Exclusive: Hertz CEO on Consumer Demand, New Technology

This morning on The Opening Bell I spoke exclusively with Mark Frissora, Hertz's (HTZ) Chairman & CEO. My last interview with him was at the end of June. At that time the company had just raised estimates and guidance. They just did the same thing again for Q3. Here's a company doing well despite the weakness in the economy.

Off camera, Mark gave me some very interesting statistics and updates on their technology. He definitely sees opportunities. Hertz is increasing the size of its fleet and adding more mid to large-size luxury vehicles. Apparently the company thought consumers would want more small compact vehicles over the summer. Instead they got tons of complaints. He said rental customers doesn't worry about mpg; they want to enjoy themselves.

We talked at length about new technology. Hertz is building kiosks with proprietary software that will allow a card (secure card) to pop out of a kiosk. That card will be used to enter the car and communicate back with Hertz's customer service with a technology similar to OnStar. Keep an eye out for this new software. It'll allow them to set-up rental locations away from airports with very low costs. It could be a big source of growth for the company. A way to really compete with Enterprise.

Take a look.