Luxury Car Rental - 06/07/2001
First-Class Fliers Rent Luxury Cars
By TOM GARDNER, Associated Press Writer
MINDEN, Nev. (AP) - First-class fliers expect to board ahead of the masses, sip
champagne from genuine crystal and dine on filet.
After the luggage is claimed it's back to reality at the car rental counter, where the subcompact that's left has less leg room than can be found in coach.
The founders of Driven Image figure that a person who can pay to be pampered at 25,000 feet might not mind parting with the price of a used car for the chance to spend a day behind the wheel of a Bentley Azure.
"We want to make it just as easy to rent the Mercedes Benz as it is to get the Ford Taurus," company owner Mark Guzy said. "It may seem a little indulgent, but our customers have discovered the pure joy that can be found driving a luxury car."
Three years ago, Guzy and his partner Nick Popravsky hatched the idea of a luxury car rental agency, connecting the dealers who rent the cars with people who learn about Driven Image through Internet ads, travel agents and word-of-mouth.
"I guess it was kind of a guy thing," said Popravsky, who is Driven Image's vice president. "We liked the cars. It looked like it would be fun."
While upscale cars are available in most larger cities, finding them can be daunting and prices vary widely. Some come with free miles, others charge for everything from a cell phone to a CD player.
Guzy said the search for luxury car rental businesses around the world took them a couple of months of six- and seven-day weeks to compile the raw data.
"Imagine if you were an executive who was traveling around the world, around the country, looking to try to find these different locations in different marketplace. Good luck," Guzy said.
With 40 affiliates in the U.S. and abroad in the fold, they opened business Oct. 1, operating from a spartan office in a small industrial park here, 45 miles south of Reno and a mile from Guzy's house. The next few months were spent fine-tuning the service during the normally slow period for rentals.
"We took advantage of the cold weather months to get our staff ready, get our affiliates ready, book our advertising and get ready to come out shooting in the spring," Popravsky said. "Only a few months after our full scale rollout, we are at break even and firmly on our projected growth curve."
Driven Image serves markets in 15 states and the District of Columbia and in Canada, New Zealand, France, Germany, Switzerland, England, Thailand, Australia, Italy and Spain.
Vehicles range from the OK to the oh my. Prices start a little under $100 a day, depending on the market, for a Ford Mustang or Mazda Miata to $2,800 for the Bentley Azure. Given a few days' to a week's lead time, most cars are available in most locations.
"We try to get you the exact car you want. The only thing we can't guarantee is color. Most of the time we do pull off what we say we will," Popravsky said.
The bulk of Driven Image's obligation is to its customers, but it offers its affiliates benefits as well by pre-qualifying clients.
"The biggest screening point is price," Popravsky said dryly. "We have found it's better to work with people who have money versus those who don't."
Luxury car renters can have up to $10,000 frozen on their credit card or an amount equal to the full rental. They also need a valid drivers license and insurance. Additional coverage is available since most standard policies aren't written with a Maserati in mind. The minimum age for most cars is at least 21.
"If the question is, `Can I rent a prom car?' the answer is `No,"' Popravsky said.
The most popular models are what the company considers its midrange vehicles - Dodge Vipers, Porsche Boxsters, BMWs, Jaguars.
"It's not just a Bentley or nothing. Most rentals are in the $300-$400-a-day range," Guzy said.
David Riedel, an analyst with Salomon Smith Barney, noted that Hertz just added Jaguars, Land Rovers, Lincolns and Volvos to its fleet and Budget offers Jaguars.
"They found there's a niche market for luxury vehicles," he said. "A Bentley is even higher end than what Hertz is offering. It's apparently a big enough market that allows for expansion and creates an opportunity for Driven Image to be able to grab a share."
Along with business - and personal - travel, rentals are popular gifts for occasions like birthdays or Father's Day. Some people are trying to impress a date. Others want time behind the wheel of a model they're considering buying.
In Little Rock, Ark., Debi Steppach and her husband were going to Florida for their wedding anniversary. She read about Driven Image in an Internet-oriented travel magazine. After an eight-day power outage during an Arkansas ice storm, she felt like pampering herself and settled on BMW's sporty two-seater convertible.
"I wasn't getting it for status. I just wanted something really fun - and a convertible," she said. "I thought, "I could call these places and get a leisure car myself." But, you know, at this point in my life I would just rather have somebody out there handling it for me."
For some, luxury is as normal as breathing.
"If a guy wrecks his Mercedes, he may not want to drive a Ford Festiva," Popravsky said.
The airport where Driven Image is based, located less than an hour's drive from both Reno and Lake Tahoe, is attractive to casino high rollers and celebrities who want to avoid the more crowded Reno facility.
"One guy flew a $40 million aircraft into Minden and the only thing they could arrange for him was a Geo Metro," Guzy said.
Popravsky said part of the training for the telephone workers in the Minden office was educating them about the kinds of people they would be dealing with - and their ability to pay.
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