I very recently returned from Germany. As mentioned above, AVIS Europe is a separate operation and I was aware of that before I made my AVIS reservation several months ago.

I am a Chairmans Club member --- which in the US gets me the "available" vehicle of my choice so long as I rent an Intermediate Class car --- and often a ride between the AVIS lot and the Terminal. With that in mind, I emailed the Berlin AVIS office directly, in German, noting my status and requesting an upgrade to a Mercedes 4-door sedan with automatic transmission. I also asked that the car be delivered to my hotel (Marriott) at 10am (on the day we would be leaving Berlin to drive south toward Bavaria).


The next day I received a warm response, in German, assuring me that I would have an Automatic Transmission and an upgrade to an Audi A6 or Saab or Mercedes --- none of which actually came to pass.

Here's what happened. At 10am "ein Knabe" (a young man) delivered an Audi A4 4-dr Sedan with a Manual Transmission. (Incidentally, at home in NJ I am now driving a new Audi A4 3.2Liter 6-cylinder automatic transmission convertible which I love.) Anyway, even though I didn't get the automatic transmission or upgrade I had expected, it was a delight to drive all over Germany (Autobahns, highways, byways, and cobblestone alleys) in the "6-on-the-floor" Audi A4.

Oh! I brought my Garmin C340 GPS (with the mini-chip for Germany) along with me. I was amazed that the navigation system was "balls on" accurate thru the entire trip --- including some 14th Century towns such as Rothenburg ob Tauber which was a maze of narrow alleys. We never once got lost.