Hertz Buying 175,000 GM Electric Cars through 2027

This is a link from Clark Email.

This is quite an investment… a real bet on the future.

Will Hertz add Electric to all their Parking Spots.
Will Hotels have Charging Stations?

The required infrastructure is heavy.

Welcome to your future!.. :slightly_smiling_face:

Hertz has already begun taking delivery of 65,000 EVs from Polestar that they ordered last April. It’s not a bet on the future, it’s an investment in it.

If you could rent a car that costs less than a quarter to operate, more fun to drive and much quieter, plus didn’t contribute to our looming climate change problem, or choose a gas car costing 4X more to fuel, made lots of noise and was clunky to drive, which one would you rent?

BTW… they also have lotsa Teslas:…

And lotsa hotels already have charging stations:

I have never worried about the cost of gas for a rental. I would have been paying for gas for my own vehicle at home during the same period. It is the cost of the rental that more worried me. Recently they were hundreds a day for the cheapest rental during COVID. Then they sold all their inventory and we still have $100 a day rates I see here.

All things being equal, wouldn’t you prefer to spend half or less for fuel for a rental car that performs better? And wouldn’t it be easier just to plug your rental car in at your place of lodging rather than hunt down a gas station?

I would be more concerned with the time to recharge vs refuel.
Then there is a lack of commonality of chargers. How many adapters do i need to pack?

Do I need to call the hotel to see what charger they use?
How will I be charged if I bring the car back half charged.
My norm was to fill the tank within 10 miles of the dropoff… still shows full on the gague.

How about security at Hotel Parking… where did my adapter go?

Not So Fast Kemo Sabe!

Since my normal car rental use is driving a couple hundred miles or more in unfamiliar areas, I’d pass on an EV, and might even switch to companies that don’t have any, lest I get stuck with one. Lots of good uses for EVs. Rental cars are not one of them at the moment.

If you are going to drive more than 200 miles a day you’d rent a gas car. If you’re driving less rent a BEV.

If you were staying in Atlanta you’d have a choice of 31 Hilton Hotels that offer EV charging.

There’s only two standard BEV plug types, it’s not a problem. The rental agency provides any that you will need.

When you make your reservations just search for the lodgings offering EV charging. It’s easy, just put it in your hotel amenities search.

I’d let the rental agency top off the car when I returned it, would you like to bet on it being more than what you’d pay to buy top-off gas for your ICE rental?

All EV’s that I’m aware of have tamper alarms for the charging cables & plugs… plus, do you not think that those stations have pretty good monitored security in place? After all, we’re not talking about high-value catalytic converters here… :slightly_smiling_face:

I’d be willing to bet that BEVs are more in demand from Hertz than ICE vehicles are.

The problem comes when I reserve a gas vehicle, but they run out of those and “upgrade” me to coal, when I haven’t planned my trip around recharging.

No, the cost of fuel is not a big concern of mine on a rental car. I use rental cars to get from the airport to where I am staying and then back to the airport. I am not driving across country.

I recently flew into an airport, drove to my location and the car sat for most of the time. Fine, didn’t need a charge. However, where I was visiting was my old High School campus. Most administrators and no students drive. Thus no charging stations and in fact, no gas station nearby. The hotel where I stayed didn’t have one and thus couldn’t charge there. I had a 7a, flight and a long drive back to the airport, so where am I supposed to change before taking it back. I am sure rental agencies won’t accept it back less than full charge because they currently make a ‘boat load’ (a technical term) of money on charging customers if the tank ain’t full. I rarely make it to the airport with any time to just sit and wait for a flight and am sure that I am not alone.

On a flight from Atlanta to Hawaii a decade ago, a friend was trying to find the rental drop off and due tio issues finally had to pull over and the rental guy ran across the street to get the car from him. The friend ended up being the last one to board as they closed the door. So, maybe a charge is quick to top it off, but I fear most people won;t be able to.

If that was the case then why not just have the rental agency recharge your returned BEV?

Here’s Hertz’s policy on EV charging:
CHARGE LEVEL AT PICK-UP AND RETURN– Hertz will endeavor to provide the EV at time of vehicle pick-up with a battery charge of 80%. You are required to return the EV with a minimum charge of 10%. You are responsible to maintain a sufficient charge on the EV during your rental. You will be responsible for the cost of any tow if the EV is not drivable due to a low battery. You are not authorized to call a private tow on Hertz’ behalf. All tows of the EV must be by flatbed and must be arranged through Hertz Emergency Roadside Assistance.”

Wonderful!!!

My Sister used to live in Florida and during evacuations (like now) there would be miles and miles of cars lined up trying to leave, but stuck on the highway. Both people running out of gas and the stations being out and then cars in accidents blocking roads and equipment trying to get to them.

So at present, gas and electric vehicles may not be very useful. You certainly will have issues trying to charge a vehicle. At this moment 670,000 customers are out of power and as (was it Curits Mayfield?) the song says ‘Ain’t no sunshine’ for a while. Florida Power Outages Map. Power is expected to be out quite a while.

Been there done that, I lived in hurricane country for a total of 23 years, Ft Lauderdale, FL and Corpus Christi, TX …getting out is a problem… so is getting back in.