First General Motors invests all types of money into the SUV with rising gas costs now they are teaming up with Segway for what is called the PUMA, The Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility.
GM and Segway hope that the vehicle will allow people to travel around cities more quickly, safely, quietly and cleanly. The vehicle will run 35 miles on a single charge and use wireless technology to avoid traffic backups and navigate cities.
The two-wheeled 300 pound prototype that runs on a lithium ion battery was debuted on Tuesday. The two seat electric vehicle is designed to be fast and inexpensive. Fast being a max speed of 35 miles per hour. Inexpensive being a weird math puzzle - according to the companies the purchase price, insurance and maintenance and fuel would total between one-forth and one-third of the average traditional vehicle.
Remember when the Segway was launched with great hype years ago? Then they ran into a lot of issues that prevented it from becoming a mass-market product, including it's high costs and some use restrictions in many areas. Currently you see some tourist groups using them in major cities and police officers too.
I don't have an MBA but this product doesn't make the most sense to me.
Above all else, my biggest question is - where do I put the speakers for my my sound system?! I guess cars won't drive by with the booming system in the current design of the PUMA. I guess this car ain't hip hop! So, basically they just revamped the golf cart model? I'm so confused.
According to Segways CEO, they are very excited about the joint venture and the PUMA, which will be "less emissions, less dependability on foreign oil and less space."
Alright, good luck. The vehicle is aimed to be out 2012.
