Hybrid rental cars pull into LV

Monday, Nov. 21, 2005 | 7:46 a.m.

It took landing in the pea-soup smog that Los Angeles residents breathe to jump-start Jeff Pink's entrepreneurial spirit.

Now, Pink hopes that energy will translate into developing the world's largest fleet of hybrid rental vehicles in Las Vegas and, ultimately, a showcase for all things environmental at one of the city's monorail stations.

"I remember flying into L.A. and seeing how bad the pollution was," Pink said from the front seat of a Toyota Prius cruising west on Tropicana Avenue near McCarran International Airport.

"I had a year-old son and I told my wife, 'We've got to do something about this (air pollution) or we're going to kill ourselves,' " he said.

That was eight years ago.

Today, Pink, chief executive of EV Rental Cars, is tackling a different air-quality problem with an exclusive agreement with US Rent A Car in Las Vegas.

Within a month, Pink plans to have 100 hybrid cars manufactured by Honda, Toyota and General Motors available at the 600-vehicle car-rental agency based on Paradise Road, just off the airport. The first 20 hybrids rolled into the agency last week.

Hybrids are in such demand that it's hard to get large quantities, but Pink hopes he'll ultimately have 500 available for Southern Nevada visitors as well as curious locals who want to try one out before buying one.

And that isn't the end of his environmental commitment to the city. Pink's company is in negotiations with the Las Vegas Monorail Co. to turn one of the transportation system's stations into an environmental learning center devoted to alternative and renewable energy systems.

"We hope to have displays about all types of renewable energy systems, not just information about our cars," Pink said. "We're talking solar, wind and geothermal. Wouldn't that be cool to have a solar power display and have solar panels that provide some of the power for the station?"

Las Vegas Monorail Chief Executive Curtis Myles is on board with that.

"Jeff is doing everything he can on a personal and professional level to help improve the environment, and we're doing the same thing," Myles said, noting that the monorail system removes an estimated 4.4 million auto trips from local roads in a year.

Pink and Myles aren't commenting on the status of negotiations or which monorail station is being targeted for the proposed learning center. EV Rental Cars also is in talks for a themed monorail train, advertising space that normally costs about $1 million a year.

Pink said the hybrid vehicles at US Rent A Car would include the Toyota Prius and the new Honda Civic models that get 50 miles a gallon and have a range of about 600 miles per tank of gasoline. Both are half electric- and half gasoline-powered cars that seat five passengers.

Both models are equipped with integrated charging systems, which mean they never have to be recharged from an outside source.

"That was one of the misconceptions we got through, that rental car agencies would need a bank of electrical outlets to keep these cars charged," Pink said. "The hybrid systems charge themselves while the vehicle is in motion."

Some of EV Rental's vehicles in California were fueled by natural gas, but Pink said the lack of refueling stations created challenges for motorists, even though the vehicles were a popular alternative to other rentals.

Maria Romano, president of US Rent A Car in Las Vegas, said her office routinely gets requests for hybrid vehicles, and with the new agreement with EV Rental, she'll be able to meet those needs.

Because the demand is so high for hybrids and EV Rental gets them at retail prices from manufacturers instead of at a high-volume discount rate, Romano's operation will rent the vehicles at a premium of about 20 percent higher than standard gasoline-powered car rental rates.

That means a Toyota Prius would rent for about $39 a day, plus tax.

But she thinks customers will embrace them and enjoy the quiet ride of the hybrid.

"I get to drive whatever's left on the lot," Romano said. "So I've driven the hybrids and I really like them. They'll be great for us and for the city."

She said she also expects local residents who want to give hybrids a test before buying them would rent from her franchise to get more than a test drive.

Richard N. Velotta can be reached at 259-4061 or at velotta@lasvegassun.com.