Getaround Blog

How It Feels to Drive a Tesla

If there’s one thing redeeming about being over 30 in a city that can often seem so young, it’s the privilege of being able to rent a red hot sexy Tesla.

The Tesla is the one car that Getaround requires its members to be a certain age to drive. Ironically, it’s also the one car that would make a guy like me feel I’m back in my 20s, but this time more responsible.

Meeting the Tesla

It was a cold and rainy Sunday morning when my wife and I drove our Honda Pilot through downtown San Francisco to Keatley’s Garage where the Tesla was parked. We were greeted by the warm, contagious smile of Matt of the Getaround Ops team.

Matt brought us in to meet our Tesla. The immediate sensation of seeing such a petite and sophisticated car sent us into nervous giggles. In the background, Mozart played.

Matt handed me the keys and followed up with the customary walk-around to show us the more peculiar features, like the push-button gear box and the wall-charging outlet.

Starting it Up

Then we got in—butt first, feet last—and I turned the key. The lights on the dash lit up, but there was no other sound. Matt assured us the Tesla was started.

Now most people at this point might be disappointed not to hear the nostalgic rumble of the engine or the smell of exhaust fumes. But the silence of the Tesla was futuristic and intruiging, and when combined with the coziness of the cabin (just space for two and no more), we discovered a unique level of intimacy never felt in a car before.

On the Road

We started driving just as the rain turned into a downpour. As I fumbled for the lights and wipers and my wife for the radio, we hit our first moment of acceleration. The feeling from that first surge is hard to describe. It must be how Luke Skywalker felt after he hit the magic switch on the speeder bike and shot off through the Endor forest. Pure exhilaration.

We continued through the city—Golden Gate Park, Ocean Beach, Fort Point, Lombard Street and the Mission to visit a Zipcar-using friend (“Whoa! Now there’s a car I can’t get.”). It quickly became a novelty to see what were now garden-variety BMWs, Lexuses and Porsches at every light, driven by envious onlookers trying to get a peek at us.

The final hurrah was a speed run to Pacifica, a small beach town about 15 miles south of San Francisco. I hit the “gas” on an empty stretch of highway, and in that moment—the electric hum of the engine, the quiet, snuggly space of the cabin and the dangerous thrill of high velocity on a rain-slicked road—all connected and the two of us effortlessly soared with the Tesla into what felt like nirvana.

Epilogue

We returned to Keatley’s and got back in the Pilot. We really had fun, and all we were doing was acting our age. Not bad for a simple Sunday drive in the Getaround Tesla.

Get Something Awesome When You Rent now thru the end of September

UPDATE: The promo is valid for rentals between September 13-30.

From now through the end of the month of September, we’re giving away a free Getaround t-shirt to anyone who rents a car. If you’re an owner, the same deal applies: approve a rental request and get a t-shirt.

But that’s not all. If you make a rental, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a free day in our Tesla. We’ll choose the winner in early October and hand over the keys. Bonus points for wearing the t-shirt while driving the Tesla!

About the t-shirts—we just got them in today, in fact. They’ve got our new logo and they’re super cool. Choose from purple or black and be one of the first to be seen sporting our latest garb!

So whatcha you waiting for? Rent a car now (or approve a rental request)!

Rules: One t-shirt per person, offer valid for rentals made between September 13-30 and Tesla winner must be at least 30 years old (if not, we’ll find a great substitute).

Go to TechCrunch Disrupt SF with the Previous Winners—Us!

As Getaround prepares to pass the TechCrunch Disrupt Cup to the winner of Disrupt San Francisco 2011, we thought it would be really cool if attendees could try out the service that won us the coveted award last May in New York.

So here’s the deal: if you’re swinging by our hometown for the next Disrupt, we’d really like you to drive a Getaround car. It’s simple, safe and convenient, and we promise not to upsell you insurance at the counter (don’t worry, insurance is always included and there is no counter—not even a line).

To get you motivated, we’re throwing in a few special bonuses:

• a 20% discount on all Getaround rentals between 9/12-15
• delivery of your Getaround car to the San Francisco Airport by one of our team members
• an exclusive VIP invitation to the Getaround-Qwiki Party

All you have to do is click here to get started and we’ll help you take care of the rest.

Happy renting and we look forward to meeting you at SFO!

Oh, and that party—picture yourself rubbing elbows with all kinds of Silicon Valley winners at a downtown hotspot with our very own DJ Kidhack, free food, open bar … you get the idea.

How we Ensure Trust and Safety at Getaround

At Getaround, we are proud to say that we have a strong community firmly rooted in trust and safety. It’s an issue we’ve been deeply committed to since day one.
 
In addition to offering complete insurance coverage on each rental, we require our members to pass several security checkpoints to make sure their Getaround experience is simple, safe and secure—every time.

At signup

Joining Getaround is a quick, free and easy process. For each new signup, we work hard behind the scenes to verify the identity of each user. We ask users for a social profile using Facebook to ensure they’re using their real identity online.

Booking a rental

Our special screening process runs over 20 separate security checks, including an instant driver record look-up that’s directly connected to each state’s DMV secure network. We also pre-authorize credit card information and analyze credit card billing information.

Sharing a car

All Getaround owners have the first option to decline a renter at their discretion whenever a request for their car is made. If they decide to share their car, they then have the option to do an in-person key exchange. This allows an owner to personally hand over their keys to the renter only after they’ve met them and verified their driver’s license. 
 
Owners also have the option of the Getaround Carkit™, a small and discreet piece of installed hardware that allows the car to be unlocked and locked using a smart phone.

Each Carkit is equipped with GPS tracking technology, tamper detection and our own proprietary cryptographic protocols to secure any and all data exchanges. This lets owners share their vehicles more efficiently without compromising on security.

Ignition disable on the Carkit

The Getaround Carkit supports a flexible ignition disable option that can be configured in multiple ways. For example, it can be configured to put the car’s ignition in a disabled state by default, similar to how other car sharing companies function.

However, disabling the ignition by default can significantly erode the car sharing experience. As an owner, you give up the freedom to use your own car in a normal way. Instead of unlocking your car with the keys and driving it—say, down the street to the store—you would be required to reserve your car through an online rental request system. Then you’d have to open and start it using an electronic entry device.

Our approach in offering a key exchange and the Getaround Carkit provides a simple, safe and secure car sharing experience without compromising the freedom of our car owners.

How our members feel about Getaround

Our members tell us they feel extremely safe sharing their cars in Getaround, and that renters have been consistently respectful when driving and returning their cars.

Says Sandy M.:

I need to know that my car is only being rented to reliable drivers, who will return it to me in the same condition in which they rented it. Getaround’s system for verifying qualified drivers, coupled with insurance that protects my car when it is driven by others, handles all my concerns.

Stay tuned over the next few months as we roll out several new Trust and Safety features on Getaround. If you’ve got anything to say or suggest to our team, please send it to safety@getaround.com. Thanks for reading!

Size Matters Not at the Little Car Show

Tomorrow, August 17th, one of our Getaround Tesla Roadsters will be on display at “The Little Car Show 2011” in downtown Pacific Grove as part of Monterey Car Week.

The Tesla will be judged alongside 59 other Little Cars – new and old. Trophies include “Longest Distance Traveled,” “Most Smiles Per Miles Vehicle” and “Mayor’s Choice.” Which trophy do you think our Tesla might win?

If you’re cruising the Monterey Peninsula tomorrow—or just inspired to take a jaunt down the coast—be sure stop by between noon and 5pm. Entry is free, but donations are welcome to benefit the Pacific Grove Youth Center and Public Library.

Our Tesla will be hanging out with the other Little Cars on Lighthouse Avenue between Fountain and Forest Avenues.

Welcome to Car Sharing 2.0

Today is extra special at Getaround. It’s the day we reveal to the world our new logo and brand identity, and more importantly, our unique approach to make car sharing simple, empowering, and sustainable for all.

In the wee hours of the morning, our web team eagerly flipped the switch and replaced our old logo with the new one you now see on our website, Twitter, Facebook and everywhere else.

Way More Than a Logo

With this new change comes a lot of new adventure. Beyond the logo, we’re striving to extend personal freedom by disrupting the way we approach car ownership and car sharing.

The way we plan to do this is by introducing some significant enhancements to the Getaround experience, including awesome feature enhancements for renters and owners, fresh web and email designs, and stellar incentives to welcome you to this new movement and to help you live unidled.

How We Packaged Our Idea

We always knew Getaround was a powerful idea, but the real challenge lay in carefully crafting peer-to-peer car sharing to have the greatest appeal possible.

Thanks to the unanimous decision by the judges at Sustainable Industries, we were awarded the BBMG Collective Prize in February, winning us the opportunity to work with the nationally-recognized branding firm, BBMG.

The prize included a complete upgrade of our image, the telling of our story and the alignment of our values with our vision—a world in which all cars are shared.

Now, after months of commitment and concentration, we have arrived at what you see today.

How do you feel about our new logo? Tweet us @Getaround!

A New Look for a New Movement

This past February, Getaround was selected from eight finalist teams to receive the BBMG Sustainable Industries Collective Prize, which awards $100,000 of in-kind branding services to a startup with high potential to succeed in a sustainable industry.

The journey from winning the Collective Prize to now has been nothing short of amazing. We’ve had the fortune of working with the highly experienced and charismatic team at BBMG to bring you a completely upgraded visual and brand identity for Getaround.

What’s even more exciting is that we discovered something much greater along the way: Car sharing means more than renting cars from the people around you. It’s an entire movement, and it’s long overdue.

Stay tuned, dear reader—the movement kicks into high gear tomorrow when we unveil our new logo!

A word on Getaround’s insurance policy

In the emerging and exciting age of collaborative consumption, the question most people ask when they first hear about Getaround is, “What about insurance?”

That’s certainly a good question, and it’s something we worked very hard on before launching. After all—we should feel just as safe renting cars from people in our community as we do driving our own.

Every Getaround rental is insured

As a renter, anytime you rent a car on Getaround, you are covered by our A++ rated primary insurance policy, provided by Berkshire Hathaway, for the period of your rental.

This policy includes up to $1M of comprehensive, collision and liability coverage, which is an important distinction to make. Other rental companies offer much less coverage.

The same benefits extend when you’re a Getaround owner as well: You get the peace of mind knowing that your car is covered and protected by our insurance—not yours—while it’s being rented.

It’s that simple.

When you need to extend your rental

If you’re running late or need the rental longer than the scheduled rental period, you need to extend your rental in order to retain insurance coverage. You can do this by re-requesting the rental online or—if you have an iPhone—through our iPhone app, or by calling our support team at 866-GETAROUND (438-2768). 

It’s also very important you contact the owner right away to discuss your wish to extend the rental.

Getaround in the San Francisco Community

Being on the ground in our community is vital to Getaround’s vision to be accessible to as many people as possible.
 
We’ve recently hit up two events – Sunday Streets and Mission Community Market – to give some of our team members a chance to chat with the people of San Francisco.
 
Getaround Hits the (Sunday) Streets 
 
Sunday Streets was inspired by the Colombian event “Ciclovía” (literally, “bike path”), which started in 1976. In San Francisco, miles of streets are closed off for one day each month to let pedestrians and bicyclists roam freely while sampling cool activities like yoga and tai chi.

(photo credit to NEN)
We recently joined the Sunday Streets folk in the Mission and did some roaming of our own.  Instead of a booth or table, we walked around chatting it up with the locals while passing out Getaround flyers and coupons.
 
Between that and munching on some of “the best tacos in the Mission,” we had the divine pleasure of meeting a few of our Getaround members – pets and friends in tow – for the first time. There’s something very refreshing to match real-life faces to the usernames we see in our system. (Shoutout to Angela Prager, one of our car owners –  great seeing you!)

We even ran into the mayor of San Francisco, Edwin Lee! Mayor Lee is known for his passion for making livable, walkable streets in San Francisco. We wasted no time sharing our ideas and soliciting his support to make peer-to-peer car sharing a viable option for everyone.
 
Mission Community Market 

Another Mission event we love to frequent is the Mission Community Market. This eclectic outdoor market on 22nd and Bartlett occurs every Thursdays from 4-8pm., and our ground team shows up every other week.

The Mission neighborhood is the most popular hotspot for Getaround car owners and renters. Our presence there helps us connect with current owners and renters while making it easy to sign up new members as well.

No Getaround booth would be complete without our prize wheel.  Anyone who joins on the spot can win anything from $25 off a rental to one free hour in our Tesla!

Kids love the prize wheel. This spunky little redhead convinced her grandpa to join Getaround so he could take her and her sister for a spin in the Tesla, which we had on display next to our booth.

Even our summer marketing interns couldn’t resist a photo-op with the shiny red beauty.

Getaround welcomes three Oxford MBAs for the summer

The energy at the Getaround can be summed up in one word: exhilarating. On any given day, you’ll find us buzzing around the office, joining forces on multiple projects and hiring new talent. And this is just the beginning!

Just last week we welcomed Patrick, Kazu and Josh — three very bright and sharply-dressed MBA students from the University of Oxford. They will be spending the next six weeks pooling their entrepreneurial talents with the Getaround family.

In less than 24 hours of arriving, our Oxford friends made themselves at home and immediately got cracking on their assignment: to make Getaround accessible to as many people as possible. As you can see from the whiteboard in the photo taken on their first day at the office, these guys aren’t messing around!

What makes this collaboration so dynamic are the unique skills and experience that each of our students brings to the team. Kazu has a deep interest in sustainable energy, Patrick specializes in business models of scale, and Josh loves tech startups and venture capital.

“We have the freedom to define what Getaround will mean to the world,” said Josh. “There is nothing like this being created.”

When asked what he likes about working at Getaround, Kazu replied, “There’s a refreshing culture of work here that goes beyond 5pm. I like working with a variety of people who are strong at what they do.”

“People are nicer in San Francisco, too,” added Josh. “And the food here is amazing!”

Stay tuned for more action from the Getaround blog!