EV Rental Cars Adds to Its Hybrid Fleet While Politicians Debate Fuel Economy Standards

LOS ANGELES--May 1, 20061, 2006--While the Bush administration and Congress debate how to alter fuel economy standards, and soaring gas prices continue to cause financial hardship for 7 in 10 Americans, business travelers are turning to alternative means of transportation to save corporate coffers from the squeeze at the pumps. But companies can't put important business travel arrangements on hold, so one small car rental company is offering a solution to weary business travelers in the western states.

EV Rental Cars, the nation's only rental car agency exclusively offering hybrid vehicles, is rapidly building its fleet in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.

"We have a responsibility to the environment and to the economy to help business travelers who are suffering from political foot-dragging and oil company profiteering," said EV Rental Cars Chairman Jeff Pink. During the next six to twelve months Pink is planning on adding as many as 500 hybrid vehicles to the EV Rental Cars fleet in Las Vegas alone, which is one of the top three highest volume rental car cities in America.

"In a hybrid rental vehicle I can drive around Las Vegas for two days and never have to refill the tank before returning to the airport," said Patrick Pharris, President and CEO of Promethean Partners, the advertising broker for the environmentally friendly Las Vegas Monorail.

A particular benefit of renting EV Rental Cars' hybrid vehicles is that these vehicles qualify for the carpool lane in California, even when the driver is the only occupant.

EV Rental Cars has the largest fleet of used hybrids that are now available for sale to the public.

BENEFITS OF RENTING A HYBRID CAR:

-- Up to 50 miles-per-gallon, 600 miles per tank

-- California drivers qualify for the carpool lane, even if driving alone

-- Seats up to five passengers

-- Runs on electric and uses no gas when driving at slow speeds

The hybrid vehicles provided by EV Rental Cars include the Toyota Prius, Toyota Highlander, and the new Honda Civic Hybrid models. Each gets nearly 50 miles a gallon and has a range of about 600 miles per tank of gasoline. Both are half electric and half gasoline-powered cars that seat five passengers. Each is equipped with integrated charging systems, which mean they never have to be recharged from an outside source.

EV Rental Cars opened its doors in December 1998 as the first and only rental company in the United States to rent only environmental vehicles to the public. EV Rental Cars' fleet has grown to more than 350 cars at 8 locations throughout the country. Airport locations include California sites in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, a site in Phoenix, AZ and its newest location in Las Vegas, NV. The company has prevented more than 100 tons of air pollution and passed on to its customers more than $1 million in fuel costs savings by acting environmentally. EV Rental Cars is an affiliate of Fox Rent-A-Car. For more information on EV Rental Cars, visit them on the Web at www.evrental.com