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REPORT: Enterprise sold cars after removing side impact airbags
Enterprise, the country's largest car rental and fleet agency, is finding itself in hot water after purposely deleting standard safety equipment from some 66,000 Chevrolet Impalas it purchased between 2006 and 2008 for its nation-wide fleet of rental cars. The full-size Chevy comes fitted standard with side-impact curtain airbags, but Enterprise chose to have the equipment removed to save the cost.
In an investigative piece broken by The Kansas City Star, industry sources say that deleting "unwanted equipment" can save fleet buyers like Enterprise significant costs, especially advantageous in the highly competitive rental car business where the lowest price is often the determining factor for many customers. By removing the airbags from the Impalas, Enterprise was said to have saved $11.5 million.
The rental company also acknowledged having ordered some 5,000 Chevrolet Cobalts and Buick LaCrosses with the airbags removed at the factory. The placement of side-impact curtain airbags has been shown to dramatically reduce the number of fatalities from side collisions, the second most deadly type of accident after head-on collisions. Although the airbags came as standard equipment on the Impala, as well as the Cobalt and LaCrosse, federal safety regulations did not mandate their inclusion, therefore Enterprise broke no law in removing them. Research discovered at least five fatal side-impact collisions involving fleet-purchased Impalas from various companies.
To make matters worse, however, Enterprise reportedly sold 745 Impalas on the open market, falsely advertised as having the side airbags when they did not. Enterprise says the listing that specified the cars in question had the airbags was simply "a glitch in the system", and offered as recourse to buy back the cars from their new owners for $750 over their Blue Book value. That works out to $175 more than the cars would have cost with the airbags installed as standard equipment from the factory.
[Source: The Kansas City Star via CBS]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
E. Blandish-Seagrave 1:38PM (8/17/2009)
Uh oh. Enterprise now called Enterprison. $11.5 M savings should be completely gone soon.
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Kumar 1:46PM (8/17/2009)
Although the airbags came as standard equipment on the Impala, as well as the Cobalt and LaCrosse, federal safety regulations did not mandate their inclusion, therefor Enterprise broke no law in removing them.
Now false advertising will cost them, as but they should be safe from litigation, as the airbags were removed before they went into service at Enterprise, not before they went up for sale in the used car market.
mapoftazifosho 3:28PM (8/17/2009)
Yeah, this was an option from GM for the airbag delete on fleet and government vehicle sales. It wasn't like they bought the cars and then removed the airbags to sell on ebay.
They only did something wrong if they knowingly advertised the vehicles as having the side airbags. They did this for a few vehicles and for those said vehicles they will have to pay the price, BUT moving forward they won't have any issue selling these vehicles that were NOT equipped with SAB's, so long as they don't advertise that these were in fact equipped with them.
At any rate, I still will make it a point to avoid enterprise. Especially considering the fact that for many GM dealers, they are the loaner car provider.
If my Impala has SAB's...my rental Impala sure as hell better have them as well...
I can see this being a bigger issue for GM than Enterprise in this regard...
StPaulGuru 5:16PM (8/17/2009)
mapoftazifosho - Good to see someone else understands what's happening here. I will not defend Enterprise if they actually sold the cars to people who thought they were getting side air bags. But to say they have done wrong by having the cars BUILT without them is a joke.
esoreide2014 1:39PM (8/17/2009)
STUPID!
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Luis 1:38PM (8/17/2009)
Because you know, the private market solves all problems and cares about people, not profits.
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E. Blandish-Seagrave 1:43PM (8/17/2009)
Totally. Now they have pay via litigation. Sucks for everyone.
James 1:47PM (8/17/2009)
"To make matters worse, however, Enterprise reportedly sold 745 Impalas on the open market, falsely advertised as having the side airbags when they did not..."
How "Enterprise-ing" of them...not!
Dude 1:50PM (8/17/2009)
Right. Take a look at a bus the next time you get on it. No seatbelts? Why? Well, lets just say the government is not looking out for people over profits either.
I could care less about side airbags. Face it. If an F-150 comes blasting through the side of your car, an explosion of air is not going to soften the blow of a blue oval being imprinted on the side of your head.
nastinupe 2:04PM (8/17/2009)
Enterprise... We'll rip you off.
I know I know. I couldn't help it.
Paul 2:37PM (8/17/2009)
Astonishing level of greed pushing common sense aside. Honestly, I can't imagine the evil in the mind of the fool who thought this was a good idea. Delete airbags? Jeez...
Here's a thought: Don't ever use Enterprise again. That'll teach anyone thinking of doing the same thing to be sensible.
cdwrx 2:33PM (8/17/2009)
If the government required side airbags then they wouldn't have deleted them. Because you know, the government bureaucracy solves all problems and cares about people, not profits.
Den in IN 2:48PM (8/17/2009)
This is more or less the Wallmart mode of operation. Sell a name brand that is specially configured for lower cost ie. stripped of quality or features that consumers assume would be a part of the product but are actually gone.
Its wrong because airbags are standard on an Impala and they don't put a notice anywhere saying they have deleted safety equipment to save cost. It deceptive and you have no way to find out what they have done.
Bob-omb 3:21PM (8/17/2009)
"I could care less about side airbags. Face it. If an F-150 comes blasting through the side of your car, an explosion of air is not going to soften the blow of a blue oval being imprinted on the side of your head."
You have got to be kidding me. Congratulations on the most uninformed, illogical post of the day.
the4thheat 5:43PM (8/17/2009)
I'm actually surprised that this is legal. While federal regulations don't require side airbags to be standard, if the normal car always comes with side airbags standard then there's only crash test ratings of the version with side impact airbags.
So if there's no proof that the version without side impact airbags would pass the crash tests how can you sell it? Unless GM did crash tests just for Enterprise???
gerrrg 7:39PM (8/17/2009)
"I could care less about side airbags. Face it. If an F-150 comes blasting through the side of your car, an explosion of air is not going to soften the blow of a blue oval being imprinted on the side of your head."
______
Any vehicle, truck or otherwise, coming at you at 55 mph from the side, will kill you. But at 25 mph on a local street, a side impact air bag is the difference between serious head trauma and a bruise.
Rick C. 1:40PM (8/17/2009)
Ah, the need to cut corners in the pursuit of profit. Damn the people and all other considerations. It's the American way!
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Gardiner Westbound 1:49PM (8/17/2009)
It would never occur to me to ask when I rent a car if all safety devices are present and working. Are other auto rental agencies doing the same thing?
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Level 1:50PM (8/17/2009)
I don't know what the big deal is they have every right to order them cars as they see fit when taking into account that its a biz case that makes a lot of sense.....The only fault I see is that they were selling the cars claiming they had side airbags when they didn't but then again, there's a lot of car classified ads that claim to have "X" equipment when they don't...Usually the guys posting the ads don't know jack from shhht...
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Jason 1:56PM (8/17/2009)
Exactly what I was thinking....but you beat me to it.