When Eileen took her Subaru Legacy in for warranty work at Subaru of Schaumburg, she was provided a complimentary coupon for a one-day rental on an Enterprise Rent-A-Car, an excellent part of the service if you ask us. After Subaru dropped Ms. Hennessy at the rental office she secured the car with her credit card, which she was told would not be charged, and picked up a car then went about her business. At the end of the day she went to return the car and found the Enterprise office closed and phoned the Subaru dealer for advice. The dealer recommended she bring the car to their lot, leave the cars with them and they would take car of everything in the morning. She did just that, left the car with them and went home with her Legacy, no doubt feeling quite self-assured with the excellent dealer experience. That's when things started going downhill.

A month later, Eileen received a call from Enterprise inquiring as to the whereabouts of their car. Confused, she called the dealer, who said they'd returned it without incident. The hunt was on and days later Enterprise found it at a tow yard, where it had racked up 37 days of storage and a total bill of $2,871, which Enterprise charged to Eileen's credit card. Then to add insult to injury, a few months later Enterprise charged her an additional $30 because the dealer hadn't paid for the initial rental.

Let's just say she wasn't terribly amused by all of this. She contacted Subaru North America and they denied any wrongdoing at any level due to the separation between auto companies and their dealerships (dealers are independent companies). Thankfully for Eileen, a retired school teacher and senior citizen, Enterprise relented and reversed charges on her credit card, absolving her of responsibility for the situation, stating

"We are not holding her responsible for this, the bottom line is we're going to take [Hennessy] out of that and figure out where the responsibility lies."

Enterprise and Subaru North America are now determining how to settle on who pays for this debacle. We're just glad the customer, eventually, didn't get screwed here. [Chicago Tribune]

Prices for daily rentals have shown larger increases than longer-term rentals, according to the News, but deals and special promotions can help keep costs down. And be sure to shop around, since, in some cases, the rental companies themselves don't seem to know how much they've raised prices: Take Ned Maniscalo, a spokesman for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, who told the News, "I would be surprised if [prices have] gone up 10 percent." Prepare to be surprised, Ned.

Car Rental Tips from AAA Michigan:

Before you rent:

Do I need rental car insurance?
—Ask your agent if your personal insurance policy covers collision and liability for rental cars. Do limitations or deductibles apply? Inquire about rental car coverage through your credit card company. (Also see our helpful guide here).

Am I entitled to membership benefits or discounts when I make my reservation?
—AAA members, for example, can receive up to a 20 percent discount with Hertz in addition to special upgrades, coupons and exemptions from certain charges.

Are there charges if I drop off the car early?
—Some companies charge for early drop-off. Also inquire about the cancellation policy.

Can I get a reservation confirmation number?
—Write the number down and have it handy when you pick up the car.

Will my driving record be checked?
—In many states, car rental companies perform motor vehicle record checks on renters and additional drivers. Drivers with questionable records may be denied service when they arrive to pick up their car.

[The Detroit News and AAA Michigan]

Enterprise Rent-A-Car Announces First E85/FlexFuel Branch in St. Louis; Latest Move in Nationwide Commitment to New, Clean Fuels and Technologies

As part of its nationwide commitment to promote the increased availability and use of new, clean fuels and technologies throughout the United States, Enterprise Rent-A-Car today dedicated its first "E85/FlexFuel branch" in the St. Louis area, located at 11135

Manchester Road in Kirkwood. Officials from Enterprise, General Motors, fuel supplier J.D. Streett & Co. Inc., the City of Kirkwood, St. Louis Regional Clean Cities and the Missouri Corn Growers Association will be on hand as the Enterprise branch begins fueling its FlexFuel vehicles from Kirkwood's first E85 fuel pump, at the nearby ZX SMACK Shoppe Inc., at 10921 Manchester Rd. Enterprise will fuel the vehicles at noon during the ZX station's one-day promotion offering E85 to customers at $1.85 per gallon.

For Enterprise, the move is the latest addition to a comprehensive, long-term environmental stewardship platform, and follows the launch in recent months of similar E85/FlexFuel branches in Washington, D.C., and in Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton, Ohio.

"As the owner of the world's largest vehicle fleet, we are committed to fueling our FlexFuel vehicles with E85 and sending a strong message that we are ready to embrace new technologies and alternative fuels as they become commercially viable," said Tony Moise, vice president and general manager of Enterprise's operations in the St. Louis area. "Those who produce and sell FlexFuel vehicles and E85 fuel need to know that if they make it, we will buy it, and we will encourage our customers to use it as well.

"Today we are honored to back that commitment by establishing our first E85/FlexFuel branch in our hometown of St. Louis," Moise said. "About 25 percent of our fleet at that branch will be GM FlexFuel vehicles, and we are committed to keep them fueled with E85 from ZX's fueling station. It's a pleasure to join with others who share our commitment to environmental stewardship."

The Taylor family of companies, which includes Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car, has the world's largest fleet of FlexFuel vehicles - more than 54,000 cars and trucks that have the ability to burn E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Nationally, Enterprise is actively deploying as many of its FlexFuel vehicles as possible near E85 fueling stations in order to build consumer awareness and increase the number of cars being fueled with E85. According to the EPA, E85 can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20 percent.

"E85 ethanol is the biofuel most likely to reduce our demand for oil, and GM offers 11 E85 models," said Frank Ellis, fleet account executive for General Motors. "We're happy to work with Enterprise to help promote and expand the availability of E85 fuel in St. Louis, and in more and more communities across the country."

The Enterprise E85/FlexFuel branch will have about 35 GM FlexFuel vehicles available for rental. To educate customers about E85, Enterprise will provide in-car materials showing the locations of other St. Louis-area E85 fueling stations, and offer information on the environmental benefits of the fuel.

"At Enterprise, we know there are two things we need to be successful for the long term - cars and fuel," said Moise. "We need access to both and both must be acceptable to society. For us, environmental stewardship is about sustaining our business for the long term by addressing the parts of the world our business touches. Embracing renewable fuel blends like E85 and alternative technologies like FlexFuel is a step in the right direction to reduce vehicle emissions and cut our dependence on fossil fuels.

"Part of our goal as a company is to reduce the environmental impact of our fleet," Moise added. "But we know our customers care about the environment, too. We want to make it easier for them to make sustainable choices. In St. Louis, this focus on E85 and FlexFuel vehicles will help us accomplish that goal."

In addition to this initiative to embrace E85, FlexFuel and other new, clean technologies, the other major elements of the company's environmental platform include:

— Offsetting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions - Beginning in January 2008, Enterprise - along with National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car - will offer customers the opportunity to benefit the environment by offsetting the CO2 emissions generated by their car rentals.

— The world's largest fleet of fuel-efficient vehicles - More than 440,000 cars in the combined Enterprise, National and Alamo worldwide fleet average a highway fuel efficiency rating of 28 mpg or better, and more than 237,000 average at least 32 mpg. In addition, 264,000 have earned the U.S. EPA's SmartWay certification mark - a distinction the EPA grants to vehicles that emit relatively low levels of both regulated pollutants and greenhouse gases such as CO2.

— Research - In February 2007, the Taylor family gave $25 million to create the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, one of the world's foremost plant research centers. The institute works to develop acceptable alternatives to finite fossil fuels by finding new ways to create fuel from renewable, reliable plant sources.

— Conservation - The Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation is funding the planting of 50 million trees over the next 50 years at a total cost of $50 million through the 50 Million Tree Pledge, a public/private/non-profit partnership with The National Arbor Day Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service. The trees are being planted on public lands in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
[PR Inside]

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Nov. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — As frustrations mount for travelers in a year fraught with a record number of flight delays, customer satisfaction with rental cars has declined considerably, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Rental Car Satisfaction Study(SM) released today.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050527/LAF028LOGO-a)

Now in its 12th year, the study measures overall customer satisfaction with renting cars at airports by examining six factors (listed in order of importance): costs and fees, pick-up process, rental car, return process, reservation process and shuttle bus/van. Overall satisfaction drops from 767 points on a 1,000-point scale in 2006 to 750 in 2007.

"The decline in customer satisfaction with rental cars is indicative of a general decline in performance throughout the travel industry in 2007 — from airports to airlines to hotels," said Jim Gaz, senior director of travel and entertainment at J.D. Power and Associates. "Rental car customers, in particular, are being faced with rising fuel prices and decreased availability of new rental vehicles, as major automotive manufacturers have reduced their rental fleet sales. While the rental car industry faces its own specific challenges, customer satisfaction may also be influenced by the snowball effect from frustrations consumers are facing with the entire travel experience."

Enterprise ranks highest in customer satisfaction among rental car companies for a fourth consecutive year, receiving an overall index score of 777. Enterprise performs particularly well in five of the six factors: costs and fees, pick-up process, rental car, return process and shuttle bus/van. Enterprise is followed in the rankings by Hertz and National, respectively. National performs particularly well in the reservation process factor, specifically with telephone reservations.

"In particular, Enterprise has widened the gap from its competition through strong performance in cost and fees and in the functionality of their Web site, as well as in the courtesy of their personnel," said Gaz. "These strengths could potentially benefit the two rental car companies recently acquired by Enterprise — Alamo and National — as Enterprise aligns these operations."

The study finds that the average reported time that rental car customers wait while picking up or returning their rental car typically exceeds the reported wait times incurred during other parts of the travel experience that are measured by the firm. Rental car customers say they wait an average of 22 minutes to pick up their vehicle, and 14 minutes to return the vehicle, while air travelers report waiting an average of 13 minutes to obtain a boarding pass and check baggage, 15 minutes to go through airport security, and 18 minutes to retrieve checked luggage. Hotel customers report waiting 10 minutes, on average, to check in.

"While travelers understand that some waiting is unavoidable, customers still expect wait times to be kept to a minimum, especially for simpler tasks, such as checking into a hotel or for a flight," said Gaz. "Rental car companies can improve upon managing customer perceptions by finding ways to expedite the pickup and return processes. When customers believe that they have to wait longer to return a rental car than to go through a security checkpoint at an airport-the latter being a presumably more complex process-their satisfaction diminishes, and understandably so."

Consolidated rental car facilities at airports is likely affecting the competitive landscape of the industry, eroding the service advantages that some rental car companies have spent millions of dollars and years to implement. While the study finds that price continues to be the key driver of rental car satisfaction, rental car companies are seeking to differentiate their brands by implementing innovative online booking tools, electronic toll collection services, and hourly rental rates.

"The introduction of new technology in the rental car service process, as well as in rental vehicles themselves, may help improve customer satisfaction as these technologies become more familiar to customers and more prevalent in the industry," said Gaz. "Online booking tools that are specifically optimized for handheld devices, GPS navigation systems and electronic toll collection services in rental vehicles are examples of efforts to provide customers with a more convenient, automated and hassle-free experience."

The 2007 Rental Car Satisfaction Study is based on 5,859 evaluations from business and leisure travelers who rented a vehicle at an airport location between September 2006 and September 2007. To view ratings of rental car companies, visit JDPower.com.

About J.D. Power and Associates

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO 9001-registered global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, training and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2006 were $6.3 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.

Overall Satisfaction Index
(Based on a 1,000-point scale)

Enterprise 777
Hertz 762
National 754
Avis 751
Industry Average 750
Thrifty 746
Budget 735
Alamo 733
Dollar 731

[CNN Money]