I have only seen Walter Jacobs twice, but like all of us who have roots in the auto rental business, I owe him a debt of gratitude. Walter L. Jacobs was not the first, but he is the man among several early auto renters who deserves credit for founding the rent-a-car business as we know it.
The first time I saw him was on the stage of the Chicago Blackstone Theater in April 1959. What a show! House lights dimmed, full stage lighting, and, in spite of being 9 o’clock in the morning, it was show business all the way. Walter Jacobs was the impresario of the opening of the 1959 world-wide Hertz Convention. It was a big show of Hertz strength. Hertz was virtually alone except for Avis, which was still being proffered among the investment bankers. Robert Townsend had not yet emerged to start the Avis “we try harder” campaign.
Walter Jacobs had been presiding over Hertz’ fortunes since 1923 when he and John Hertz joined forces to found the Hertz Drive-Ur-Self corporation. Walter Jacobs started in the auto business as a salesman for a Ford dealership in 1916. In 1918 he opened a rent-a-car business with 12 Model T Ford touring cars.
John Hertz, who was in the cab business at that time, was also the largest stockholder of Yellow Coach Manufacturing Co. which built taxi-cabs and had the design and patents for one of the first intercity buses. In 1923 when Walter Jacobs sold Rent A Car, Inc. to Yellow Coach the fleet had grown to 565 cars. The new company become known as Hertz Drive-Ur-Self Corp. The firm opened branches, manufactured a special rental car called the Hertz and by 1924 had established the licensee system.
General Motors wanted the patents and designs for the Yellow Coach and in 1926 purchased all of Yellow Coach manufacturing properties, including Hertz Drive-Ur-Self Corp.
During the 27 years that Walter Jacobs was a General Motors employee and president of Hertz Corp., he was building the Hertz organization through its licensee system. More importantly to us, he was selling a concept that filled a basic need for the commercial traveler doing business away from home. From his first marketing effort in 1918 of sending penny post cards to neighboring businesses in the yellow pages, he developed a strategy of covering every city in the U.S. with licensee- or company-owned locations. To best serve the traveler, these were located in the heart of cities accessible to railroad stations and major hotels.
In 1953 the Omnibus Corporation bought the Hertz Corp. from General Motors (John Hertz was then honorary chairman of Omnibus). Corporate growth at Hertz accelerated because for the first time the firm was able to use debt financing which, under the General Motors regime, was available only to licensees. In 1960 Walter Jacobs retired and Hertz corporate headquarters were moved to New York. The RCA takeover in the mid 1960s and the successes of the 1970s are recent history.
The last time I saw Walter Jacobs was at the Chicago O’Hare Airport on February 13,1978. Nineteen years had elapsed since the Hertz Chicago convention, and 60 years had passed since Jacobs started renting cars. His appearance suggests the years have been kind to him. Renting cars has changed from weekenders’ impressing their dates to a vital service available to private and corporate users worldwide. It is a pleasure, Mr. Jacobs, to have been a working member of your industry.
