Had a visitor at work from out of town with a rental car from Budget. It was a base Clubman in a taupe/champagne body color with a black roof. What was notable about this one was that it had the 6-speed manual transmission. I had thought that manual transmission cars from "major" rental outlets had been extinct for 25 years or more.

From asking the visitor, it seems that it was a free upgrade because Budget had run out of the reserved car type. Not sure what they would charge for a specific request or what rental category it is in (premium, subcompact, something else?) or it is even a special "off the books" category that might be difficult to specifically reserve. Given the recent discount deal from Mini for new models ordered with manual transmissions, I wonder if Mini made a deal with Budget too good to refuse. I wonder also how Budget screens renters to determine if they are "stickshift worthy."

So, at Budget at Eppley Airfield in Omaha at least, it's theoretically possible to rent a stickshift Mini at non-exotic rates.

 

Very cool, thanks for the information.