djlndc

Dropped off a car this morning at BWI and the Executive Aisle was filled with Hyundai Sonatas - Yuk!!! If I was renting I'd be pi$$ed. How is a Sonata considered full sized?

3Cforme

Among other things, it's a Large Car based on EPA calculation of interior volume + cargo space. Large, even though competitors like Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, Ford Fusion, Chevy Malibu and Mazda 6 are all Midsize. (The Chevy Impala is another popular fleet car classed as Large.)

A bigger beef with the Altimas, Camrys and Sonatas I see in the National fleet is that they are all base trim levels.

Student_Flyer

I work for National/Alamo at BWI.

There are many Sonata's these days, as well as Impala's and Malibu's. There are many new Malibu's waiting to be tagged as well as new Challenger's and crossover SUVs -- Chevy Equinox, Saturn Outlook.

The pick of cars at either location depends on the day and the time of day; also, it's cyclical -- Sunday, Monday and Thursday are National day, Thursday and Friday are Alamo days.

Thanks for renting with us.

drzoidberg

Welcome student_flyer, always a bonus to have National/Alamo employees on this forum.

Wait, does BWI have the new 2010 Chevy Equinox?

Student_Flyer

Yup, drove one last week with 500 miles on it.

Forgot to add, all of the Sonata's (that I have seen anyway) have XM radio.

I'm a fan of the new Malibu's and the crossover SUVs.

ElmhurstNick

The new Malibus are awful for a full-size car, because they are way smaller than the Impalas. It makes no sense that National can call the Malibu a full-size since the Impala is their own posted standard for full-size.

Fortunately, BWI makes up for it with the occasional V90. I wish there were more crossovers in the ES.

When I dropped off my MDT Altima on Wednesday at 6pm, the ES had a few Sonatas, a few Malibus, a single Impala, and a single Camry. The aisle had a bunch of midsized junk, no upgrades to be found.

MichaelColey

I picked up a car there on Friday evening, and the selection was absolutely awful (again). Mostly Sonatas and Altimas. No Chargers, minivans, or SUVs (unless you consider a PT Cruiser an SUV). A single Impala that reeked of cigarettes. Nothing bigger. I asked at the counter and they let me take a RAV4 from the SUV aisle.

Student_Flyer

Should have looked for me. I have a talent for pulling some magic and getting "better" cars.

I'm sorry to say but our "customer service agents" are not very customer-service oriented.

QUEENB

Hi Student_Flyer- new here I am picking up tomorrow afternoon. We will have my 85 yr old mother & two small children (God bless me!). What are my chances of finding a true full size avail?
Thanks for any info.

peteropny

Welcome to Flyertalk and the National forum QUEENB.

frekwentflier

Wow, I've never seen so many Hyundais in one place! A few Camrys and Galants too. At least the Sonatas have satellite radio. But I'd still prefer to get an Altima.

ElmhurstNick

Sunday 11am:
EA: all sorts of midsizes, HHRs, and a couple of small Kia SUVs (Rondos maybe, not Sportages), and lots of small Hyundais and Mitsubishis
ES: A Dodge Charger and NINETEEN Chevy Impalas, all base model. Lucky me. At least I found a black 2010 model with only 2800 miles on it.

Monday 6pm:
EA: completely picked over. 1-2 midsizes.
ES: All sorts of fun stuff, as they were almost out of full size cars and porters were moving everything from the Premium area over to the ES. I saw a Tahoe, a Buick cross over, a couple of Camrys, even a Jeep Laredo. No Impalas!

ctuttle

I was at BWI earlier this month and on the Executive line it was almost all Hyundi's and a stray Impala. The most striking thing was none, and I mean none of the cars had XM/Sirius. The Impala had the antenna but the only radio it had was AM/FM, it wasn't that the radio hadn't been activated, it couldn't even receive it.

This was on a Friday evening. On Sunday morning on return I saw a few Chargers but the selection looked pretty much the same.

Kurt

Arrived in BWI about 2 last Saturday afternoon and got a 2009 Ford Taurus Limited. I had reserved a "premium" expecting a Maxima, but on the line they had several Kia Amantis and a Jeep Grand Cherokee. So I went over to the Executive Selection line and picked up the Taurus. This is the last year for this design, which started as the Ford Five Hundred a few years back.

It was super-loaded in "cinnamon" with beige leather, the 3.5 V-6, 6-speed automatic, 18-inch chrome wheels, heated seats, Microsoft Sync, Sirius satellite radio, sunroof, 6 CD changer, adjustable pedals, backup sensor, and all the usual bells and whistles. Sticker was a bit over $32K. It had an "Enterprise" logo on the key fob for some reason.



I enjoyed the car a lot. The Sync worked perfectly, allowing me to use my cell to make calls (voice command was a nice feature). The 3.5 V-6 had a lot of power and torque, and I got 25.5 mpg in mixed driving. Although the car was large, it felt pretty nimble, and had a lot more interior space than a Town Car or Grand Marquis. The weather was terrible on Saturday night, and the Taurus felt very stable in the rain on 695 with its insane drivers. It had a very quiet ride and cruised effortlessly at 80 or more. The interior was beautiful:



This car had a somewhat mean, aggressive vibe to it, much like the Chrysler 300. I like the looks of the 2010 Taurus, which is mechanically very similar to this one, so it's an even better package. I was only charged for a Full Size, not a Premium, saving me $10 or so.

Kurt

Forgot to mention that they had a couple of new 2010 Buick Lacrosses, which unfortunately were reserved for a golf tournament. Some dude was putting about five sets of golf clubs in his. It looks like a nice effort by GM (think Lexus ES350 as the target), way beyond the old Lacrosse.