America's Love Affair with the Automobile Is Shifting Gears to Renting

ST. LOUIS, April 2 -- More and more Americans are jumping into the driver's seat of an emerging trend -- renting automobiles in their hometowns to meet a number of lifestyle and transportation needs, according to a new survey of U.S. motorists.

Nick Rodi, a Pittsburgh, Pa., construction worker with a wife and four children, rents cars and SUVs for weekend family getaways, while Ramona Hyde of Long Beach, Calif., rents to treat herself to a new car experience or to test drive a model she's thinking about buying.

According to the just-released ``Poll of the American Driver''* -- commissioned on behalf of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the largest rental car company in North America -- consumers today put a lot of importance on matching automobiles with special occasions.

Poll results, for example, indicate that more than half of U.S. drivers 21 years of age and older** -- an estimated 95 million Americans -- say they need automobiles other than the one they own to satisfy numerous lifestyle needs and responsibilities.

Those needs and responsibilities include driving the kids to a weekend baseball or soccer tournament, hauling mulch or home improvement materials, attending a family or high school reunion, celebrating a special night out, or just getting away for the weekend.

``Renting to meet various lifestyle needs is becoming a very common practice in our culture,'' said automotive popular culturalist Dr. Michael Marsden, who has studied and analyzed societal trends related to the automobile for decades.

``Renting a set of wheels is not at all unlike renting a tuxedo for a wedding,'' said Marsden, provost and vice president of academic affairs at Eastern Kentucky University. ``For decades we borrowed vehicles from relatives and friends for special occasions, like a first date.

``But borrowing is taking a back seat to renting for a lot of reasons -- the most notable being that renting is far more convenient than in years past,'' he added. ``Today, rental car facilities are in almost every neighborhood, as opposed to consumers having to go to the nearest airport.''

In fact, according to the ``Poll of the American Driver,'' nearly two-thirds of U.S. drivers (more than 110 million Americans) would rather rent than borrow a vehicle from a friend or neighbor. Further, when drivers were asked what kind of car they'd like to drive:

* On a date -- 79 percent of minivan owners, 73 percent of pickup truck owners and 70 percent of mid-size sedan owners say they prefer to drive a car other than the one they own.

* To a wedding -- 83 percent of pickup truck owners, 74 percent of minivan owners and 72 percent of sports car owners would prefer an automobile other than the one they own.

* To a high school reunion - 69 percent of pickup truck owners, 55 percent of SUV owners and 52 percent of sports car owners would prefer to drive a vehicle other than the one they own.

Further, about one-third of those surveyed drive a mid-size sedan as their primary vehicle, yet they rarely cited it as their vehicle of preference for special occasions or fulfilling a need.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car, with more than 4,800 neighborhood locations, is witness to the trend of hometown rental for fun and function. Since 1997, the company, which has a neighborhood location within 15 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population, has experienced a compound annual growth rate of more than 12 percent in hometown vehicle rentals for fun and function. That represents nearly 60 percent cumulative growth over the last four years.

``Enterprise uncovered this trend and is uniquely positioned to serve it, thanks to our thousands of neighborhood locations and our practice of picking up and dropping off our customers,'' said Steve Short, vice president of consumer development. ``By making it so easy, convenient and affordable, we've brought renting cars to the forefront when consumers are looking for ways to meet various lifestyle and transportation needs.''

Decades ago, ownership was the only choice when it came to automobiles; then leasing became a practical alternative, said David E. Cole, president of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), based in Ann Arbor, Mich.

``Renting offers consumers tremendous flexibility when their lifestyles create a short-term need for a different vehicle,'' Cole said, ``and, from the manufacturer perspective, provides an opportunity to positively expose their customers to other makes and models.

``Now, renting is a popular choice, with more motorists parking their own cars and renting vehicles that better meet specific needs or desires,'' he added. ``Renting vehicles for fun and function in hometowns is a concept whose time has come -- it's the latest evolutionary step of the relationship between consumers and their vehicles.''

Additional results from the ``Poll of the American Driver'' include:

* About one-third of drivers -- representing nearly 60 million Americans -- feel their vehicles do not always meet their needs for key functional attributes, including gas mileage, seating capacity or the image they want to project.

* One-fourth of drivers (nearly 45 million) say they rent vehicles for fun and function in the towns where they live, making this more popular than other "outsourced" services such as childcare 17 percent) and housecleaning (19 percent), and just as popular as laundry (26 percent) and lawn care services (23 percent).

* One-fourth of drivers (nearly 45 million) are very or somewhat likely to consider renting a vehicle during the upcoming spring or summer seasons.

* U.S. consumers say they are more concerned about the vehicle they drive (52 percent) than their marital status (44 percent) when attending a class reunion.

``Over the past two years,'' said frequent renter Ramona Hyde, ``I've rented sedans, pickup trucks and SUVs from Enterprise almost every week for traveling to my retirement property, attending family reunions and for weekend getaways in Santa Barbara. I like having a reliable vehicle when I travel, plus it saves wear and tear on my own car.''

* The Poll of the American Driver, an independent survey of more than 1,800 U.S. licensed drivers 21 years of age and older, was commissioned by Enterprise Rent-A-Car. The sampling error associated with the research is no more than plus or minus three percentage points.

** According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there are approximately 177 million licensed drivers 21 years of age and older in the United States.