I don’t understand your question. ” grt”? What Hertz key stuff?

Cars come with two keys and I bet the rental companies keep both on one ring to prevent theft. If you “forgot” to return one key, it would cost them plenty to have the car rekeyed.

But I love to read about people more boneheaded than me, so keep up the addled behavior.

But I’d be scared of the auto-key sensing thing…I mean, I’d love it if I were a car thief, but since I’m not, I’d be a bit wary of it. Of course, in a way it’s not necessary: if someone’s got your keys, nowadays all they have to do is hit the “panic” button, and then go to the beeping, flashing car.

Did I miss the part where Americans rose as one, and said, “damn – the thing I hate more than anything is actually having to stick a key in a lock and rotate it a quarter turn”?

I was dubious at first too, but it works out pretty well. You have to be very, very close to the car (like touching it or inside it) for it to work. And if you don’t like it, there’s a way to turn off the “smart key” feature and use it like a regular key. There’s even a regular key hidden inside the electronic key for if you want to go really old school.

Did I miss the part where Americans rose as one, and said, “damn – the thing I hate more than anything is actually having to stick a key in a lock and rotate it a quarter turn”?

You’d think that wouldn’t be a great burden, but damn I find myself acting really inconvenienced when I have to hunt around in my pocket for the key to the rental car, and to have to keep track of it all the time. With the smart key, you only have to keep it on your person and your good to go. You never have to touch it except to put it in your pocket. I’ve grown really used to it (obviously).

I actually asked them about that, and they said it was okay. I guess it’s preferable to them spending all that money on me for roadside assistance.

Then there are all the times I left the lights on and killed the battery.

I think Hertz only charges $100 for key ring vandalism. :-0

As for car keys, I used to keep a spare under my shoe insert (there’s nothing else I’m absolutely guaranteed to have with me if I’m out of the house; not my wallet, nor any single item of clothing) but that was when I had a flat key available. Now I’ve just gotten into the habit of locking the door only after I’m outside the car, and then hoping for the best…

Handy tip – if you ever lock your keys in your car in a Vegas casino parking lot, most of them have a free service to help you out. This is probably true of many large resorts, I’d guess, and saved a friend of mine a chunk of cash (which he then insisted on spending to tip the guy – I didn’t say he was a smart friend)