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Porsche AG, the maker of valuable and profitable cars like 911, Cayenne and Boxter, will increase its shares in Volkswagen to avoid takeover from abroad. In view of this forthcoming act, auto analysts predict that Porsche is gearing up for a takeover of its own.

Recently, Porsche announced that it will purchase sufficient shares in Volkswagen to boost its share to 29.9 percent. Thirty percent of which means a full takeover bid. It seems that the automaker is not only concentrating on the quality of its Porsche factory parts but also with its shares.

Porsche, a German automaker, is controlled by the family of Ferdinand Piech Volkswagen chairman. Nowadays, the automaker is the biggest shareholder of Volkswagen.

Wendelin Wiedeking, Porsche CEO, said that the automaker has no plans to takeover VW. He added that the automaker wants to sell 8.75 million new shares. “We believe this may presage a full bid by the company for Volkswagen, fulfilling Ferdinand Piech’s evident wish to control the company ahead of a likely expiry of the Volkswagen law limiting any one shareholder to 20 percent of voting rights,” said analyst Stephen Cheetham at Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd. in London.

Cheetam noted that the operational impact on Volkswagen being owned by Porsche “is also highly uncertain,” and that the ouster of Pischetsrieder may “herald a turn away from (his) cost-reduction strategy to one focusing on products and volume growth.”

Cheetam also added that Porsche have to bank on debt-financing to pay for Volkswagen. Said brand is now valued at approximately 30 billion euros ($38.38 billion). Porsche’s stake coupled with the state of Lower Saxony, would be unlikely to sell its share amounting to 20 percent. This means that Porsche only need to acquire about 50 percent of Volkswagen.

Credit Suisse, an auto industry critic, said the raise in stake as well as the authorization for the hike in its capital was Porsche sending a signal that “it has the necessary firing power to bid for VW” if its influence at Volkswagen was ever in doubt.

Volkswagen is experiencing turmoil and amidst this turmoil and company’s plans, media has reported that Wolfgang Bernhard, the head of VW’s flagship Volkswagen brand, intends to resign. According to some critics, Porsche is solidifying the company to improve its operations and strategies.

An Australian man has just won a settlement in a landmark age discrimination case against an Irish car rental company after being charged an extra fee for being over the age of 70.

Anthony White tried to hire a car in Ireland 2 years ago when he was in his early seventies and was charged a EUR25 fee. He was also told he would not be able to rent a car on his next visit as he would be over 75.

White took his case to Ireland’s Equality Tribunal who ruled in his favour that the policy amounted to age discrimination. Irish Car Rentals Ltd has since changed the rule and says the decision will now be made on a case-by-case basis involving assessments of age, health, driving record and insurance coverage.

A senior driver surcharge is pretty common with car rental companies – you may have read a previous blog here about it (Too Old to Drive A Rental Car?) Some suppliers charge extra if drivers are over a certain age, others have a maximum age limit for renters and some require additional documentation (like Irish Car Rentals are now doing). The surcharge is applied to cover higher insurance premiums as older drivers as seen as higher risk.

Does this case mean we may see an end to senior driver surcharges? Is it age discrimination to charge older drivers more as they are seen to be a higher risk?

In that case, surely it is also age discrimination to charge someone under 25 a young drivers fee since they too are seen as a higher insurance risk and more likely to have an accident?

In the case of Mr. White, he has been driving for 50 years and felt it was unfair to blanket all older drivers.

I do agree with this and think the company’s new policy is fair – it depends on each individual’s circumstances and not their age. Will other car rental companies follow suit? We’ll have to wait and see.

Final thought – one article I found about this was entitled “Old Man wins age discrimination suit against Irish rental car company” – “Old Man”? Surely that is age discrimination in itself?!

In today’s world of competitive marketing and cutthroat competition, a customer can’t really predict whether the deal he/she is closing will benefit her or not, most of the time most, consumers, just go on with the deal just to avoid all the hassle of inquiring for more economic alternatives, or discounts.

This also applies to car rentals, nowadays, it’s hard to call anything a cheap car rental, with the inflation rate of products, continuing gas price increase it’s hard to keep product prices down, so here are a few tips to keep your car rentals cheap, even if every other factor is making it expensive.

1. Reserve your cheap car rental internet sites instead of over the counter ones. Internet sites, offer internet only discounts which could very beneficial for you, cheap car rentals can be achieved by being witty, put discounts like these to your advantage and you’re sure to save a lot.

2. One way to get cheap car rentals is to try to get the most out of your rental. Most car rentals require you to fill the tank when you return it, so on your way to returning the rented car, fill it up with the cheapest type of gas you could find, you’ll save more than when they make you pay for the gas at an inflated rate.

3. If you can, always rent at only one Car Company, companies give you cheap car rentals for frequently renting their cars, discounts, coupons and sometimes even miles.

4. Ask the car rentals if you can exchange your flyers miles for car rental miles. This is especially useful when your flyer’s miles is about to expire, instead of just letting it go to waste, get a cheap car rental for it.

5. For a cheap car rental, try to make reservations as early as possible, car rental; companies give discounts for customers who reserve early.

6. To get your rental cheaper, pick up your car early in the morning, just as the shop is opening, so that there will be a shortage on the cheap car rentals, at this point, the renters may give you a free or a marked down upgrade.

7. Look for packages like hotels and rental packages or if you want a cheaper car rental find a package that includes air fare, car rental and hotel stay, these packages give you great discounts on all three, so if you’re planning to do all, I suggest you get a package deal to get the most out of your money.

8. To get a cheap car rental at your own, price, find rent-at-your-own-price internet sites that look for the best possible deal with the budget that you’ve given them, but be careful with this, review the company’s history first before you get into it, or make sure that there are no other cheaper means before you close the deal, remember, once you make a reservation, you can’t cancel it.

9. If you’re going to use the car for more than five days try to find weekly rates from car rentals, with weekly rates, the sixth and seventh day are almost always discounted, so look for this when you’re out for a cheap car rental.

10. Instead of picking up your rental at the airport, save money by picking it up at the shop, this’ll reduce airport surcharges.