Originally Posted by cyberdad
IMHO an "Upgrade" to an SUV or a minivan isn't an upgrade. Not many people want one with gas approaching or exceeding $3 per gallon. The automakers and rental car companies are having a tough time getting people to take these off their hands in many cases, so a glut exists.
I've been Avis Preferred Select for over twenty years. My profile calls for full size. "Back in the day", I was getting upgrades about two/thirds of the time...typically to Cadillacs. I don't think I've had one of those for at least five years...maybe closer to ten. Now I get "upgraded" perhaps about 25% of the time. If the "ugrade" is an SUV or mini-van, I just flat-out refuse it. More than once, I've taken a "downgrade" instead!
Incidentally, Avis shows the Malibu as their example of a full size vehicle. Last time I was at an Avis counter earlier this month, I inquired about getting a Malibu (when offered a Camry). The response was...."Malibu? I don't think I've seen one of those here for the past several weeks". (This was at an off-airport location).
1> "back in the day" the manufacturers would give us the cars and we could park them in a dirt lot for six months and give em back to the manufacturer never using them and make a profit.
2> "back in the day" the manufacturers would broker any deal that would get the cars off their lots and into ANY customers hands because they had too many and union CBA's would not allow factory shutdowns to slow production.
3> "back in the day" Gas prices were not as ugly as now and everyone and their uncle was begging for the bigger cars, gas mileage be damned.
4> If you refuse an upgrade to an SUV from a full size, then thats your issue, not Avis'. You were given a car that costs more than what you paid for by reservation. Anyone who takes "downgrades" because they dont like the "upgrade" really loses much of their arugment point.
Manufacturers are damn near insolvent, they are closing factories like their lives depended on it, the Unions no longer have the strong CBA's of years past, and to try and balance the bottom line, the killer deals of years past are no longer possible. A good example is Hertz's sale from Ford. Ford had
My point, you cant "look back in the day" anymore. It apples and oranges.
And
"incidentally" A malibu is a "Mid size" and is listed as a "mid size" on every rental guide in the north america. It hasnt been a "full size" since 2004 model year.
"Incidentally" Alamo still calls it a full size. And off airport agencies usually have less than 40 cars in inventory at any given time. Its concieveable that they havent had a malibu in weeks, given the popularity of the G6 due to the new economies of scale in the current environent.