Founder Warren Avis deceased
 

Rental car mogul, entrepreneur, author was 92 ~ Ann Arbor News

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RIP, Mr. Avis.

I learned several interesting tidbits in hearing the news today, though. Avis, in addition to being the first to locate at airports, was the first to use brand new cars instead of used ones. He figured that it made sense for the automakers to have people experience the new models as rentals. Apparently somewhat related he set up a program for people to have an Avis credit card so they wouldn't have to leave big cash deposits for those new cars they were driving away in. And "We Try Harder" has been their slogan for well over 40 years!

He had sold the company decades ago (and it's been sold and sold ever since), but in the time he was involved he appears to have shaken up the industry pretty well into something much closer to what we see today. They told him at the time that airport rental wouldn't work because people didn't want to arrive on a plane then deal with getting around an unfamiliar city. Ha! We Try Harder, indeed.

He may have passed after he saw my car I was FORCED to drive away with today. Luckily I have a friend at the Waikiki Avis location and swapped from this 30,000 mile two door cobalt into a Mid Sized Malibu at about 7,000 miles.

Thank god for small favors, and Mr. Avis, haunt your old company, they need to see the ghost of christmas past.....

Who knew there was a Mr. Avis? I figured the name was cribbed Latin I.

Same here, before yesterday. When I first heard that yesterday morning on the radio I went "Wow, I never knew Avis was someone's name." But I always love a story of how someone filled a niche that others thought wouldn't work. Get this: part of his idea for rental cars at airports went back to his time as a bomber pilot in WWII. He would get to these air fields wherever and want to go check out the town (too far away to walk) and have no way to get around. Back then he took to stowing a motorcycle in the bomb bay so he'd have some ground transportation. :cool:

Thanks to flyertalk for allowing us to blog about what Mr. Avis started many years ago.