What: Mechanical engineering students at UC Davis want you to take a test drive in the most successful hybrid vehicle ever designed by college students. Some California legislators will also be present for the event. The student design project took top honors at an international contest held recently. Equipped with both an electric motor and gasoline engine, the vehicle outperformed cars from 42 other schools. The UC Davis entry, "AfterShock," met and exceeded the emissions standards set by the California Air Resources Board. In fact the vehicle's range and acceleration rates are the best in the country, accorrding to contest co-sponsors. The vehicle can run nearly 1,000 miles before refueling or recharging and has achieved more than 80 miles per gallon at highway speeds, according to Andy Frank, professor of mechanical engineering at UC Davis and faculty adviser for the student project. When: Wednesday, August 10, at 11 a.m. Where: West steps of the State Capitol Visuals: In addition to the vehicle, students will display the mechanical parts and the engineering "secrets" that went into this winning design. The two-seater car is large enough to accommodate a reporter or camera operator for a ride around the streets of Sacramento. Background: Frank is convinced that the hybrid design is the way to proceed for the immediate future because, he says, battery technology does not yet produce enough energy or power to make electric cars practical for most California drivers. However, according to Frank, the state's air resources board is saying that hybrid vehicles are not an acceptable alternative to the electric car mandate set for 1998. By that date, some 2 percent of the vehicles sold in California by high-volume car makers must be electrically powered. Electric cars that have been tested so far cannot equal the power or range supplied by gasoline-run vehicles, notes Frank. UC Davis is proving that the hybrid design does work, he says.