The Hertz Corporation (also known as Hertz Rent A Car or simply Hertz) is the world's largest car rental company, with 1900 locations in the United States and 5100 worldwide.
The company was begun by Walter L. Jacobs in 1918, who started a car rental operation in Chicago with a dozen Model Ts. In 1923, Jacobs sold it to John Hertz, president of Yellow Cab and Yellow Truck and Coach Manufacturing Company, who renamed it the "Hertz Drive-Ur-Self System". The company has passed through a number of hands, including General Motors, RCA, and United Airlines, and is now wholly owned by Ford Motor Company. Hertz was traded on the NYSE under the symbol HRZ until the purchase of outstanding stock by Ford.
Advertising
O.J. Simpson appeared prominently in ads for the company until shortly after the murder of his ex-wife. In one ad, he leapt over counters running through an airport terminal.
A large billboard advertising Hertz was on the roof of the Texas School Book Depository in Dealey Plaza during the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The billboard has long since been removed.
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