drtravel

I miss my Prius when traveling. Most aggravating is rental cars with the da*%! key fob instead of a proximity entry. Next is an engine running at a stop light when the hybrid would be silent. and, BTW, no other GPS is as good as the factory Prius version.

I rented a Prius from Hertz in San Diego last fall (yes, they were surprised at the request), but can't seem to find others elsewhere since then. Hertz in Portland says they had 'em, but no more.

Any major rental cars companies reliably have hydrids where you're at?

drt

mapsmith

EV Rentals in Los Angeles and So Cal. Couple of places in PHX. (Fox seems to have them in several locations. Have seen "Reports" of Hertz having in some areas. Supposedly, Enterprise has them in Florida and the Southeast. Haven't even found a Google listing for Hybrid rentals in other parts of the country. DC supposedly has the highest ownership, but not sure of any rentals.

Might try over at PriusChat.com to see if anyone there has an idea. Also on the CarTalk Hybrid Board. If you find a listing let me know. I hate non-hybrids after driving one for three years.

cardesigner2000

Am glad you like your Prius, but what this have to do with earning miles? Of the benefits you listed, two have nothing to do with being a hybrid car. Other cars have keyless entry (and not necessarily all hybrids do) and I'm sure other Toyota products have similar navigation units. Not everyone is as big a fan of their navigation system as you are btw. In Europe VW and Peugeot/Citroen offered non-hybrid cars that turned the engine on/off at stand still, but it never really caught on.

Moderator2

As Cardesigner indicates, this does not have anything to do with miles. I'll move the thread to Other Car Rental Programs.

Awal

So if I subscribe to this thread before you move it will I still be subscribed?

drtravel

Mapsmith: I hadn't considered Fox, don't usually have them on my rental co list, but will give that a look. And I appreciate the Priuschat suggestion. Will let you know if that turns up availability. Yep, once you're hybrid hooked, the noisy fume belchers are hard to enjoy no matter how nice the giftwrap.

drtravel

before I got back to this, I was reading miles buzz threads about laptop battery life , foreign transaction fees, and Macintosh class availability tools, so the criteria 'related to miles' rules is very inconsistent.

Would still be interested to know about hybrid availability. My preference for a high mileage, low emission car doesn't have to mean someone wants the same. vive la difference elsewhere here, but not for hybrids?

drtravel

Here's what Hertz said:
"Thank you for contacting us regarding this matter.
At this time Hertz does offer Hybrid/ Environmentally-Friendly vehicles at a limited number of locations in California, mostly in the San Francisco area. Below, I have included the list of models types we offer:

HERTZ HYBRIDS

VT Code:
E6
Class Name:
Environmentally-Friendly
SIPP:
XDAR
Passenger Capacity:
2-5
EPA MPG Range:
29-53
Cylinders:
3-6
Doors:
2-4

Cargo Space:
12.4 – 27 cubic feet
Vehicle Length:
116 – 174.9 inches
Model Examples:
Escape Hybrid
Ford
Prius
Toyota
Th!nk
Ford
Neighbor
Ford

As more locations begin to open up their fleet to include the Hybrids, they'll be added to the city's "Choose a Vehicle and "Quote It" page of the website."

number_6

Fox at LAX rents the Prius (used to be USD 30 per day, but it is now up to USD 60 per day as it is so popular), the Honda Civic hybrid and also the Toyota Highlander hybrid. Lots of availability. Budget at LAX used to rent hybrids, but they seem to be gone in the last couple of months. Maybe they decided the resale market was so strong when gas was over USD 3 per gallon that they sold the fleet off.