http://cache.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jalopnik.com.png http://jalopnik.com/tag/carsharing http://jalopnik.com/tag/carsharing Flexcar/Zipcar users around Washington State are going to see the price of their car sharing rise this week as a nearly 10% car rental tax is going to be applied to their services. The rental car companies were displeased with the exemption for car sharing since they consider their services comparable, and the state's tax collectors agreed. There's an interesting balance at work here. On one hand, car sharing services (like rental car companies) utilize public roads and benefit from many public entities and should therefore pay taxes. On the other hand, the company does pay taxes on its income, gas, payroll, et cetera and helps the city lower its congestion by allowing numerous people to use one car. In the end, what happens will be a matter of who is willing to fight harder for/against the exemption. [Marketplace]

]]> Jalopnik-318199 Fri, 02 Nov 2007 11:15:00 EDT Matt Hardigree http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=318199&view=rss&microfeed=true Zipcar announced on Wednesday that it was acquiring rival Flexcar in an effort to head off competition. With the addition of Flexcar's business, Zipcar extends to approximately 5,000 vehicles and 180,000 members. The hope is this will let them compete with the big name operators, such as Enterprise and U-Haul, which have started to move in on their turf. Zipcar remembers the key to urban business: it's all about getting that dope product and getting them dope corners. [AP]

]]> Jalopnik-317689 Thu, 01 Nov 2007 11:00:00 EDT Matt Hardigree http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=317689&view=rss&microfeed=true