https://www.silvercar.com/blog/suns-...iolet-is-here/

Silvercar has the 2018 Audi A5 Cabriolet convertible available in select locations, starting June 29.

They do have A5's at ORD. I didn't bite; it was a weekend rental, when the A4 price goes down and the A5 price goes up.

Don't keep track on the conga, but yes you can on stacking up.

Some actual data to back up your claims was done by a study by AAA last year: https://newsroom.aaa.com/2017/12/don...s-worth-price/

These are all vehicles that recommend but not require premium. So they used both premium and regular gas and tested performance/MPG difference.

Essentially the avg MPG increase of 2.7% and avg HP increase of 1.4%. And actually the Audi they tested had LESS fuel economy on premium, lol. (Or negligible difference, really)

And with premium gas being avg 20-25% higher in cost, it does not appear to justify the tiny increase to virtually no difference in fuel economy or performance.

And many luxury car owner manual does not say the word "require" but the word "recommend" for premium. So with some hard data, it does seem to actually make financial sense to use regular in many instances vs premium.

One caveat: Note that in this study the Audi A3 suffered noticeable engine knock during testing with regular gasoline...and hence premium does seem to be required due to this obvious issue.

First, thank you!

Second, before someone jumps on the knocking, note, the A3 uses the 1.8L Turbo, not the 2.0T (2.0 TFSI) found in the A4, A5 and Q5. The 1.8L is ONLY found in the US on the A3 and it is one of the newest engines (2013 release).

Ah good point. With the smaller displacement 1.8L AND a turbo...I'm guessing the CR is gonna be higher and hence more prone to knocking....even with modern engine technology to manage ignition timing....

I was thinking about renting from Silvercar at FLL. The problem is my flight is scheduled to arrive at 7:30 on B6. Knowing how bad jetBlue can be with their delays, if we get delayed a couple of hours that puts me dangerously close to their closing time. What happens if I get to the airport and it's after their closing time - can I pick up the following morning or do I loose the reservation?

I imagine that's the kind of thing you could easily work out with them if it happened. You could contact them if you were delayed and see if they'd stay late or allow you to pick up the next morning. I cant imagine them saying no to either.

+1 - IIRC Silvercar actually requires that you input flight info (or say that you're arriving by other means) in your reservation so I imagine if they have a no-show at the end of the night, they can use that info to see if someone's flight is delayed. And Silvercar is actually one company I'd believe would do something proactive like that.

By the time I went to book they had run out of cars anyways. But next time I might just use them and make a backup res at National just in case.

Curious: When I was leaving Austin Airport, I passed the Silvercar building. It looked shockingly like a small run down shack. Is this common?

Also, several online reviews mention or show cars with distant out of state plates, but Silvercar's website suggests one-ways are limited and expensive. Has anyone actually done it? How did it go? Did you still get to choose from a row of seemingly identical cars?

I don't know about Austin, but Silvercar often repurposes nondescript buildings with little more than a paintjob. That seems quite sensible, IMHO.

With their model they don't really need much of a reception building.

+1. In all the times I've used SilverCar I've never once been inside their building.