Avis 2010 car rental fleet offers business and leisure customers who seek a "green" ride a wide variety of SmartWay-certified vehicles, including the Ford Focus, Hyundai Sonata, Nissan Versa and Pontiac G6.

"At Avis, 'We Try Harder' to meet our customers' varied travel needs - and that includes offering products and services that appeal to those who wish to minimize their environmental impact," said Becky Alseth, senior vice president of marketing for Avis Budget Group, parent company of Avis. "In addition to SmartWay-certified vehicles, we offer gas/electric hybrid vehicles in our Cool Car Collection which can be reserved by specific make and model."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency certifies vehicles in its SmartWay Certification program based on its rigorous air pollution and greenhouse gas emission standards. Sixty-two percent of vehicles in Avis' fleet are SmartWay Certified, with nearly 100 percent of subcompact, compact and intermediate vehicles achieving the EPA's green stamp of approval.

Avis offers renters additional ways to help minimize the environmental impact of their rental car use with electronic toll collection, where2 GPS navigation, greendriving tips from Avis.com and carbon credits available for purchase through Carbonfund.org, a nonprofit provider of carbon offset credits.