Thrifty Car Rental 2008 Annual Report Download - page 6

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PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Company Overview
General
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“DTG”), owns DTG Operations, Inc. (“DTG
Operations”), Dollar Rent A Car, Inc. and Thrifty, Inc. Thrifty, Inc. owns Thrifty Rent-A-Car System, Inc.
and Thrifty Car Sales, Inc. (“Thrifty Car Sales”). Thrifty Rent-A-Car System, Inc. owns Dollar Thrifty
Automotive Group Canada Inc. (“DTG Canada”). DTG operates under a corporate structure that
combines the management of operations and administrative functions for both the Dollar and Thrifty
brands. DTG Operations operates company-owned stores under the Dollar brand and the Thrifty brand,
operates reservation centers for both brands and conducts sales and marketing activities for both brands.
Thrifty Rent-A-Car System, Inc. and Dollar Rent A Car, Inc. conduct franchising activities for their
respective brands. Thrifty Car Sales operates a franchised retail used car sales network. The Company
has two additional subsidiaries, Rental Car Finance Corp. (“RCFC”) and Dollar Thrifty Funding Corp.,
which are special purpose financing entities and have been appropriately consolidated in the financial
statements of the Company. Dollar Rent A Car, Inc., the Dollar brand and DTG Operations operating
under the Dollar brand are individually and collectively referred to hereafter as “Dollar”. Thrifty, Inc.,
Thrifty Rent-A-Car System, Inc., Thrifty Car Sales, the Thrifty brand and DTG Operations operating under
the Thrifty brand are individually and collectively referred to hereafter as “Thrifty”. DTG, Dollar and Thrifty
and each of their subsidiaries are individually or collectively referred to herein as the “Company”, as the
context may require. Dollar and Thrifty and their respective independent franchisees operate the Dollar
and Thrifty vehicle rental systems. The Dollar and Thrifty brands represent a value-priced rental vehicle
generally appealing to leisure customers, including foreign tourists, and to small businesses, government
business and independent business travelers. As of December 31, 2008, Dollar and Thrifty had 741
locations in the U.S. and Canada of which 400 were company-owned stores and 341 were locations
operated by franchisees. While Dollar and Thrifty have franchisees in countries outside the U.S. and
Canada, revenues from these franchisees have not been material to results of operations of the
Company.
In the U.S., Dollar's main focus is operating company-owned stores located in major airports, and it
derives substantial revenues from leisure and tour package rentals. Thrifty focuses on serving both the
airport and local markets operating through a network of company-owned stores and franchisees. Dollar
and Thrifty currently derive the majority of their U.S. revenues from providing rental vehicles and services
directly to rental customers. Consequently, Dollar and Thrifty incur the costs of operating company-owned
stores, and their revenues are directly affected by changes in rental demand and pricing.
The Company is the successor to Pentastar Transportation Group, Inc., which was formed in 1989 to
acquire and operate the rental car subsidiaries of Chrysler LLC, formerly known as DaimlerChrysler
Corporation (such entity and its subsidiaries and members of its affiliated group are hereinafter referred to
as “Chrysler”). DTG Operations, formerly known as Dollar Rent A Car Systems, Inc., was incorporated in
1965. Thrifty Rent-A-Car System, Inc. was incorporated in 1950 and Dollar Rent A Car, Inc. was
incorporated in December 2002. Thrifty, Inc. was incorporated in December 1998.
Available Information
The Company makes available free of charge on or through its Internet Web site its annual report on
Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to such
reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as
soon as reasonably practicable after such material has been electronically filed with, or furnished to, the
Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The Company’s Internet address is http://www.dtag.com.
The SEC also maintains a Web site that contains all of the Company’s filings at http://www.sec.gov.
The Company has a code of business conduct, which is available on the Company’s Web site under the
heading, “About DTG”. The Company’s Board of Directors has adopted a corporate governance policy
and Board committee charters, which are updated periodically and can be found on the Company’s Web
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