How would you feel everytine you want to take a flight, an Audi A4 is all ready to rush you through to the airport? Wi-fi Hotspot, Satellite Radio and GPS at no extra costs. And the best part is you don’t have to step out for all this. Book an Audi A4 from your smart devices. Isn’t this certainly a delight?
Silvercar offers this premium experience as a surprise and a new step ahead in the car rental industry. StartupsFM spoke to Silvercar about creating this rich car rental experience.
Why is Silvercar only focused on Airport car rentals?
Silvercar is an airport-based car rental company because, as frequent business travelers ourselves, we rent cars more often from airports. That also means that our experience as business travelers tells us that when it comes to the car rental industry at large, it’s the airport-based portion of the car rental industry that has seen the least amount of innovation and therefore, it has the greatest need for it. Having had too many “nightmare” rental stories, we set out to change it.
Is Audi the only car that will be available for this service? If yes, why so?
Yes, we will only rent Audi from Silvercar. When we set out to start Silvercar it was critical that we identified a vehicle that already had a great deal of technology innovation to support the additional technology we would need to add to the car to realize the concept. Audi was the only car that fit the criteria. And, it should be said, that Audis have great safety features, premium comfort and design detail, and they’re just sexy cars.
We also wanted to make sure that every time some one chose Silvercar, they had an excellent, premium experience: a car they deserved instead of a more questionable choice like an electric blue Malibu.
Why did you start Silvercar? And how is Silvercar different from other airport rental companies?
Silvercar was thought up after too many bad car rental experiences. We pulled out a blank sheet of paper and began writing down all the things we’d like a car rental company to be and what came out of that was Silvercar.
Silvercar is different from our competitors in just about every way. We offer only one make/model of car, a silver 2013 Audi A4. We never have lines or counters; travelers can walk straight up to their car and get on their way. While we do have concierges to assist the customers who need it, interactions between Silvercar and travelers are completely digital through smartphone and cloud technologies.
Is Silvercar a cloud-based rental option? Is Silvercar only for travelers visiting Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)? Do you plan to launch it elsewhere?
Yes, Silvercar is cloud-based. We integrate cloud computing, smartphones and wireless technologies to make a premium customer experience.
Silvercar is currently only offered at DFW Airport as a rental option, though we do have plans to expand to other airports in the US within 2013. Our future locations will be disclosed as plans and contracts are finalized.
Why do you think Silvercar will be a gamechanger in the car rental industry that has not seen such disruption?
We’re a gamechanger because we’ve worked to create, not just a car rental company with an app or just a car rental company with a nice car selection, but because we deliberately went out to create an experience that we believe travelers are looking to have. We’re not just providing an option for a mode of transportation. No we’re providing an intuitive and quality experience with the objective to get people where they need to be.
Silvercar really got started because of too many bad experiences at the car rental counter in decades of travel. The industry hasn’t evolved much in the last 30 years and we’re intent on removing the common frustrations and turning the game on its head.
Watch Silvercar in motion
Silvercar launches Austin airport service in time for Grand-Am and SXSW!
Download the Silvercar app now to enable your Silvercar experience. Make reservations, manage your profile and access the car, all from the palm of your hand.
Get Silvercar from iTunes and Android.
More information on Silvercar, [Information provided by CrunchBase]
