With two seats, two wheels, and a maximum range of 25-35 miles (at 25-35 mph), the P.U.M.A. (which stands for Personal Urban Mobility & Accessibility) won’t work for your next road trip. But this new concept vehicle, a joint project of GM and Segway, may be just the ticket for the driving most of us do on a daily basis.
The vehicle was introduced to the media on Tuesday at the New York Auto Show, and Segway CEO Jim Norrod described the P.U.M.A. as “…a dramatically different approach to urban mobility”:
There’s an emotional connection you get when using Segway products. The Project P.U.M.A. prototype embodies this completely through the combination of dynamic stabilization, seamless drive-by-wire controls, and sophisticated battery systems to complete the connection between the rider, environment, and others.
I can immediately think of one emotional connection: the idea of “filling up” the P.U.M.A.’s lithium-ion battery pack for 35-60 cents is pretty exciting. We’ll have to wait and see if we get to experience that joy first-hand, though — GM and Segway have no plans for production of the vehicle. They’re not the first to conceive of such a vehicle, though — let’s hope a race to produce small urban alternatives to the car heats up.
If you’re in New York, the Auto Show opens to the public tomorrow. If you can’t make it, you can check out pictures and videos at Segway’s official site for the P.U.M.A.
Source: Green Inc.
Image source: Segway
April 9th, 2009 - 2:27 pm
I love the idea of this and hope it or a vehicle like this somehow goes into production. It sounds more sustainable, uses less parts, and would be easy to park too.
April 9th, 2009 - 2:31 pm
[...] Read the rest on the Sundance Channel’s SUNfiltered blog. [...]
April 9th, 2009 - 3:11 pm
If this was some other, innovative company, such as Aptera or Tesla (or one of many others), rather than GM doing the same slow-motion, non-producing dance, I would be pleased.
Why is the Tesla car getting over 120 miles per charge while the Volt is not yet available, and they are “proud” that they are working on getting 40 miles per charge (I think that is the number)? And Tesla is now coming out with a lower-cost model that I am confident will eclipse GM’s effort.
If GM produced and supported that Segway-based vehicle, it would show they mean it. If they blazed new territory and used a small part of their rapidly-shrinking funds, they could be trend setters and perhaps salvage part of their reputation. But no, that would be too risky. They are in such a good position now, why gamble on a REAL new product?
April 9th, 2009 - 3:13 pm
Correction — sorry, the Tesla Roadster gets over 220 miles per charge, I was off by 100.
April 9th, 2009 - 3:55 pm
David — I definitely understand your concerns here. The Big 3 in general have moved slowly to produce the kinds of fuel-efficient vehicles Americans want (even when 30 mpg is considered “fuel efficient”). GM’s done better than Ford or Chrysler, but all still have a long ways to go.
I’m encouraged to see GM participating in a project like this, though. True, these aren’t for sale yet, and may never be… But, they’ve associated themselves with a vehicle that pushes the boundaries of what “personal transportation” can mean… and that’s striking. I also wrote about this because I think that we can help push these companies just a bit further towards production. If consumers know about such prototypes, and signal they want them, someone’s going to produce them.
Thanks for coming by and commenting…
April 9th, 2009 - 6:31 pm
I definitely support a move towards more fuel efficient and versatile vehicles. But I think in the light of some other achievements, this move by GM is trivial. I’d be very willing to switch over to an electric vehicle, but not at the expense of the freedom existing vehicles already offer (speaking specifically to the 35 mile range).
But I don’t live in a dense urban setting, either, so maybe this is more appealing to those who could use it to bypass regular traffic congestion.
There’s a video over at newsy.com (http://www.newsy.com/videos/puma_balances_function_and_future/) that I think does a great job of balancing the positive and negative reactions to this development, as well.
April 9th, 2009 - 6:36 pm
Daniel– Good point about the limitations — this vehicle is definitely designed for either an urban environment, or suburbs with plenty of low-speed streets. It would be ideal in a mixed-use suburban setting…
May 18th, 2009 - 3:59 am
How much is it?
May 18th, 2009 - 10:51 am
No price yet… it’s just a concept at this point… I’ll keep an eye on it, though…