Adam Smith, Chick-Fil-A Drive-Through Bully, Hassles Fast... GE Executive To Be Paid $89,000 A... Ro

Barbara Boxer , Cally Houck , Enterprise Rental Car , Hertz Rentals , Rachel And Jacqueline Houck , Raechel And Jaqueline Houck , Recalled Cars , Recalled Rental Cars , Rental Car Company Recall Issues ,
She would like to retire but this is the last place she saw her two daughters before a fiery crash on Oct. 7, 2004, as their rental car smashed head on with an 18-wheeler. The accident that claimed their lives has inspired Houck to advocate low airline fares to cleveland for a federal law ensuring that a recalled car must be fixed before low airline fares to cleveland a rental company low airline fares to cleveland leases it out to customers.
Eight years ago, her daughters had been citizens of the world, Houck told The Huffington Post. Raechel, then 24, had just returned from Italy to Santa Cruz, Calif., where she was sharing an apartment with her sister Jacqueline, then 20.
Raechel's two-year stay in Italy -- where the locals had saluted her, "Ciao, Veronica!" by her middle name -- had prompted her to apply to the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco, where she hoped to train to become a translator. Jackie was an artist low airline fares to cleveland and an equestrian.
The two sisters' road trip to Ojai granted them a visit with their mother and friends; plus Raechel had a fitting for a bridesmaid dress. At the end of a lovely week, the two best friends and one adoring mother stood hugging goodbye outside Houck's law office.
A couple of hours later, Raechel and Jacqueline died in the crash. At first local newspapers reported that officials found it hard to determine its cause because the car had been so badly burned. They speculated that Raechel had lost control of the car.
It took days before Houck learned that the Chrysler PT Cruiser that her daughters low airline fares to cleveland had rented -- which had been offered to them as a free upgrade -- had been recalled because the power steering fluid could leak, which could cause a fire. A leak of power steering fluid could also result in a loss of car control .
But the rental car company, Enterprise Rental Cars, never made repairs to that PT Cruiser after the recall. The Houck sisters were the fourth customers to rent the PT Cruiser after Enterprise learned of the recall.
Houck wants rental car companies to promise they won't rent or sell a vehicle until any safety recall issue is addressed. So far, only one rental car company -- Hertz Rental -- has promised to permanently stop the practice. Other companies have said they are on board, but won't promise to never rent a recalled low airline fares to cleveland vehicle and not fixed.
"It's so simple, so simple," Houck said. The rental companies "just don't want to be told what to do." Houck has found a ally in the Senate low airline fares to cleveland in Boxer, who is planning to introduce a bill similar to one proposed last year by Sen. Chuck Schumer.
The chief executive of Enterprise, which also owns National and Alamo, wrote Boxer that he agrees with her plan. In a May 22 letter, Enterprise CEO Andrew Taylor stated that his company has already stopped renting recalled cars, noting, low airline fares to cleveland "We are happy to comply with the pledge set forth in your letter." low airline fares to cleveland But with additional low airline fares to cleveland conditions outlined in his letter, Taylor fell short of saying Enterprise would make this change permanently, which has been a sticking point with Boxer and Houck. In short, Taylor did not sign the pledge.
Rental companies can be slow to fix recalled vehicles, according low airline fares to cleveland to recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration testimony. Chrysler and General Motors told the NHTSA last year that 30 days after a recall, just 10 percent to 30 percent of recalled rental cars had been fixed. Within a year, the repair rate rose to only 50 percent. Chrysler declined to comment for this story.
Car recalls can be more complicated than other product recalls. When an over-the-counter medication is recalled, consumers are encouraged to throw out the offending bottles. When spinach is recalled, supermarkets will clear it from their shelves.
But when cars are recalled, the process is slower and more involved. First, the National low airline fares to cleveland Highway Traffic Safety Administration posts on its website a notice, which will usually be picked up by media organizations. Several weeks later, the automakers send out letters to dealers, rental car companies and other large fleet managers to let them know which cars have been recalled. Then letters are sent to individual low airline fares to cleveland owners.
Sometimes carmakers send out notifications before they know how to solve the problem at hand. This was the case when Toyota issued massive low airline fares to cleveland recalls of vehicles in 2009 and 2010 because of sudden acceleration low airline fares to cleveland concerns. The company low airline fares to cleveland first blamed low airline fares to cleveland the problem on the floor mats' sticking under the pedal; Toyota suggested that consumers remove the mats. But the carmaker continued to research the matter and eventually issued a second recall for gas pedals, which needed replacement.
Other recalls can result in a consumer being confused whether his or her car in particular is subject to a publicized low airline fares to cleveland recall. Automakers often change parts suppliers midstream, so while one car containing a piece from Company X might be recalled, low airline fares to cleveland a neighbor's car of the same model might include low airline fares to cleveland Company Y's part and not require a recall. An automaker might take a while figure out which vehicles contain the problematic parts.
That type of minor recall should not keep rental cars off the road, Taylor wrote in his letter, adding that Enterprise will still ground its cars until all parties can agree on the proposed legislation. And he stressed that Enterprise's practices will keep unsafe cars out of consumer's hands. "Our vehicles are safe, meet all federal safety standards and are well maintained," he wrote. "No one need have any concern about the safety of the vehicles we rent."
"I'm doing this for my daughters and for consumers, and for myself, too," she said. "It helps to have a purpose, and I guess to maybe redeem the loss a little bit. Not that that can really ever help."
low airline fares to cleveland Adam Smith, Chick-Fil-A Drive-Through Bully, Hassles low airline fares to cleveland Fast... GE Executive To Be Paid $89,000 A... Robert Ramnarine, Charged With Insider Trading, Allegedly... Matthew Argintar, Man In Batman Costume, Arrested...
HuffPost High School welcomes a lively, thoughtful debate in the comment section. Keep in mind that the articles here are penned by young authors, so please keep criticism respectful, and help us to keep this a safe and supportive place for writers of all ages to contribute.
We are testing different comment ordering to see which the community prefers. You've been randomly chosen to see the most favorited comments first. Do you prefer this over most recent comments first?
Blessings to you Cally. I can't imagine the unbearable pain of losing two children due to the negligence of a corporation. I signed the change.org petition and will go further to contact Enterprise and National, both rental car companies I use regularly. Maybe not for much longer.
There is a mentality throughout the business world that anything that takes away from the bottom line is not to be done until caught. Having to take these cars off line to maintain them probably costs the company and no matter what they just don't want to pay that cost. You can see this same mentality from your local deli which instead of hiring an exterminator to deal with the rodent and insect problem would rather take the chance low airline fares to cleveland that the health dept will never catch on to mine safety to oil spills.
Enterprise, Alamo and National all owned by the private entity of the Taylor family of Clayton Missouri..right next to St. Louis city. They are a family of 4, and were number 18 on the Forbes richest list having 14 billion between the 4 of them. Andy, the son of Jack who started Enterprise, is a total sociopath and doesn't even step foot in any of the enterprise offices, low airline fares to cleveland locations or call centers. He occasionally goes to a highly headquarters in Clayton, but otherwise he dont care as long as he is making more every day. and I heard from someone I know who works there that they have lost a huge lawsuit for not paying employees for working. I think it covers all employees from 2007 to 2010, where they told them they would be fired if the didnt do certain things before and after they were off the clock. And its costing them millions now. that just one of many things they do. They cut so many corners on car care and customers that you be amazed. And by the way, when you make a reservation for a car, they dont promise youll get it. Fly in and expect a car and you might not. No guarantee you will get the car you want, need, or any car at all. They are scum in my book.
You would think that after a 15 million dollar judgement they would fix the cars and save themselves the judgements. Now they are just rolling the dice that if won't happen again. Murphy's law, if it can happen, it will happen. The person who set this policy is going to lose their job and maybe even go to prison.
You are at the mercy of car rental companies when they hand you the keys. I always at least check the condition of the tires. low airline fares to cleveland Once, they were down to the wear bars, and it was raining. I demanded low airline fares to cleveland another car and told them this one was UNSAFE! low airline fares to cleveland They reluctantly complied.
I commend Ms.Houck for her personal courage through the tremendous loss of her daughters. I have no idea how people find the courage and strength to come back after such devastating losses. I've had losses-many over the last year and I struggle but suppose I also haven't crawled in a hole. To lose your children-that cannot compare in my eyes. Bless her for trying to keep other people safe with this bill.
UHaul is the WORST regarding truck safety, at least in my experience. On more than one occasion we tried to rent and one after the other had something wrong with it.The employees low airline fares to cleveland I've encountered are rude and don't give a cr ap about customer service. Boycott UHAUL.
FTA:" Houck wants rental car companies to promise they won't rent or sell a vehicle until any safety recall low airline fares to cleveland issue is addressed. So far, only one rental car company -- Hertz Rental -- has promised to permanently stop the practice."