Bob Dunning: Sounds like a prediction I would have made

ZIP GOES ZIPCAR … the irony is hard to miss … Avis buying Zipcar … sounds like the kind of tongue-in-cheek prediction the Above-Pictured Columnist would make for 2013 in his final column of 2012 … but it’s true, Avis has bought Zipcar … lock, stock and muffler … no foolin’ …

A little background is in order here for those who may have moved to town since the great Zipcar fiasco hit our beloved town … you see, when the city of Davis gave away the store to Massachusetts-based Zipcar a few years back — basically guaranteeing the rent-a-car company a profit, no matter what — the locally owned Avis franchise was offered no such deal … this despite the fact the Avis franchise is owned by a young woman with the seemingly appropriate last name of “Davis” …

Never mind that Avis had been here for years serving the public with a smile and never mind that Avis rented cars much more cheaply than Zipcar and didn’t charge customers a “membership” fee before they were allowed to “share” the car with the next customer … Avis was left out in the cold while Zipcar had access to the city treasury, not to mention city parking spaces …

The city’s original contract with Zipcar will be studied by law schools around the country for years to come as one of the most lopsided in the history of American jurisprudence … not that Zipcar shouldn’t have been allowed to do business in Davis on the same playing field as every other rent-a-car business … it just shouldn’t have been given the keys to the city …

EVEN MORE ZIPPY NEWS … Zipcar advocates are stunned that the city of Davis was not consulted before Avis did the dirty deed … “I will enjoy seeing how the City Council reacts to this news,” writes Ted … “I wonder if the final destination of the rental dollars will be perceived as more or les progressive? How will this move enhance or diminish our sense of Davisness?” …

Let’s just say we’ve been “had” from the get-go on this one, my friend … adds Ted: “Glad our city budget financed subsidy helped to make this M&A deal possible.” … I think we’re all glad, Ted … the only thing left for the council to do here is to drop the “D” from our town’s name and make it officially “Avis,” since we’ll probably be the next takeover target anyway …

THERE’S ALWAYS A LOCAL ANGLE … the name of our beloved county has been placed on the 38th Annual List of Words to be Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness, as so determined by Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. … turns out You Only Live Once has given our county a bad name … if the ban doesn’t stick, Yolo County should consider changing its name to something less embarrassing … I mean, it hurts when a no-name school in Michigan, in a town whose name defies pronunciation, declares our beloved “Yolo” has “general uselessness.” …

TANNENBAUM TOSS WITH A TWIST … my friend Jonathan at gmail.com says, “The first discarded Christmas tree I noticed was on J Street outside the J Street apartments.” … you’re about two weeks late and a dollar short of winning the contest for the first Christmas tree in a Davis gutter, Jonathan, but thanks for the effort … I’ll alert DWR so they can come pick it up … “However,” Jonathan continues, “one of my neighbors said they took in a discarded Christmas tree on Christmas Eve and have been enjoying it since. I like the idea of one Christmas tree warming up two separate households.” … I’m sure Santa will richly reward you next Christmas for your kind sentiments …

— Reach Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise.net