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This week, Hertz rolled out a new subsidiary named SimplyWheelz, targeted at the leisure market. Let’s get one thing right out of the way: “SimplyWheelz” is an absolutely awful brand name, repulsively stupid in its gratuitous use of the Z in lieu of the plural S. Trying to be hip? Edgy? “Urban”? It didn’t work, Hertz. Marketers, just for using that “Z,” you get an “F.”

I know it’s hard to look past the awful name. And it pains me every time I type that “Z.” But let’s move on.

SimplyWheelz (ouch!) promises to be a “low cost, low rate” brand, by automating everything possible and pushing the rental transaction online wherever they can. (Alamo/National rolled the automated rental out first. See here and here.) They’ll also keep a smaller variety of cars on their lot and rent a narrower range of car classes.

Segmenting the car rental market is nothing new, and it’s common to see one brand under a corporate umbrella go for the holiday crowd while another tries for the less price-sensitive business clients. Avis focuses on corporate contracts and business travelers, while their sister firm Budget targets the leisure traveler. National is more business travel, Alamo more leisure. On the other hand, Dollar and Thrifty, which are one company, both seem to target leisure travelers. Maybe they should start a new business travel brand… “CarRentBizzz” if you want to throw some “Z’s” into your name. ::shudder::

For now, SimplyWheelz is only live at Orlando Airport. Obviously, that’s a huge leisure market, and the car rental rates are already really, really low. I priced out a reservation for a random set of dates in October, and SimplyWheelz was indeed the lowest, by $1.26 total, for a three-day rental.

Hertz has built a reputation for solid customer service, so starting a largely self-service subsidiary is a bit of a risk to the brand name. Especially since they remind users that they’re a part of Hertz on every webpage — it’s “SimplyWheelz by Hertz” everywhere you look. Automation in itself isn’t a problem (see my defense of kiosks) but there needs to be a human “net” to catch you if the automation fails. If Hertz can pull off this tightrope trick while lowering prices, then they’ll have a winner on their hands.

Now if only they learned how to spell.