On this day in 1879 a man was born who would become responsible for even longer lines at airports. John Hertz, Sr., born Sándor Herz, in modern Slovakia, didn’t get his start in the rental car business, but in taxicabs. In 1910 he was working as a car salesman when he partnered with the owner of the dealership to found Yellow Cab Company in Chicago after finding success using trade-ins as taxis.
Hertz was president of the company, which was also a coach and cab manufacturing company that sold taxis to other businesses. Then, in 1923, he purchased a rental car company and renamed it Hertz Driv-Ur-Self Corporation. It was this company that would make synonymous with rental cars.
In 1966 Carroll Shelby convinced the suits at Hertz to order 1,001 Shelby GT 350s for a Rent-A-Racer program. To this day you can still rent Shelby Mustangs from Hertz.
After a long stint as a mechanic and machinist who worked his way up in…
Othmar Ammann may not be a familiar name to most, but if you live in…
Lucid Air by Mr.choppers - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=138255918 Arizona may not be…
Larry Shinoda (Ford) Lawrence Kiyoshi Shinoda was born on March 25, 1930, in Los Angeles,…
2000 Land Rover Discovery, from the year Ford purchased Land Rover. Ford Motor Company's Premier…
On this day in 1858 Rudolf Diesel, would later patent the type of engine by…