Environmentalist CEO's Business Rents Hybrid Cars

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Going green proved to be a smart move for Jeff Pink. As chief executive officer of EV Rental Cars, he's trying to turn a small fleet of vehicles into a nationwide armada to protect the environment.

Going green proved to be a smart move for Jeff Pink.


As chief executive officer of EV Rental Cars, he's trying to turn a small fleet of vehicles into a nationwide armada to protect the environment. He's gained a toehold into three markets with 260 cars, but after recently partnering with the larger Fox Rent a Car, Pink expects to more than double both his fleet size and number of cities by the end of the year.


While it's not a bad business to be in, servicing a loyal and somewhat lucrative niche, the frenetic executive sees EV Rental's mission as nothing short of saving the world.


"People have to understand we're gonna kill ourselves with cars," he said, waving a finger for emphasis. "All these muscle cars out there, getting terrible mileage, with the terrible emissions; we've got to think about what we're doing."


Seven years ago, the Calabasas resident had a successful real estate development business and a baby on the way. Conscious of his unborn son's health, he started worrying about Los Angeles' smoggy skies and wanted to find a way to cut down on the pollutants that crept from his tailpipe.


So he looked into renting an EV-1, General Motors' pioneering electric vehicle, thinking he'd test it out for a week before leasing the futuristic-looking car. No such rental company existed, so he signed up anyway and began thinking of a business opportunity.


Abruptly jumping out of the family business, he started EV Rental in 1998 with a tiny selection of 11 electric vehicles. The business grew and shrunk over the years, peaking whenever hot new cars like the Toyota Prius debuted, falling when the travel market contracted. After many frustrating stops and starts, Pink thinks this year will be his to shine.


The company currently serves Los Angeles from its headquarters on Century Boulevard, San Diego and Phoenix. Expansions to Orange County, Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose are in the works.


"When his rental base comes in, they're passionate," said Joe Knight, Fox's executive vice president of business development. "They don't want our Magnums or our 300Ms, they want his Insights."


The hybrid Hondas aren't cheap to rent, with a price around $39.95 per day, when compared with the $29.95 Dodge Magnum or $39.50 per day luxury Chrysler. But to customers like Wendy James, who runs an environmental consulting business in Burbank, that doesn't matter. She'll rent the hybrids on principle, but likes their better economy if she's driving any significant distance.


"And it gives you something to talk about!" she said. "What's more L.A. than renting the same car Leonardo DiCaprio drives? You don't get to do that in Tulsa."


But if Pink can keep growing EV's coverage, he thinks that may change. With gasoline prices at $2.19 a gallon on Tuesday, which the Automobile Club of Southern California reports as nearly 20 cents per gallon higher than last year, he believes more drivers will start searching out ways to cut down their fuel bills.


"As gas prices keep going up and up and up, people will want these cars," he said. "California won't be the only place people are environmental anymore."


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