credit card bill for any "excess wear and tear" to your rental ride. It seems a number of rental companies, especially in Europe, and including biggies like National and Alamo are now paying bonuses to employess who can tag you with the dings and scratches of normal wear and tear. So what's the LA Times think you should do? More »
news: test drives
Rental-Car Reacharound: Call of the Mild - The Chevy Impala
Approaching the rental lot at the Manchester, NH airport, I was struck by the sheer abundance of Chevy Impalas. Seems the erstwhile Ford Taurus has finally met its match — so much for GM kicking its rental habit. With keys in hand, I set off to sample Chevy's latest full-size offering, a silver LS model with a mere 70 miles
news
Upgrade, Upgrade!: SUVs Often Cheaper to Rent than Compacts
Why rent a Cobalt when you can upgrade to an Equinox, or a Taurus when you can get a Jeep Grand Cherokee — for a cheaper rate? It's the kind of question that once would have gotten a knee-jerk response, but according to the Wall Street Journal, people aren't so quick to take the perk any more. It's about gas prices, naturally, and rental agencies are starting to follow the more-suck-less-buck rule. For example, at the Los Angeles Airport's Enterprise location, a Chevrolet Trailblazer cost $37.24 midweek, while a Pontiac G6 cost $41, while Dollar Rent A Car dropped its average daily rate for SUVs from $64 to $49. If this persists, we'd imagine it'll start reflecting in fleet sales. Of course, the big question is, Can't anyone pad their expense accounts anymore? More »
retro
The Other Rental Shelby
While Ford has decided to bask in the glory of the GT-350H as a way to add even more retro-cred to its latest Mustang, there was one other Shelby-prepared car that went to rental fleets: The Dodge '88 CSX-T, a non-intercooled version of Ol' Shel's Shadow that was available only through Thrifty. For only $34.95 a day in 1988 dollars! [Thanks to the mph kids. RIP and whatnot.] More »
news: industry news
