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The Hertz Meltdown Reveals the Scale of the EV Debacle
Epoch Times ^ | 3/21/2024 | Jeffrey A. Tucker

Posted on 03/23/2024 9:10:43 AM PDT by george76

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To: george76
Only last year, the company bragged: “This morning, [Hertz] was recognized by The White House for our efforts to expand access to electric vehicles across the country. Demand for EV rentals is growing and we’re here to help our customers electrify their travels.”

Pleasing the Biden administration is not the same as pleasing consumers.

Too bad the country's newspapers can't figure this out...The key is to pleasing customers. NOT DC's thugs and goons and perverts.

61 posted on 03/23/2024 11:02:06 AM PDT by GOPJ
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To: fuzzylogic

Some Tesla customers actually make a rational, calculated choice. I was in NYC recently and was picked by a West African Uber driver in a Tesla. He told me it was his best option, as the city was not issuing medallions to gas vehicles, but he could get one for his Tesla right away


62 posted on 03/23/2024 11:03:37 AM PDT by PUGACHEV
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To: pfflier

Being a DC area resident, they do know. Many have traveled throughout the US whether for their work and/or pleasure. It’s just they don’t care.

The reason is people have no business being so far from the huddled masses. Why live in Valentine, NE when you can live in Omaha? They want to empty the rural west and this is one way of making it happen.


63 posted on 03/23/2024 11:06:43 AM PDT by Dave W
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To: george76

Here’s a point I didn’t think of at first. Heard a guest on a radio show say he drove the 70 miles to another station and back and the only cars left at the rental place were EVs. No choice.

Is that true of a lot of smaller rental destinations with not much variety available?

That could make the CEOs and government think people accepted the idea of rental EVs.


64 posted on 03/23/2024 11:08:26 AM PDT by frank ballenger (There's a battle outside and it's raging. It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls.)
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To: V_TWIN

A key plan of the great reset is 15 minute cities. All population will be concentrated in urban areas. The interior of the country will be empty. Oh, and the population will be greatly reduced as most people are unneeded.


65 posted on 03/23/2024 11:20:22 AM PDT by DeplorablePaul
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To: george76

About a year ago, I rented a car from Hertz or mine was gonna be in the shop for a couple days. I went with something like a step above from the tiny economy cars, as there was only gonna be two days, and I only need to get to and from work. When I went to pick up the rental, the local lot was out of that class of car and offered a “free” upgrade to some EV.

I declined. A bit of clicking later, and the only things they had available were full-size sedans, or SUVs.

I have driven a Tesla, and I’m not going to deny that they’re nice cars. However, there’s a very niche market for people who want them.


66 posted on 03/23/2024 11:23:34 AM PDT by matt04 ( )
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To: txeagle

And to think these elite bozos want electric tanks for wars?
LOLOLOLOL !!


67 posted on 03/23/2024 11:33:32 AM PDT by Senormechanico
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To: V_TWIN

“... if the government desires a social-credit system of citizens control”...

THAT is right around the bend, in this corrupt govt’s plan for us, as is CBGC/ digital bank currency... plus more.


68 posted on 03/23/2024 12:00:59 PM PDT by Carriage Hill (A society grows great when old men plant trees, in whose shade they know they will never sit.)
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To: V_TWIN

69 posted on 03/23/2024 12:13:58 PM PDT by DoodleBob (Gravity's waiting period is about 9.8 m/s²)
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To: george76

Solyndra was also a great idea.


70 posted on 03/23/2024 12:18:29 PM PDT by Mark (DONATE ONCE every 3 months-is that a big deal?)
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To: Lizavetta

Tesla’s do


71 posted on 03/23/2024 12:19:25 PM PDT by V_TWIN (America...so great even the people that hate it refuse to leave!)
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To: gibsonguy
Hertz was already on life support than they made this epic blunder. No one who mattered had the common sense to realize people who rent cars do not want to have to deal with the nightmare of public charging stations.

IMHO, there is a market for a car rental company to have a few EV's on hand (way less than Hertz did). I know a few people who rented an EV before buying one. Some liked it and bought an EV, some hated the experience and chose not to buy one. Renting one gave insight beyond the hype.

Here's what the real issue is with EV's. From the article: There is money to be made in this market, as there is with any niche good or service. But that is covered with normal market conditions, not massive subsidies, mandates, and frenzies. The Hertz case proves it.

Free market is always the answer. To the EV question and pretty much everything else, get government out of the way.

72 posted on 03/23/2024 12:31:04 PM PDT by Tell It Right (1st Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)
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To: george76

I like and appreciate my old vehicles. They are reliable and I have most of the tools I need to work on them myself. They aren’t filled with the over complicated gimmicks that make cars so much more difficult and expensive to maintain with, in my opinion, a net negative to the driving experience.

As far as I am concerned, we are in an automotive low point similar to the 70s and 80s, and again the cause is government interference with the market.my newest vehicle was bought new almost 16 years ago and was near the peak of modern vehicles before the crash in 2008/2009. The things they do to shave a fraction of an MPG are not worth the cost and trouble they cause to the durability of the vehicle- stop-start, cylinder deactivation, high strung turbos all make for premature and expensive repairs. The so-called features like adaptive cruise control, lane assist, infotainment systems, etc annoy me far more than enhance the experience. When forced to drive newer cars I quickly figure out how to deactivate the nannies so they don’t drive me nuts. There is no way I want to pay for that crap in a new car.

Electric cars are fine for a limited set of use cases but are far from ideal for everyone. If you have a garage you can keep a charger, a short commute and another ICE powered vehicle for longer trips then they are great. If you live in an apartment or urban area where you cannot charge overnight or out in the country with a long commute then they aren’t so great.

As a rental I don’t want to spend hours sitting around waiting for the stupid thing to charge and I have yet to see a hotel with charging options. I am either traveling for business and have a tight schedule or for pleasure and don’t want to waste my vacation time at a charging station.


73 posted on 03/23/2024 12:37:46 PM PDT by Flying Circus
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To: Mean Daddy

I rented a Jeep plug-in hybrid in January. When I picked it up, the battery was at 0% and that’s how I returned it. I was surprised the gas engine didn’t keep the battery topped off. The battery usually had enough juice to get the car up to 10 mph at a stop light, then it switched to the gas engine.


74 posted on 03/23/2024 12:44:09 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (“When exposing a crime is treated like a crime, you are being ruled by criminals” – Edward Snowden)
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To: pfflier
The I-95 elites think the whole country can just hop a bus or train to get where they need to go. They have no idea of the distances between services in the flyover states.

Their intention is to put people on foot and make their lives so desperate they will either move to a 15-minute city or die.

Any and all travel more than 15 minutes will only be accomplished with government approval and by government means.

75 posted on 03/23/2024 12:44:55 PM PDT by OldMissileer (Atlas, Titan, Minuteman, PK. Winners of the Cold War)
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To: dragnet2

You forgot: they are much heavier and so destroy roads and guardrails much faster

They are actually worse for the environment.


76 posted on 03/23/2024 2:13:18 PM PDT by Persevero (You cannot comply your way out of tyranny. )
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To: george76
CEO of Hertz Stephen Scherr has been booted out due to a vast purchase of an EV fleet that consumers didn’t even want to rent.

Yes, but he'll probably get a big fat job with some environmental-wacko outfit.

77 posted on 03/23/2024 2:14:46 PM PDT by libertylover (Our biggest problem, by far, is that almost all of big media is AGENDA-DRIVEN, not-truth driven.)
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To: george76

EV sales are in the pits so the feral government drives up gas prices to make EVs seem like a more attractive alternative.


78 posted on 03/23/2024 2:42:43 PM PDT by Iron Munro
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To: george76

Don’t forget how highly subsidized and privileged the EV industry has been. If you have a good product at a reasonable price, you shouldn’t need subsidies, much less government mandates to purchase your product.


79 posted on 03/23/2024 2:43:22 PM PDT by csn vinnie
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To: V_TWIN

“the vehicle must be fully charged before its returned”

If that is in fact the case, hertz should be run out of business for that stupid policy alone.

Rental vehicles are supposed to be cleaned and vacuumed between rentals, why not charge it then?

Putting the burden of recharge on the customer is asinine to say the least.”

I have rented Tesla EVs from HERTZ at least 25 times they are my go to car for Houston gridlock traffic , same for Vegas or New Orleans. The automatic vehicle follow feature,hand free lane center, and hand and foot free stop and go.traffic modes beat any tech by any other vehicle.

If you don’t pre pay for a return charge usually ten bucks where you can return the car @10% SOC then you will need to return it at 70% or higher SOC. When you pick up the Tesla it will be at 70%+ SOC they always charge them before renting them out unless you want to take one at a steep discount with a <50% SOC and by steep I mean a free day of use the EVs are already under $20 a day for LLC weekly rates if you hold a valid TIN number for corporate rates.

As for charging while renting a EV a Model S has a 400 mile range rarely while renting in Vegas or Houston do I put more than 200 miles total a rental for the whole week. My hotel or airnnb is usually half a mile or so from where I need to be if its a training or contract trip. The daily trips are food at lunch and dinner plus nightlife. The last trips are usually uber or lyft if I intend to drink while out. Those uber and lyft trips will end up costing more than the whole weeks worth of EV rentals. Uber has a $6 to 8 minimum charge per trip.

On trips where I do exceed 300 miles in a week most American cities are blanketed with chargers especially if you are in a Tesla with its special plug that excludes other EVs from their network. That is changing as adapters have been made in both directions. I bought and had Amazon one day deliver to my hotel in the energy corridor a $16 adapter for CCS/J1772 that’s the other universal standard with that adapter a Tesla can charge at every type of plug and charger network in North America.

https://chargefinder.com/us/search

Open this link then zoom to Houston,Vegas , Dallas,Austin ,LA...set the limit to 50kw or above those are your DC fast chargers then look at all the Red dots those are Tesla chargers, blue and purple are CCS and open to Teslas with that adapter that’s rated for 250kw so V3/4 superchargers too. The major cities are blanketed with chargers.

I have never had an issue charging if the Tesla needed it the tech shows you where Tesla chargers are in your area or path ,let you see how many are open and reserve a spot that won’t allow anyone else to use it until you get there you pay the the minute for reservations and wait time if your Tesla is full and you don’t move it to encourage people to not camp out at spots. Usually a dollar or two a minute above a certain income level a couple of bucks a min is throw away money. Your time is worth multiple hundreds of dollars an hour $60 is pocket change and no one leaves a spot blocked for an hour or more. Ten min at most to reserve a spot and drive up too it is the most I have ever needed to ensure my spot was ready and wanting.

Out of the last 20 rentals I needed a charger less than half of them as my weekly distance was less than what the Tesla had in the pack I always pay the “fuel” fee to return it near empty.

That said I have taken a Model S out.of New Orleans and all the way to Pensacola then back to New Orleans, and on to Houston and home to the DFW area really closer to Oklahoma than Dallas area. That was an 1800 mile trip using Tesla superchargers at 150 or 250kw rates never spent more than 15 min at a SC while I empty my bladder the real limit of driving distance 3 hours or 200 miles and the car stops for my bladder and tummy grumbles.

On the open highway a Tesla can go hands free at a set cruising speed it only slows down for traffic in front and will speed back up again if they yield or you tell it to pass on the right which it can also do hands free. My lawyer and I were in his new model S this last week in the rain at 80 mph hands free on IH35 South bound the wipers turned on by themselves and the car asked if we wanted to slow down by 10mph due to weather conditions it could sense the rain and probably the wheel spin rates for hydroplaning. Impressive tech to say the least.


80 posted on 03/23/2024 4:10:02 PM PDT by GenXPolymath
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