Rented in 60 Seconds

Silvercar aims to provide the ultimate car rental experience, all from yoursmart phone

After conducting market research, Silvercar found that the Audi A4 tested higherthan comparable premium cars like BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes. It is the only modelthat the rental company carries.
Photo courtesy of Silvercar
CEO Luke Schneider said that Silvercar came about after one too many poorexperiences with rental car companies. "All the other parts of the travelindustry had updated, and we looked and said, 'Gosh, there's a gaping void inthe car rental piece of the industry.'"
Photo courtesy of Silvercar
The Silvercar app takes care of every aspect of the rental process. The AudiA4's computer system allows you to connect your phone to the car for wirelesscalling, navigation and WiFi.
Photo courtesy of Silvercar
Silvercar recently brought over 200 brand new Audi A4s from Germany for theirfirst location at DFW Airport.
Photo courtesy of Silvercar

It’s no small task, but Luke Schneider wants to revolutionize the rental car game, and he’s starting in Dallas.

Schneider is the CEO of Austin-based Silvercar, an app-based rental service that is going live at DFW Airport on January 14. The idea behind the company is to save the customer as much time and effort by putting everything — from renting to unlocking the car to getting the receipt — on your smartphone. Oh, and the company offers only one car: a silver Audi A4.

“[Silvercar] came from one too many bad experiences at the rental car counter,” Schneider says. “As travelers, every category, from airlines to hotels, has seen a substantial amount of innovation over the last 40 years, but not car rentals. It’s become so commoditized that it’s all about the upsell and proliferation of car classes.”

“We wanted to offer a premium car that would offer many of the options that businesspeople might already have in their cars back home,” says CEO Luke Schneider.

Drawing inspiration from companies like Virgin Air, W Hotels and Uber, Silvercar aims to give a consistent experience that accommodates the modern traveler. Silvercar research revealed that the Audi A4 appealed to both sexes and that its underlying operating system allowed for easy integration of the app. Inside each Silvercar, the driver can use Google Earth, Sirius XM radio and a Wi-Fi hotspot for up to eight devices.

“We wanted to offer a premium car that would offer many of the options that businesspeople might already have in their cars back home,” Schneider says. “We also wanted a better experience renting. We’ve done away with so many friction points, like dealing with the whole ‘counter culture’ of picking insurance, fuel options, wondering if you’re going to get the car you want.”

Silvercar does have concierges, but it’s entirely possible to never speak to an employee during the whole process. The app — free for iOS and Android — allows you to pick your rental period, and it scans and unlocks your Silvercar. Scales measure how much fuel is charged to your account during the return process.

For refueling, Silvercar charges the market average for premium plus a $5 fee, instead of hiking up the refuel charges like other rental companies. Schneider says that you should have your receipt — on the app, of course — for the whole thing by the time you board your plane.

“Our saying is that our service is like a waitstaff,” Schneider says. “It’s exactly what you need, only when you need it and seldom necessary. In an ideal experience, you wouldn’t need to speak with anyone.”

The app — free for iOS and Android — allows you to pick your rental period, and it scans and unlocks your Silvercar.

Silvercar keeps its pricing competitive with other companies’ premium cars by taking a page out of Southwest Airlines’ business model. By only carrying the Audi A4, the company can keep pricing stable as well as maintain and shift capacity. Schneider says that Silvercar should cost about $90 per day, perhaps more depending on the situation.

“The incumbents offer everything from subcompacts to 12-person vans,” Schneider says. “But their profits are slim to none on those subcompacts, and the money is made with upsells or on the vans. We’re staying on one level so we don’t have to subsidize small cars with big cars.”

With its base in Austin, Schneider says that DFW was a natural choice to launch Silvercar due to its proximity and willingness to be on the front of technological innovation.

“They’re really on the edge of air travel,” Schneider says. “They ‘got us’ when we pitched Silvercar to them, and we ‘got them’ when they talked about providing a tech-abled service to their fliers. Plus, Dallas is one of the biggest rental spots in the country, and you have to drive to get around Dallas.”

But Schneider is quick to add that Silvercar aims to be a national brand. The company is currently in negotiations with multiple airports, but he says they must also “win the opener” at DFW. Depending on how things go, Schneider expects Silvercar to open in three or four more airports in 2013. He can’t say which ones are in play, but he says that tech-savvy areas like Seattle, San Francisco and New York City are high on the list.

“It’s about simplicity and modern traveling,” Schneider says. “It’s a premium car experience. We’re not about renting minivans to families in Orlando.

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Jobs report

Texas ranks among 10 best states to find a job, says new report

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

You have a better chance of landing a job in Texas than in most other states.

If you’re hunting for a job in Texas amid a tough employment market, you stand a better chance of landing it here than you might in other states.

A new ranking by personal finance website WalletHub of the best states for jobs puts Texas at No. 7. The Lone Star State lands at No. 2 in the economic environment category and No. 18 in the job market category.

Massachusetts tops the list, and West Virginia appears at the bottom.

To determine the most attractive states for employment, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 34 key indicators of economic health and job market strength. Ranking factors included employment growth, median annual income, and average commute time.

“Living in one of the best states for jobs can provide stable conditions for the long term, helping you ride out the fluctuations that the economy will experience in the future,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo says.

In September, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Texas led the U.S. in job creation with the addition of 195,600 jobs over the past 12 months.

While Abbott proclaimed Texas is “America’s jobs leader,” the state’s level of job creation has recently slowed. In June, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas noted that the state’s year-to-date job growth rate had dipped to 1.8 percent, and that even slower job growth was expected in the second half of this year.

The August unemployment rate in Texas stood at 4.1 percent, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Throughout 2025, the monthly rate in Texas has been either four percent or 4.1 percent.

By comparison, the U.S. unemployment rate in August was 4.3 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2025, the monthly rate for the U.S. has ranged from 4 percent to 4.3 percent.

Here’s a rundown of the August unemployment rates in Texas’ four biggest metro areas:

Austin — 3.9 percent
Dallas-Fort Worth — 4.4 percent
San Antonio — 4.4 percent
Houston — 5 percent

Unemployment rates have remained steady this year despite layoffs and hiring freezes driven by economic uncertainty. However, the number of U.S. workers who’ve been without a job for at least 27 weeks has risen by 385,000 this year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in August. That month, long-term unemployed workers accounted for about one-fourth of all unemployed workers.

An August survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed a record-low 44.9 percent of Americans were confident about finding a job if they lost their current one.

This story originally was published on our sister site, InnovationMap.

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