There are only two real game changing innovations in rental cars that I can think of in my lifetime. One is keeping your information on file so that you can be pre-assigned a car and take off by showing just your driver’s license. The other is picking your own car.

Avis recently has been experimenting with the pick your own car concept in some locations. The pioneer in the space, of course, is National with its Emerald Aisle. I love National’s “Go Like a Pro” slogan because their Emerald Aisle concept, to me, is the perfect frequent business renter feature.

But there are really only five major travel stories that resonate with the public, and one of them is “summer travel.” So I don’t blame National one bit for looking to catch a little bit of attention with summer.

National Car Rental wants to help you get out of the office and enjoy what summer has to offer. So they asked me if I’d help them with a giveaway here on the blog. And since I don’t take anything myself when I do those, I have two of National’s “Summer On-The-Go” Prize Packs:

• Package one: Apple iPod Touch, $250 AMEX Gift Card, National-branded swag
  
• Package two: Apple iPod Touch, $50 iTunes Gift Card, National-branded swag

Since National – whose image is primarily as a business travel rental company – wants to blur the line between business and leisure travel this summer, here’s what we’re going to do.

There are several ways you can leverage your business travel to add a leisure component, from renting a car and getting out of the city you’re visiting (Heading to Austin? Drive to Lockhart for Barbecue!) to doing meetings offsite maybe outside in a park or a restaurant on the water or other scenic location, or even extending a business trip to give yourself a day or a weekend in a new location.

Entering is simple:

1. Take a picture of yourself adding leisure to a business trip or business meeting.
   
2. Follow @garyleff on Twitter and tweet the photo, mentioning @garyleff and #SummerOnTheGo. Do this no later than Friday, May 24 at 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific.
   
3. I will draw the winners at random early next week from those that meet these guidelines and direct message the winner for an email address so we can get the prize out.

The fine print: the contest is open to US residents only (talk to the lawyers on this, sorry!). I’m the final arbiter in all matters related to this contest and in all matters of interpretation. There is no appeal. I’m doing this because there’s an opportunity to send out some cool prizes from a brand I like, and not taking anything from them in return, so please don’t give me a hard time in the process.

Any questions? Ask away. And remember that while you can share your thoughts here, or post your photos on instagram, only twitter entries count this time.