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How 'RelayRides' Uses Facebook to Get You Into a Rental Car

We’ve mentioned various bits and pieces of car sharing programs in the past, but if there’s one that’s leading the pack it might just be RelayRides. The basic premise behind these programs is that you can offer up your car to someone else when you’re not using it. Feel free to take the neighbor’s car for a spin if you’ve been eyeing it in the driveway, and he or she can do the same with your car when you’re away for the weekend. RelayRides takes care of insurance and all the other boring details, so you just put the pedal to the metal and go.

So far RelayRides has cars in almost 1,500 different cities across all 50 states, but they’re eager to expand even further. Now they’re bringing their car sharing idea to social media, as they’re getting ready to do the Facebook integration thing.

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FlightCar / Rental Cars / Cars / Road Trips / Car Shares / Car Sharing / Driving / → All Tags

Skip Long-term Parking to Rent Out Your Ride via FlightCar

It’s been a few months since we introduced you to the newest idea in airport parking and rental cars—FlightCar. Just in case you need a brief refresher, basically FlightCar offers the opportunity for those parking at the airport to rent out their cars while they’re not using them. Seems like a clever idea if you ask us, and now it looks like the first cars are available to rent.

Up first is San Francisco International Airport, and they’ve got room for those looking to rent out their cars and for those looking to rent cars. Rates are supposed to be competitive with what’s offered from the big boys, though FlightCar is so far claiming they'll have 50% cheaper rates than the usual rental car companies. Free insurance, free GPS, and pick-up right from the terminal look to set FlightCar apart from the usual suspects in the rental car garage.

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Rental Cars / Cars / Avis / Zip Car / Car Sharing / → All Tags

Zipcar and Avis are Shacking Up but Not Shaking Down

At this point you probably have heard about Zipcar. They’re the car sharing business where you can get a car where and when you need it, charged by the hour, and they take care of all the tricky stuff like insurance, parking, and maintenance. In recent years Zipcar has enjoyed plenty of positive attention from travelers and those just looking to skip town for the weekend, and apparently the big rental car giants were listening.

Once such rental car company is Avis, as they just threw done almost $500 million to gobble up Zipcar along with its cars, ideas, and image. The changes and integration will probably be slow to start, so no need to be nervous that your beloved Zipcar will be changing for the worse.

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FlightCar / Rental Cars / Cars / Road Trips / Car Shares / Car Sharing / Driving / → All Tags

FlightCar: A Brilliant Alternative to Long-Term Airport Parking

There are all kinds of rental car and car sharing schemes, but the latest idea to hit the marketplace just may be the best one we’ve heard yet. It all takes place at the airport, where there is an abundance of two types of car-driving travelers: those who don’t currently need their cars (long-term parkers) and those who need to pick up a car. FlightCar hopes to link these two sets of people in driving happiness.

Basically what you’ll be able to do with FlightCar is rent out your car while you’re not using it. That keeps your car happy since it gets to drive around and keep busy—cars have feelings too—and it’ll keep you happy since you’ll be earning cash instead of shelling out bucks for the parking garage.

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Rental Cars / Cars / Driving / Car Sharing / Wheelz / → All Tags

What is 'Wheelz?' Just a Car Sharing Program Primed to Take Over the World

We’ve mentioned the new trend of peer-to-peer car rental before, as companies look to rent out your own car to other drivers instead of relying on gobbling up oodles and oodles of their own PT Cruisers and related rental relics. It looks like Wheelz is one of the latest rental car shares to hit the scene, and they just might be the big thing. It doesn’t hurt things either that they just got quite a little cash infusion from the rental car pioneers over at ZipCar.

Wheelz does its thing by hooking up people who need some wheels with folks who aren’t using their wheels. That means you might just be taking out your neighbor’s car for a spin. The premise is simple, and they even have a cute little animation to explain things to you. Basically Wheelz installs a little bit of travel technology within your car—free of charge—and then you’re ready to rent it out.

Rentals are covered with 24/7 tech support and there’s also a million bucks in insurance coverage—just in case. The Wheelz app can help you pinpoint a car, book it, and pick it up. Rates start around $50 or $60 per day depending on what you choose, so it's pretty darn affordable.

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Car Sharing / Cars / Rental Cars / Miami Travel / Herz On Demand / Hertz / → All Tags

Cruise Down Collins with Miami's First 'Hertz On Demand' Car Sharing Program

There’s no longer the need to walk from Fontainebleau all the way down to Shake Shack—trust us, it’s far—as car sharing is now making its way to South Beach. Sure there are plenty of two-wheeled options available in Miami, but sometimes you just need to put the pedal to the metal. After all, cruising down Collins isn’t quite the same with streamers coming out of the handlebars.

There’s no cutesy name or gimmick associated with the city’s new program, as they’re simply partnering with Hertz to bring the car share scheme to the masses. Thanks to Hertz on Demand, Miami Beach will now be the first city—at least by their math—to offer up a city-sponsored car sharing system in the Sunshine State. Things officially get underway starting today, and there’s even some kind of ribbon cutting ceremony at the Miami Beach City Hall Garage to celebrate.

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Car Sharing / Cars / Rental Cars / Autolib / Paris Travel / Green Travel / Velib / → All Tags

Autolib. It's Like Paris' Velib Bike Sharing, Just with Cars.

Back in October we heard that bike-sharing was turning into car-sharing thanks to the Velib spin-off—Autolib. Initially the rental cars were part of a test run, but the program has been pretty popular and now it’s time to go all-in.

The plan is to eventually add more than 3,000 emission-free cars to the streets of Paris, but for now new cars will be added each and every week. The system works just like the bikes—with a slight increase in cost—and you can pick your car up in one location and drop it off in another. The cars are all battery powered, but the Bluecar electric vehicles should be able to spin around for at least 150 miles before requiring another fill up of electricity.

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Rental Cars / Cars / Car Sharing / RelayRides / → All Tags

RelayRides, Like the Airbnb of Cars, Gets a Boost from General Motors

There’s all kinds of options when it comes to rental cars and car sharing, but one of the most interesting new options has to be borrowing a car from a complete stranger. We’ve mentioned this before, but it looks like the idea is getting a little bit of momentum. It certainly doesn’t hurt that General Motors is now getting in on the fun, so we can all look forward to more broken down rental cars—we’re kidding GM, that’s the PT Cruiser’s job!

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Car Sharing / Cars / Rental Cars / Autolib / Paris Travel / Green Travel / → All Tags

Paris' Velib Bike Sharing Grows Up to Add Autolib Car Sharing

Late last year we heard that Paris was going to improve on its vehicle-sharing program by adding some electric cars. Well, that time is now, as it looks like Autolib—just like the Velib bikes—is ready to hit the streets.

Earlier this month the city rolled out the first couple of cars to launch the new electric car sharing system. The Bolloré BlueCars are part of a two-month trial program, but if all goes well there will be as many as 3,000 of the cars available for a quick jaunt by 2012. The initial rollout is already underway, with about 66 new cars spread across the city and its 33 rental stations.

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Green Travel / Hertz / Rental Cars / Connect by Hertz / Hertz on Demand / Car Sharing / Cars / Driving / → All Tags

Thanks to Hertz, Electric Car Sharing Arrives in San Francisco

We’ve got a soft spot for rental cars, and we’re especially fond of those that can do their thing without a drop of gas. That’s why we were excited to hear about Hertz and their latest plans to invade San Francisco with green types of rental transportation.

They’re using that new Hertz On Demand thing to offer up electric car rentals through a partnership with the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront. So if you need to take a quick spin to watch some airplanes or head into the city for business, the people at Hertz and Marriott have you covered.

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Hertz / Rental Cars / Connect by Hertz / Hertz on Demand / Car Sharing / Cars / Driving / → All Tags

Hertz Reboots Its Car Sharing with 'Hertz on Demand'

Connect by Hertz has been kicking around for a few years now, as it’s the rental car giant’s answer to the ubiquitous Zipcar. Entering the car sharing business a little behind the curve must have been a little difficult—even for a company like Hertz—so it’s time to reboot things in order to move forward. On the way out is Connect by Hertz, as from now on if you’re thinking car sharing and Hertz you should be thinking about Hertz on Demand.

They mean business now, as the born again service is looking to reduce costs, improve member benefits, and fire up all kinds of technology both in and out of the car. Of course they’re also boosting their amount of vehicles—including plenty of hybrids, electric vehicles, and cuties like the Fiat 500—along with locations, as you really can’t do too well if you don’t have plenty of cars and plenty of spots to grab them.

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Rental Cars / Cars / Australia Travel / Car Sharing / → All Tags

Rental Car 'Big Brother' is Watching You Down Under

Renting a car on vacation is awesome. You get to drive it like an idiot, accelerate over speed bumps, and constantly remind yourself that “it’s just a rental” as pieces fly off as you make your way down the highway. Not—these are all examples of how NOT to treat your rental, of course.

The fun might be coming to an end—well at least in Australia—as a new type of in-car GPS does a little bit more than help you locate the nearest Starbucks or McDonald’s. This rental car GPS keeps an eye out on your driving habits as well as your location. That means the rental car company knows when you take its car somewhere it’s not supposed to be, or that the flat tire you claim happened overnight was actually caused by taking the Toyota Camry on an unpaved road.

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