<H1>Under The Hood</H1><H2>Rental Cos. Offer Gas Alternatives</H2><H3>By Lynn Woods</H3>Corporate travelers who rent a car at Denver International Airport can eschew the usual gasoline-powered vehicle for one fueled by natural gas. Available from Budget Rent A Car for $39 a day, the 25 environmentally correct vehicles produce carbon monoxide emissions that are 75 to 80 percent lower than the emissions standards set by the federal government for 1998. A gallon of natural gas-stored in a cylinder in the vehicle-also costs 40 percent less than a gallon of gasoline. There is currently only one natural-gas model available from Budget, the Ford Crown Victoria.
There are 17 refueling stations in the metro Denver area and 15 others along I-25 and I-70. The cars, which are operated like a gasoline-powered automobile, get 150 to 200 miles to the gallon. Budget also uses the fuel in its airport shuttle buses.
In another environmental initiative, Alamo Rent A Car is acquiring 10 battery-powered vehicles used in a test program in June in Dade County, Fla. Eight are Geo Prisms retrofitted by U.S. Electricar to run on batteries, and two are pickup trucks. The vehicles require recharging every 70 miles; stations have been set up at two Metrorail locations.
If the 30-day test is successful, Alamo would acquire up to 500 electric vehicles in 1997, some of which might be available for rent. The use of electric cars (which are being developed by Ford and General Motors, along with smaller manufacturers) is being spurred by California legislators, who have mandated that 10 percent of new cars sold in the state by 2003 must be nonpolluting electric vehicles.
National Partner Bankrupt
On April 24, Tilden Corp., one of Canada's largest rental car companies and a partner of National Car Rental, obtained court protection from its creditors, which are owed $75 million. Founded in 1925, the company has 324 locations across Canada.
Over the past year, Tilden has been in negotiations with National for a sale of the company. According to the Toronto Globe and Mail, National president William Lobeck offered to buy Tilden's assets for book value plus $3 million, but backed off in late April. National also made an offer for the company in January, but retracted because of concerns about 23 claims against Tilden in a liability case centered around a 1991 accident in New York.
Budget Surveys Customers
Budget has hired Maritz Marketing Research to conduct 10-minute telephone surveys of 3,000 Budget customers each month. All of its corporate locations in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom are participating, and the program is being rolled out in Australia. Survey results are being used to help evaluate employees as well as regional and city managers, who will regularly receive their survey results to help gauge the success of their customer service iniatiatives.
Budget also is investing $5 million in an employee training program, which includes franchisees. And in an effort to draw attention to its "World Class Fleet," Budget is prominently displaying Jaguars, Lincoln Town Cars, Mustang convertibles and other specialty vehicles near the entrance of many of its locations-although the firm reduced the number of specialty vehicles in its fleet by 6 percent in model year 1996.
Short Takes
Since May 1, Dollar Rent A Car has been testing Dollar Dividends, a new frequent renter program, in nine cities in Texas and Louisiana. Participants receive a free upgrade with every second and fourth rental and one free day after the fifth rental. Dollar also has extended its double mileage offer with United Airlines and America West Airlines through the end of June. America West FlightFund members who rent on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday at participating locations earn 2,000 miles....In May, Budget opened offices in French Guiana and Grenada, and it plans to expand to Georgetown, Guyana, in coming weeks....Alamo has joined up with Continental Airlines' OnePass frequent flyer program. Through Dec. 31, OnePass members who present a ticket or boarding pass at the Alamo counter receive 1,000 miles for each rental....Payless Car Rental Systems has added two locations-one off-airport at Newark International and the other in Fayetteville, N.C....Auto Europe has expanded access to Eastern Europe from six locations in Western Europe. Cars picked up at airport locations in Austria, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy and Switzerland can now be driven into 14 countries, including Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Russia.