Do most Enterprise Rental cars come equipped with a tracking device regardless of what they tell you? So they can track every little movement you make including what coffeee shop you were at and where you ate. Once i actually got a call from enterprise asking me if everything was alright about 3 days into my month long rental. Why would they be asking that? Their gps much of alerted them to something.
Dan B
This might be something of a corporate secret that they won't divulge. They could just be calling to see if you are satisfied with your rental. Real-time tracking of vehicles can be costly. MAYBE rental companies in states along the Mexican border include them because of obvious problems if their car is taken into Mexico (insurance, stolen cars, etc). You can be sure that companies are trying to sell GPS tracking to help prevent or pay for rental car abuse. They can connect an OBDII module to track how you're driving the car (similar to Progressives and other insurance companies promote) without the need for GPS. These modules can record engine RPM, acceleration and deceleration rates, mileage driven just like any advanced OBDII reader can do. You might see an additional charge on your card if the rental car company suspects abuse after you return the car.
Andy
Having rented from Enterprise several times, I would say they were just being a good company making sure you are happy with your rental. They called me once to exchange my rented car out of their fleet and give me a brand new upgrade at the same price. If you rented the car with a GPS navigation system, it's possible but unlikely it would be tracking your every movement (too much data to store and process). I did read about one rental company (not Enterprise) that installed a GPS device (not a navigation system) specifically to alert drivers exceeding speed limits or crossing international borders: that company tells every renter about it (no secret), and the renter has to sign a document agreeing to the invasion of privacy, to obtain the lowest rental rate on their vehicles.
Jeff D
Yes, rental car companies use the GPS to track down cars that aren't returned. As for the call from the company to see if everything was OK, I'd chalk that up to customer satisfaction.
Anonymous
Yes it's controlled from over flying aircraft along with all other aspects of life. That's why American domestic airlines now discourage check in luggage, it leaves more space in the cargo hold for all the tracking equipment the government demand they carry.
honestamerican
No doubt!
Did you know the federal government started requiring car manufacturers to have a remote kill switch in all new cars? It started about 20 years ago.
Did you hear about the 12 year old who took her 7 YO sister on a 100+MPH chase in Texas recently? That was how they ended the chase!