Volt joins Davis fleet

Used to be if you wanted to rent a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle from Fleet Services, you had only once choice: a Toyota Prius. Not anymore, with Fleet Services taking delivery this month of a Chevrolet Volt.

The four-door sedan, "cyber gray metallic" on the Chevrolet color palette, joins 18 Priuses in the Davis campus fleet and at the Institute of Transportation Studies.

The Volt is equipped with a battery-powered motor (which can take you up to 35 miles) and a small, gasoline-powered engine, which takes over when the battery power runs out. The Volt battery can be recharged via a standard 110-volt outlet or a 220-volt charger for a quicker “fill-up.”

The Volt is the most fuel-efficient car that is sold in the United States, among cars with internal combustion engines: 93 miles per gallon, gasoline-equivalent in all-electric mode and 37 mpg gasoline-only mode, for an overall rating of 60 mpg combined, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Volt is available for general daily rental use by faculty, staff, and students on official campus business. Toyota Prius are available for daily and monthly rentals, and for hourly use through Fleet Services’ car-sharing program.

Reservations: (530) 752-0787 or vehiclereservation@ad3.ucdavis.edu. More information.

'Lipdub' at the MU

Lights, camera, lip-sync! Thousands of costumed students are expected to participate in a “Lipdub” video shoot on Saturday (April 30) at the Memorial Union.

AggieTV is organizing the event. “Lipdubs are a global online phenomenon, with the most popular videos receiving over 8 million views,” Alicia Sanhueza said in a news release. “UC Davis will strive for the same YouTube viral fame by lip-syncing to a mash-up of Queen’s “Bicycle Race” and “Don’t Stop Me Now.”

AggieTV, the student-run video production studio at UC Davis, is calling for all students, alumni and community members to dance — and lipdub — their Saturday away.

Sanhueza said KDVS disc jockeys will provide entertainment, and AggieTV will be holding contests.

Starting at 10 a.m., she said, student clubs and other organizations will be placed into choreographed sections in the MU area. Confirmed participants include the Aggie Pack and bicycle formations by the Davis WhymCycle Society.

Auction reminders

• Aggie Auction — This annual event, benefitting UC Davis Athletics in its support of student-athletes, is entirely online this year: aggieauction.com. Bidding started at 9 a.m. today (April 29), after a weeklong preview. Auction items — including vacations, golf outings, wine and fine art — number more than 800 so far, and more will be added as the auction goes long. Bidding ends at 9 a.m. Friday, May 6. Many of the items feature the “buy it now” option — allowing people to purchase the items immediately.

• Bike Auction — More than 400 bikes are ready for the auction block on Saturday (April 30), in the second and last bike auction of the 2010-11 academic year. The Bicycle Program runs the sales, drawing on an inventory that mostly includes bikes that have been abandoned and gone unclaimed. During the last couple of auctions, bikes sold for an average price of $30 to $40, according to David Takemoto-Weerts, Bicycle Program coordinator. Preview, 8-9 a.m., with the auction starting at 9 and continuing until every bicycle has gone up for bid, usually between noon and 1 p.m., on the first floor of the west entry garage at the intersection of Hutchison Drive and Dairy Road, just west of La Rue Road. The bike auctions are open to the public. Purchases may be made with cash, check, or Visa or MasterCard. More information is available by telephone, (530) 752-BIKE (2453), and online.

Retiree Center

The Retiree Center is hosting an office warming party the afternoon of Friday, May 6, at the center’s new home in the Conference Center at the campus’s south entry.

The party is scheduled from 3:30 to 5 p.m. You will find the center in Room 1001 near the elevator on the first floor. “Please stop by to see our new space and enjoy some refreshments,” the center announced.

The Retiree Center, serving the Davis and Sacramento campuses, supports the work of the Emeriti and Retirees associations, plans social and educational programs, connects retirees with campus volunteer opportunities, provides information and referrals, and assists with preretirement planning.

The center had been located in Everson Hall. The move to the Conference Center is temporary, pending the center’s finding a permanent new home.

The phone number is the same: (530) 752-5182.