Visitors to Orlando often try new things while on vacation: thrilling roller coasters, luxury hotels, different cuisines.
Now they can try out a fully electric car - and not have to pay for petrol during their holiday.
Under a new program announced on Thursday called Drive Electric Orlando, anyone who rents one of 15 Nissan Leaf cars from Enterprise Rent-A-Car will be able to charge the car for free at about 300 charging stations in the greater Orlando area.
"This is a first of its kind. This is groundbreaking," said Robbie Diamond, the president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based Electrification Coalition, a group that worked with Enterprise, several hotels, corporations and local officials to organise the program.
The group, whose aim is to get more people behind the wheel of electric cars, is made up of business executives, including some from Nissan - which means they have an interest in marketing the rental cars in hopes of courting future buyers.
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"Our hope is that it's a revolutionary project - once we get people in the car, we're confident that the technology will sell itself," Diamond said.
Here's how it works: Once a driver rents the Leaf (at a cost of about $30 a day or less) at the Enterprise counter at the Orlando International Airport, they can stop at any of the kiosks in the area when the car has a low charge.
More than 25 hotels have charging stations, and valets will charge the cars overnight, while other large public places have charging stations in the parking lot.
There are no charging stations inside the area's theme parks, but there are many nearby - and organisers say more charging stations are "in the works.".
If the car runs low on power while on the road, its dashboard screen displays the nearest charging stations
If the vehicle's battery dies entirely, then AAA will come to charge the car for free, said Lisa Martini, a spokeswoman for Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
The cars have a range of about 130 to 160 kilometres on a full charge.
"We want people to be comfortable with the technology," she said.
Electric car sales are only a tiny fraction of overall US auto sales.
Automakers sold just over 12,000 pure-electric vehicles in the US through April, according to WardsAuto InfoBank, an industry database, and Tesla Motors, which designs electric vehicles.
That's less than 1 per cent of the 4.97 million cars and trucks sold during the same period. Even a $7,500 tax credit from the US government that effectively lowers prices couldn't persuade most car buyers.
The Nissan Leaf sells for $29,650 including shipping costs.
While the big money-saver from using the electric car is avoiding the cost of petrol altogether, getting the charge for free also saves a bit of cash.
Some public metres cost a few dollars for a full charge, while others are free but require payment for parking at a metre. Under the rental program, drivers wave a key fob at the charger to proceed without paying.
