Silvercar wants to re-invent the airport rental car experience, and it has an $11.5 million start

There’s been a lot of excitement in Silicon Valley lately over the automobile business. As if we’ve magically been transported back to 1908, we’re now seeing a new generation of companies breathing new life into everything from taxi services to auto repair. In particular, startups like RelayRides, GetAround, Wheelz, Zipcar, RideJoy, SideCar, Lyft and Uber — to name a few — are leveraging collaborative consumption and peer-to-peer models to bring a new buzz to car rental, ridesharing and cabs.

But one piece of the car puzzle that is often left out: The pain in the ass that is the airport car rental experience. That’s where Silvercar comes in. The Austin-based startup, which will launch officially this winter, announced today that it has raised $11.5 million in series A financing to help it fuel a transformation of airport car rental. The round was led by Austin Ventures, with participation from CrunchFund, SV Angel, along with angels like Hunch’s Chris Dixon and Path’s Dave Morin.