Hertz is one of the oldest (1918) and largest car rental companies in the world, with over 7 700 branches in over 140 countries. They’ve made the headlines before here on SA Car Fan, with the addition of Nissan LEAF electric vehicles to their range, as well as the Lotus Elise in Italy and their US$2.24 billion take-over bid for Dollar Thrifty.
The U.S.-based company is now adding luxury and exotic cars to its rental car offering under the title of its ‘Dream Car Program’. Those looking for a little exclusivity from their rental car, or just the opportunity to drive their dream machine for a day, can now choose from a number of attention grabbing vehicles such as the Porsche Boxster, Lamborghini Gallardo, Ferrari F430 Spider, a variety of Mercedes AMG products, Porsche 911, Aston Martin V8 Vantage and Nissan GTR. Prices range from US$375 to US$1 500 per day for the Boxster through to the Italian exotics.
This isn’t the first time Hertz has offered such exotics for rent, with the McLaren 12C available to rent in the U.K. since April 2010 for a cool US$1 470 per day, as well as the existing ‘Adrenaline Collection’ that features U.S. muscle cars like the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro SS.
The company intends to make its Dream Car Program available through 35 U.S. locations that include major centres such as Las Vegas and San Diego.
While these high-performance rentals may be an exciting and glamorous prospect for the company and its customers, Hertz has also recently announced another milestone in its business: that of 24/7 service. By leveraging car sharing technology and global car rental capabilities, Hertz aim to achieve an “anytime, anywhere, any car” rental service.
In a press release issued last week Hertz said: “The expansion is a game changer for the industry because for the first time customers will be able to rent a wide variety of vehicles near their home
or work when needed and for any length of time — hourly, daily, weekly or monthly. The company estimates that by 2016, it will have “self-serve” vehicles within minutes of the majority of the United States population.”
