On one hand, I understand your position: I've politely declined upgrades at Hertz on many occasions, trading back a Grand Marquis for a Mazda 626 if I plan on driving high miles or doing a lot of city driving. I've never had a problem doing it.

On the other hand, dropping a bunch of attitude about how "I don't drive station wagons" doesn't sound a good approach to use when they are swamped with people waiting for cars. Look at it this way: a lot of people were waiting for cars, yet there was one in your stall. Hertz went out of their way to take care of you, presumably because of 5* or PC, and you had to go bite the hand that feeds.

Would you rather the stall be empty next time, with a Hertz agent telling you to get in line? If I were waiting more than...I don't know...about 20 seconds for a car, I'd happily take the ugliest wood-paneled station wagon on the lot.

The overbooking situation itself is another story: if I were one of those customers waiting for a car, I'd be beyond pissed off. I understand that overbooking happens, but rental car companies never have a game plan in place for when it does happen. They run out of cars, and chaos ensues. You would think that the agencies would work with each other and local cab companies to figure out a reasonable solution to the oversell situation.