(Authors note: I’m inserting an intermission here in my Cars of a Lifetime series, as the first chapter of my life closes, and big changes are coming in the next part. Before getting into the next chapter, I though this would make a nice change of pace).
As regular readers of my COAL series will no doubt realize, I have a habit of extensively photographing every car I’ve ever owned. Much to my wife’s annoyance, I have a similar habit with rental cars, often times trying to incorporate them into the scenery. I’ve been renting cars long enough now (since the early 90’s) that many of these rentals have become Curbside Classics on their own rights. So lets see what the rental companies have foisted on me over the years.
I believe this might be Bryce Canyon, but I’m not sure.
First up is a 1995 Ford Taurus, as rented from Hertz for a road trip with a friend across the US desert southwest. The picture above was taken at Arches National Park in Utah on July 4, 1995. As I recall, this car was a competent highway cruiser. Unfortunately, I got a flat tire on a dirt road heading to Goblin Valley State Park in Utah, and had to put on the donut spare. Shortly after getting back on to the pavement, I got a speeding ticket for 85mph – while still on the donut spare.
We took the wounded Taurus to the nearest Hertz facility, where they kindly exchanged my silver Taurus for an otherwise identical blue one.
The picture above shows my rental parked next to an identical rental car at Canyonlands National Park. I was so amused by this at the time that I snapped a picture. Over the years, I have lost track of whether my rental was the car on the left or the right.
Next we have a 1996 Nissan Tsuru for a road trip across central and southern Mexico with the same friend. Americans know the Tsuru better as the third-generation Nissan Sentra, which incredibly was still being built in Mexico up until early 2017. This particular rental car holds several distinctions, including the only car I’ve ever rented with a stick shift, and the only rental I’ve even had without A/C.
At the time, Mexico had recently completed a wonderful toll road system. The tolls were expensive, however, even by US standards, so almost no one used them, while the side roads remained jammed with traffic. It was not unusual to cruise for miles at a time without seeing another vehicle in either direction.
Not as fast as it looks – That is km/h, which works out to about 95 mph.
Naturally we did what anyone would do when presented with their own personal autobahn: We cruised at the top speed of our car, pictured above.
Here we have a 2004-ish Kia Optima, photographed in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. This wasn’t the car I had originally requested (which would have been a Nissan Altima). However, when I got to the rental counter in Reno, I was informed that travellers heading up to Tahoe were required to upgrade to a V6 model.
The irony of this “upgrade” is that the 4-cylinder Altima would have been just as powerful, more comfortable, and was an altogether better car. At least this wasn’t a 2003 model with the infamous Hannibal Lechter grille.
Next up is a Pontiac G6 rented during a trip to Disney World in 2007. Unlike contemporary reviewers, I found nothing to fault with the road manners. I was quite impressed with the rear legroom of the long wheelbase Epsilon platform.
In 2009, for a second trip to Florida, I was handed the keys to the stablemate of the G6, a Saturn Aura. This was slightly more luxurious than the previous G6 rental, sporting such unheard of (for a rental car) niceties as leather interior and automatic climate control. Much like the G6, I found it to be a compentent car. Indeed, I was so pleasantly surprised with the Aura that I even briefly considered getting one at one point.
Off road with rental Dodge Caliber at Sedona Red Rocks
In the spring of 2008. my wife Kristen and I decided to celebrate my 40th birthday by taking a getaway to Arizona. Since it was just the two of us for a long weekend, we opted for a compact car. So what did Alamo stick us with? A Dodge Caliber. Yes, the interior was loaded with hard plastics, and the engine was noisy. No, I would never want to own one, but honestly the experience wasn’t terrible.
Rental Dodge Caliber in Sedona, Arizona
For starters, it had all wheel drive, which afforded us the opportunity to do some light off-roading. Atypically in rental car fashion, it wasn’t a stripper – it was actually the range topping R/T model, with largish 18 inch wheels and a 172 hp 2.4 liter engine, which provided more than enough oomf to handle the mountains of Arizona. The CVT was amusing with its rubber band effect, but I would probably be annoyed by it if I had to put up with it on a regular basis.
Least scenic view of Hawaii
Next up on the rental car hit parade was a Jeep Liberty I received upon arrival in Honolulu, Hawaii in summer of 2013 for a family vacation. I had requested a mid-size SUV, but it was anything but. I can honestly say that this was one of the worst cars I have ever driven. It was cramped, noisy, uncomfortable, and had the hardest ride of pretty much any vehicle I’ve ever been in.
Best part about rentals – you don’t have to worry about getting them dirty
There’s barely enough leg room in the back a 10-year-old. Ingress to the back seat was terrible – as you can see, the door frame actually blocks off much of the seat cushion. The weatherstripping was already getting pulled off as a result of people rubbing up against it getting in and out of the back seat.
On this same trip, we island hopped over to the Big Island. Perhaps to make up for the Jeep Liberty in Oahu, fate dealt us a kind hand. Once we arrived in Kona, Hertz informed us that they were all out of the mid-sized SUVs we had booked, and offered up to a Nissan Armada at no extra charge. While it was large and gas hungry (which really hurt at $4.25 per gallon), it was supremely comfortable and quiet, and the V8 made short work of the trek up to the summit of Mauna Kea.
Nissan Armada with Mauna Kea on background
I would never own such a gargantuan beast, but it was a perfect rental. Something this large would have been challenging to drive in the urban bustle of Honolulu (which is basically Los Angeles on an island), but it was perfectly suited for the wide open spaces of the Big Island.
When renting cars, I always take advantage of the opportunity to try out different vehicles. After a bad experience with GM cars in the 80’s, I was basically an import buyer 20+ years. However, my positive experiences with domestic rentals eventually led me back in to the fold of buying domestic cars (including my first GM car), but that is a COAL for another day. Aloha for now!
I’m glad that I’m not the only one who photographs my rental cars! Well at least if they’re interesting to me and I’m usually willing to pay extra to get something that’s not boring. I’ve got pics of a Commodore Sportwagen and Ford Falcon XR6 in New Zealand, a Dodge Charger in San Diego, 2015 Mustang Ecoboost convertible on a trip through the Florida panhandle, a 2-door Wrangler and Camaro convertible in Hawaii, and just a couple of weeks ago a Chrysler 300S.
The Mustang blew the Camaro out of the water, I loved driving the Mustang but hated the Camaro’s awful visibility and drab interior.
The Falcon XR6–despite looking like a Taurus–was wonderful to drive as fast as I could from Wellington to Napier; the engine was so much more satisfying than the Commodore’s 3.6. Modern V6’s in the 300hp range always leave me wondering “Where’s the beef?”
I had a Camaro convertible as a rental for our honeymoon in the Florida Keys in 2013. I agree with your views–boring gray interior, terrible visibility with the top up, and it didn’t *feel* like there were 300 horses in that engine. I wish they’d given me a Mustang instead (but at least it wasn’t a Sebring.)
With the top down, all sins were forgiven as the spectacular scenery made the vehicle itself fade into the background.
The scenery definitely helps…except for the windshield header right in front of your face. Even with the top down that made the Camaro feel clostrophobic.
Well, way back when I was in school (in the 70’s) I used to work for Hertz, but I never took pictures of the cars I drove.I was a transporter (the guy who drives the car back from a one-way rental to the home office). Back then most of the fleet were Fords, so I drove many LTD-II, Thunderbirds, Granadas and Fairmonts, but also got into some non-Fords (mostly Dodge, like the Diplomat, and even once a Magnum (which I loved)). Once drove an AMC Pacer, also the Datsun 510 (the late 70’s model, not the early 70’s one). They paid by the trip, which (unless you drove very fast and risked speeding tickets) ended up being a bit less than minimum wage, but since I liked cars, that helped blunt the low pay. Thinking back on it, I was driving cars at the end of one era where they hadn’t yet started transitioning from large RWD , as FWD cars were still pretty scarce (mostly VW and Honda at that point) so it was a good time to experience some of these models no longer being made.
After getting out of school, rented various models, also mostly from Hertz (mostly because my employer had agreement with them). One time on an interview trip my Parents arranged for me to rent a Toyota Starlet with manual transmission, I think it was the only time I drove a rental with a manual. Most of the cars were run of the mill, like a Chevrolet Cavalier or Olds Cutlass, but did get to drive rentals in Europe, for some reason I usually got Opels, such as a Vectra and a Scorpion, but also for my only RHD experience a Rover 400. I probably do have some pictures of those stashed away, especially if they were rented on a vacation, but most of them are only left in my mind.
Great photos, Tom.
I’m always excited to rent a car, especially if it’s through Turo and I know what I’m getting. It’s like an extended test drive.
Great article. I agree it’s always a bit exciting to rent a car, even a fairly pedestrian one, if only for the change of pace. I’ve only taken a picture of a rental car once, a Ford Fiesta we had in Alaska. I thought it amusing that we were driving around the largest state in the smallest available car. It was surprisingly comfortable, though, and got 46 mpg on the trip to Denali from Fairbanks!
Also, your mention of the rental company requiring more power for the mountains reminds how surprised I was in 2008 when our rented Hyundai Sonata handled the road up to Mount St. Helens with ease, when on my only previous visit there 13 years earlier our rental Mazda 626 had labored quite a bit on the same road. Perhaps a sign of how much 4-cylinder engines and automatic transmissions had improved in the interim.
I rented cars in the 90s when having to travel in NYC or Long Island after having two personal cars wrecked by random tri-state driver lunacy. My favorite was a 1993 olds 98.
After smoking a cigar in it, i doubt it was ever the same.
My first rental car was a 1981 Chevrolet Malibu station wagon. I went straight to the AVIS office and told them that I had booked full size and wanted to go full size. We were 4 of us and we had planned long rides. They came back with a 1981 Chevrolet Caprice Estate Wagon – diesel.
I don’t thing the woman at the toll plaza for the Florida Turnpike had seen/heard one before, as she asked: “Doesn’t your car need a tune up?”
Other than that it was a nice ride for my broher, our parents and I. The fact that we drove diesel on this trip may even have saved our lives, as we hit hot transmission parts from a towed truck. The parts on the shoulder of of road, had turned the gras on fire. I just tried not to hit any of the parts on the road with our wheel. The one part cut our fuel tank open and the fuel splashed our rear window.
Wow, good story.
As for the Malibu…I can just imagine someone in Detroit saying “Don’t make it too nice, we want to upsell them to a Caprice.”
Cool to see these photos. I think through the years I’ve also gotten some rentals we’ve had in pictures, I’ll have to go take a look. I know there were some Mustangs that I thought were worth a shot…
I always enjoy renting cars, even mundane ones, as it is a great way to experience the breadth of offerings on the market. Also, you can see firsthand the strengths and weaknesses of various makes/models.
When I can, I rent from National, since you get to “pick” your car. I always hustle off the shuttle tram to the lot to grab the best choice available.
As Will and Brendan have suggested, I’m going to have to try Turo for personal travel, since that does sound like an interesting way to experience specific cars.
Next time in Florida in 1988 I rented a Merucy Topaz from Hertz Rent-a-Car. Well, nothing much exciting to write home about that one. Here in front of the Burt Reynolds Horse Ranch.
Two of my favorite three rentals have been Chrysler products – last year a 2016 Ram truck, complete with a Hemi, and 4-5 years ago a first gen neo-Charger with 5.7 V8. number three fav was an SN-95 Mustang drop-top – V6, unfortunately. The Ram was a great vehicle, I finally understood the “full-size pick-up is really a large sedan” thing, sucker averaged over 25MPG from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon and back. The Charger was a nice car that would’ve been much better if I could’ve seen out of the darned thing. Big V8s compensate for many shortcomings. Had the Mustang as a weekend rental for touring the mountains east of Salt Lake City – top down, of course!
On the following trips to Miami and Dallas, I rented Pontiac Grand Am cars. The car is not fit for long rides, as the seats are too small. Other than that, it is the car that has got me in touch with the police the most. In Florida I got a speeding ticket on the turnpike, followed with the odd fact that the speedometer needle froze at 50 miles/h.
In Dallas I had my car broken into, trying to park in a legal spot. When I later parked in this lot, it was towed. Had a hard time agreeing with the lady in the parking lot for towed cars, what color it is. I said jade green. She insisted on blue.
After having returned a 1993 Chevrolet Caprice to Avis, because either the suspension or the tires were so soft it made me sick, AVIS came back with this Lincoln Continental Town Car. This stated a facination for this extraordinary vehicle.
On the following trips I booked Town Cars. Here again in 1995.
In 1996 I had my terminal ill with me on a trip covering N.Y. City, Washington DC, Reading Pennsylvania, Buffalo, Toronto, Montreal and back to N.Y. City. We actually didn’t know how serious her condition was at this time – we only knew something was really wrong and that if we should go it should be now.
She had a hard time sitting in a regular car, but was able to sleep on the long rides, by putting the passenger seat down.
The smooth ride of the Town Car kept her fast asleep for about an hour each time.
Here enjoying the view over Reading, PA, where we stayed with friends.
In 2005 my partner and I went to California and Nevada and he wanted to go with the roof down. Why not. Well, the Chrysler Sebring was the last US car they had, before they started handing out Toyota, so we didn’t complain.
But it heavier on gas than the Town Cars. It took us from LA to Phoenix, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, Death Valley and up to San Francisco and back to LA.
2011 LA was calling again, This time with a stop in Palm Springs, before joining friends in Phoenix, Going back to freezing Las Vegas on return to Santa Monica.
We REALLY enjoyed this car.
2016 it was Florida time again – and we GOT our Mustang – and truly enjoyed it. 🙂 with 82 Fahrenheit (28 celsius) for two weeks except for a single day.
I always take pics of the vehicles that I rent, and for the past few decades, even videos of them, BOTH when I pick them up, as well as return. Complete, 360 shots. Although I always opt for the extra insurance (NEVER had a problem, but you know, the one time that I say “NO”…), I don’t want to be blamed for anything that wasn’t my fault.
Traveling tip: If you use a SpeedPass for tolls, always remember to add the rental car to the account, just in case the toll booth reader ‘misses’ it, and you end up getting double or triple billed by the rental company for a “unpaid” toll.
You should have an Audi A4 on this list.
CC people – checkout Silvercar. If you are in one of the cities they serve, you can get a loaded Audi A4 for less than the meanest Rio, Versa, Sonic, Caliber or Aveo. Their business model is web/app based so they don’t need so much staff, and the savings go into permanent vehicle upgrades. Initially they only carried A4’s, but now I believe they have Audi Suv’s too. I don’t work for them, I offer this as a PSA for all car guys/gals out there. Way friendlier people then the sullen staff elsewhere – such a better experience…
We’ve written about it, can’t add the link from this device, sorry, but google curbside classic silvercar. They used to have Q5’s as well but have since reverted to A4’s only.
Last rental car I used was quite a few years ago. It was intended for my family of six to cruise the entire length of the united kingdom, visiting family at various points. I don’t remember what car we asked for in the booking form, but arriving at the rental station at Gatwick airport, we were offered a Ford S-max with seating for eight (I think).
“Do you mind a manual”? Hell, yes please.
“Is diesel OK”? Hell, yes please.
Did just over two thousand miles in this vehicle in the month I rented it.
It delivered nearly 70mpg overall and was spacious, competent and comfortable.
I want one even now.
YMMV 🙂
Imperial gallons, perhaps. A bit bigger than our US gallons, so they go further
I think I’ve only ever incidentally take pictures of my rental cars. Back in the 90’s-00’s I traveled a lot more for work and family issues. Depending where and when I was going, I mostly took the cheapest one available. During my time living in Atlanta, my sister in Charlotte, NC, suffered a stroke. At the time we had one “good” car, and one beater that I drove. I didn’t trust the beater to make it to Charlotte, so I rented the cheapest thing I could find: A Ford Aspire. Needless to say, it was not a fast car, but I did get there. Eventually.
For my job, I would have to travel and that was where I first rented Dodge/Plymouth Neons. I mostly ended up with the single cam models, which were really quite driveable, but the odd occasion that I ended up with the twin cam ones were a chance to have some fun. I developed a similar fondness for first-generation Chrysler “Cloud” cars that way too, particularly the V6 cars.
We had a 2004 Pontiac Aztek that gave us nothing but trouble. A real “Friday” car; the money spent on the extended warranty was well worth it. It got me into so many different rental cars that I think I went through the whole mid-00’s GM line-up. The two that I really ended up liking were the Pontiac G6 and the Chevy Malibu Maxx. I eventually bought one of each of those cars, still have my 09 G6 Sport Sedan.
But, the G6 is old enough now that I’m considering replacing it; or at least what to replace it with. Based on my experience renting cars, I will probably find a way to rent my “target” car(s) before making a purchase.
One of my favorite rentals was a G6 GT with leather rented while going to the 2006 Final 4. I found it to be a great car and actually enjoyed driving it. We stayed about an hour outside of Indy so we put some miles on it over the long weekend.
There was a while where I was looking to buy one in the exact combination we got.
I have taken a few photos over the years…..and found what I had from the rental counter to be quite decent but not something I would want to live with every day for years. Just a pervasive feeling of cheapness but quite competent overall. A Chevy Traverse and a Chevy Tahoe in particular come to mind.
My wife and I haven’t owned a car since 2003, and with our urban setting (we live in Toronto’s Beach neighborhood and work downtown) there’s really no need for a car. We’ve been regular renters for years, and we’ve had a few of the vehicles you mentioned. I had a Liberty for a week once and wasn’t really impressed with it either. I’ve also had a Dodge Caliber or two – not bad but nothing exciting. I’ve had many Corollas, and they ‘re always competent if not exciting. I’ve even had a few pickups – an F-150 crew cab and a Dodge crew cab – both nice but thirsty. The worst? I’ve never had a bad experience with a rental, but I’d be happy not to get another Kia Rio or Hyundai Accent, though the bigger Hyundais are all right. My favorites? I’m always happy to get an Impala, and I had a Malibu last month that I quite liked as well. I also like the Ford Fusion, and I won’t turn down a VW Jetta or Passat either. Mazdas are great – I’ll take either a 3 or a 6. The big Mopars (a Dodge Charger and a Chrysler 300) are fine cruisers as well. I enjoy renting. I get to drive and live with a wide variety of cars without a salesman bothering me in the passenger seat.
I remember many of the rentals I’ve had, but I’ve only ever photographed the one we had in Ireland.
Worst: 2006 Malibu. This was just an awful car.
Best: 2011 Malibu, ironically. Swift, stable, sure. Comfortable and capable. Ever since I’ve wanted to own one.
How did GM go from getting it so wrong to getting it so right in just 5 years? Who cares; they did it.
I travel a lot on business, and have rented many anonymous cars over the years,
In 1984, I attended the Hannover Messe, in Germany, with two of my colleagues. One of our German co-workers picked us up at the airport and handled our daily transportation to and from the show. On the last day, my colleagues and I headed to the Hertz counter at the Messe to pick up my pre-reserved rental car to continue our European trip. The gentleman behind the counter apologized and said that they were out of the mid-sized car class that I had reserved, and offered to either give me a smaller car, or to take us to the airport (some distance away) to get the correct class of car.
Although I was still in my mid-late 20’s, I countered with something along the lines of “I thought that if Hertz didn’t have the correct class of car, don’t you have to give me something bigger for the same price?”. The Hertz employee went into the back room, and we could hear him having a somewhat angry conversation with someone over the phone. Then he came out of the back room, he threw a set of keys on the counter, and said “it’s the Mercedes 380SEL in space number B15”.
Driving a big Mercedes for the first time was a revelation; especially on the open Autobahns of rural Germany. Somewhere in my files I have two pictures from this trip — one of me standing next to the Mercedes, and another of the Mercedes speedometer reading 220 kilometers per hour.
My worst rental car experience was probably a Chevette; rented from Alamo in Florida for $29.00 per week sometime during the mid 1980’s. A reminder that sometimes, you get what you pay for…
The week that I started driving a 2006 Hertz Mustang coupe V6 for three days, and swapped it midweek for a black Shelby GT350H was memorable- I took several photos of the GT350H. Talk about a night and day difference, though a little scary when I was leaving for home on the 405 in the GT350H, and picked up a couple of stalkers in similarly tweaked new Mustangs. A couple of pleasant surprises , also from Hertz. In SFO, they learned that I would traveling with two other guys for an excursion to Napa/Sonoma , and then going south to Los Angeles, and asked if I wanted a Volvo 240DL for the trip. Another when the rental agent learned I’d be using the rental to tour Joshua Tree/ Twentynine Palms, and gave me a brand new Subaru Outback. Most of the time, I seem to get new Corolla’s or Camry’s, and they’re fine, particularly for the mileage and range they get-the last Camry went 500 miles (PDX-Medford, Oregon and back to PDX on just one tank of gas. The worst rentals, oddly enough were for Lake Tahoe trips. A Plymouth Acclaim that was beat to death before I got it, and which had a terribly bright radio/clock display that I couldn’t dim(no owners manual in the car), and a Toyota Solara convertible which gave horrible fuel economy, was gutless even with its V6, and had a terribly small backglass(talk about a big blindspot). But some bright spots, again, and it depends on the times I rented. A couple of nice new 1978 Ford Fiesta’s with their really cool lift-out sunroof panels and manual tranmissions from a Boston Ford dealer. And lastly, from Hertz again, a couple of new 1977 Toyota Celica ST’s that I’d gladly rent today if they were still in production.
WORSE: Early 2000ish Kia. Only had A/C and automatic and nothing else!! No P/S, P/B, electric windows, nor a radio. Cramped, noisy, slow as a slug. Got it from one of those third tier rental car companies in FL. I don’t think the car was intended for the US market.
BEST: 1985 Lincoln Town Car. Was making 3 to 4 business trips a month to Houston in the mid-eighties. Girl behind the rental counter got to know me as time progressed. Was schedule to get something like a Tempo/Topaz (remember those). Instead, ended up with the Lincoln. Very nice!!
I haven’t rented that many cars in my 30 years of driving. Most have been cube vans (that’s what we Canucks call em) for work when the old ford was down for service. The best was a 2009 vw golf. It was fun to put in sport mode and watch the range gauge go down by 100 kms and feel it down shifting into 1st coming up to the next stop light. The worst was a 5 ton moving van with trailer from uhaul. It drank fuel and through the BC Rockies could only muster 50kms per hour up some of the mountain passes. The two cats beside me in their travel cages howling the whole time didn’t help the experience either.
Been renting since 1984, first ever was a brand new Pontiac Grand Prix in Portland Oregon, last one was a Hyundai i20 in Ibiza. In between I came across a lot of good and bad cars, funniest one was a then new on the market 300S, people literally stopping me to see the car.
Best-either a 1991 Cadillac STS for a trip from LA to SF and back via PCH, then exchanged for a Corvette, or a 2016 Camaro convertible for a week in Florida for my wife’s 65th birthday.
Honorable mention-In the early 90s, Nearly 1/2 of U.S. auto production was going to fleets, so National Car Rental’s “Emerald Aisle” program advertised “a Cadillac for the price of a midsize”. You got off the bus and just chose whatever you wanted on the Aisle. I remember driving a DeVille with 20 miles and two weeks later, a Seville with about 125 miles. Absolutely nothing had over 5-6,000 miles. The STS I mentioned above was brand new, 8 miles. I remember looking at the choices in Atlanta, circa 1991. Seville, DeVille, Bonneville SSE, Buick Reatta and LeBaron convertible, all in a row for $28 a day! Good times for renters, not so good for the Big Three.
I spent all of 1986 in rentals in San Diego, as my employer knew they’d need me back East eventually. (When they finally did, I promptly found another job back in San Diego and I’m still here….)
I had an Accord hatch with a manual for a few months which was a great car. Then I had an MR2 also with a stick which was a lot of fun. I had a Laser or Daytona briefly that had a blow out at speed. Worst of the bunch was a Grand Am that had an oil consumption problem (only time I’ve ever had the oil pressure light come on in a car).
Some years later I had an Omni GLSH rental in Texas. Apparently they didn’t upgrade the AC compressor to handle the revs – the first one I got had no AC, so I brought it back. A few days later after some, um, enthusiastic driving, the AC quit and smoke started out from under the hood. The guy in the pickup next to me grabbed his fire extinguisher and we opened the hood to see the AC belt bubbling like lava.
The only other memorable rental out was the Taurus in the late 90s that started hydroplaning horribly during a thunderstorm. I got out and realized that 2 of the 4 tires were down to the steel cords. I check the condition of my rentals more carefully now…
A rental fleet had an Omni GLHS? That’s beyond odd. Lucky you though…
Worse rental: 2015 BMW 3 series. Automatic with terrible map programs. Your choice of gutless economy auto stop/start, touring- not much better, and sport (read: full buzz all the time). Had to pull the door release twice just get out of darn thing.
Best: 1987 Shelby Lancer on our honeymoon. Requested a Lebaron coupe but they were out, so they offered the turbo hod rod. Bright red five door. With a 5 speed manual. To a 21 year old. WOW! Beautiful bride liked it, too. Even had a great stereo with a CD player. Almost unheard of at the time. Had to stop and buy a CD (we were still on cassettes).
I guess I just don’t like today’s modern luxury lookalikes. This year we’ll get something basic and spend the extra cash on extra beverages. .
I don’t have the chance to rent that often, but enough to have favorites. I’ve taken photos of more of them than not, but it’s usually just a quick shot approaching the car or with some scenery behind.
Favorite? Probably an ’07 Nissan Maxima. I’d just lost my Mark VIII in an accident and the rental was supposed to be some generic mid-sizer (G6? Sonata? who knows) and they offered that I could have the Maxima for $6 per day more. Brand new, just delivered, under 200 miles on the odometer. It even had the (fixed) panoramic sunroof. Nice car with a strong V6, even if the CVT hampered it somewhat. Had that car for almost two weeks until I got the insurance payout sorted. The Camaro convertible I had in 2013 was fun too, but it was so claustrophobic with the top up that it gets second place solely on its transporation merits.
Least favorite? No contest–the 2016 Versa S sedan I got stuck with for work travel last year. Man, that was no fun. Not pleasant to drive, dull interior, boring to look at.
I had a silver Versa recently, an SV I think. I couldn’t wait to get my car back. It was just so crude, noisy, slow with poor road manners that it was unpleasant to drive. It did have a USB port so I could charge and listen to the music on my phone. I was honestly surprised to see that this wasn’t even the stripper trim of that particular car. Wow.
I had a Ford Focus hatchback. It was a competent enough car but Ford’s have some of the most depressing black interiors. Some even fake wood would go a long way in breaking up the monotony of cheapness.
Honestly, the best rentals I’ve had have been Mopars. I even like the 200’s, but Chrysler should have made what is the “c” trim the base trim and made the C with more real wood and chrome. The criticism of the Ford applies to Mopar’s black interior except Mopar managed to make their interiors more interesting. They also make a cloth interior which feels almost like velour, which I find preferable to cheap leather.
All the Mopars I’ve had with the Pentastar v6 have good get up and go, even the Durango. In contrast, the GM VVT v6, even though it has better numbers, doesn’t feel like it does.
That Versa wouldn’t have been in Kansas City would it? That’s what they passed off to me as a mid sized car. A real tin can, especially for me who readily admits his ego dictates what kind of car he will be seen in. I couldn’t wait to get back to driving my Mustang.
Mine was in Nashville, through Enterprise. Really baffled me how that thing counted as an “intermediate”. What’s a compact in that case? A Fiat 500? I’d much rather have had one of those.
I think I would have too. 500s seem to be at least solidly screwed together. But alas, they were out of those.
I also had a Chevy Cruze RS for a stint. At first I enjoyed it with the leather seats, sunroof and tech but the smallness and buzzy engine got to me after a couple days. It was pretty decent for a dinky car. I also thought the fabric they used as trim material was odd but pleasantly different.
Hertz stuck me with a Versa SV in Kona last year. Intermediate? Right. I learned to hate CVT’s driving Nissan rentals. This one was worse because the overall car was so bad. The Sentra a couple of years earler still had the annoying trans, but the car was otherwise competent. CVT’s are fine driving in the city, such as just between the airport and your hotel. They are miserable in the mountains.
We got a plain white Dodge Dart on Maui from Alamo on the same trip. It was so plain it looked like a government rather than tourist car, leading to an interesting encounter with one of the locals. Long story. I was impressed with the performance. It just worked. Conventional automatic and big four handled the climb up the mountain without complaint with A/C blasting.
Nebraska. I’m sure a goodly number of these cars are bought by rental fleets as their bread and butter rentals.
Rental company’s sizing is just a way to screw you out of more money. Next time I’m getting at least a 200. No more tinny econoboxes!
Haven’t rented that many cars and never thought to take pictures of them. Actually I’m not much of a picture taker, even now with the easy availability of the camera on my cell phone I am seldom tempted to take photos. I did use to travel occasionally for one job and always seemed to end up with a Ford Taurus. I can’t say that I ever had a bad one but they were just transportation modules to me. The worst rental car I ever had was a Plymouth Sundance we got stuck with because that was all the rental company had available and we desperately wanted to get to the hotel after a cross country flight. This was the beginning of a two week stay in the San Francisco area and after a couple of days we took the Sundance back and were able to swap it for a Corolla. Again, just a transportation module but at least you didn’t feel like the entire car was going to roll over and die.
The last car I rented, just a few years ago, was a Mazda 3 … an extremely nice car, but not yet worthy of CC status, though for the future I do in fact have a picture or two of it. But I’m quite sure I have no pictures of some older rentals I’ve had, including at least one Pinto, an Escort EXP, a Datsun B210, and my favorite, a Fox-body LTD. At the time these cars, even the LTD, just seemed ordinary, so why waste film on them? I do in fact have quite a few pictures of the ’84 Opel Corsa I rented in Switzerland, mostly with gorgeous Alpine scenery.
I almost always take pictures of the cars I rent, but it’s so infrequent, many of those pics are on film (like a brand new ’92 Bonneville I rented in California in 1991).
Worst rental ever? – 2002 Malibu. That car handled like an out of control roller skate.
Favorite? – the aforementioned Bonneville, plus this 2015 Charger I rented that is pictured below. While the Charger only had a 292 HP V-6, on Florida’s flat as a pancake terrain, it was plenty fast enough for me. When my wife asked, “I thought we were getting a Corolla?” I told her that’s just what I reserved and that it was all part of my evil plan . Rental car companies almost always run out of the appliances and offer you a free (or very cheap upgrade).
I usually use Hertz, but have done everything from Avis to Enterprise (nice Envoy back in the early ’00s from the latter). I’ve never tried National, though.
And I’ve only been offered a stick shift once… renting a UHaul truck. They screwed up my reservation, and only had one vehicle left, a 26 footer when I only had a 19′ or 22′ reserved. He said, “We don’t usually rent it because it’s a manual.” I said, “I’ll take it. I can drive a stick.” Got a free upgrade that day.
I’m not sure how the thumbnail ended up upside down. It was probably when I airdropped it from where I found it on my iPhone to my iPad. Click on it and the picture ends up oriented correctly. Sorry about that.
I believe this happens because the iPhone, when it takes a picture, doesn’t actually rotate each pixel of the image to make the photo the “correct” orientation- it just sets a flag in the JPEG metadata that tells the displayer which way to rotate the image when it shows it. However, when WordPress makes the thumbnail it doesn’t pay attention to that flag and just resizes the image in whatever orientation the phone was in at the time the photo was taken.
Now here’s an interesting QOTD: Have you ever WASHED a car that you have rented?
I like a clean car. California was very dry and dusty. I washed that Bonneville TWICE while I was out there. My wife thought I was crazy. So did the natives as California was in a drought at the time (aren’t they always?). If you aren’t supposed to wash a car in California due to a drought, then why are the cars always so clean and perfect out there? (Well, at least in pictures the cars are always clean and shiny.)
OH, and Thanks, CJC. ?
I washed our Chrysler Sebring in Phoenix, as we had been driving up a dirt road – ending up driving in a river bed – on our way to Prescott.
The car was Sedona rock red deep into the door locks.
Our old lady friend in Peoria thought I was weird.
She had never seen anyone wash a rental car before.
In Florida last Christmas I washed the Mustang as well.
Why have a sparkling red Mustang, if you cannot enjoy it clean?
Again our local friends thought I was weird.
This is strange, though, because back in the early 1980’s, when I worked as a hiker for Hertz Rent-a-Car, it was in particular our American customers who tought me to take car of a rental car whilst driving it.
They would come back and tell how much water and especially oil they had added on their trip to the North Cape and back.
Quite a pleasant contrast to European customers, who would return even a BMW 745i with a full panel of warning lighs on – including the indicators for oil and gas.
“Why have a sparkling red Mustang, if you cannot enjoy it clean?”
My Dad’s sentiments exactly, and he’s 78 (almost 79). And although this is his car, he has washed a rental car or two in his travels as well. I’m sure we’re the minority though.
We had a Jeep Compass a few years ago for ten days. We went camping and hit a few back roads with it as well, so it got good and dirty. I made sure to gave it a good scrubdown before I took it back.
The one time I’ve gotten to leave the USA, my spouse and I rented a car in Inverness Scotland, and drove to Edinburgh (as the vacation part of a work trip) Easily the best drive of my life. This was pre-internet, so the car and hotels were all secured over the phone. So when we showed up to collect our Peugeot rental, we discovered that it was too small for us and all our stuff! We ended up getting a larger car (a Vauxhall) just so we didn’t have suitcases and equipment trunks on our laps while we drove… The rental guys asked me at least 7 times, “now you know this is a MANUAL transmission car, right?” They didn’t seem to believe me that I knew how to work a clutch pedal, not that I blame them… I thought about pretending to stall it in the driveway (“forecourt”?) and ask, “Hey what’s this extra pedal for?” I had about 5 minutes of work getting used to driving from the “wrong” side, but only a short time, and then it was smooth sailing. Honestly I thought the pedals were going to be mirror-image to what I was used to (gas on the left against the trans tunnel) for some reason, but obviously it was the same. We had the car for 5 days, and it was probably the English equivalent of the boring GM rental car, but I really liked it and was kinda sad to turn it in. I have pics of it, but on film and no scanner to convert it.
I must have rented close to a 100 cars from the early 90’s to the mid 2000’s.
The best ones were most always the Town Cars, Caprices, Panther sedans, H/G body Bonnevilles/88 and LeSabres with honorable mentions to the 1995-1999 Lumina’s and Grand Prix’s.
The worst ones were usually FCA products and one Taurus that grenaded it’s 4 speed automatic in spectacular fashion on a 1996 Ovoid basic Vulcan sedan. A 1996 Plymouth Breeze leaked oil on my driveway prompting a vehicle switch to a 96 Lumina which I liked. A 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee drove nice enough but emitted a foul odor out of the A/ C ducts prompting a vehicle change to an Explorer the following day and that was okay too.
I was one of the car prep guys who cleaned the rental cars(and drove around picking up customers) for several years in college, and beyond..man, I could write a book if those brain cells hadn’t vaporized.
I had the most expensive rental in history…my Caprice was down for a fuel pump, so I got a rental. They offered an upgrade from the Focus I reserved…a Charger SXT.
Six months later, I bought a new Dodge Magnum RT.
That’s an incredibly tough drive up Mauna Loa! There’s a road to the summit of Mauna kea
For the past six years, the wife and I both worked for rental car companies during summers and extended breaks (kids in college will do that to you). The one big perk we got out of the experience was cheap rentals… cheap to the point where, on a trip, it was cheaper to take theirs than ours (lot more to owning a car than just the price of fuel). Snow in the forecast? Make sure to check the 0 deductable box on that 4WD. Stuff has to go to Goodwill or the dump? Cheaper to rent a pickup than buy one for the few days you need one.
The problem is, if you drive 20-50 of these a day @ work, they all blend together. It’s a rare car that jumps above the crowd and shouts “I’m special.” An Infinity QX50 is such a car (contrasted to a Mercedes C or E, which isn’t). A Mustang GT is. A Fusion Hybrid was one of the most comfortable cars in the fleet, bar none.
Favorites? I had to run one of the kids up to the Ferry in Anacortes after Christmas last year, in a snowstorm. Chrysler 300 AWD was comfy and rock solid in the adverse weather. My wife would probably pick this one.