Hertz has scored many "firsts" in the car rental industry. Here are some of the most notable Hertz Firsts:
1918 Hertz begins renting cars
1925 Hertz establishes first coast-to-coast car rental network through national franchise system
1926 Hertz offers the first advanced reservations and introduces Rail-Drive, which later expands to
Fly-Drive & Sail-Drive
Hertz’s National Credential Card is the industry’s first identification card and precursor of the credit
card
1932 Hertz opens the nation’s first airport Rent-a-Car location at Chicago’s Midway Airport
1933 Hertz’s revolutionary Rent-It-Here/Leave-It-There option drastically increases use of
rent-a-cars
1947 Hertz introduces first uniforms in the industry
1950 Hertz opens the first European location in France
1955 Hertz is the first car rental company with 1,000 locations
1957 Hertz offers first European Fly-Drive at Orly Airport in Paris
1959 Hertz uses first Centralized Billing System
1962 Hertz utilizes first Booking System for Travel Agents
1972 Hertz introduces the first #1 Club, a computerized data system that makes renting a car faster &
easier
1978 Hertz introduces the first Nationwide Emergency Road Service
1980 With the first Express Service, #1 Club members bypass the airport counter
1984 First Computerized driving directions give printed directions to thousands of destinations
in over 100 cities
1988 Hertz utilizes In-Car Cellular Phones
1989 Hertz launches #1Club Gold®, which allows member to go directly from airplane to their
car; even the engine is running
1995 Hertz introduces first On-Board Navigation System, NeverLost®
1996 Hertz launches its first World Wide Web Site
1998 Hertz creates first Hertz Return Centers
1999 Hertz launches its first Multilingual Web Site
Hertz launches its first Euro Conversion Web Site
2000 Hertz introduces #1 Club Gold Five Star and President’s Circle membership levels
2001 First launch of the Hertz Prestige Collection in North America
2002 Hertz becomes the first global car rental company to operate in China
Hertz first introduces SIRIUS Satellite Radio
Hertz first introduces the Hertz Prestige Collection in Europe
2004 Hertz introduces brand and model reservability to #1 Club and #1 Club Gold members
2006 Hertz rolls out the Hertz Fun Collection®, featuring vehicles tailor-made for travelers seeking
exciting driving experiences
Hertz introduces the Green Collection of fuel-efficient, environmentally-friendly cars
2007 Hertz launches Hourly Rental Program in New York City and Boston.
Debut of the Shelby GT-H convertible, a special run of 500 performance-modified Ford Mustang
GTs, available for rent at Fun Collection locations and other select airport locations in the U.S
Hertz expands Company-wide environmental initiatives: Announcing the addition of Toyota Prius
Hybrid to Green Collection; $1 million donation to the National Park Foundation and $250,000
Donation to Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City.
Hertz launches Simply Wheelz by Hertz, a new company under the Hertz brand that offers low-
competitive rates, an easy-to-use website for reservations and an advanced self-service rental
machine to rent and return vehicles.
Hertz joins with Nickelodeon to introduce Nick-On-the-Go, a fully portable, pre-loaded, touch-
screen media player for vacationing families.
2008 Hertz introduces the Corvette ZHZ, a special limited-edition, high-performance super-car
available for rental exclusively at Fun Collection locations and other select airport locations in the
U.S.
Hertz begins its Online Check-In Guarantee, which get customers on their way in 10 minutes or
less, guaranteed. Hertz is the first car rental company to launch a Worldwide Online Check-in
service to anyone, anywhere, anytime. The program is available to qualifying customers at the
top 50 airport locations in the U.S.
Hertz launches Connect by Hertz, a pay-as-you-go car membership club that allows members
to book a car for an hour, a day or even longer. The Company begins operations in New York City,
Paris and London with rapid expansion plans for 2009 into various countries, business and
universities around the world.
2009 Hertz acquires Eileo S.A., the Paris-based leader in the design and deployment of best-in-class
car sharing technology.
Hertz purchases the rights to Advantage Rent a Car, initially operating 20 Advantage locations in key U.S. leisure travel markets.
Connect by Hertz signs Marriott International, its first major corporate account & its first two university clients: The Ohio State University and Pepperdine University.
Hertz Equipment Rental Corporation (HERC) acquires Rent One, one of the top power generation companies that provides power to event and media companies throughout Spain.