Originally Posted by
dayone
Class deflation has been happening for many years. Both the car rental companies and the manufacturers are to blame.
I'm curious how you feel manufacturers are to blame? They make vehicles that (they hope, sometimes incorrectly) people/fleet buyers want to purchase. The arranging into classifications is done by the rental agencies and the EPA (for fuel economy standards), not manufacturers.
As an aside, but relevant for this thread: I wish the EPA standard classifications would be forced upon rental agencies (similar to how the federal government regulates nearly everything with airlines). Then the rental companies could differentiate based upon options ("Medium Car - Basic" or "Large Car - Basic" could have basically zero options; "Medium Car - Premium" or "Large Car - Premium" could have leather, GPS/etc; "Medium Car - Luxury" or "Large Car - Luxury" could have heated seats/wheel, full safety gear, auto parking, etc). But I think that's just a pipe dream of a frequent renter.