National - New GPS at National?

As an EE with national I usually get dropped off at the Club Aisle, however almost anytime I want to rent a GPS unit I have to go to the Counter to pick it up, then walk out to the aisle.

I rented a car yesterday in Boston (BOST01) and decided to use one of those nextel GPS phones they offer. I asked the woman working at the desk about having the GPS units kept at the gates that way I don't have to go to the counter to pick them up. She informed me that begining Jan 1, 2007 they will have them at the gates for pick-up and she believed that this was true for all locations. She also mentioned that in Janruary they were receiving new 'Garmin' GPS units.

Has anyone else heard of the GPS upgrade or could verify this information?

I haven't heard anything, but that's great news.^

We are pleased to announce our new GPS units. The Garmin unit is a great addition to your rental experience. The convenience of GPS partnered with the speed of Emerald Club. The units arrive at over 100 locations in January of 2007. An advance reservation ensures availability at our participating locations. The unit will be available at the exit booth in our Aisle locations, in the Emerald Booth at our Booth locations, and at the counter where bypass is not available. The cost of the unit is $10.99 per day, and you simply give the unit to our return agent as you drop off the car. We hope this information is helpful to you, thank you for your interest!

The cost of the unit is $10.99 per day, and you simply give the unit to our return agent as you drop off the car.

If I'm handing the unit to the return agent, I'll make sure I take a photo of the undamaged unit and keep it handy in case I'm ever harassed by the Viking Billing Service. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=621798

Thank you! This will definately be an improvement over the current units and process.

I was planning on switching all my business to Hertz for 2007. With this news, I'll hold off making the switch until I see how this works out.

I just rented from LAXT01 on Monday. My experiece with the new GPS system was excellent. The Garmin GPS is a def. upgrade from the old GPS units. Much improvement. The units were at the gate, and I had no troubles when I returned the vehicle/GPS on Tuesday.