The arduous trip begins from a city on fire.
Stocks stumbled in the final hours of a lackluster session and ended near session lows, as nervous investors weighed a surprise jump in weekly jobless claims with a better-than-expected reading on the housing market.
In a makeshift bedroom in her parents' house, Erinn Height applies for another job.
In a letter on Monday, car rental company Avis Budget said it would top Hertz's bid to buy Dollar Thrifty.
Renting a car has been a costly proposition in recent months, and Monday's news that industry giant Hertz is planning to buy Dollar Thrifty may have travelers wondering whether deals will be even harder to find.
The Gossip Girl star - and lead singer of The Pretty Reckless - brave a cemetery downpour
Toyota Motor is struggling to hold onto its customers through its recall crisis. But the ones it might have the most trouble keeping are the biggest: rental car companies.
Rental car companies Hertz, Enterprise and Avis announced Wednesday that they will temporarily stop renting Toyota vehicles affected by recent recalls.
A Mississippi schoolteacher was sentenced to life without parole Wednesday for shooting and stabbing to death her lover's pregnant fiancee in 2006.
updated: Wed Oct 14 2009 23:25:00
A jury found Carla Hughes guilty on two counts of capital murder in the killing of her lover's pregnant fiancée.
The Grey Gardens actor and wife Joanne are the proud new parents of Finley Rae Martineau Baldwin
Look out for cancellation penalties. Beware of energy surcharges. And watch for facilities fees.
The nation's job market was dealt a savage blow this week as a slew of companies announced more than 34,000 layoffs, and the government reported that nearly 2 million jobs have been lost this year, through November.
In November, the U.S. economy shed jobs at the fastest rate in 34 years - and experts say December could be even worse.
It was easy to scoff two years ago when word leaked out that Amazon was launching its own digital music service. The Seattle-based online retailer wasn't just mulling an iTunes-like download store - it was supposedly drawing up plans for a branded iPod-like device.
Douglas Hawkins and his wife reserve a Budget rental car in Naples, Italy, but when they arrive at the car rental counter, the company downgrades his car and almost doubles its rate. Six months later, Budget hasn't refunded the money Hawkins says it owes him. What now?
Your cruise ship may not be seaworthy. Your airline isn't responsible for your checked luggage and if something's stolen from your room, good luck getting the hotel to cover your losses.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the nation's largest rental car company, wants to become a better steward of the environment. Its efforts demonstrate the limits to how much - and how little - one company can do.
Avis charges Laura Cattell $124 in currency exchange fees when she rents a car in England. Cattell insists the fees are excessive, because they convert pounds into dollars and then back into pounds. But the car rental company claims it had the right to make the exchange. Who's right?
The U.S. rental-car business has long had two rulers. Hertz, with 2006 revenues of $8.1 billion, has dominated the airport business ever since it started serving Chicago's Midway in 1932. Enterprise, with revenues of more than $9 billion, has virtually had a lock on the off-airport business, with a 55% market share.
Hertz Corporation is adding Toyota Prius hybrid cars to the company's rental fleets around the country.
Car rental company Hertz is debuting an hourly car rental service at three Manhattan locations Tuesday.
Here are some of Wednesday's most actively traded stocks:
Four of the major U.S. rental car brands are discussing a merger of their two parent companies, according to a published report.
An enormous gap still separates the performance of Detroit automakers from their foreign competitors - and it isn't all their fault.
[HIT] A Wonder-ful world. When Will Ferrell wrote the script for Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, he had an improbable sponsor in mind for his Nascar-racing hero: Wonder Bread. Just as ...
Corporate board members got a sweet raise in 2006, right along with the corporate CEOs whose compensation they award.
Doesn't it often seem like those who can least afford to pay for lunch are always charged for it, and those who can most afford it get it for free?
It's possible that Rainn Wilson has the dimmest prospects in corporate America. As Dwight Schrute, the middle manager on NBC's hit show The Office, he's at once power-hungry and completely upwardly...
It's possible that Rainn Wilson has the dimmest prospects in corporate America. As Dwight Schrute, the middle manager on NBC's hit show "The Office," he's at once power-hungry and completely upwardly immobile. He agreed to answer a few burning questions - in character - for Fortune's readers.
There are a couple of things you might not know about Enterprise Rent-A-Car of St. Louis.
So you survived the line at airport security, the elbow jousting on an oversold flight, and the marathon trek from Gate 99 to the curb. Too bad the misery doesn't end there.
Car-rental agencies say the odds of an accident increase when more than one driver is allowed to take the wheel. We're skeptical: After all, isn't it safer to have two drivers, especially on long trips?
Upward of 50 credit cards reward their customers with flights, upgrades, car rentals, hotel stays and cruises. Each card differs in the kinds of perks and the ways they're doled out, so what's the smartest approach for you?
Car rental companies are set to offer electronic toll payment devices as options on their cars, according to an article Monday.
We all have different automotive tastes, but if you're a leisure traveler, you may not be in the habit of reading rental agreements, damage waivers and sorting through what make and model car to rent. If so, never fear. We can tell you how to get the best rental deals and pick a car that's right for you.
Ever been stumped by a question when you're on the road? The answer could now be in the palm of your hand.
As a decorated road warrior, you've got frequent-flier miles coming out of your ears, a generous per diem, and a bag full of the latest gizmos. The one thing you don't have enough of is time. You p...
Car rental firms are scrambling to move thousands of vehicles to the Gulf Coast in an effort to quell demand for cars after Hurricane Katrina, according to a news report published Monday.
These days you need a GPS receiver just to navigate the mind-numbing assortment of GPS options offered at the rental-car counters. Avis offers GPS phones, Hertz has an in-car unit called NeverLost-...
After he had driven four hours to buy a wheel-chair that would allow him to play tennis--and was ignored by the salespeople at the company that made it--John Box was so angry that he decided to do ...
Most of us have a rental car horror story that includes endless forms or the roadside service that never turns up.
Technology markets rallied Wednesday. They were boosted by soaring Internet stocks on news that Cendant plans to buy Orbitz and by investors looking for general bargains in the recently battered sector.
Electronic navigation systems are a popular option in luxury cars, where the integrated systems with color maps can cost thousands. Now Motorola, in conjunction with Nextel, has rolled out turn-by-turn navigation for the common man.
Is there any room left in hotel stocks? Gains of 30 percent to 50 percent by big three hoteliers Starwood, Hilton and Marriott have helped power the group.
Is there any room left in hotel stocks? Gains of 30% to 50% by big three hoteliers Starwood, Hilton and Marriott have helped power Standard & Poor's Hotel-Resort-Cruise index up 37% so far this yea...
Stelios Haji-Ioannou does not call EasyGroup, his rapidly growing collection of low-price companies, an Internet business. To him it's more about economics. Each of his firms--first EasyJet, a hot ...
For truer car-rental price comparisons, head to Travelocity.com. Unlike Expedia and Orbitz, the site now quotes a rental price that includes taxes and fees. The service is especially valuable if yo...
Where some people see rising sea levels, worsening storms, and polar bears becoming extinct, Sue Hall sees a business plan. The hard-driving London transplant with a Harvard MBA heads the Climate N...
Nina DiSesa is the creative spark behind the renaissance of McCann-Erickson, the world's largest ad agency. The chairman and chief creative officer of McCann's flagship New York office, DiSesa help...
You can imagine it already: retirement day. Fond farewells, a new watch, confetti in your hair. Then, time to relax forever! No alarm clocks, no morning meetings. Why, with all that new freedom, yo...
Every frequent traveler knows that if you often fly the same airline, stay at the same hotel chain or rent from the same car agency, you'll be rewarded for your loyalty with miles or points good fo...
Why, despite the explosion of travel information on the Web, does it seem harder than ever to be sure you're getting a good deal?
Mapping out your route in advance is nice and all, but I've always felt there's simply no substitute for really knowing the road--which presents a problem when I travel to an unfamiliar area.
There's an episode of Seinfeld in which Elaine--during her days as the brassy CEO of J. Peterman--can't manage to fire an incompetent mail clerk. Why? The clerk, a former soldier who sports militar...
You probably missed it while rushing through the airport on your last trip, but every major rental-car company has changed ownership in the past two years. Investors may have overlooked the change ...
Driving down the road on a fine summer morning, I turned to my navigator and asked, "Next turn?"
Shareholders didn't take the news too well when CUC International, the $2.3 billion consumer-services company (and member of the MONEY 30) announced in May that it was merging with $800 million HFS...
If you've planned your upcoming vacation wisely--by traveling in the off-season or by signing up for cheap fly/drive deals, for example--congratulations. You've already saved quite a bit of cash. B...
The flight attendant told you to keep your seat belt on until the plane comes to a complete stop, but you're an achieving kind of person, so you grab your luggage, squeeze past the fat guy in the t...
Darkness has fallen, and suddenly you realize you must have taken the wrong freeway off-ramp in an unfamiliar city. Not to worry. If your car is one of a small but growing number of rental and pers...
EVER BEEN ASKED FOR YOUR AMERICAN Express, Visa or MasterCard number to hold a reservation when you travel or eat out? If not, you will be soon. This year, card companies are making it easier for c...
IT TOOK A LOT OF LATE-NIGHT pizzas at the office, but your career is hitting its stride and you've finally got the wherewithal to buy a new car. We're not talking Yugo here. We're talking about a n...
When I moved to New York City just after my 23rd birthday last year, renting a truck to transport my belongings was simply a matter of picking up the keys. No problem, said U-Haul, as long as I was...
Maybe Hertz can afford to stay above the fray, but No. 2 Avis already recognizes the threat posed by car co-ops like the one just started in Eugene, Oregon. After forking over $250 in membership fe...
With prices virtually flat for the past 10 years, rental cars have been the last great travel bargain. But hang on to your steering wheel: Big changes in the industry mean you're going to pay about...
Since last summer, Budget, Hertz and National in New York and Florida have begun checking customer driving records. The firms tap into computerized data supplied by state departments of motor vehic...
EVERY CULTURE has folkways that horrify outsiders and even a few of the locals. In Spain it's bullfighting, in Australia it's dwarf throwing, and in the U.S. it's mowing down jobs in a recession. '...
According to closely held industry reports, U.S. automakers are becoming increasingly dependent on the profit-bleeding business of selling to fleets, primarily rental car companies. In 1988, Chrysl...
Auto manufacturers aren't the only ones in the car business confronting the problems of a still sluggish economy and overstocked lots. So are car-rental firms. Because of an aggressive $45 billion ...
Though still No. 1, Hertz is losing its big lead over Avis. Budget has taken over the No. 3 spot from National. Dollar is still in fifth place, but gaining (see chart). Since each market share poin...
ConAgra's Mike Harper and Eastern Airlines' Martin Shugrue have joined the cast of TV's long-running series Chief Executive as Chief Tout. Think of Frank Perdue, who has hawked chickens since 1971....
As with many city dwellers who don't own cars, my Big Three are not GM, Ford, and Chrysler but Hertz, Avis, and National. My garage is the airport rental car lot. Why is it that once I spend a coup...
You confidently stride up to the counter to rent a car. ''I don't need the collision-damage waiver, since I'm covered by my credit card,'' you explain. The agent smiles and asks, ''But what about l...
Frequent-flier deals seem to fluctuate about as often as airline fares. The latest switch concerns the programs' links with car-rental companies that typically award travelers 500 or 1,000 flying m...
EMPLOYEE STOCK ownership plans -- ESOPs, for short -- are the corporate mania of the moment. Since January nearly 80 of them, 85% of all such plans, involving more than $15 billion worth of shares,...
A YEAR HAS PASSED since the employees bought Avis, and when Chairman Joe Vittoria isn't out pumping the troops for ideas to help improve customer service he is often fielding inquisitive calls from...
You may think that risk goes with limited partnerships as fleas go with dogs. But if you pick carefully, one breed of real estate partnership offers the safety of blue-chip stocks plus the generous...
You start a business, make a ton of money, and leave your name on a company known all around the world. You relax. Work on your tan. Perfect a martini. Right? Not these guys. Just when you thought ...
Sun block is not all you need to avoid getting burned on your next vacation or business trip. If you plan to rent a car, pack a magnifying glass and calculator. Once you read the fine print of the ...
Ever since Bill Simon withdrew from active management of the leveraged-buyout firm Wesray in 1985, Chairman Ray Chambers has been trying harder. With Wesray's sale of Avis to an employee stock owne...
THE ECONOMY/ Cover Story
DECIDING WHERE to rent a car should be one of life's easier questions. It does not rank with whether to send your firstborn to private school, or even if you should buy term or whole life insurance...
Car theft and pillage have become leading growth industries in the U.S. In 1985, the latest year for which statistics are available, more than 3.5 million vehicles were either broken into, vandaliz...
In general, sticking with national car-rental companies is wise when you plan to do extended driving. For short trips, however, you can usually save money renting from a local company. Among the ot...
AS OFTEN as not, a takeover inflicts bruising changes on an acquired company. What, then, is the fate of enterprises repeatedly passed from owner to owner? Buckingham, a company that distributes Cu...
It seemed like a joke when the company began renting dented old clunkers in competition with the shiny new cars offered by Hertz and Avis. But since 1970, Los Angeles-based Rent-A-Wreck has grown i...
Beatrice, the $12.6-billion-a-year food company, has been the subject of persistent rumors that it would be the target of a takeover attempt. For whatever reason, the company is clearly trying to g...
Like some antic used-car dealer's lot, the U.S. rental car industry these days is touting bargains galore. Want a Lincoln Town Car for about $40, just three-fifths the standard rate for plain gray ...
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