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Last Updated: Mar 26th, 2006 - 13:41:45 |
America's Appetite For Different Vehicles Fueled By Neighborhood Rental Car Expansion
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Jun 28, 2005, 21:02
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(NAPSI)-Despite spending more time in traffic than ever before and all-time-high gas prices, more Americans are renting automobiles in their neighborhoods to meet a variety of lifestyle and transportation needs-a trend that is in the fast lane, according to a new national survey.
The 2005 "Poll of the American Driver"* shows that about one- third of drivers 25 years of age and older-or some 62 million Americans**-need an additional or different vehicle than their primary automobile and are more likely to rent a vehicle to meet that need.
Nearly half of survey respondents (46 percent) say they are more likely to rent an automobile for personal use if there is a rental car location near their neighborhood-a 20 percent increase from 1995. The rental car industry is meeting this trend via a steady expansion into neighborhoods. For example, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the largest rental car company in North America, has more than doubled its U.S. neighborhood locations-to 5,700 from 2,400 in the past 10 years.
Cars rented in neighborhoods meet a variety of lifestyle needs, such as driving the kids' sports team to their weekend games, hauling landscaping or home improvement materials or upgrading to a more reliable or fuel-efficient vehicle for a weekend getaway.
"The proliferation of rental car locations in neighborhoods has positioned renting to replace the concept of borrowing cars from family and friends," said automotive pop culture expert Dr. Michael Marsden, dean and academic vice president at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis. "With a location usually right around the corner, it's very convenient to temporarily swap whatever vehicle you usually drive for a rental that meets a specific need."
With more neighborhood locations than any other rental car company, Enterprise is best positioned to serve the trend, said Steve Short, vice president of consumer development for Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
"For the past several years, we've opened an average of one neighborhood location per day," Short said, "making it easy, convenient, and affordable for consumers to enhance their driving experience and meet a variety of transportation and lifestyle needs."
The Poll of the American Driv-er also reveals that consumers enjoy being behind the wheel as much as they did 10 years ago, with 84 percent of motorists saying they love or like driving-a slight increase from the 82 percent who had the same response in 1995 when the survey was first fielded.
* The Poll of the American Driver, an independent survey of 500 U.S. licensed drivers 25 years of age and older, was commissioned by Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
** According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there are approximately 170 million U.S. licensed drivers 25 years of age and older.
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