srh007

Hello,

I wonder if members might have some advice for an upcoming visit to the USA.

We are visiting from Britain and are excited to have a week touring from San Francisco down the Pacific Coast Highway as part of our adventure.

We have reserved a D2 Sporty rental at Hertz and understand this to be a Mustang or similar - no worries. Ideally we’d like a V8 engine rather than a 4 cylinder or V6 our D2 group contains.

On our last trip to the USA we had a Camaro SS. This trip, we tried to book the same using the group that is part of the adrenaline collection.

However, since trying to make the booking and even now, the adrenaline collection is not showing as available for our trip in April 2020. Neither is the Camaro SS convertible class.

Does anyone have any ideas why this might be? Surely this group must be available at such a large airport?
Also, any thoughts on how we could get into a V8 engine motor?

Thank you for your time and comments.

LJ7006

Sometimes at certain locations they lock out the specialty class booking during a certain period because new fleet hasn’t come in yet. I would say your best bet would be keep checking. It should open up between 1-2 months before the actual reservation date.

Betel

Well, SFO is one of Hertz's largest and busiest locations, so I'm sure they have the car you'll want. Not sure why it isn't available on the reservation list, though I have had some strange reservation options at that location in the past.

srh007

Thank you to the two members above for your thoughtful observations.

Both make good sense that it could simply be a new fleet arriving soon and that being such a large location there is bound to be the adrenaline category available. The only downside by not being able to book beforehand is that I’m not assured a certain rate.

Can I ask if any folks have rented a D2 Sporty category and what they managed to get? If it was negotiable etc...

Also, I’m only a Five Star member of Hertz, would there be any sportier cars in this section do you think than the one I’ve reserved?

Thank you for your thoughts and inputs.

AznRice

In this order, from common to less common, are the cars you'd get when you book a D2 reservation: Dodge Challenger, Chevy Camaro, Ford Mustang.

There is a small chance that the V8 version of those cars can be found in 5*. You will have to be lucky if someone parks them there.

glostix

You certainly can't be guaranteed a v8 with a D2 reservation. Most likely Camaro LT (4-cyl, National/Enterprise/Alamo uses the v6's, which are better), Challenger SXT/GT, Mustang Ecoboost. If you're lucky potentially a Challenger R/T (the 5.7L v8, which is honestly a ton of fun and enough for anyone for simple recreational/road-trip purposes).

My understanding is rental places try very hard to keep you in the category you booked, especially if they charge much higher for a guaranteed v8 ("Mustang GT/Camaro SS" class--though in reality you almost always get Challenger R/T). I contact some higher level executive Hertz CS or something a year ago and they confirmed only LAX and San Diego have Camaro SS on the West Coast, so basically it's false advertising for Mustang GT/Camaro SS when they know they can't supply that most of the time. As of recently Hertz SFO *DOES* have the new special Hendrick Camaro SS's, though, so if you are dead-set on a v8, you can try booking that.

jim32190

Yeah D2 are usually the cheapy base models of American muscle cars which cost the same as an Altima lol. If I were you I’d book V4 American Musclecar Adrenaline Collection (when it opens up - it surely will closer to the day) in which you’ll definitely get a 6 or 8 cyl engine.

m907

The Challenger R/T Hemi is relatively common in the east. The Mustang and Camaro are less common.

srh007

Thank you again for your comments.

I will be sure to keep an eye out closer to the time. It would be nice if it is a new fleet coming in as this would make the upgrade all the more tempting.

If anyone does have experience renting a D2 Sporty group recently, thoughts on what car and the selection would be appreciated.

Thank you.

m907

You could make an intermediate reservation and then see what they have available for paid upgrades.

I'd also look at quotes from other companies.

Roona

I've certainly seen plenty of Mustang GT & Camaro SS at SFO in the past few months. Found some in PC occasionally too. Probably like 1:10 ratio with RTs, of course, but they definitely exist at SFO.


To OP: You should try reserving V6 (Hendricks Camaro SS only), U4 (Convertible SS/GT), or V4 (SS/GT/RT, and then beg for anything but a Challenger). Alternately, Hertz SFO usually has CLA45, C63, Caymans, etc available to reserve. Haven't seen any GTRs or Corvettes recently though - did they just all age out of the fleet?

strickerj

FWIW, Hertz appears to be updating its website. From what I can tell, “Dream Cars” are being rebranded “Ultimate Collection”, and “Adrenaline Collection” is being rebranded “American Muscle”, a subcategory of American (which also includes pickup trucks and Jeeps). If you click to view all categories though, it takes you back to the old site, so I’m guessing they’re still in the process of switching over, and inventory listings may not be up to date for all locations.

Also, I’m not sure I’d count on SFO having the kind of convertible fleet that Southern California does. (Though DTW seems to have an abundance of convertibles this winter, so IDK.)

Herb687

Knowing Hertz, I would expect tons of convertibles in SFO in the winter. And AWD cars in LBB/MAF.