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Enterprise renting green cars at a premium

Are you willing to pay more for a car rental just to get a "green" automobile that's fuel efficient? Enterprise Rent-A-Car -- the nation's largest car rental company -- is experimenting with 4 new offices in the Atlanta area offering fuel-efficient or hybrid vehicles at a premium price. Will people pay more for this at a time when we're experiencing record-high fuel prices?

Clark recalls that Budget mounted a similar experiment several years ago in Los Angeles when the Prius was very popular. That experiment was ultimately a failure. But gas was much cheaper at that point. Today, it could be a different story. Enterprise could potentially make a lot of green by going green. Would you pay more? Share your comments and tell us!

Unfortunately, Clark won't be able to answer any questions submitted via commenting. If you have a question, please try posting it to our message boards.

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What others are saying

  • Hybrid Rentals
    I wouldn't rent one, we as a family are taking a big 2 week trip north and will be renting a mini van for comfort and gas prices aren't even in our thoughts, we know it will cost more, but we figured on 4 dollars a gallon and it will probably only run about 50 75 dollars more, not much to consider when taking a two week vacation, so no, I wouldn't rent a hybrid for the difference in price nor buy one because it would take so much time to recoup the difference, not worth it.
    By Wes @ 04/23/08 07:37:39 AMreport abuse
  • hybrid rental
    I havent had a chance to rent one but I wouldnt do so, since I could rent a chevy aveo or saturn ion for cheap. I went to detroit on nov and spent 120.00 on gas for 4 days driving to canada.
    By manny @ 04/22/08 05:43:39 PMreport abuse
  • Hybrid Rentals
    I own a Prius and would consider renting a hybrid if I was going to use it if I would be putting a lot of mileage on the rental, but not for around town.

    I have checked into renting a hybrid more than once. It would have to come close to being a sound financial decision, rather than only a green one.

    On the other hand, I would surely buy another hybrid, although used not new (which is what I did the first time).
    By Penny Duncan @ 04/22/08 04:54:28 PMreport abuse
  • Green car failure
    I've rented a Prius from enterprise and did a real world mpg on it, that means that I divided the miles by gallons used and found that the prius only gave me about 1 mpg better than my crossover suv. If more people pay attention to how these green cars are actually performing no one will ever buy/rent one.
    By Nick @ 04/22/08 03:28:03 PMreport abuse
  • Green Car Rental
    Shame on Enterprise for attemting to scalp people who are trying to do the right thing by reducing greenhouse gases. The profit margin for a hybrid should be no more than any other vehicle.
    By Tom @ 04/22/08 03:05:38 PMreport abuse
  • Way too high
    I was recently looking for a rental car and decided to price a green car to see if I could do it. No way! The price for an economy or standard car over the weekend? About $18/day. For a green car? $200+ per day. No thanks, it's cheaper to buy the extra gas.
    By JB @ 04/22/08 11:31:32 AMreport abuse
  • Hybrid Rentals
    No Way! It isn't worth the extra money. I'm too cheap! I always rent the cheapest vehicle. Anyway, I'm not into this "Green" hype or fade!
    By Patricia Klecka @ 04/22/08 08:51:34 AMreport abuse
  • going green
    Whats the point of renting a hybrid for much more and getting more miles per gallon, just rent a small car and save some money
    By anonymous @ 04/21/08 11:06:00 PMreport abuse
  • going green
    I rented one in Florida from Budget. Wow, I got 53 miles to the gallon and was impressed to say the least. I would rent again. the good thing is it did not cost a cent more to get the green car, we asked for an upgrade and were given the Toyota but I might have paid a little extra for this car especially after our experience.
    By Mary Zore @ 04/21/08 09:57:05 PMreport abuse
  • going green
    yes I would try a hybrid car as a rental because I never drove one before. However I probabally would not rent another one
    By jim day @ 04/21/08 07:49:45 PMreport abuse

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This week's poll
The high cost of jet fuel has a lot of people staying at home this summer instead of traveling. Is there a "staycation" in your immediate future?
Yes, I just can't afford a plane ticket and/or hotel room right now.
No, I've saved up all year just to get away for a bit.
Maybe, I have to wait and see how my finances pan out.
see previous polls


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