Patent ID: 7343306

Claim:
A method of conducting an economic transaction associated with rental of a vehicle over a period of time, the method comprising: (a) tracking the location of the vehicle during at least a portion of the period of time associated with the rental, including detecting that the vehicle is located at a location having an increased level of risk; and (b) adjusting a cost associated with the economic transaction associated with the rental at least in part based on the location of the vehicle at the location having the increased level of risk; wherein tracking the location of the vehicle includes calculating the location of the vehicle at a point in time using a location sensor coupled to the vehicle and storing a timestamped entry in a database identifying the point in time and the calculated location of the vehicle at such point in time, wherein tracking the location of the vehicle further includes determining a current region for the vehicle from the calculated location, wherein calculating the location of the vehicle includes calculating a second location for the vehicle at a second point in time, and wherein storing the timestamped entry in the database includes storing a second timestamped entry in the database for the second calculated location only if the region associated with the second calculated location differs from the region associated with the first calculated location.