SUV's - Undesirable rental vehicles?

Do you notice anything interesting about this Budget Rent-a-Car page? (Click the image to see a larger version in a new window.)

For quite a few years now, we frequent travelers have heard the agent offer, "would you like a free upgrade to an SUV?" as if this was a gift! Today, while booking a rental car, I noticed that the cheapest vehicle offered by Budget is an "Intermediate SUV!" A "standard SUV" (aka land yacht) is less than $1 more than a compact car! These gas-guzzling, air-polluting behemoths are cheaper to rent than an intermediate sized car.

I hope this means that they are having trouble renting these SUVs. Perhaps they will cut back their purchases of these vehicles from the manufacturers, leading to less production of them.

I can only hope that gas prices climb another dollar or two. This should get more people (and policy makers) to wake up and demand more fuel efficient cars.

The worst rental car ever

Yesterday I had the misfortune of renting a Chevy HHR from Avis in Southern California. The underwhelming 4-cylinder engine felt like I was riding on a large lawn mower. I can live with a weak engine, especially if it is a fuel efficient car (which the HHR isn't). I consider fuel efficient to be anything over 40mpg. The PR states that the car gets 30 mpg, which is in all likelihood fresh from a tune-up, going downhill with a strong tail-wind.

The fuselage of the car is large, nearly 15 feet long. Motortrend boasts, "[The HHR will] let you take your favorite eight-foot ladder wherever you go." And they mean inside the vehicle. Avis calls this a "mid-sized car". Chevy considers it an "SUV Crossover".

Frankly, I don't care that the design looks remarkably like the PT Cruiser. The worst part about this vessel, is the lack of visibility. It is as if the good people at Chevrolet have encased you in the lunar module and generously provided a couple of portholes in the back through which you can catch glimpses of earth. I am not sure what HHR stands for - and I can't think of a clever acronym at the moment. The car should be called the Chevy Blind Spot and should be avoided at all costs!

BTW: I have gotten into the habit recently, when renting a car, of asking if they have any Hybrids. We should all keep asking until the major agencies get a clue and start offering them.