Rent a Volt

[Texas]

This article about how rental cars companies are slowly adding hybrids to their mix got me thinking.

http://us.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/09/hy....ap/index.html

When can we rent a Volt?!

For some of us that are not quite sure if the Volt will meet our weekly needs or what the saving would be for our specific situation renting a Volt for the week seems like a brilliant idea. Current hybrid technology might not be that radically different than a normal car but a plug-in will be vastly different.

Also, those that dream of having a Volt but will not be able to afford one will be able to take a Volt vacation. I really like this idea! Talk about putting the Volt though it's paces in the shortest amount of time. How about GM whip up a little marketing plan to sell Hertz a small fleet just for this purpose. Why get 100 people driving the Volt when you can get 5000 people in the same amount of hardware. If the Volt is truly revolutionary this might be a great way to introduce the technology to many people.

[calgaryvolt]

This article about how rental cars companies are slowly adding hybrids to their mix got me thinking.

http://us.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/09/hy....ap/index.html

When can we rent a Volt?!

For some of us that are not quite sure if the Volt will meet our weekly needs or what the saving would be for our specific situation renting a Volt for the week seems like a brilliant idea. Current hybrid technology might not be that radically different than a normal car but a plug-in will be vastly different.

Also, those that dream of having a Volt but will not be able to afford one will be able to take a Volt vacation. I really like this idea! Talk about putting the Volt though it's paces in the shortest amount of time. How about GM whip up a little marketing plan to sell Hertz a small fleet just for this purpose. Why get 100 people driving the Volt when you can get 5000 people in the same amount of hardware. If the Volt is truly revolutionary this might be a great way to introduce the technology to many people.

I don't see a plug in hybrid vehicle as being feasible or a good idea at this point. Being that we are very early in the life cycle of such vehicles most people who rent a car like this are not going to want to bother with plugging it in somewhere. If most hotels don't have electrified parking stalls the renter won't even be able to have the option to plug it in. Not to mention the hassle of having to tell the valet to remember to plug it in everytime you hand over the keys and also having a valet remember to unplug it before bringing it out to you. As nice as it might be conventional is still a big preference because people understand them. If this stuff goes mainstream I can see a fleet emerging at some point.

[Texas]

Yeah, I can see your point about it being a pain to find a plug, especially before any infrastructure is built out. Perhaps they can move the settings higher for ICE shutdown. That way people could experience the joy of an electric car yet not have to plug in (of course they would give up all the advantages of using cheap grid energy). I'm just trying to come up with ways to increase the driving exposure for people. If people try it, they might like it. A quick test drive at your local dealer is probably not going to give people a feel (or make people comfortable) for how it will affect their weekly driving routine. Any other comments and ideas?

I wonder how many people in America would buy a hybrid after they had a good week with the technology. Would it prevent them or draw them in. It's kind of like dating a women. It's much harder to get them to go out with you if they have no idea who you are. Hang out with them as friends for a while and it's much easier. Hummm, how about name the marketing campaign: Date a Volt.
Probably better to wait and see how it drives first. It also sounds way to close to: Date a Dolt