Even if you don't own a hybrid.....

Would you think to rent one?

Last month my daughter, niece, sister-in-law and I drove 1200 miles from Portland, Oregon to San Francisco, w/ several awesome stops along the way. It was an all girls road trip extraordinaire, with side splitting laughter, spontaneity and flexibility, scarey winding roads, spectacular night skies, amazing redwoods, waterfalls and ocean views, great meals, great wine, comfy beds and one unfortunate speeding ticket.

We decided to have a laid back attitude, booking only our flights (barely weeks) in advance, and trusting the rest would "come together" in the end. But as our departure day neared and we had not yet rented a vehicle (a responsibility that I had promised to take on), I began to panic.

With out a doubt I wanted to rent a hybrid. I wasn't sure if a Prius would be big enough for all our luggage and a week's worth of comfortable traveling, even though my 2001 was not an accurate reflection of the newest model... but I did figure we'd fit easily into a Ford Escape Hybrid. I'd seen those at car rental lots before, and in the Portland area there'd have to be a plethora of choices! Right? Well.... maybe not.

I called and googled every major car rental company (most of which are all owned by the same parent, by the way) only to find that that no hybrid SUV's were available for a one way trip with a drop off at the San Francisco airport. However, I could get a midsize SUV from any of these companies, no problem. 18 Miles to the gallon. But we'd all fit. Without any credit card needed to reserve one, I finally relented and held the cheapest option I could find, and continued my hybrid search.

Many frustrating hours later, I booked the only hybrid vehicle I could: A Prius. I totally ignored the little images on the website that showed a Prius holding only 3 pieces of luggage comfortably. I thought if we packed light enough and our bags were all small enough (who was I kidding!), perhaps we could jam it all in. And I wouldn't have to embarrass myself on this blog by admitting I'd rented a gas guzzling SUV. Again, no credit card needed, so with two vehicles booked, our options were open.

While we waited in line at the Hertz rental kiosk I had time to run to the lot and look inside the Prius to get a sense of the trunk space ... such a disappointment. No way would all our stuff fit in there. I trudged back to the group, defeated.

We were up next. I explained to the patient woman in the Hertz uniform our woeful story of wanting a hybrid but having too much luggage for the Prius. Other than a gas guzzline SUV, what did she suggest? She turned to her monitor, typed for a few minutes and said: "How would you like a Nissan Altima Hybrid? We don't usually have them but someone just dropped it off from out of state. The trunk holds 4 suitcases"!

I was ecstatic! We all agreed we had some great trip karma.... well, for the most part. As we walked up to our beautiful "race car red" hybrid Esther said: "Oh no, it's red.

The color most frequently pulled over for speeding!"

It could have happened to any of us, Esther... sorry it was you!

On a final note... the more we as consumers ask for green options, the more will become available. Next time you or someone you know needs to rent a car, ask for a hybrid. Perhaps the next person who needs a hybrid SUV will get one!