Steven NH/BOS

I was at CMH on 7.18.11 and nevansm is not kidding when he said the entire Emerald Isle was lined up as far as the your eye could see with the Chevy Cruze! I would have happily taken even the Impala but there was not one to be seen!

dll

Yep me too - rented this past weekend. EA was 100% full of Chevy Cruze. Fortunately, I got a fully loaded Cruze and actually found it to be a very nice ride. Massive improvement over their previous products. I would rent that vehicle again and would gladly drive it.

Glanced at the ES and looked like a mix of Impalas, maybe something else mixed in.

nevansm

Finally got a response from National Customer Service:

"
Thank you for your email. I am sorry to hear this experience has been less than expected.

I am in receipt of your email regarding your experience with our National Car Rental location in Columbus, Ohio Airport (CMH) location.

Let me begin by apologizing for the frustration you experienced, as a result of the issue(s) described in your correspondence. National Car Rental is committed to providing the best products and services in the car rental industry. Please be assured that the service you received is not indicative of our usual high standards of excellence. Therefore, your comments have been documented and will be brought to the attention of the General Manager of that location for immediatereview and follow-up with their staff.

In closing, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to offer your invaluable feedback, as we are dedicated to becoming the car rental company of choice.
"

TVCMH

Mailbus and Equinoxes have disappeared. EA is now 100% Cruze and the Executive Selection is 100% Impala (good luck finding one with fewer than 30k miles). If you're traveling alone and can find a Cruze LTZ it's not horrible, but it's certainly testing the limits of an "intermediate" car. Forget the Cruze if you have anybody traveling with you... the back seat offers about six inches of leg room when the driver's seat is moved to a comfortable position and the trunk room is extremely limited.

Don't waste your time complaining to National Corporate or the management of the CMH location. They're bad, they've always been bad, they know they're bad, and they're not going to change.

dll

I just visited this location and was able to select a brand new Subaru Outback from Executive Selection. Others available looked like a mix of minivans, Chevy SUVs and a couple large sedans. I was grateful to get the Outback as ice was predicted (although did not manifest).

Emerald was a sea of Cruze as far as the eye could see!

plagwate

If you love Chevrolets, this is your place!

ES:
6x Equinox LT (ALL with 30K+ miles)
6x Captiva (ranging from 275 to 3300 miles)
10 or more Impalas
A few Malibus

EA:
Cruzes by the dozen with a few Malibus sprinkled in to feign variety. These people have more Chevy inventory than the local GM dealer!

I took the Captiva with 275 miles and working XM. Oddly enough, the XM trial expired the night before I returned the vehicle. With only 275 miles logged, this Captiva has spent a lot of its time parked.

RichMSN

I was told today that the owner of the franchise *is* a Chevy/GM dealer. The EA had nothing but 20 Cruzes. When I went to complain, they offered me a Malibu.

The only variety, apparently, is if you're renting at CMH and returning elsewhere. Then you get a car from a different aisle and it may not be a Chevy. Matter of fact, it's an incredibly important question, because I was asked it *three* times.

I'll make a note to rent from someone else at CMH. I hate Chevys.

flyyyz

Dropped off at CMH on a Sunday and like previous comments, everything was a Chevy. Tons of Malibus.

dtremit

Hertz is pretty decent at CMH, and IME cheaper.

PA42

Update from this weekend:

ES/EA - Cruze, Malibus, an Impala and thats about it. Pretty dismal.

Want2Fly4ever

Actually within the last month (3 rentals) I've had a Chrysler Town & Country (nothing but Chrysler minivans on the ES), Dodge Avenger and GMC Terrain - all ES selections.

But there are always Malibus/Impalas in the ES.

ralfp

Same a few hours ago. Your choice of Malibu (ES) and Cruze (EA). Luckily I was doing a one-way rental. As RichMSN pointed out, I had to pick from the special aisle for one-way rentals, i.e. "the Infiniti and anything else in that row" . I took the Infiniti (G37 with about 5000 miles on it). A nice application for a free day. I reserved it as a full size while I was in CLE < 2 hours before; my DAY flight was delayed by 2+ hours.

How bizarre... normally places want to keep the good cars (or don't care).

Auto Enthusiast

Yes, but not if they're a licensee and have corporate cars on the lot. They'd rather lose a nice corporate car than give away a franchise car for a one-way. If it's a corporate car, it can randomly circulate. If it's a franchise-owned car, they'll have to retrieve it.

ralfp

I figured that, but it was still odd to be told to take a nicer cars (most of the cars in one-way aisle looked better than the Cruze or Malibu).

Note to self: only do one-way rentals out of CMH (this was my first rental there; I've rented from DAY, CVG, and SDF a total of 36 times so far this year, mostly from DAY).

Mspot

Just rented this weekend. Executive Selection only had Captivas and Malibus....and plenty of them.