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ZipCar Zips on into Airport Locations

It looks like that Avis acquisition might be rubbing off on Zipcar, as the car sharing company is starting to make more of an appearance at the airport.

It’s no longer just random parking lots and city locations for ZipCar, as they’re moving into the airport rental car lot as well. They've been doing their thing at the New York City airports for quite some time, but now they’re heading into other airport location as well. Some of the first cities that will see the ZipCar brand up close and personal during this second wave of airport arrivals will be Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Jose, Austin, Philadelphia, Atlanta, West Palm Beach, and Toronto.

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

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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Where to Find 'Hertz Supercars': the Most Exotic of the Rental Exotics

Once again we’re a little bit jealous when it comes to rental car options outside of the nifty fifty. Sure we’ve got some decent options and the PT Cruiser is thankfully no longer one of them, but putting the pedal to the metal just isn’t the same when you’re stuck inside a Chevy Impala.

Over in Europe it’s quite a different story, as the continent seem to get all the good cars—as long as you’re willing to pay extra for them. Hertz is the latest company to add some exotic and fancy pants options to their Euro rental car lots.

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Rental Cars / Hertz / Road Trips / Cars / Driving / Florida Travel / Arizona Travel / → All Tags

The Return of the Cheapie One-Way Rental Car Deal

We’ve seen some pretty good rental car deals in the past, and that’s especially been the case during the spring and the fall. Rental car lots are filled with cars that need to get out of the warm weather states—or heads toward them—so they’re usually pretty good with giving away one-way rental cars for little more than the cost of gas and taxes. Hertz has always been at the forefront of these road trip sales, but it looks like things aren’t quite is fun this year.

In the past Hertz has offered one-way rental cars for as little as $5 per day, but this year they must be in need of a little more spending cash. They’re still ready to run their Florida Drive Out and Arizona Drive Out sales, but this year the deals start at around $18 per day.

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The PT Cruiser Has Ended Its Rental Car Run, May It Rest in Peace

If you’re renting a car anytime soon consider yourself lucky. Sure you might not get a Camaro or a Corvette to zoom around in during your weekend away; however, it’s the car that you’re not going to get that’s the most enjoyable. We’ve known for a while that the iconic—in a bad way—PT Cruiser was well on its way to being history, but now it sounds like things are pretty much official.

Travelers are now safe to approach the rental counter free from fear, as the PT Cruiser is no longer an option at most of the major rental car companies. The big boys like Hertz, National, and Avis have long gotten these off the rental car lots, as the last of the PT Cruisers rolled off the assembly line back in 2010. Bloomberg Businessweek wrote an obituary dedicated to the car, but they do note that with those new car sharing schemes that it might be a while before it truly ever disappears.

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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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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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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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Road Trips / Lists / Toll Bridges / Driving / Cars / Architecture Travel / Awesome Stuff / Bridges / Landmarks / → All Tags

The Top Ten US Toll Bridges Worth the Money

Uncle Jesse and Danny Tanner are just a toll away...

It’s the middle of July and the season for summer road trips has certainly arrived. There of course some obstacles to the perfect automobile expedition like gross bathrooms, highways rest stops, and way too many chips and candy serving as your lunch. Usually we’d add tolls to the list of annoying distractions out on the highway, but once in awhile there are a few that we really don’t mind paying.

Here’s our picks—in no particular order—for 10 Toll Bridges in the US where paying the fee is worth it:

· Golden Gate Bridge – San Francisco, California:
This is an obvious addition to the list and when you drive yourself from San Francisco over into Marin County—or the other way depending on where you’re headed—it’s easy to see why it’s so iconic. Traveling over the bridge will cost you $6 per car when you’re headed south into the city, so at least one of your crossings is on the house. If you need a closer look you can always pull off and head out on foot, as there is plenty of room for bicycles and pedestrians to cross the bridge as well.

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Rental Cars / Cars / Driving / Hertz / Avis / Enterprise / Zipcar / → All Tags

Toyota Recall Means You Might Not Have A Rental Car

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.

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