AVOID, AND DEFINITELY DO NOT ACCEPT A DODGE HORNET AS A RENTAL CAR!

Rented a '24 Hornet from Avis in Las Vegas. We decided to drive up to Valley of Fire SP to take some pics, maybe walk around a little, and then head back in time for a concert that evening. Driving through the park, the car was only turned off once while we went to the visitor center. The rest of the time, it was left in Park and idled while I hopped out, snapped a couple of pictures, and got back in the car. It was 120 degrees in the park, so we didn't spend much time outside.

As we were coming back from the park, we had just under 1/2 a tank of gas as we approached Vegas on I-15. I had my foot on the accelerator to maintain 65mph when the car went limp. Being a hybrid, the car didn't really coast, but actively slowed down. Miraculously, I was able to make it to the shoulder with the amount of momentum I had left. Once I put it in Park, I couldn't shift out of P. The gas part of the car was still running, giving us air conditioning. Nevada DOT pulled up to help, and disconnected and reconnected the battery, which allowed me to start the car and shift to D and make it about 2 more miles down the road before it happened AGAIN. Thankfully I kept to the outermost lanes this time, and I white-knuckled us to the shoulder as quickly as I could once again. Ironically, the tow truck driver that ultimately rescued us had passed us earlier with an IDENTICAL DODGE HORNET RENTAL FROM AVIS.

These cars are unsafe and should not be rented to anyone! I never had any warning lights or indication that the electric part of the car was malfunctioning, which is just my best guess of why it died on me while still running.