In case you haven’t been paying attention, Toyota is having a little bit of trouble with many of their cars. Sticky accelerator pedals are the main problem, and the car maker is busy issuing a recall whilst figuring out how to fix this big issue. Most rental car companies have at least some Toyota vehicles in their fleets, and now companies are pulling them from the lots as they try to ensure that travelers stay safe.

Last week Hertz, Enterprise, and Avis announced that they’d be pulling affected Toyota models from their fleets. The Pontiac Vibe shares many similarities to certain Toyota models, and this car will be taken out of the mix as well. Hertz is chatting with Toyota to work things out, and they’re looking to get things fixed as soon as possible. Avis is pulling about 20,000 vehicles, and Enterprise admits that this recall might cause some limited availability. ]]> kjb 2010-02-01T12:15:10-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/6/8/232134/2462

In case you live under a rock (one without WiFi), yesterday's big news was the announcement of Apple's newest products and upgrades at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. But tucked into the Keynote presentation was a bit about our beloved car sharing service, Zipcar, and its upcoming new iPhone application. ,

We can't wait for the release (any day) of this baby, and you know we'll be giving it a literal test drive. The functions to find, choose and reserve a car are simple enough, but it's the remote capabilities that really rev our engines. To start, the iPhone app will locate your whereabouts and display nearby available Zipcars on a map.

Choosing a pinpoint will show available cars, with all the information on each that the website provides—you can even favorite cars for later. Reserve your car and a confirmation will be returned as normal, just in the palm of your hand.]]> JetSetCD 2009-06-09T09:07:08-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/5/6/225831/8324

Now that car sharing giant Zipcar has merged with Flexcar and partnered with ridesharing site Zimride, it's looking pretty dominant on the short-term rental scene. There are still a couple of regional upstarts out there however, and one very affordable, very cute New York service has caught our eye.

Mint, which has a fleet of cars in Manhattan and just expanded with a couple of rides in Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope, appears to be positioning itself as the BoltBus to Zipcar's Megabus. What we mean by that is it's an underdog with a bit of a sleek touch—they've got everything from Smart Cars to Mercedes C300s—that reels you in with almost unbelievably low starter prices. ]]> BS 2009-05-07T10:34:47-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/4/15/10566/6251

Hallelujah, someone has finally merged ride sharing and car sharing to create one seamless, social network-based partnership...almost. Zipcar, the online car rental group with their vehicles "living" in neighborhoods, has just joined forces with Zimride, a virtual memoboard of carpool pleas and offers, which narrows in on available rides within your region, university or work network.

Launched at Stanford earlier this week, the Zimrde/Zipcar partnership means a bevy of easy access to information with the combined bonus of automatically vetting your tripmate: "[it will] allow Zipcar members getting a car to broadcast the time, date, and final destination of their trip - and also a estimated price per rider. Zimride's software then takes care of matching ready riders to the members." For now, Zimride's Zipcars are sadly only open to select public and private colleges, but hopefully one day its tiny green footprint will tread all over our social networks.

Related Stories:
· Zimride and Zipcar Partnership [Official Site]
· Zipcar and Zimride - Carshare Marriage Made in Heaven? [Treehugger]
· The Cult of Car Sharing Grows at Zipcar Open Bar [Jaunted]
· France Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

[Image: Zimride.com]]]> JetSetCD 2009-04-15T14:26:38-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/4/1/12578/87369

There is only way to go about drinking and driving in New York City, and that is apparently the Zipcar Open Bar way. Kicking off a series of monthly Zipcar member parties last night on the Lower East Side, Zipcar invited its NYC-area posse to get together over the goodwill of car sharing and trade some road trip stories.

We, however, were most attracted by the promise of free drinks upon flashing your Zipcard at the bar and the offer of $75 in driving credit for you and a friend if they sign up then and there. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-04-01T14:20:01-05:00 40.7210140 -73.987792 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/3/31/71122/0812

With gas slowly creeping back up and unemployment at record levels, now could be a great time to dispose of your old clunker. You’ll laugh at your friends as they pay for gas, insurance, and repairs, while you enjoy the comfort and luxury of the city bus. We realize ditching your car isn’t practical for everyone, but if you do get rid of it, Hertz’s newest car sharing service may be of interest to you—especially if you can bypass its fees.

Connect by Hertz works a lot like Zipcar, but without all the good locations. So far they are in Manhattan—of course—as well as London and Paris. They just started late last year, so cut them some slack—it’s hard to play catch up when someone else has a strong grasp on the market. Like the competition, Hertz’s service will offer hourly rental cars any time you’d like as long as you pony up for the membership fee. ]]> kjb 2009-03-31T11:26:29-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/10/31/135056/20

Zipcar, the by-the-hour rental outfit from the East Coast will merge with Left Coast darling Flexcar, creating a nationwide car-sharing cabal. The old Flexcar brand is out, and members will now have the luxury of renting from both fleets in the few cities where both companies operate.

Zipcar's rates aren't as low as some daily car rental services, though you can't just rock up to a location and drive away as with other car rental agencies. (Zipcar also includes gas and insurance, making the rental process painless.) You'll first need to sign up for a Zipcard; the cheapest option includes a $25 application fee, a $50 annual fee with hourly rates that start at $10. After you get approved, all you need to start driving is your Zipcard, which will unlock the doors when you walk up to whatever vehicle you've reserved.

With the merger, the fleet is available in a bunch of cities, including New York, Boston, DC, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, LA, San Diego, Atlanta and London. The UK cars even come with the London congestion charge ($16.50) pre-paid.

Related Stories:
· Zipcar [Official Site]
· Rental Cars coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: katmere]]]> pbb 2007-10-31T14:00:02-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/