The most recent occurence was just this past Sunday at SFO, where I had reserved a mid-size (typically, I get a craptacular Chevy Mailbu) and got a Rav4 instead. Now, the RAV4 is much nicer than the Chevy, and the gas isn’t coming out of my pocket (I’m a business traveler, so it’s on the company dime), but still, I am just green enough to get a twinge of guilt over my wastefulness in driving something like that. I mean, who the heck needs 4-wheel drive in the SF Bay Area?

Who wants the extra gas tank to have to fill up?

I remember seeing an article (in the Journal?) about how the rental car companies didn’t invest in fuel efficient cars in the past few years because the margins were higher on larger vehicles. And the major companies, Ford and GM, were trying to offload their larger vehicles through volume discounts. Sigh.

I’ve not rented an SUV ever. One time I turned it down on the grounds that Avis would need to indemnify me if I smashed anything as large as that SUV into anything else (I drive a small 2 door economy as my normal car). I honestly don’t think I could have even gotten that Suburban out of the rental car parking space without hitting another car…

They also once tried to give my the Mommy-van. That also got turned down on the spot. They had to scramble, but they fond me something acceptable after I waited for 10 mins at their counter….

Avis has now figured out that I’ll accept a compact even if I order a subcompact. Can’t argue with that one….

FWIW, I try to avoid getting the Pontiac G6, which seems to get horrible mileage for its size. The best small car to rent is probably the Toyota Corolla — I could actually imagine owning one. The Ford Focus is a plausible vehicle, by the ride is mediocre.