1918 - Founded by Walter L. Jacobs in Chicago with 23 cars. 1923 - Jacobs sold it to John D. Hertz, president of Yellow Cab and Yellow Truck and Coach Manufacturing Company, who renamed it the "Hertz Drive-Ur-Self System". Ownership of the company has changed many times. From 1994 - 2005, it was a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. It was sold to a private equity group (composed of Clayton Dubilier & Rice, The Carlyle Group and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity). In 2006 it became publix under abbreviation HTZ