Rental Car Adventure

"fintail" (fintail) 12/15/2018 at 21:25 • Filed to: None

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I thought this might be interesting to those of us who follow rental cars. Last month I spent a couple weeks on the road, based out of ORD, and had a rental car odyssey, driving 4 cars during the period. Here’s car the first:

Slightly dirty, posing in front of the famous “Gobbler” in Johnson Creek, WI

I arrived at ORD just after the new consolidated rental car facility opened - a huge improvement, I am surprised it took so long. I rented from Hertz on this trip, as I usually do in the US, as I am President’s Circle, and I have a pile of points (this was a points rental). Booked class was “I” (luxury car), usually a 300 or CTS. Flight was early, I arrived about a half hour early, my name wasn’t on the board - this class has a reserved car. I talked to a very nice rep at the PC booth (I think his name was Christian) who said I could take the Evoque in the upgrade section. Not my favorite vehicle, but a free upgrade, so I took it. As I was loading my suitcase, the pretty red Grand Cherokee Overland pulled into the general area - I looked it over, and took it instead, as it had more features. I liked this car, other than it seemed a bit thirsty, but maybe my Bluetec spoiled me. It was comfortable, smooth, had Android Auto, big sunroof, leather, other toys.

Notice I am using past tense, not just because the rental is over. The car itself is probably done, too. A few days later in Milwaukee, there was an incident:

Note the missing parts

I’ll just say “not my fault” right now. On the positive side, no injury or lasting soreness, the officer I dealt with was cool, and Hertz has been nice. On the negative, nice car ruined, someone will be paying for it. Quick summary of the incident, I am on a two lane residential 30 mph thoroughfare, turning right onto a narrow street, a Hertz rental Escape is flying up behind me at maybe 50 mph or more, driver was apparently spaced out, panicked, and went right at the last second to avoid hitting me. he clipped me , removing my wheel and some suspension, and he kept going, also losing a wheel, clipping a house, and ending up in a yard - serious momentum. He was also uninjured, and said nary a word to me. The officer said I had nothing to worry about, and a month later, no issues, so I expect he was right - a Hertz car hitting another is kind of amusing. This was in the morning, so I had time to get on with my day, but needed another car. The tow truck driver took me to MKE to drop off the sad wasted Jeep (they had several other wrecks on site, apparently its a thing there), and I got another car. Smaller facility than I imagined, but the agent didn’t bat an eye at my story, and quickly had another car for me. She claimed it was the only car left:

It’s a car

A basic (no toys) Sorento with FL plates, 45K on the clock, and lots of rattles due to the seats being configured in a random bizarre fashion. Not my dream rental. I fixed the seats, and drove on. It had been rode hard and put away wet, but actually drove fine and wasn’t unpleasant for what it was. Just not what I wanted for the remaining 10 days of my trip. I was heading back to IL the next day anyway, so I decided to go to ORD again and switch. Once there, I encountered the same Hertz employee from the Jeep rental. Again they had nothing in my reserved class, so he offered me a free upgrade, this one seemed maybe more fun:

The McCallisters moved

A Challenger RT Scat Pack, 485hp of Murkan pride. Loud (but not in a bad way), harsh suspension on Chicago roads, drinks like an SUV, turns the heads of 14 year olds and 70 year olds, pretty fun rental. Another one with Android Auto, which is a nice feature. I was able to lay into it a few times, but no real hooning due to Chicagoland traffic and fun road conditions. On that note, I didn’t find Chicago traffic or drivers to be particularly bad, as it can also be hell-adjacent in the PNW. After a few days, I was heading to Michigan via Ohio, and some weather models called for snow, and I knew RWD and those tires would be no fun. Time to visit ORD again, and trade one beast for another:

First taste of snow

It snowed a tiny bit when I was in Chicago and a bit more while in Michigan, I wasn’t disappointed. This thing got the mileage expected, is reasonably fast, maneuvers OK for a house (Armada means it has the same mass as a fleet of ships), has decent interior materials and build, but the ICE is hilariously retro (not in a cool way) and has probably the most uncomfortable seat I’ve experienced in a modern vehicle - no lateral support, lumbar control helps nothing, 3 hours max to backache. I put over 1000 miles on this thing, and aside from the seat it wasn’t awful- MI having cheap gas when I was there helped, but probably not something I’d buy. It was like being in heaven being back in my own car. Detroit driving was an adventure too - roads that seemed weird to me (multi lane roads with no dividing stripes/lines?), everyone goes 20 over, etc. I went to a Wings game and took a Lyft back and forth, but during the day hit the road with no issues, including going to Canada. I’ve heard Detroit is a leader in crashes, I guess I got mine out of the way in Milwaukee.

Other Hertz upgrades I noticed at ORD were SLCs, other Challengers, several Corvettes, and a Range Rover (big boi).

AestheticsInMotion > fintail 12/15/2018 at 21:32

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Thank God you were driving a rental during that accident 

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > fintail 12/15/2018 at 21:33

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“The McCallisters moved”

Glad you came out unscathed in the "booping" incident.

fintail > AestheticsInMotion 12/15/2018 at 21:36

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And that it had some size - I suspect a Mirage or Rio wouldn’t have fared as well.

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 12/15/2018 at 21:37

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Joops boop good

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > fintail 12/15/2018 at 21:37

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That fella must have had some momentum, because that is a fuckton of damage.

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 12/15/2018 at 21:45

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I   guesstimate that he was doing 50 or maybe more, he kept moving a bit even after hitting me and grazing a pole and a house.  His rig was tore up too, I have little doubt both have been written off and their parts will keep others on the road.

smobgirl > fintail 12/15/2018 at 21:46

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If the other driver was going fast enough to hit a house they really do not need to be driving.

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > fintail 12/15/2018 at 22:00

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Uh, yeah, they were doing a lot more than 50MPH.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > fintail 12/15/2018 at 22:49

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Boof that’s a hit. Glad you are okay. I travel as cheep as possible so I walk the Emerald Isle for my cars. It’s a gamble but sometimes I get a good one.

facw > fintail 12/15/2018 at 22:50

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485hp of Murkan Canadian pride 

fintail > smobgirl 12/16/2018 at 00:04

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From my anecdotal observations, that can apply to a lot of drivers in both Milwaukee and Detroit.

fintail > facw 12/16/2018 at 00:04

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touche

fintail > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 12/16/2018 at 00:06

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I used to use National and always had decent luck (but I would reserve Premium and could talk my way into the “Executive” section).  I then got a status match from a hotel at Hertz, and was able to get points, so I had to change.  

Forrest > fintail 12/16/2018 at 01:35

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Hmm. Some of these are kinda cool. Definitely more interesting than an Altima or Camry rental car. But, I honestly don't know if I would take any of these cars over a Kia Soul. And I would rather have a VW Golf than any of these.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > fintail 12/16/2018 at 02:46

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I have a hard time picturing you in any of these, especially the Challenger

fintail > Forrest 12/16/2018 at 13:31

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Funny, the Soul is a car I have some respect for, as it has no false pretense. It is (relatively) cheap and cheerful, no faux sport or aggression or adventure. The upcoming overstyled model is leaving that theme.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Golf in a US/Canadian rental fleet. I was happy to have these not too usual choices. If you want rental fun, go to Europe, my last rental in Germany:

fintail > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 12/16/2018 at 13:34

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I don’t seem to meet the target demographic for either. My cynical opinions:

Joop: frazzled suburbanite with 2.5 kids and delusions of adventure

Sorento : frazzled suburbanite with 2.5 kids and good budgeting

Challenger: 60 year old public sector retiree with a fat subsidized pension and a chip on his shoulder the size of the rock of Gibraltar

Armada: frazzled suburbanite with 1 kid, spends spare time screaming at youth sports events

yeesoo > fintail 12/16/2018 at 22:37

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Hope you enjoyed the Scat Pack!   One reason I bought my car was the entertainment factor in not meeting its average demographic. (You may recall from one of my posts that I have the Charger SRT, essentially 2 more doors and one trim up.)

adamftw > fintail 12/17/2018 at 07:12

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I really want to like the Armada bc it’s based on the ROW Patrol, but Nissan neutered the hell out of it for the American market.

fintail > yeesoo 12/17/2018 at 13:23

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I know the feeling, driving a diesel E-class - I am probably 20 years younger than the typical driver of one, and I am not exactly a youf anymore, myself.

I didn’t recall about the Charger, cool, and yeah, you are an outlier in that for sure.

fintail > adamftw 12/17/2018 at 13:24

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I had the same thought.  When I picked it up, I thought “cool, a Patrol”.  Once I drove it, I thought “oh, it’s soft”.  

adamftw > fintail 12/17/2018 at 13:28

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That makes me sad. It’s such a great Land Cruiser  competitor everywhere else.

fintail > adamftw 12/17/2018 at 14:22

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I think in NA, it also aims for the “active” stay at home mommy demographic.  I would have liked it a lot more if not for the seat.  I kind of got a kick out of standing on the running boards, and the trucky driving position, as I usually drive a normal low car.

Forrest > fintail 12/18/2018 at 01:51

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No, I haven’t seen a Golf rental car in the US either. It’s funny how the best basic compact car (IMO, the Golf) is a better rental car than the worst muscle car (Challenger) — at least in my opinion.

Nice Germany rental! I have rented cars in Germany a few times, but I am usually too cheap to go for anything more costly than a 3-Series. Maybe I will finally get an M2 next time.