Enterprise renting green cars at a premium on clarkhoward.com

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!

What others are saying

Green car rental
Enterprise and a couple others list various hybrid cars but only Alamo Rent-A-Car seems to actually have them now; even booking 1-2 months in advance, and not in every city. I rented a Prius from Alamo at PDX for a surprisingly low $23.73/day for 4-days March 2008 as an extended test drive. We plan to by a hybrid in 2010. Enjoyed it immensely, except sun on instrument panel through windshield made reading panel difficult. Alamo's rate would be double that for 4-days in December; $44/day for my full 8-days. Can't afford it so going with economy car.
By Todd @ 11/06/09 02:15:45 PMreport abuse
Hybrid Rental
I would pay more to test a hybrid. My husband and I are currently evaluating hybrid vehicles to decide to purchase one or not. We are planning on taking a week long trip and feel this would be a good time to test drive a hybrid.
By Renee Harman @ 07/21/08 05:54:48 PMreport abuse
hands free cell phones
Hi Clark, I heard you mentioned on 06/09/2008 that you cross the border from New York into connecticut and you didnt have to use a hands free connection to your cell phone. Please be advise that the law in Connecticut has change and you now have to be hands free while driving and using a cell phone
By richard @ 06/09/08 05:02:32 PMreport abuse
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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Apr 21, 2008 -- Enterprise renting green cars at a premium

What others are saying