Cars at MCI (Kansas City, MO)
 

Anyone have recent experience with the emerald aisle/exec selection in Kansas City? I'll be renting there next Saturday around noon and was wondering what to expect.

For the standard aisle I haven't seen anything there other than Malibu/G6/Impala recently.

Thanks for the info. I'll report on what I see when I get back.

Today @ MCI: I only looked at the Exec aisle and found a Camry, a bunch of Impalas and Chargers, a couple of S40s and a lone S60 2.5T which I took.

Lucky you, I found the Exec Selection yesterday to be full of SUV's, along with an impala or two, and maybe a Buick as well.

I chose a nice 4x4 Jeep Grand Cherokee with leather and sirrius.

And for those who care, I asked upon returning the jeep whether they had hybrids, and was told they are a very rare occurrence.

If you know that the location normally has a certain type of car that you want such as Volvos or Prius', I'm not shy about asking if there is one on the storage lot if the Exexutive Selection and EA are full of domestic cars.

Also if you see anything in a different part of the national or alamo lots, they will usually give you that too if you ask. National seems to have a real "please the customer" attitude. I've become nearly 100% loyal to them due to this attitude and the fact that they have some pretty decent imports. I hate domestic cars.

6/14 Exec had a ton of SUV's and mini-vans.

This was good for me as I was traveling with all 3 girls in tow (wife and 2 daughters).

Wound up with a very nice Highlander for the week.

Kind of a dead thread... but

Picked up today from Executive at 11:00 AM

A couple of Kia Amanti's. Your basic Impala and Malibu collection. Some Mitsibushi (Don't recall the name) One Camry, one large SUV, a few other things I don't recall. Nothing outstanding, but better then some locations I have been at.

I took one of the Kia's which I actually like. It has 377 miles on it. Now why doesn't Kia put an MP player input as standard?

We just missed you in MCI; if you have a Gold Amanti that smells like BBQ sauce, it's probably the one ElmhustNick was driving this weekend.

I knew there was a reason I took the white one!

Hey!!! :cool:

I paid the extra $1/day for a guaranteed Premium rental over a full-size using the last-minute rate. When I got there, the ES was a mix of mostly Amantis, Altimas, and Impalas, with no SUVs. There were three sad "Taurus Limited" (e.g. Ford 500s) in the dedicated National Premium slots. So I took an Amanti off the aisle (it is a Premium according to the "drove" part of my receipt) and left.

The Amanti is ok, but just ok. The leather was nice, but there wasn't very much headroom for a premium car. The stereo system was definitely lacking - no mp3/ipod jack and no satellite radio. I would not pay the true premium rate for one the way I would for a Volvo S70.

Speaking of Volvo: when I returned, there was a Volvo C70 in the Premium section of the Alamo cars (the Alamo reserve section is to the left of the EA/ES, the National reserve section is to the right). Considering its a comingled lot, if it had been there when I showed up, I would have probably tried to grab it for my National rental.

We were there in mid May. Exec aisle had a nice variety. Looked to be a lot of the upper end domestic sedans and a number of SUVs.

The family and I, due to prodigious luggage volume, went with the GMC SUV for our 5 day rental.

It's a nice rig.

I picked up a car from the Emerald Aisle last night in MCI. Keep in mind this is a Saturday evening at 7:30, so most of the stuff was done. But the lot was packed. They had cars stacked everywhere. The only free spaces I saw two where people had just pulled out from.

Huge selection, BUT... the EA was really all small cars! Lots and lots of Toyota Corollas and Matrix, Nissan Sentras, a number of Hyundais and Kias. There was a lone charger and Galant, a couple of G6, and a Malibu which I grabbed.

There was also something very interesting, which I almost grabbed but couldn't spend the whole week with - three VW New Beetles!

Just back from an MCI rental over the weekend. Exec aisle jammed with Altimas and Camrys. Little else.

I found a Malibu, which for some reason I like, and took that.

First time in a long time that there were no SUVs in the row.

Maybe one of the better ES selections for variety I've seen in a while, 10am Monday. A few Chyrsler 300 Tourings, a Caddy DTS, some sort of SUV far down the aisle, at least one Kia Amanti, some random Japanese cars (I think they were Camrys), your standard Impalas and Chargers, and a big black Ford Flex perfect for 375 miles of highway driving in the sleet. Yes, it only gets about 13 mpg, and it looks like a hearse, but it was an incredibly comfortable ride. I have it for another day tomorrow, but only about 100 miles of driving.

Arrived at the EA at about 5 p.m. on a Friday evening. The Aisle was full of mid-size and full sized Jeeps and KIA SUVs, along with some Malibus and other sedans. I spotted a Buick Lucerne at the end and nabbed it. It was, by far, the best EA self-upgrade I've ever been able to get. The car was brand new, with only 310 miles on the odometer and working Sirius/XM.

I glanced at the Full Size area and saw only a few Impalas and a lonely Camry.

Picking up Wednesday 6/30/10 at about 10:30 A.M., the Executive aisle was almost full -- you could have a Charger or Malibu not only in your choice of color, but with your choice of state for the license plate. There were also a couple of Ford Edges. Almost all the way at the end of the aisle was a single Chrysler 300 Touring with 4,000 miles on the clock, which is what I took. Sorry, didn't get a chance to peek at any of the other aisles.

Sounds like they just got a bunch of one-ways. I'm kind of curious from where.

Okay, not all 50 were available. :D But it did seem to be every state within a few hundred miles of Kansas City: I remember seeing Iowa, Oklahoma, and Colorado.

Thanks for the update, trainman. I'll be picking up from MCI this week, and I was curious to know what was out there. Last October, I was lucky enough to snag a brand new LaCrosse from the ES, and I'm hoping to score something similar this time. Judging by your comments, I'll may have to settle for the same ole, same ole. I'll post an update when possible.

Last time (May) had to look at 5 cars before I found one with a remote-control door lock on the keyring.

Admittedly this wasn't the "Emerald Aisle", just the usual row of "mid-size" cars.

As promised, I wanted to provide an update on the Exec selection at MCI. Someone noted before that there were Chargers and Malibus as far as the eye can see; and that is still the case. They actually did have a few Camaros, an Explorer, a Traverse, and a Tahoe (which I took). Overall, I have yet to be disappointed with this location, and am looking forward to renting here again. Nice people on the lot too.

I'm renting from here next week. I'll provide some updates!

EDIT: Well that didn't pan out... but I AM heading there now! I'll report later tonight.

Picked up on 1/15/11, I wanted to get some type of SUV, none in the Executive Aisle. The Executive Aisle was full with Malibu’s and 300’s. They had one black camaro, which is what I took.

5/20/2011

Chevy Malibu
Chevy Impala
Toyota Camry
Ford Escape
Dodge Charger

They had a LOT of Impalas... every other car was an Impala, I think.

Saturday afternoon, a desolate rental car center in a moderate rain, and maybe the strangest EA/ES I've ever seen:

ES: Two Durango Crews, a Ford Edge, a Ford F1500 (?) and an Impala
EA: Kia Sorrentos, Dodge Journeys, Ford Escapes, a Ford Flex, and at least four fullsize Chevy Silverado pickups, plus a couple of midsize sedans sprinkled around.

I was standing by one of the Durangos taking in the scene so I could make this post, and one of the supervisors came up to me and ask me if I needed any assistance. I said that I'd be taking one of the Durangos but was just looking to see if an Acadia was on the other side of the aisle.

"Oh, we have one over on the Alamo side. Let me get somebody to bring it over to you."

And darned if three minutes later, a navy GMC Acadia with 8k but sadly expired XM appeared. The gentleman who drove it over asked me to wait a second so he could go inside and get me an ES hangtag so they wouldn't give me a hassle at the gate.

As I told the very nice lady as we were standing under the canopy avoiding the rain, little gestures like that are a big reason why I give National over 95% of my rental business.

I was just there on thursday to pick up a car, and while I am not Executive or anything, there wasn't hardly anything out there. Seabring convertible (no thanks, it was gonna rain all weekend), a couple of pickups and a mazda 5 van thing (not even sure what it was). That was in the EA aisle...ES has some pickups, a few larger SUV's (sorry, i didn't see what types, but nothing outstanding). It was a sad lot. I ended up with a Jeep compass, nice ride, but dang if you gotta fill up with gas every 225 miles (small tank and not that great of gas mileage). When i returned on Sunday, the lot was overflowing with cars. Next time, I'll ask for something from Alamo.

Just rented from MCI this past weekend. Arrived Thur afternoon around 3. ES had an entire row of Impalas it looked like. I saw one 300 but they said it was a specialty car reserved for someone. There was one SUV - a Journey in burnt orange with fabric seats. I took it. It had sirius radio at least and I was going a couple hours west out into the prarie.

Today was a good example of why I left Hertz for National earlier this year.

I walked into the lot at MCI around 1:00 and was greeted by the attendant. I asked him if he had anything good on the lot today; he asked if I was ES and if I would be returning the car to MCI; when I answered both questions with a "yes" he went and got me the the keys for a Mercedes 300C. They had a couple of them parked along the fence, it never hurts to ask politely.

Not a bad selection
 

ES selection was decent...quite a few camry's with NAV, couple of Maxima's, 3-4 Avalons, a CX-9, Enclave, and a Buick Lucerne (i think). They even had a suburban in the aisle. I took an Avalon with leather and 450 miles on it.

Monday at mid-day:

EA: Mostly midsize sedans and midsize SUVs - pretty far away so I couldn't id too many makes, except for some Jeep Patriots.
ES: About half Impalas and half various larger vehicles. A couple of Mazda CR-9s, a few Equinoxes, and a base Traverse (no sat radio) that I took.

Can you ever complain about the selection??
 

Wow, Tuesday night around 11:30, and horrible selection, unless you are here on a family vacation, then you might have hit the jackpot...Mini-van heaven. ES and EA both had vans lined up in them (only about 5-6 in each) and pretty much nothing else. You would have had to venture over to the midsize lot to get something different. I walked all the way to the end of the executive section and found an impala that was nothing fancy except for the sunroof. It only had 2800 miles on it, but it looked like it had been sitting someplace for awhile b/c the dirt had built up and somebody had wrote on the trunk. Either way...sorry selection at MCI.

Last week saw around 5 VW Passat in EA and the week before Kia Optima along with a few mini vans. This was around 8pm Monday evening. VW is a great addition to EA.

I have really enjoyed driving the VW's from the EA. beats the Impala ANY day.

Picked up Saturday about 10:30am. ES was ode to boredom. It was pick your color Altima, Camry, Avalon, Impala, Malibu and Sonata. Also had 2 Chargers (base), Taurus, Passat, Traverse, and Caravan with no key.

EA was mostly 200's.

Specialty was a SUV, Genesis, and Mustang Conv.

Was driving one way to Tulsa so picked the Avalon for comfort and size.

I just picked up a rental car at MCI this afternoon. Both aisles had a wide selection, including all the usual suspects. EA also had a couple of small SUVs and some Chrysler 200s. ES had multiple pickups (F150 4x4 and Dodge Rams), quite a few minivans, and a handful of SUVs. There was a Chrysler 300 (7k miles, but there was an overwhelming floral scent and interior was caked with some residue) and a Charger (18k miles, with slight smoky smell and what looked like white cat fur all over the driver's seat). I finally settled on a Jeep Patriot with 5.5k miles.

Saturday morning, both the EA and ES were full with probably 85% SUVs, a few Challengers, and a couple of leather 300s. There was a wide range of SUVs, but they weren't the behemoths, the largest one was the 13 Jeep GC Limited which I took. A few Equinox/Terrain, some Muranos, some Edges, a bunch of Kias, and maybe a Highlander.

Lots of Impalas!
 

Last Monday got into MCI around 1PM and there were a LOT of Impalas in the Executive Aisle...in fact there was practically nothing else there. Kind of disappointing.

Today I flew in around 5P and there was a selection of a few trucks, a Ford Explorer with no keys, a couple Ford Edge's, a couple Muranos, and more Impalas. Took the Murano today.

We will see what next week looks like (going to be flying into MCI on and off for a few months...)

Friday around lunch time. One of the best ES selections I have seen. Besides the usual FCAR's it was pick your favorite PCAR. Maxima's, Tarus limited, S60, Avalon, Genesis and multiple Challengers. Other choices were Edge Limited, Tahoe, Traverse, and a beautiful red 2014 GC Limited with panaramic sunroof, which I took. Was looking at the Traverse, but spent the last week in an Enclave, and the 2 days before in an Acadia, so I wanted something different.

Saturday morning in the EA. Lots of Chargers, a 300, a 2014 Impala (not Limited). Some minivans and SUVs I wasn't interested in. I ended up taking an Optima Hybrid with <600 miles... spent maybe $5 on gas.