Just shortly after its entry in retail, the new Porsche Panamera is also available as a rental car: the sports limousine stands at the ready beginning on 1 October at many German locations of the Avis car rental service. The models Panamera S and Panamera 4S – the fourth series of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG – will especially be offered at major city and airport locations. The rental price per day (Monday to Thursday) begins at 189 Euro, according to Avis. The cost of weekend rental
(Friday to Monday) starts at 567 Euro for the Gran Turismo. As a longstanding business partner of Porsche, Avis offers the sport saloon as a rental car exclusively in Germany.

With the four-door Panamera, Porsche positions itself in the upper class and addresses customers who expect the consistent sportiness of a Porsche, in addition to the exclusive comfort and spaciousness of a limousine. The use of efficient V8 motors with direct injection, an intelligent, light construction, the start-stop system, optimal aerodynamics, the innovative Porsche PDK dual clutch transmission and additional measures have lead to an ideally low consumption of fuel, with which the four-door Gran Turismo sets new standards in its direct field of competition.

Photo: Zercustoms

Whereas Americans merely crash their rental cars because they're bad drivers, the English seem to have some sort of Benny Hill-like caper at every turn. Click next to read the excuses.

Photo Credit: AllFordMustangs

Excuse: "I ran into a cow."

What Happened: According to the renter, a cow escaped from a field near where they parked their car. With a former in pursuit the cow ran into the vehicle, damaging the fender.

Excuse: "I've lost it in a parking garage"

What Happened: Parking garages are typically symmetrical and filled with the same mix of cars (Civic, Corolla, Civic, Accord), but losing a car in there? After a few hours it turned out the woman lost it because she was looking for the wrong car.

Excuse: "A horse sat on it."

What Happened: In order to explain the gigantic dent in the hood this renter pointed out that a horse and rider slowly backed onto the car for a nap.

Excuse: "I recycled them."

What Happened: Because recycling is apparently that complicated, a man accidentally dropped the keys in the recycling bin. Lucky for him, he forgot to take out the recycling. Unfortunately, his kind neighbor noticed he forgot and took it to the curb for him.

Excuse: "Lion Attack!"

What Happened: If you drive through a Safari you should expect a Lion to tear the bumper off of your Ford Focus.

Excuse: "The pig did it."

What Happened: We find this story a little hard to believe. Apparently, a pot-bellied pig stole the shiny keys and then a youth took those keys to steal the car. The kid was later arrested, but we're not sure about his accomplice.

Excuse: "I got two scoops..."

What Happened: As if texting-while-driving wasn't bad enough, a woman was rear-ended by a commercial van driver who managed to get distracted after dropping his ice cream in the seat next to him.

Excuse: "I fell asleep."

What Happened: We've probably all fallen asleep at one point in a parked car, but so asleep that you let your friends steal the keys and strand you with a rental car?

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Just so we're clear here, this is an Italy-only deal so far, with no immediate plans to expand it to other shores, that said, those in Italy will be getting a pretty sweet loaner option. The cars on-hand will get a yellow paint job and special Hertz-themed interior including contrasted stitching and "Hertz" embroidered seats. Among the options are the Elise, Elise SC and Exige. Meanwhile, America will just have to deal with their crummy old Mustang and Corvette options.

[Source: Hertz]

While walking down 43rd St on the way from Jalopnik's Manhattan HQ to Grand Central, we spotted this red Camaro sitting right out front of the Avis rental place. After doing a double take we stepped inside to ask what it would cost to take this V6-powered Camaro out for a day or week and were surprised to hear that the rental rate's over $220 for a day and over $700 for a weekly rental on the new bowtied mullet-mobile. Obviously that's a New York rental car pricing, but even for New York it's highway robbery.

Shocking and awe-ing us even more was the news that this particular Avis, which had three Camaros added to their fleet last Friday, have only been able to keep the one out front — and only for half a day on Friday and a few hours yesterday. That means they've already made over $1000 on the three cars in just three days. How's that for a tidy little profit?

We called up Chevy PR and they told us the rental deal's exclusive with Avis as well as giving us a cute little anecdote about a customer who rented a Camaro from AVIS drove the car to a local dealer and immediately placed a deposit on a new Camaro. Well — all we know is at this price point we won't be renting one any time soon. We guess we'll just have to wait to see if GM's able to come through with a month-long "mid-term" loan for us on a Bumblebee-yellow Camaro SS with an RS appearance package.

GM PR's official comment to us on the Avis rental deal:

AVIS is a long-term partner and important customer of GM's. Although they have some SS models, the vast majority of the vehicles in their fleet are LT models. As you know, a lot of the focus for Camaro has been on the LT that delivers 29 MPG HWY and 304 Horsepower. We felt the relationship with AVIS could deliver us the "Life Enthusiasts" we seek to expand the buyer base for Camaro.

As you might expect, going 30,000 miles without an oil change is not a recommended break-in procedure, and as a result the engine oil completely broke down turning into a thick greasy sludge. After finding this mess, technicians contacted Enterprise to see if their records showed any oil changes, which they did not, though it's suspected at some point at least one change was done as the factory oil filter has been replaced. Of course, that might have just been the factory oil filter being replaced. Nonetheless, the engine is completely ruined. It also goes to show just how serious a game of Russian Roulette you're playing if you buy a used rental car. (Hat tip to Zack!)
[Impala SS Forums]

For most, borrowing a Shelby Mustang or even a Corvette is great entertainment for the long weekend (or even a high school reunion). But for some, that Hertz Fun Fleet just isn’t going to cut it. Not even close. Enter the much higher caliber, exotic car luxury rental world where you can rent a Ferrari F430, or just as easily, a Rolls Royce Phantom, for the weekend.

We’ve all wondered what it would be like to pilot some of Italy’s finest down our favorite back roads or maybe even pick up a date in 007’s favorite ride, but what’s it really take to make this happen and more importantly, will you still have access to that $11 insurance policy?

Popular in locales where exotic cars are the norm; places like LA, Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York and Miami; the exotic car rental business is booming. When enough money still isn’t enough and image is everything, a $100,000+ car can move you right up the social ladder and it can all be yours from anywhere between $200- to $7000-per day (at one rental lot a Saleen S7 is $7740-per day). In this day and age, it’s not about who you know; but what you drive and who sees you driving it. It’s no surprise that males are in the majority when it comes to exotic car rental and are mainly looking for one thing – women. According to one South Floridian rental outfit, more than a few of their male customers have luxury cars of their own, but are looking to pick up a car for the sole purpose of remaining undetected by their spouse while they go out with the girlfriend for a night on the town. Oftentimes the rental outfit will drop off the car at a valet or in a parking structure to allow the customer to remain discreet, while all business transactions are done over the phone (Take that, Joey Greco!). Others just want to feel what it’s like to cruise around in a LP560-4 for a day – to walk in the better man’s shoes, or they’re looking to spend the day test driving a car that they might actually buy, though that’s an unlikely story in most cases.

At the opposite side of the spectrum is the small amount of females who play a role in this business. While there surely are a few that rent for the same reason as the men, there are more than a few who need to appear as if they have money in order to attract the big money. These cars can grant first-class access to restaurants, clubs and more importantly, the guys with the big bucks (AKA, not you or me).

Now that you know the types of people who rent these cars, let’s look at the businesses themselves. Imagine walking up to a lot that has Murciélagos, Continental GTs, 612 Scagliettis, and boat loads of Mercedes S-Class and Hummer H2s. Now imagine if you were the guy who owned the lot. You’ve got some pretty serious cash, right? Wrong. A common misconception about exotic car rental companies is that they’re hugely profitable, when in fact the majority of them are actually quite the opposite. Instead of owning the vehicles that they advertise (for reasons explained further on), they simply flick through their rolodex and call up one of their many over-extended clients and go pick up that Lamborghini you really wanted for the weekend. While many of these cars cost in excess of $3000-per-month to own, their owners lend them out to a broker for a few days each month to cover the cost of ownership rather than lose their pride and joy - American capitalism at its best.

The reason that many of these rental outfits don’t own the vehicles they rent is a lack of financing available to them due to bad credit, bankruptcy and the fact that no lender wants to give out the $1million+ that it takes to start a risky operation like this. Many of the owners are previous club promoters out to make a quick buck and quickly learn that it’s not as easy as it initially seemed. A quick search through the phonebook will net you half-a-dozen different rental stores in South Beach, while only a few of them still reside or ever resided in their advertised location, most likely due to previous bankruptcy. These bankrupt businesses somehow pop up again in a new location down the street with a new owner on the license and restart business operations with no one the wiser. They’re able to do this because of the poor regulation of the exotic car rental industry, something that the insurance companies are furious about.

This brings us around to the legality issues surrounding the exotic car rental business. While a visit to your local Enterprise rental office seems like a pain-in-the-ass when you have to fill out a half-hours worth of clipboarded paperwork using a crappy Bic ballpoint pen; be thankful you have to do it. These forms not only give Enterprise the ability to know who they’re renting to, they also give you an important piece of protection – insurance. When you go to one of the exotic car rental outfits, you may have to fill out some forms that seem really important, but this is mainly so that if a) you don’t return the car or, knock on wood, b) flip it upside-down and wrap it around a tree all in one fell swoop; the rental company’s owner can send his paid-by-the-bruise gorillas after you. Trust me when I tell you that you don’t want to be in this situation.

The list of reasons for these companies not having proper insurance is about as long as the Ocean Drive strip, but it’s mainly from years and years of these business’s involvement in fraud. The brokers mentioned earlier, don’t properly insure the cars that they “borrow” from their clients and coincidentally neither do the over-extended clients. After Brent and Dirk came and kicked your ass inside-out for wrecking the custom-painted, bright purple Maserati Gran Turismo on 22s that you rented; the owner of the car, not the business; had to make a claim to his insurance. His reasoning goes a little something like this (cue the oldest exotic car rental excuse in the book), “My friend was borrowing it.” The insurance companies used to buy into this, but now they’ve become wiser to the game and will end up calling it a total loss. Bummer dude.

The other reason why insurance companies won’t insure most of the exotic car rental guys is simple – It’s just too high of a risk. Because not only do rented high-performance cars get wrecked at the hands of weekend amateur enthusiasts; warehouses full of cars magically burst into flames or they disappear all-together into some shipping container at the Port of Long Beach never to be seen from again (unless you happen to live in Eastern Europe).

So you’ve read this far and you still want to rent that Porsche Carrera GT for your weekend jaunt to Vegas? You’re in luck because despite all the bad seeds in the business, there are quite a few legit operations nationwide. One of the better outfits is Gotham Dream Cars, where you can rent by the day, weekend or even set yourself and some friends up with the Dream Car Tour; a 4+ hour drive in 6 or more exotic cars with each driver getting 30-minutes behind the wheel of each car. Or for the more budget conscious (read: sarcasm) there’s Beverly Hills Rent-a-Car where you can really indulge with a $25,000-a-day cruise in their Bugatti Veyron (bonus for no mileage charges!). You can even “go green” and rent one of their hybrids for a day, giving you the perfect eco-friendly choice while shopping for your next Hummer H2.

The moral of this story is this: If you decide that you need to treat yourself to the car of your dreams the next time you take a vacation, be smart and please make sure the guy you’re renting from is wearing fewer gold chains than your old Uncle Sal. Consider yourself warned.

[source: Miami New Times]

According to the Boston Globe, many personal auto insurance plans actually cover most, if not all, of the damages. You'll have to call your agent to check, but it should be included in most comprehensive plans. It's also possible that your credit card covers the damage, with American Express offering a coverage plan. If your credit card company automatically doesn't offer the service, you might want to check to see if it is an option as it may be cheaper than what the rental companies offer. If nothing you're enrolled in covers it, then you might want to consider some options[Boston Globe]

Last night, we dreamt we were square-dancing in the water-skiing secton of a sporting-goods store with Udo Dirkschneider. Scotto was there, too. For some reason it seemed entirely logical. Even more logical than that, and not nearly as fantastic, is the fact that human smugglers have gotten hip to using rental cars, rather than their own vehicles, to take their charges across the border into the United States. Thus, if the vehicle is impounded, it's up to the rental company to retrieve the vehicle. Apparently, Dodge and Jeep vehicles are the favored choice, as their suspensions tend to sag less under a heavy load. Which brings to mind the question, "How Many Udos could one fit in a Grand Cherokee?" – Davey G. Johnson

Police: Many immigrants crossing in rented cars [AZCentral]

Related:
AahhhAAAAAAhhhhh-AAAAH! The Immigrant Seat [Internal]

A merger may be in the works between the cleverly named Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group and Vanguard Rental, which operates the Alamo and National brands. The deal could be worth as much as $3 billion and push the combined company into the No. 3 slot in the rental game, behind Hertz and Enterprise. The car rental business isn't what it used to be thanks to problems with the airline industry, which provides demand, and the auto industry, which used to provide cheap cars. Hard to believe an industry dependent on domestic airlines and automakers is having trouble...– Matt Hardigree

Dollar Thrifty in merger talks with Vanguard: NYT [Reuters]

Related:
Avis Putting Wifi In Rental Cars [Internal]

The people who try harder are adding one more way to chew up your daily rental car allowance: for eleven smacks a day, our circuit-geek brothers at Gizmodo report, you'll soon be able to add a WiFi hotspot to your car. The service works via cell towers and offers up speeds somewhere between dialup and DSL. While our Gizbros' thoughts immediately went to in-car smut, we think it'd be a handy tool for getting directions, especially if the car's lacking GPS. Then again, what's a map cost? Two bucks? – Davey G. Johnson

Avis Bringing WiFi to Their Rental Cars [Gizmodo]

Related:
DaimlerChrysler Tests WLAN Car-to-Car Communication System [Internal]

Pack a camera and magnifying glass. Photos are excellent evidence in court if it comes to that. And a magnifier ensures that even the faintest ding won't go unnoticed.

We'll get right on that. We'd almost prefer paying for their dang-blasted insurance than spend an hour checking every square inch of the car for the slightest little paint chip.

There's a dented fender on my bill! [LATimes via Consumerist]

Related:
Some Rental Car Reach-Around [internal]

Approaching the rental lot at the Manchester, NH airport, I was struck by the sheer abundance of Chevy Impalas. Seems the erstwhile Ford Taurus has finally met its match — so much for GM kicking its rental habit. With keys in hand, I set off to sample Chevy's latest full-size offering, a silver LS model with a mere 70 miles of abuse on the odo.

Popping the trunk presents a yawning chasm of space with room for either an entire family of Mafia informants or the bags of three accompanying adults. You'll have to excuse my enthusiasm. I used to own a Mazda Miata; trunk space still excites me.

In the cabin, there's a decidedly mixed bag of fits and finishes. A vast expanse of hard-black plastic unfolds like Arizona creosote. Fake wood trim does nothing for interior ambience, but does offset the liberal use of dark materials. The audio and HVAC control stack is familiar looking, but all the controls are right where you'd expect them to be (take note European carmakers). The seats are unexpectedly good, providing both comfort and decent back support, but offer limited power adjustments. Room in the back is adequate for two adults.

I should note that operating the column shift is a pain. Either I'm out of practice, or hopelessly uncoordinated, but I overshot whatever selection I wanted just about every time I tried. I want "D" it gives me "3."

Navigating our way onto I-93, a muted gasp from a rear passenger betrayed the Impala's driving dynamics on the very first turn (oops). The upshot: a quiet, comfortable and compliant ride with a disconcertingly vague front end and overassisted steering. However, at highway speeds it's a stable and very comfortable cruiser, with very little intrusion from road noise. The engine was a pleasant surprise, offering good low RPM torque, fuel economy and even (gasp) a lack of harshness — provided the revs needle remains shy of 5K. Around town, the 3.5-liter V6 gets the LS off the line with ease, and the cabin provides good visibility (unlike last week's HHR, but that's another story).

The Impala isn't a car of anyone's dreams. It won't inspire passion or jealousy (or pity) from fellow motorists, but it is a capable and roomy transport vehicle. During my working week with the Impala, it became apparent the model is a significant improvement over the previous generation, and light-years ahead of anything similar from Ford (and yes, I know that's damming with faint praise). If GM could work on the tightening up the front end, offer better-quality tires and give the column shifter a good talking to, the Impala would be a family bargain. Sure, depreciation due to rental-car dumping is an issue, but at a street price of around $18K, it's probably one of the better deals on a full size family sedan out there. [by Chris Hofflin]

Related:
Rental-Car Reacharound: Chevrolet HHR [internal]

Why rent a Cobalt when you can upgrade to an Equinox, or a Taurus when you can get a Jeep Grand Cherokee — for a cheaper rate? It's the kind of question that once would have gotten a knee-jerk response, but according to the Wall Street Journal, people aren't so quick to take the perk any more. It's about gas prices, naturally, and rental agencies are starting to follow the more-suck-less-buck rule. For example, at the Los Angeles Airport's Enterprise location, a Chevrolet Trailblazer cost $37.24 midweek, while a Pontiac G6 cost $41, while Dollar Rent A Car dropped its average daily rate for SUVs from $64 to $49. If this persists, we'd imagine it'll start reflecting in fleet sales. Of course, the big question is, Can't anyone pad their expense accounts anymore?

The New Economics of Renting a Car [Wall Street Journal via Yahoo!]

Related:
Jalopnik Rental-Car Reacharound: Put Down That Yaris! Buy a Used Civic! [internal]

While Ford has decided to bask in the glory of the GT-350H as a way to add even more retro-cred to its latest Mustang, there was one other Shelby-prepared car that went to rental fleets: The Dodge '88 CSX-T, a non-intercooled version of Ol' Shel's Shadow that was available only through Thrifty. For only $34.95 a day in 1988 dollars! [Thanks to the mph kids. RIP and whatnot.]

1988 Shelby CSX-T

Related:
Ol' Shel's Bastard Sons: The Shelby Dodges [Internal]

Jaguar North America, in an attempt to resurrect its flagging brand image, is hoping to avoid the ignominy of having to resell a plethora of off-lease vehicles, as well as cutting itself out of rent-a-car pools. Last year they were charged with reselling 27,000 vehicles turned in by lessees; this year they're shooting for 21k. They've also pulled out of Enterprise, and their deal with Hertz (no longer owned by Jag's parent, Ford) expires later this year. If only the front of their new XK didn't look like the mother of all rentals, the Taurus, they might actually do okay.

Jaguar Cars North America leaves rental business to improve residual values [Autoindustry, UK]

Related:
Jag, Jag, Jiggity-Jag: Hecklerspray on the Jaguar XJ40 [Internal]