Thrifty Auto Rental

Car rental companies have some interesting names. Names like Budget and Dollar give renters the impression of low cost, a great deal, while names like Enterprise engender smart business.

Thrifty auto rental may have the best name of all. People who manage money well are thrifty. Saving money, spending it only when necessary and then spending it well, those are good things. Thrifty is the way to be.

Thrifty was born in 1958. In the 1980's it went public, then was purchased by Chrysler in 1989 . Later it was paired with another auto rental business called Dollar. With one of the best known brands in the world, Thrifty continues to be tops in the car rental industry. Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep cars make up its fleet.

Some other businesses are run under the Thrifty name. Thrifty sells cars that outlive their rental use. It's commonly thought that rental cars aren't treated well by drivers. But in general the Thrifty rental fleet is treated well by renters. Dealerships may be full of used cars from people who didn't maintain them, while Thrifty cars are cared for on a clock work schedule. Furthermore, penalties for damage encourage rental car drivers to take extra special care of the car while in their charge. Rental company cars are, therefore, generally in better shape than most other used cars.

Thrifty also owns long term airport parking lots. When people need a safe parking space while out of town, they turn to these long term parking lots. Thrifty lots are somewhere near almost every airport in the world.

Some other elements of Thrifty's past are interesting too. Thrifty originally rented Volkswagen Beetles at a time when they weren't too common in the United States. It was $6 daily for a Beetle. Single males were wooed by Miss Thrifty. This pretty young woman would pick up customers at the airport to bring them to their car. Even better, she wore Scottish plaid.

Thrifty auto rental is an important business. But there are some humorous elements too. They may give you a discount if you wear a plaid tie.