For many recalls, it’s not a huge deal. But every now and then, something horrible happens — such as a PT Cruiser which caught fire, leading its occupants to lose control and crash. After five years of litigation, Enterprise Rent-a-Car admitted liability, for not getting a hood fire recall taken care of.

Subsequently, the federal government has looked into rental car recall management:

In November, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it was looking at nearly 3 million recalled vehicles from General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC that were sold to rental car companies to see how quickly they are repaired.
[...]
Rental car companies are not legally required to complete recalls before they rent the cars to customers.

Some safety advocates have raised alarms that some consumers are unknowingly driving vehicles that were recalled and not repaired.

Bob Barton, president of the American Car Rental Association noted, that hundreds of recalls and service bulletins affecting millions of vehicles in North America are issued annually.

“In most cases, members place a ‘hold’ on recalled vehicles so they are not rented until the recall work is completed,” he said.

Because rental cars move around so much it can take weeks or months for the company to find out a model has been recalled, thus taking much longer for repairs to be done, advocates said.

I’m sorry, but that’s pretty weak: If a “hold” is placed on a specific VIN, it can be plugged into the database and blocked from rental. Dealerships are located nationally, so a repair can be taken care of anywhere. This lax attitude shouldn’t be given a pass.

For what it’s worth, the rental car companies are still apparently better at handling recalls than most individuals, “who often fail to get recalled vehicles fixed.” (No specific stat given, alas.)

If you’re concerned about your rental, I suppose you could fire up the internet and check the car’s VIN against the manufacturer’s recall database online. But will you, really?

For your convenience, here are the recall links for Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, and Honda. GM, Hyundai, and Kia, each of which are frequently included in the rental car pool, add an unfortunate hurdle to their search and require you to register as an owner on their website, which you probably don’t want to do with a rental car. Alternatively, call the toll-free customer service for the manufacturer if you’re concerned.

…But will you really check?

Upgraded: Canada’s Via Rail
Via, the Canadian national railway, is updating its cars, with the first new-and-improved sleeping cars and dining cars going into service between Toronto and Vancouver. More comfort on long-haul trains is always a plus.

Upgraded: Your ears
Your ears may soon be a part of your security screening. You read that right: Ears are a biologically unique marker, and as such, may be included in your biometric profile for international travel. If researchers at the University of Southampton in the UK convince global governments, you too, may soon be identified at passport control by way of your ears. (via @elliottdotorg)

Upgraded: Burnin’ rubber
Reader Jeff sends in a video of an Airbus A340-600 brake test. It’s not quite riveting at first, but in the second half of the video, overheated brakes and tires start blowing up, catching on fire, and creating general havoc. I’m not sure if the video is comforting or not. On the one hand, there’s a lot of time between the time the time the brakes are hit and the time the flames start spewing out, meaning there’s a lot of time to evacuate. On the other hand, what the hell are these Airbus staffers doing!? The repeated expressions of “Merde!” aren’t exactly the sign of a plan coming together:

(Thanks Jeff! via the Presurfer)

Upgraded: Restful sleep on Air Canada
It must be the mood lighting: A British passenger not only slept through the landing of his Air Canada flight from Calgary to Vancouver, he slept through the deplaning. He woke up when the plane was back in the hangar. The airline has apologized for not getting him off the plane, and given him a voucher for 20% off his next flight.

Upgraded: In-flight catering
Downgraded: Airline profits on food sales onboard
While — or perhaps because — Continental has thrown in the towel and given up on complimentary inflight meals, North American airlines are stepping up their domestic inflight catering, according to this account from the NYT. But this nugget surprised me, with regard to thin margins on food sales:

Indeed, in-flight food sales are not huge money-makers for the airlines. Tom Douramakos, chief executive of GuestLogix, a company based in Toronto that makes the hand-held devices and software used by most North American carriers for in-flight sales, said carriers generated a net profit of only 5 or 10 cents on a $10 sale of in-flight food. But, he said, gross profit on sales of in-flight liquor generally can go as high as 50 to 80 percent on a $10 drink.

Eat less, drink more, the airlines say!

Upgraded: Electric rental cars
Europe’s Sixt has started renting electric cars in London. And their competitor, Europcar, has placed an order for 500 electric vehicles, to come online in 2011.

(image)

Reader Thomas writes:

I rented a car with Alamo last week. My scheduled pickup time was 2:00pm. My flight didn’t get in until 3:30, and I picked up the car around 4:00. When I returned the car three days later (at 3:00pm) they charged me for an extra hour’s rental. And that one hour cost more than the daily rate.

I complained that I hadn’t actually picked up the car until 4pm, so it was less than 3x 24-hours, so why were they charging me for 3 days plus one hour? They insisted that the reservation started at 2:00 pm. What gives?

This issue has come up before, in a discussion of the decline of grace periods from a few years back. There was one comment in particular, from a reader named Jason, which is particularly prescient, and bears repeating:

A little tip for renters from someone who’s been on both sides of the rental counter. Make sure the rental agent updates your pickup time if you arrive after your scheduled pick up time (i.e. scheduled to pick up at 2pm and you don’t arrive until 3pm). If you arrive early, the computers will likely set your pickup time to the actual time you pickup the car, but if you arrive late it’s up to you and/or the agent to update your pickup time. This little trick has caught a lot of renters who return at the same time they picked up the car, but still get the late fees.

There you have it. Once you drive it off the lot, the timestamp on the contract is the time that counts. So be sure to verify that the time is the time you actually rent.

(Of course, with some companies, you can be handed a contract but still wait… and wait… and wait for the car… If that happens, let the exit gate agent to mark and initial the contract with the accurate time, as a last resort, if you can’t get it updated in the computer.)

As an added heads-up from Jason’s comment, advice for tail end of the rental:

One other nasty suprise of Alamo, if you return the car more than 24 hours early you may be subject to a $15 early return fee. It’s stupid, but it’s on the contract the renter has to initial. Don’t try to argue with the agent, we couldn’t take it off and we never could figure out why it only appeared on some rentals and not others.

Forewarned is forearmed: Watch the clock, and watch your contract.

(image)

Upgraded: Wifi on Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines will put wi-fi on all its aircraft, using Aircell’s service, which is sold under the Gogo name.

Downgraded: Rental car deals
Blame Toyota. The carmaker’s huge recall took out about 8% of vehicles of the American rental car fleet. Yes, recall repairs are being done, but the rates aren’t pulling back too quickly. That is, unless you’re doing a one-way rental from Florida to … well, anywhere.

(image)

It’s a holiday promotion — you must pickup by December 31, 2009 — and you’ll still be out of luck if you’re under 21. But if you’re in the surcharge age group of 21 to 24 years old, this could be welcome promo for the holidays.

Related:
- If you’re under 25, how do you rent a car without huge surcharges?
- Before and After: Hertz to start photographing your rental car
- Lousy domestic US car rental rates? Check the European providers

Effective October 1, 2009, smoking will be off limits. If you do smoke in the car, there will be a $250 cleaning fee. The ban also applies to employees, who typically get to use a car for their personal transportation as a perk of the job.

To be honest, I haven’t noticed many smoky rental cars lately. They’ve been so rare (either because people aren’t smoking in rentals, or the cleaning process is so much better) that I’ve gotten to the point where I haven’t even thought to request a non-smoking car anymore. I can’t even remember the last time I made such a request.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see other companies follow suit. But there will almost assuredly be a company that doesn’t ban smoking, much like hotels, where some chains (e.g., Marriott, Westin) have gone smoke free, but most others have retained a mix of smoking and non-smoking offerings. (Will there be surcharges for renting a car that permits smoking, going forward?)

The photo system is part of a broader plan to use technology to increase efficiency and improve customer service, [Hertz Chairman and CEO] Frissora said. The equipment produces a high-resolution, digital photograph of the rental car, and will compare before and after pictures for differences, Frissora said. Hertz employees currently walk around the vehicle and mark any damage on a form, which the customer signs.

“There will be no discussion because the document would clearly show any incremental damage,” Frissora said. “This keeps customers from being placed in a confrontational position and saves time.”

The Park Ridge, New Jersey-based company’s customers would sign a waiver acknowledging the process and be billed for any damage, Frissora said. Hertz is testing the technology at a location at an airport in the northeastern U.S., he said.

“There will be no discussion” seems a little brusque, but I get the point. Why debate the condition of the car when there’s photographic evidence?

Here’s hoping that the camera won’t lie. E-mailing a copy to the customer — both at the start and the finish of the rental — might be a low-cost way to ensure that the company is being an honest broker.

Dishonest rental locations have commonly tried to milk extra bucks out of customers by billing them for previously-existing damage to the vehicle. (For the paranoid, it’s always been a good idea to take photos of your rental car before you drive it off the lot, though I admit it’s something I’ve never done…)

But interestingly, the company suggests that it’s the one who’s going to come out ahead. Hertz says it’s been letting too many dents and dings slide, for a loss of $170 million, and that the photo system will catch these dings, leading to greater earnings.

Which worries me. Yes, the system SHOULD be win-win, by keeping both the agency and the customer honest. But $170 million is a lot of dings and scratches. Will the system start calling birdpoop dents?

Photos or no photos, don’t let your guard down.

A few days ago, I started looking for car rental rates out of San Francisco, and even though I knew that rates were going up, I was still taken aback by the prices. $68 a day (plus taxes) for an economy car?! Ouch.

Even Hotwire’s opaque booking options weren’t much lower. $64 was the lowest they found. Priceline wasn’t taking my bids of up to $30 a day (plus taxes/fees).

I just ran the search again right now. None of the majors are showing any availability at all in San Francisco. A smaller vendor, Fox Rent-a-Car, wants $169.20 a day. Budget has cars at Oakland Airport, for over $189. Low supply, meet high prices.

What I’ve booked is at a much lower rate: $42.50/day, including all taxes, for a four-day rental. How?

I went global.

After my initial shock wore off, I checked prices on international sites, including the UK version of Expedia; Zuji, Singapore’s version of Travelocity; Britain’s easycar, and AutoEurope.

In the end, I made a prepaid booking through AutoEurope. I printed a prepaid rental voucher, and I’ll be picking the car up at a location in downtown San Francisco.

Companies like AutoEurope and EasyCar don’t tell you the name of the company you’re renting with up front, much like Hotwire or Priceline. The amount of information you receive varies, until you finalize your purchase. In the case of AutoEurope, I don’t see why they really bother keeping it opaque. They give you the precise pickup address, but not the name of the provider. That’s nothing a little Googling won’t narrow down…

One caveat with booking an domestic vehicle on a site based in another country: Your credit card can be hit with foreign currency fees, even if you’re booking in US dollars. This varies by bank, so be forewarned. AutoEurope has offices in the US, and my card was charged — in USD — from the Portland, Maine office. So no foreign transaction or currency exchange fees.

But still, I’m a tad nervous about this working out. After all, with supply this tight, and my rate this comparatively low, I wouldn’t put it past the rental company to “lose” my reservation. The fact that it’s prepaid may help, but until I’m behind the wheel, I’m not taking anything for granted. Pickup is Wednesday. Wish me luck.

Upgraded: Air
A bright side of the downturn: The recession means less travel. Which means less pollution. (Duh.) 8% lower carbon emissions by the industry as a whole, in fact.

Upgraded: The Race Card
Without any additional comment… video of Steven Colbert on the Visa Black Card: