Thrifty Car Rental

Clever names are common for car rental businesses. Enterprise brings to mind hard work, while Budget and Dollar bring good value to mind. But no name is better than that of Thrifty car rental. People who manage money well are thrifty. Saving money, spending it only when necessary and then spending it well, those are good things. In other words, to be thrifty.

It was 1958 when Thrifty came into being. Chrysler bought it a few years after it became a public company . Later it was paired with another auto rental business called Dollar. Thrifty operates today as one of the largest car rental companies and one of the best known brand names in the world. Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep cars make up its fleet.

Thrifty operates some other car related businesses. Thrifty sells cars that outlive their rental use. People use these cars for short stints, so many think they're abused. But in general the Thrifty rental fleet is treated well by renters. These cars are cared for on a tight schedule, unlike used cars from private owners who often don't maintain them. Renters pay penalties for damages, too, so they tend to be careful. Thus, cars sold by rental companies tend to be in better overall condition than used cars from private owners.

Long term parking at airports is another of Thrifty's businesses. Travelers who drive to the airport often need a safe place to keep their car while they're out of town. Long term parking offers this facility at a reasonable price. Thrifty operates these facilities at airports all around the world.

Here's some more Thrifty history. Thrifty originally rented Volkswagen Beetles at a time when they weren't too common in the United States. The Beetle cost $6 a day to rent. Miss Thrifty was introduced in attempt to attract single males. She was a young, good looking woman who would shuttle customers to Thrifty's facilities near the airport. Even better, she wore Scottish plaid.

It's not joke, is Thrifty car rental. But there are some humorous elements too. Maybe they'll offer a free upgrade if you don a kilt.