According to the Boston Globe, many personal auto insurance plans actually cover most, if not all, of the damages. You'll have to call your agent to check, but it should be included in most comprehensive plans. It's also possible that your credit card covers the damage, with American Express offering a coverage plan. If your credit card company automatically doesn't offer the service, you might want to check to see if it is an option as it may be cheaper than what the rental companies offer. If nothing you're enrolled in covers it, then you might want to consider some options[Boston Globe]

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?" – Davey G. Johnson

Police: Many immigrants crossing in rented cars [AZCentral]

Related:
AahhhAAAAAAhhhhh-AAAAH! The Immigrant Seat [Internal]

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...– Matt Hardigree

Dollar Thrifty in merger talks with Vanguard: NYT [Reuters]

Related:
Avis Putting Wifi In Rental Cars [Internal]

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? – Davey G. Johnson

Avis Bringing WiFi to Their Rental Cars [Gizmodo]

Related:
DaimlerChrysler Tests WLAN Car-to-Car Communication System [Internal]

Pack a camera and magnifying glass. Photos are excellent evidence in court if it comes to that. And a magnifier ensures that even the faintest ding won't go unnoticed.

We'll get right on that. We'd almost prefer paying for their dang-blasted insurance than spend an hour checking every square inch of the car for the slightest little paint chip.

There's a dented fender on my bill! [LATimes via Consumerist]

Related:
Some Rental Car Reach-Around [internal]

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 of abuse on the odo.

Popping the trunk presents a yawning chasm of space with room for either an entire family of Mafia informants or the bags of three accompanying adults. You'll have to excuse my enthusiasm. I used to own a Mazda Miata; trunk space still excites me.

In the cabin, there's a decidedly mixed bag of fits and finishes. A vast expanse of hard-black plastic unfolds like Arizona creosote. Fake wood trim does nothing for interior ambience, but does offset the liberal use of dark materials. The audio and HVAC control stack is familiar looking, but all the controls are right where you'd expect them to be (take note European carmakers). The seats are unexpectedly good, providing both comfort and decent back support, but offer limited power adjustments. Room in the back is adequate for two adults.

I should note that operating the column shift is a pain. Either I'm out of practice, or hopelessly uncoordinated, but I overshot whatever selection I wanted just about every time I tried. I want "D" it gives me "3."

Navigating our way onto I-93, a muted gasp from a rear passenger betrayed the Impala's driving dynamics on the very first turn (oops). The upshot: a quiet, comfortable and compliant ride with a disconcertingly vague front end and overassisted steering. However, at highway speeds it's a stable and very comfortable cruiser, with very little intrusion from road noise. The engine was a pleasant surprise, offering good low RPM torque, fuel economy and even (gasp) a lack of harshness — provided the revs needle remains shy of 5K. Around town, the 3.5-liter V6 gets the LS off the line with ease, and the cabin provides good visibility (unlike last week's HHR, but that's another story).

The Impala isn't a car of anyone's dreams. It won't inspire passion or jealousy (or pity) from fellow motorists, but it is a capable and roomy transport vehicle. During my working week with the Impala, it became apparent the model is a significant improvement over the previous generation, and light-years ahead of anything similar from Ford (and yes, I know that's damming with faint praise). If GM could work on the tightening up the front end, offer better-quality tires and give the column shifter a good talking to, the Impala would be a family bargain. Sure, depreciation due to rental-car dumping is an issue, but at a street price of around $18K, it's probably one of the better deals on a full size family sedan out there. [by Chris Hofflin]

Related:
Rental-Car Reacharound: Chevrolet HHR [internal]

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?

The New Economics of Renting a Car [Wall Street Journal via Yahoo!]

Related:
Jalopnik Rental-Car Reacharound: Put Down That Yaris! Buy a Used Civic! [internal]

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.]

1988 Shelby CSX-T

Related:
Ol' Shel's Bastard Sons: The Shelby Dodges [Internal]

Jaguar North America, in an attempt to resurrect its flagging brand image, is hoping to avoid the ignominy of having to resell a plethora of off-lease vehicles, as well as cutting itself out of rent-a-car pools. Last year they were charged with reselling 27,000 vehicles turned in by lessees; this year they're shooting for 21k. They've also pulled out of Enterprise, and their deal with Hertz (no longer owned by Jag's parent, Ford) expires later this year. If only the front of their new XK didn't look like the mother of all rentals, the Taurus, they might actually do okay.

Jaguar Cars North America leaves rental business to improve residual values [Autoindustry, UK]

Related:
Jag, Jag, Jiggity-Jag: Hecklerspray on the Jaguar XJ40 [Internal]