Great or "Special" Cars in the US

 
Old Jun 29, 2011, 7:58 pm
  #1  
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Great or "Special" Cars in the US

Hi,

Just thought I'd start a general discussion about what car you would go for to treat yourself from regular rental car companies (within reason, don't bother with $1000/day lambo rentals )

I am a total petrol head and having a nice car (in the states) is essential to me.

On the last two occasions I had
2010 Mustang Convertible
- Was absolutely wonderful. Slightly underpowered (especially now that I own a V8 in Germany) but brilliant at the time.
2011 Chevrolet Tahoe
- Also briliiant. Fully loaded, great Sound System with iPod integration, not just Aux In, reasonable on fuel and friggin huge (by european standards) - It just would be useless over here. ^

Now I am wondering what to go for next.
Considering that I have a Mustang V8 at home, a V6 wouldn't be a thrill anymore so I guess I need to go big SUV again, or choose one of the Prestige/Fun Cars that Hertz offers (e.g. Camaro, Corvette, Escalade)

Realistically, it's gonna be a Tahoe again (value for money - was probably 40% the price of a Corvette the last time I booked) what is your opinion?
Any great memories, or experiences you're looking forward to?

One more thing where I am wondering whether I am alone with that:
- Traveling to the States, I want AMERICAN cars. I hate entering a choiceline packed with Toyotas, Nissans, etc... I just don't like them and I can get them in Europe... where I want european cars. In my opnion it's part of the experience to have a locally designed car.

Last edited by raph; Jun 29, 2011 at 8:03 pm
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Old Jun 30, 2011, 6:28 am
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I totally agree with your opinion, to see american cars in america. I always try to get cars which you can rarely get in europe. For my next stay I am opting for a Mustang convertible. But the 2012 Grand Cherokee is also nice. Nevertheless I have the 2009 model therefore It is not that interesting as the Mustang. Had a Town Car, and Cadillac STS, DTS also so far. Nice car, but doesnt change over the years, therefore a bit boring. A cadillac escalade or navigator would also be nice.

Worst thing I could get is definetly a Toyota. Although they produce nice cars, it does not create any emotions.

In contrast to the USA, I am looking always for small cars in Southern Europe since streets are much smaller and parking spaces as well. I had a Touareg in front of me who did not managed to get through one of the streets near Marbella, therefore had to reverse in a one way street, causing a huge traffic chaos.
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Old Jul 9, 2011, 10:04 am
  #3  
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I had a 2008 Infiniti G35x from Enterprise once, that was well worth it. Other than that, not too many cars worth writing home about. Even the 2008 Ford Mustang Convertible I got from Enterprise in LAX was so underpowered it wasn't much fun.

Though I guess I should single out the Pontiac G6. After a few rentals of it, I fell so in love with it, I bought one
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Old Jul 11, 2011, 2:09 pm
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Hertz i.e. has the Adrenalin Collection Charger/Mustang/.....
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Old Jul 14, 2011, 6:17 am
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Originally Posted by blitzen
Hertz i.e. has the Adrenalin Collection Charger/Mustang/.....
..... Camaro!

Drove both the Camaro 1LT (V6 - bright red!) and 2SS (V8 - metallic orange!) last July and they were awesome, especially the SS! Not to mention they look great! Over 3 and a half weeks had many people give the thumbs up and even came back to the car one day to find a few french guys taking their photo with it!

Looking forward to driving a Camaro again soon (hopefully this time next year) and a Mustang and Corvette.

If you like driving, don't know why you'd bother with a Tahoe!

Also can't wait to drive an M3 on the autobahn in OP's part of the world! Sixt are currently renting them for EUR99 per day for 10 days .... absolute bargain!
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Old Jul 14, 2011, 11:05 am
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Originally Posted by AdMEL
..... Camaro!

Drove both the Camaro 1LT (V6 - bright red!) and 2SS (V8 - metallic orange!) last July and they were awesome, especially the SS! Not to mention they look great! Over 3 and a half weeks had many people give the thumbs up and even came back to the car one day to find a few french guys taking their photo with it!

Looking forward to driving a Camaro again soon (hopefully this time next year) and a Mustang and Corvette.

If you like driving, don't know why you'd bother with a Tahoe!

Also can't wait to drive an M3 on the autobahn in OP's part of the world! Sixt are currently renting them for EUR99 per day for 10 days .... absolute bargain!
You should go for a real sports car and not an M3. Sixt is renting them so cheap because BMW has them always on sale. But I think Six has also Porsche , try to get one of those, as they will not stop you at 250.
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Old Jul 14, 2011, 4:06 pm
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Originally Posted by dschnitz
You should go for a real sports car and not an M3. Sixt is renting them so cheap because BMW has them always on sale. But I think Six has also Porsche , try to get one of those, as they will not stop you at 250.
Uhm...?

The M3 retails for over €100k in Germany (if you want some equipment on it) and is a real Sportscar - one of the best on the market. If you want straight line speed, go for a dragster - it's the cornering that counts...

Anyway, I love BMW - but that's a different topic.

I like the Tahoe because it's cheap (or was at the time - ~€400 for two weeks including all insurances and

U the first tank) huge, comfortable, well equpped and actually reasonably powerful (especially considering the size).

Also - in CA/NV/AZ I like to be able to sometimes leave the paved roads (shhh don't tell the rental company )

Yeah, the Camaro (SS) is real eyecandy and I'll be looking forward to that on my next trips.

I've never seen Porsches at Sixt yet - Avis does them. 911 (also convertible) starting at €199/day (incl. 200km + €1.- per extra KM).

Update2:
Porsche 911 Convertible at Sixt Luxury Cars (Dsseldorf) - €458 per day (daily) incl. 100km, or €220 per day if booked for a week.
Apart from the fact that I personally prefer M Cars, Avis suddenly appears to be a bargain.
Just found that they also have two Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder in their fleet now *yum*. However, I'm too young (min. age 30) and I'm not sure it's worth it at €899/200km; +4.50 per extra KM

Last edited by raph; Jul 14, 2011 at 4:17 pm
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Old Jul 14, 2011, 4:55 pm
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raph, I'm with you on the M!

Out of interest, how much does a Lambo cost in Germany?

EUR 200 for a day for a porsche is a great deal too!

To rent any of these sorts of cars in Australia is very expensive - AU 600-900 per day for an M3, min. 600 for a 996 porsche (I managed too get a day for 179 on special), 2,000+ for a lambo, all with huge excesses - 20,000 in the case of the lambo!

EUR 899 is definitely worth it! It's the only way I'm ever going to be able to drive one! They start at AU$500,000 here!

Last edited by AdMEL; Jul 14, 2011 at 5:17 pm
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Old Jul 14, 2011, 6:31 pm
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Great or "Special" Cars in the US

Great topic!

We had a Mustang Convertible last time we visited LA & it was great fun.

Are there any other companies apart from Hertz that rent Camaros, Corvettes & similar at a reasonable price (in particular out of Vegas)?

The couple of multi-company car rental search websites don't seem to list these type of cars - are there any good search engines worth looking at?
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Old Jul 15, 2011, 3:44 am
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For a € 100000 the car is fully equipped. Dont get me wrong the M3 is indeed a nice car, but I would not call it a real sports car. For me its just an enhanced version of a normal M3 but thats taste I guess. Anyway 99€ is a real good offer for such a car.

199€ for a Porsche is also a nice deal.

Originally Posted by raph
Uhm...?

If you want straight line speed, go for a dragster - it's the cornering that counts...
Where shall somebody be able to test a sports car that way? It is just not possible on a normal road, or way to dangerous. It is also not possible to go with the cars on a race track , since it is strictly forbidden. Depending on the company, they will let you sign a special paper which says that race tracks are forbidden.

Other than that they used to have the Phaeton with Budget a few years ago, a real nice car for a very low rate.
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Old Jul 16, 2011, 4:06 am
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Originally Posted by gaz1
...
Are there any other companies apart from Hertz that rent Camaros, Corvettes & similar at a reasonable price (in particular out of Vegas)?
...
I am wondering too.
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Old Jul 17, 2011, 8:36 am
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Originally Posted by AdMEL
Out of interest, how much does a Lambo cost in Germany?
Starting at around 167k afaik... Not sure how much room for negotiation there is, it's slightly out of my league.

Originally Posted by dschnitz
Where shall somebody be able to test a sports car that way? It is just not possible on a normal road, or way to dangerous. It is also not possible to go with the cars on a race track , since it is strictly forbidden. Depending on the company, they will let you sign a special paper which says that race tracks are forbidden.
I don't know where you're from, but there are some wonderful B-Roads (Landstrassen) in Germany where you can really open up... The Eifel Area (around the Nrburgring for example) comes to mind... Even the roads surrounding the track are stunning if you don't dare to go on the track itself.

But to get back to the Topic:
Does anyone know some good coupons or other means of getting Hertz Adrenaline / Fun cars cheap?

For the next trip, I booked a Tahoe again. I enjoyed it and will do a lot of driving through the desert, so it's good to have off-road capability (even if I wouldn't use it ) - Maybe more importantly, I get a rate of $320 per week including CDW, EP and upfront fuel.

I didn't see a Camaro for less than $800 per week...
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Old Jul 18, 2011, 10:04 am
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I think Fox Rent a car has the camaro for 250 dollars a week.
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Old Jul 19, 2011, 5:28 am
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Originally Posted by dschnitz
I think Fox Rent a car has the camaro for 250 dollars a week.
Thanks for the heads up.

Just checked LAX and SFO:

$289.95 + tax + fees = $373 with no insurance.

Camaro or Challenger - does not specify whether V6 or V8.

If V6, once you add insurance (total almost $600), good deal but not great - had a Camaro from Hertz SFO this time last year for $550 a week including insurance.

Anyone know the details of LDW 2 and 3? Can't find them of the Fox website.
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Old Jul 21, 2011, 10:51 pm
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Re: Lamborghini Gallardo

Does anyone know whether, at 6'9" (2.05m) tall, I would be able to drive a Lamborghini Gallardo? I assume an M3 would be ok.
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