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.
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