Economics 101 folks....this is what happens when the DOJ allows industries to consolidate to the point where you have an oligopoly. You now only have 3 players in the US rental car market: Hertz, Avis and Enterprise. With all of the mergers, competition has been wiped out. Enterprise bought National/Alamo, Avis bought budget, and Hertz bought Dollar/Thrifty. Aside from a few small local mom and pops, the US rental car industry is now controlled by a few very large companies. The rates that you are bitching about are here to stay, get used to it. Travelers, get ready to bend over and take it in the ass, because the same thing is going on in the airline industry with the consolidation that is taking place in that industry. If you haven't noticed, airfares have been creeping up, and will not be going down anytime soon. Those baggage fees to help cover fuel costs are here to stay too.