simplicity

For drivers who already share movies via Netflix and stream music rather than buying CDs, the idea of sharing a car is the natural extension of a hip, financially smart, and environmentally conscious urban lifestyle.

After all, drivers who give up their cars and switch to Zipcar say they save an average of $600 per month. Car sharers report reducing their vehicle miles traveled by 44%, according to Susan Shaheen of the University of California at Berkeley, and surveys in Europe show CO2 emissions are being cut by up to 50% per user.

via Car-rental, auto industry react to Zipcar’s growing appeal – Aug. 27, 2009.

A good read about where the car ‘borrowing’ market is headed. I think it’s got a huge set of legs as long as it’s simple and easy. That’s where I think Zipcar really excels, it’s incredibly simple and cheap. Not to mention it’s wireless technology is pretty effective. My friend who does this a lot can’t stop talking about how great it is and how easy it is.

If the plan is to go public next year, I bet a large amount of investors are salivating over the potential of getting their hands into this pot. I do have to mention though that the best part of the article is this:

Griffith’s hard-charging manner has alienated some of his nonprofit competitors. As Zipcar was preparing to launch in Chicago in 2006, he asked Sharon Feigon, I-GO’s CEO, for a lunch meeting. She says that when Griffith asked her what her exit strategy was, she replied she didn’t have one; I-GO would keep growing and serving Chicago. Then she remembers being taken aback by his next comment. “He looked me in the eye and said, ‘You can’t expect to survive. We’re going to crush you.’”