"subcompacts" from National?

[cigar95]

It has been a long time since I have reserved anything but a mid-size from National, as I'm an "Emerald Aisle" guy. But for my trip next month, there's a rate on subcompacts (actually "Economy") that is much lower than anything else.

I have a memory that at MCO, there actually is no separate section for economy/subcompact - if you have one reserved, you just pick from the compact selection. Does this sound familiar? Is this still the case at MCO? Seems like a good (and legal) way to save money if it's still true.

Thanks.

 

[gmeh1]

It has been a long time since I have reserved anything but a mid-size from National, as I'm an "Emerald Aisle" guy. But for my trip next month, there's a rate on subcompacts (actually "Economy") that is much lower than anything else.

I have a memory that at MCO, there actually is no separate section for economy/subcompact - if you have one reserved, you just pick from the compact selection. Does this sound familiar? Is this still the case at MCO? Seems like a good (and legal) way to save money if it's still true.

Thanks.

Economy has their own row. If they run out of economy then they will direct you to compact.

 

[NotUrsula]

Don't do it unless you will only have 1 passenger. If you *do* end up with an "economy" car you will need the back seat for your luggage, even if you only have two 22" rollaboards.

Also, be aware that last year Alamo and National reclassified their fleets. What you are thinking of as a compact car might not meet their definition: the most common "compact" that I saw at MCO on my 4 trips last year was a Kia Spectra. Decent enough little car, but according to the EPA classifications, at 97 cu.ft., it's 3 cu.ft. short of qualifying as a compact. Their "example" economy car is a Chevy Aveo, which is 5 cu.ft. smaller still (but only 1 cu.ft. smaller than a 2011 Corolla, which Alamo/Natl class as a compact, but is only 93 cu.ft.)

 

[cigar95]

Since it looks like there's no more "hidden free upgrade" from economy to compact, that's no longer going to be an option. Starting to look like my first foray into Hotwire/Priceline for cars. (Used them for hotel rooms many times.)

But on a separate question - is the Corolla really that small? Were you referring to the Echo, maybe?

 

[gmeh1]

Don't do it unless you will only have 1 passenger. If you *do* end up with an "economy" car you will need the back seat for your luggage, even if you only have two 22" rollaboards.

Also, be aware that last year Alamo and National reclassified their fleets. What you are thinking of as a compact car might not meet their definition: the most common "compact" that I saw at MCO on my 4 trips last year was a Kia Spectra. Decent enough little car, but according to the EPA classifications, at 97 cu.ft., it's 3 cu.ft. short of qualifying as a compact. Their "example" economy car is a Chevy Aveo, which is 5 cu.ft. smaller still (but only 1 cu.ft. smaller than a 2011 Corolla, which Alamo/Natl class as a compact, but is only 93 cu.ft.)

The Corolla is in the midsize class at Alamo/National/Enterprise/Hertz.

 

[NotUrsula]

But on a separate question - is the Corolla really that small? Were you referring to the Echo, maybe?

It is. Actually I was rounding up. Straight from Toyota.com, for the 2012 Corolla:

EPA passenger volume/with moonroof
(cu. ft.)92.1/90.8

The Yaris (no more Echo) *is* smaller:

EPA passenger volume (cu. ft.)84.4

And the PP was right; I did mean to say that they now class the Corolla as mid-size, not compact.

We used to be mid-sized renters, but since they did this "reclassification" we stick to full-size rentals on family trips (which are really mid-sizes, according to the EPA rules.) PL for rental cars is no problem; we do it all the time at MCO these days, now that the rates have gone up so much. The only drawback is that you cannot use the kiosk; you have to do the counter thing.

If you want a larger vehicle, try Avis; they have been having some killer rates on SUV's lately, because no one wants to rent gas guzzlers anymore.

 

[cigar95]

Thank for the tip - with today's big drop from National, my mid-size (Emerald Aisle, so almost certainly larger) is now acceptably-priced. Avis is about $20 higher for my dates.

But wow, Toyota is really shrinking the Corolla!

 

[gmeh1]

It is. Actually I was rounding up. Straight from Toyota.com, for the 2012 Corolla:

The Yaris (no more Echo) *is* smaller:


And the PP was right; I did mean to say that they now class the Corolla as mid-size, not compact.

We used to be mid-sized renters, but since they did this "reclassification" we stick to full-size rentals on family trips (which are really mid-sizes, according to the EPA rules.) PL for rental cars is no problem; we do it all the time at MCO these days, now that the rates have gone up so much. The only drawback is that you cannot use the kiosk; you have to do the counter thing.

If you want a larger vehicle, try Avis; they have been having some killer rates on SUV's lately, because no one wants to rent gas guzzlers anymore.

I can only go by the company I work for, but, our full size cars are full size. IE: Impalas, Fusions, Camry,Charger, to name a few. As to SUV's we rent a lot of them lately, not sure why, cause they are, indeed, gas guzzlers. Here's a hint, if you rent from Alamo, book a standard, we don't have a standard row at MCO, so, you go to full size.

 

[NotUrsula]

I can only go by the company I work for, but, our full size cars are full size. IE: Impalas, Fusions, Camry,Charger, to name a few. As to SUV's we rent a lot of them lately, not sure why, cause they are, indeed, gas guzzlers. Here's a hint, if you rent from Alamo, book a standard, we don't have a standard row at MCO, so, you go to full size.

Not true by EPA standards. Of the four cars on that list, only the Impala and the Charger are actually classed by the EPA as "large" cars. ("Large" is their only class bigger than mid-size for 4 seat 2/4 door cars.)

The Fusion and the Camry are mid-size, as are the Nissan Altima and the Kia Optima, both of which I've also encountered on National's Emerald Aisle in the past year, and also rented as "full-size" from Alamo.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/feg2011.pdf

 

[gmeh1]

Not true by EPA standards. Of the four cars on that list, only the Impala and the Charger are actually classed by the EPA as "large" cars. ("Large" is their only class bigger than mid-size for 4 seat 2/4 door cars.)

The Fusion and the Camry are mid-size, as are the Nissan Altima and the Kia Optima, both of which I've also encountered on National's Emerald Aisle in the past year, and also rented as "full-size" from Alamo.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/feg2011.pdf

It is obvious that the EPA standards and the rental car standards are two different things. If memory serves, cars are classified by the seating and trunk capacity among other things. If "large" is the only class bigger than a 4 seater, then a bunch of cars that are less than full size fit into that category.

 

[NotUrsula]

My error, not 4-seater, but 5 (that is, if you count the number of seat belts.) I was trying to express it in such a way as to exclude vehicles that have large in-cabin cargo areas such as station wagons, and those that are designed for high-capacity seating such as minivans; obviously, I didn't express that properly. To the EPA, a "car" is a vehicle that uses a low chassis, has a trunk or hatchback, and no more than 6 seatbelts in two rows of seating. There are separate size category series for vans, SUV's and trucks.

As to rental car and EPA classifications being different, that is my point -- they should NOT be. That they are creates a situation that is very nearly tantamount to bait-and-switch practices.

When Americans purchase vehicles we learn what class of car we are comfortable with, and dealers use the EPA standards. It follows that when we rent, we base our perceptions of car-size classes on what we normally drive at home, and are looking for smaller, larger, or about the same. You cannot reliably judge that when the rental industry is using different size standards than the automotive manufacturing industry.

My DH and I normally drive sedans. Over the past couple of decades we have owned a Camry, a Mazda 6, an Altima, and an Acura TL; those are all sold by their mfrs and classed by the EPA as mid-sized cars. When we rent we like to get that same general size of vehicle, but now, unlike 4 years ago, we won't get that class of car if we specify mid-size with Alamo/Nat'l.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I have to admit I'm confused. I know the Environmental Protection Agency is concerned with, well, protecting the environment and in this case testing and alerting to fuel efficiency - but I wasn't aware that agency was responsible for determining what physical measurements and other characteristics determined the vehicle's size category.

So I did a little research. Very little. I didn't want to use Wikipedia as my source, so this http://ezinearticles.com/?Categorization-of-Cars&id=5045812 looks like a pretty good explanation - and no, I don't know why the author happens to use Toyota cars as his examples. But fuel usage/output/pollution - the EPA's area of expertise - don't determine the car size category

 

[NotUrsula]

The EPA uses the categories for fuel efficiency comparison purposes in terms of like-sized vehicles from a user perspective. The idea is to make it easier to compare when shopping. When most people think about what vehicle they wish to buy, they usually start with body style and how much stuff it can carry, then work up to engine power, handling, etc.

Having a govt. agency establish passenger cabin size standards that all US mfrs have to use to classify their models makes it easier for the average buyer to compare the relative merits of like-sized vehicles.

It also helps the agency create target norms for efficiency standards, because like-sized cars can be expected to be relatively close in terms of weight.

In any case, it doesn't matter WHY the EPA is in charge of determining the standard class definitions, what matters is that since they exist and the automotive industry is bound to use them, then any US industry that uses vehicle class sizes in terms of marketing should have to use them, too. I mean, a yard is still 36 inches whether you are talking about fabric or floorboards, so why should cars be any different?