The company was founded in 1946 with three cars at
Willow Run Airport,
Ypsilanti, Michigan, by
Warren Avis (August 4, 1915 – April 24, 2007). It established branch operations across the United States over the next few years, becoming the second largest car rental company in the country by 1953. By its tenth anniversary in 1956 it had opened its first international offices in
Europe,
Canada and
Mexico. The Avis
corporate motto of "We Try Harder" was adopted in 1962, during CEO
Robert Townsend's tenure, who transformed the company. The campaign aimed to put a positive spin on Avis' status as the second largest car rental company in the United States, at the expense of its larger competitor,
Hertz. The slogan was used for 50 years before a re-branding in 2012, when Avis unveiled a new slogan—"It's Your Space." In 1972, Avis introduced Wizard, the first computer-based information and reservations system to be used in the United States car rental business; to this day, almost all frequent Avis customers are identified by their unique "Wizard number". In 1981, the company instituted its system of
vehicle tracking, that was named Advanced Vehicle Identification System (AVIS). Avis has been owned by a number of other companies over the years, along with several periods of being a public company. These include: • 1956:
The Amoskeag Company • 1962: Investment group
Lazard Freres • 1965:
ITT Corporation • 1977:
Norton Simon • 1983:
Esmark • 1984:
Beatrice Foods • 1986: Investment firm
Wesray Capital Corporation • 1987: Majority ownership under an
Employee Share Ownership Plan • 1989:
General Motors (acquired 29% stake) • 1996:
HFS Corporation • 2001:
Cendant • 2006:
Avis Budget Group ==References==