Safety advocates: Rental car recalls should be regulated

Posted on February 22, 2012 by admin

A report from USA TODAY:

Raechel and Jacqueline Houck died in a fiery 2004 crash in a rental car that “was essentially a ticking time bomb,” their mother, Cally Houck, says.

GM

2009 Buick Enclave: A year after recall, Avis and Budget had fixed 35% of them.

The vehicle — a PT Cruiser under a safety recall for a power-steering fluid problem — was not repaired and had been rented to three other renters and then the Houck sisters at an Enterprise Rent-A-Car facility in Capitola, Calif.

The power-steering fluid leaked and caught fire, Cally Houck says, causing Raechel, 24, and Jacqueline, 20, to lose control of the car, which slammed into a semi tractor-trailer.

  • STORY:

….. Read more

========================

Related News:


Posted in Auto Rental | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mother whose daughters died in fiery rental car crash is pleased Hertz agrees …

Posted on February 21, 2012 by admin

A report from San Jose Mercury News:

SANTA CRUZ – Hertz, the nation’s second-biggest rental car company, has struck an agreement with safety advocates to give the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration jurisdiction over rental cars under recall, according to USA Today.

The deal comes after a year-long investigation into the car-rental industry by the federal agency.

“Big news,” summed up Cally Houck, whose daughters Raechel and Jacqueline died in a fiery crash in 2004 driving a PT Cruiser rented from Enterprise Rent-A-Car with an unrepaired safety defect.

The girls, who lived in Santa Cruz, were on their way home when the power steering hose caught fire. A a jury awarded their parents $ 15 million in damages.

Afterward the girls’ mother joined with advocates at Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety to lobby for a law to ground rental cars with an unrepaired safety defect.

New car dealers have to ground recalled vehicles until they are fixed, but rental car companies do not.

A rental car safety bill proposed in California was opposed by the American Rental Car Association but in December Sen. Barbara Boxer sided with safety advocates.

Enterprise, the largest auto-rental company, and Avis Budget, the third-largest, are not part of t……….. continues on San Jose Mercury News.

….. Read more

========================

Related News:


Posted in Auto Rental | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hertz on Demand expands to Washington DC

Posted on February 20, 2012 by admin

News from Ubergizmo:

By Edwin Kee on 02/19/2012 22:07 PST

When it comes to businesses, expanding them is always a good idea when you have enough ideas, manpower and clients to support your expansion. Hertz, the global rental car company, definitely shares such a view, and has decided to expand their car sharing program known as Hertz on Demand to Washington DC. This service would deliver benefits such as one-way car sharing for their members, and you are able to choose from a considerable range including electric vehicles, compacts, sedans and SUVs. These will be made available throughout all eight wards of the District, including parking garages, outdoor spaces and on-street parking spots. According to Mark P. Frissora, chairman and CEO of Hertz, “By making vehicles readily available in more locations, Hertz On Demand is making car sharing more convenient and accessible to Washington, D.C. reside……………. continues on Ubergizmo

>>> Read the full article

==============================

Related News:

Posted in Hertz | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

New rate sleuth site angers some rental car companies

Posted on February 19, 2012 by admin

A report from News & Observer:

JAMES A. FINLEY – AP

Enterprise, which owns National and Alamo, won’t let AutoSlash show its cars on its site. Avis, which owns Budget, also won’t let AutoSlash use them.

In a perfect world, we would get the lowest price for everything we buy without having to lift a finger to hunt for the best deal.

But there is a glimmer of hope in carland, and it exists in a most unlikely place: auto rentals, an industry known mostly for pushing insurance and charging $ 9 a gallon for gasoline.

A little online booking engine called AutoSlash, however, offers the following promise: Book free on its site, and a couple of times a day until your travel date, it will search for coupons or lower rates. If it succeeds, it rebooks you automatically. AutoSlash claims success 85 percent of the time, a statistic borne out by my own experience using it for all of my own rentals.

The reaction in some corners of the industry has been something like revulsion. Enterprise, which owns National and Alamo, won’t let AutoSlash show its cars and wouldn’t say why. Avis, which owns Budget, also steers clear and offered some feeble reasoning that I’ll explain below.

Hertz an……….. continues on News & Observer.

….. Read more

========================

Related News:


Posted in Auto Rental | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Rate Sleuth Making Rental Car Companies Squirm

Posted on February 18, 2012 by admin

A report from New York Times:

Isaac Brekken for The New York Times

A new discount booking service makes rental car companies and full-service online travel agencies squirm uncomfortably.

In a perfect world, we would get the lowest price for everything we buy without having to lift a finger to hunt for the best deal.

….. Read more

========================

Related News:


Posted in Auto Rental | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hertz Launches Car Sharing In Washington DC

Posted on February 17, 2012 by admin

News from PSFK:

Global rental car brand Hertz has expanded its car sharing program Hertz on Demand to Washington DC, offering a Zipcar-like service that has a number of enhanced member benefits including one-way car sharing. A range of cars including electric vehicles, compacts, sedans and SUVs, will be available in all eight wards of the District, in parking garages, outdoor spaces and on-street parking spots. Mark P. Frissora, chairman and CEO of Hertz, said:

By making vehicles readily available in more locations, Hertz On Demand is making car sharing more convenient and accessible to Washington, D.C. residents, visitors and workers. Hertz On Demand is free to join with no annual, membership or late fees.  Our member benefits, which far exceed those of our competitors, coupled with our selection of cars really enables members to specifically choose the car they want for the trip they are taking.

Hertz On Demand has the unique feature of one-way car sharing, allowing you to drop a vehicle off at any of its locations,……………. continues on PSFK

>>> Read the full article

==============================

Related News:

Posted in Hertz | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Neighbor Food Mart in Adds U-Haul Rentals, Supplies

Posted on February 17, 2012 by admin

A report from CSPnet.com:

JACKSON, Tenn. – Abdulaziz Mohammed, owner of Neighbor Food Mart, located in Jackson, Tenn., recently added U-Haul truck and trailer rentals and merchandise to the convenience store business he has been operating since February 2011.

“The reason we decided to add U-Haul rentals to our business is because of the experience of the business, and the location of the store. Also, there’s multitasking and helping neighbors while attracting more business to our location,” Mohammed said.

Neighbor Food Mart can now offer its customers a variety of moving equipment and supplies designed specifically for moving household furnishings, including moving vans, open trailers, closed trailers, furniture pads, appliance dollies, furniture dollies, tow dollies and auto transports. Neighbor Food Mart also will offer sales items to protect their customers’ belongings and make moving easier, such as heavy-duty boxes, which are made of up to 90% recycled content and are available in a variety of sizes.

“U-Haul is proud to be partnering with a quality independent business such as Neighbor Food Mart,” said Carol George, president of U-Haul Co. of Memphis. “Abdulaziz is a great example of the type of success……….. continues on CSPnet.com.

….. Read more

========================

Related News:


Posted in Auto Rental | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Toyota boosts US sales with rental cars

Posted on February 16, 2012 by admin

A report from Boston.com:

Toyota says the higher fleet sales won’t be a long-term trend. It says it’s making up for contracts it couldn’t fulfill last year after Japan’s earthquake limited car production.

Still, the carmaker is under pressure to perform better. Sales have fallen the past two years because of safety recalls and earthquake-related shortages. Toyota ended 2011 with a 12.9 percent share of the U.S. car market, down from 17.9 percent in 2009. And even with fleet sales, the company’s January sales increase of nearly 8 percent lagged the overall industry, which gained 11 percent in the U.S.

Toyota’s numbers don’t show which vehicles went to rental companies, but two aging models — the Toyota Yaris subcompact and Toyota Avalon sedan — saw huge sales increases. That’s often a sign that cars are being sold to fleets.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Toyota Motor Corp.’s U.S. sales chief Bob Carter said the company sold few cars to fleets in the second half of 2011 because inventories were so low.

That has changed since Toyota got its factories working and ramped up production following the earthquake.

“We said we would make it up to them when we were back up to 100 percent,’’ Carter said.

Toyota typically sel……….. continues on Boston.com.

….. Read more

========================

Related News:


Posted in Auto Rental | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment