When totaling up actual costs afterward, I'm often surprised by how high the rental car + gas part was. My formative travel-booking years were back in the early 90s, when rental car rates, rental car taxes and gas prices were much lower. Three weekend days in many cities in a midsize might total $39 all-in with gas under $20 total even if you did a fair amount of driving. No mo. Nowadays that $59 total could be more like $159 (much more for weekdays or hitting a "gouge" situation like PDX in summer).