This week, you can get a free cab ride, a shot at fame and a chance to win a car.

As part of a promotion campaign for its 2009 Aveo5 sedan, Chevy is providing students a free ride in their Aveo5 “college cab.” Students are knowingly filmed while riding and afterwards, their videos are posted on the Chevy Aveo5 Web site.

In the week following the posting, students from the video try to rack up as many views as possible. The video that receives the most views from UW is sent to a final round where people vote on the best of six videos from five other universities across the country.

The student who receives the most votes on their video in the final round wins an Aveo5. If there were two students in the winning cab ride, each will receive a car.

“It’s been going really well,” said Chevy’s spokesperson Jacquie Goetz about the campaign, which started its final one-week stop at the UW on Monday. “Students can relate because there are shows like ‘Cash Cab’ on TV.”

The cab will remain near campus from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. this week through Sunday, taking students anywhere within a 3-mile radius of the UW.

“I like it when people are excited about getting in the car and excited about the chance to win a free car,” said Nate Hudson, driver of the Aveo5 cab.

Since the campaign started, Hudson said he’s seen students rap, juggle and sing, but there’s no pressure to perform and most come into the car surprised to get a free ride. Regardless of their showmanship, participants walk away with a free T-shirt and goody bag filled with a water bottle, hairspray and food.

“The odds of getting a car are really awesome,” Hudson said.

He gives about 10 rides a day for seven days at each university. With six participating universities, the chance of winning a free car is about one in 420.

“It’s all about you promoting [your video],” Hudson said. “Word of mouth.”

Students can be creative in getting views for their video. They can post the link to their video on Facebook, blogs and download flyers from the Aveo5 Web site. Anyone can view the clip as many times as they want, but in order to count as a view, the video must be watched from start to finish.

“I definitely think that this is something a lot of students see as a fun activity to do after class,” said Dinara Abilova, president of the UW American Marketing Association and UW senior who is helping to promote the campaign on campus. “I think this campaign has been made in the spirit of creativity and connecting with the college students in the right way.”

This is the third installment of Chevy’s Aveo-series campaigns. In their 2006 campaign, Chevy invited groups of two students to live in an Aveo car for five days. The team that secured the most votes received a free car for each member.

Chevy is marketing the car to college students based on features that are favorable to young cost-conscious buyers. The Chevy Aveo5 gets an estimated 34 miles-per-gallon on the highway, has hatchback configuration and starts at $12,120.

Reach reporter Emily Lee at news@dailyuw.com.