trq

Hi folks,

I am new to the forum and am a emerald club member. I will go to SFO and want to know what will happen if I book a luxury car? Can I choose the car from the ES selection or they have a ranges of luxury cars (like alamo)?

Thanks

Jason

Foxtbh

They'll have a range but it's pot luck what you'll get. If they actually have any LCAR's you'll get a Cadillac ATS, XTS or perhaps a Lincoln. What is more likely is they won't have any LCAR's and they'll give you a GXAR instead, so a base model 3 Series, or an Infiniti, or any number of other cars with a posh badge which are not actually luxury sedans.

Yea, this sort of winds me up now.

bocastephen

What I've been doing lately is calling ahead the morning of my arrival and asking for a supervisor to put something aside for me as a EE with a luxury reservation - to make sure I actually get a luxury car and not some cheap piece of crap like a BWM 3 series masquerading as something 'special'...or worse, a Chrysler 300c, that locations are now calling a luxury car

Unfortunately I've been hearing that almost all the Lincolns are out of the fleet, at least in my region, and for traditional luxury, that leaves Cadillacs. I had a ATS last week which I did not find luxurious at all, and swapped it for a XTS which is definitely more of a luxury car....but if the only car I can depend on for true luxury is a XTS, that is a very limiting.

Foxtbh

I don't mind the ATS but you are right, it isn't a luxury car either, it's a 3 Series rival. National seem to believe that luxury is about badge as much as it's about the actual car - I once almost had a Volvo S60 until they found an ATS. Now that really isnt a luxury car.

It could be worse though, due to availability my next LCAR rental is with Avis who have the example car listed as a 'Chrysler 300'

dwbf11

Yes, every time someone posts a question about luxury cars in this forum, I think we see the same post from you LOL...maybe it's bookmarked?

Personally I'm not offended by a Volvo on a Luxury reservation but I suppose different strokes for different folks. IMO they offer the best seats in the business, hands down, a comfortable ride, and generally pleasant driving experience. That's why you'd rent Luxury. I do agree though that a poverty spec 328i with vinyl seats or an Audi A3 (nee VW Golf) are wastes of time as an LCAR though. Then again, I find it laughable that an ATS would be considered Luxury (every one I've seen has been in a poverty spec trim), especially given how small it is.

The problem is today we've seen such great progress in the C/I/FCAR categories, as well as EHI ordering nicer versions of the cars in those classes, that the distinction is not nearly as meaningful as perhaps it once was, when FCAR got you a nasty Dodge Stratus or Avenger and Luxury a Cadillac DTS or something like that. That's a wide gulf. Today, however, a Ford Fusion Titanium (FCAR) would likely be cross-shopped with a Lincoln MKZ (LCAR) in the marketplace; therefore, the F/LCAR distinction seems pretty meaningless (especially since they are the same car underneath).

Closingracer

I got a Mercedes C300 with my LCAR res in LAX and I enjoyed it. They offered me the C300 or an BMW 3 so I chose the C300.

Foxtbh

I don't really get why LCAR isn't just wall to wall XTS really. That's the sort of thing you want when you book a Luxury. Then make GXAR a reservable class as they've obviously got more of them than LCAR's.

You'd probably even get people paying more for a 'sport sedan' over a Luxury car anywya.

dwbf11

I completely agree with you. I think a lot of people are just booking Premium/Full Size SUV's instead, but yes, when I think luxury I want a nice big sedan with a plush ride, ample power, and sizeable trunk. Quite candidly I think a 300C probably should be LCAR (leave the base 300 in PCAR, thanks), and while I appreciate that such a well appointed vehicle can be had on a PCAR reservation Hertz got it right in slotting those into Luxury. Maybe the new Lincoln Continental will appear on fleet lots as an LCAR too.

IsleOfMan

I too agree and have in the past advocated for two distinct reservable Luxury categories... something like SXAR or FXAR for Small Luxury (A3/A4, CLS/C-Class, ATS, 3-Series, Q40, etc) and LCAR for Large Luxury (CTS/XTS, 5-Series, Q70, etc). That said, I'd consider leather/nav/backup-cam to be the bare-minimum feature set for EITHER of these categories, with leatherette being acceptable in the Small Luxury category only.

I think the trickle-down improvements in base-features in the PCAR fleet has done as much or more to blur the distinction of LCAR, with many models and trim-levels including Navigation along with all that I can think of including leather and backup camera. The dogs of the PCAR fleet (mainly the Maxima) are now fading out with there being little risk to booking PCAR these days, and less reward for booking LCAR.

That said, I, like others, don't necessarily appreciate receiving a Volvo S60 or XC60 in base-trim and being treated like I've received a big upgrade. I could stomach an S60 as a PCAR, especially if it had navigation, but as anything higher is pushing it and having it in a non-reservable class touted as an upgrade from LCAR is pretty much a joke. Trim has a lot to do with this, but brand recognition in the luxury space is still part of it as well.

I think a 300C with nav could possibly be the bottom-end of the LCAR fleet, but having to make (and justify) a break between a regular 300 as PCAR and 300C as LCAR could be difficult from an operations standpoint... more so than something like Impala LT/LTZ as PCAR and Impala Limited as FCAR given the distinct body styles. If I received a 300C as an LCAR with a row of 300s on ES it might not sit well, even with the equipment differential.

Lastly, as far as SUVs are concerned, I rarely book them because with the code I use they're substantially more than PCAR or even LCAR. That said, I always keep an eye out for Grand Cherokee Limited, Durango Limited, Enclave, Acadia, and Tahoe LT/LTZ on the ES. If "Grand Cherokee Limited" were a bookable class at the same rate as LCAR, I'd book it every time.