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General Motors is saved

GM has a new vehicle the PUMA. It looks kinda funny to me, but so did the segway.
It is a segway built for two !

http://money.cnn.com/2009/04/0...os/gm_segway/index.htm
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- So is this what President Obama had in mind?

General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) - under an end-of-May deadline to come up with a viable plan of operation - has joined forces with personal transporter maker Segway to develop a two-seat, two-wheeled, electronically powered vehicle for use navigating city streets.

The prototype for the new vehicle - called Project P.U.M.A., which stands for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility - was set to be unveiled Tuesday in New York.

The two-person scooter-mobile travels up to 35 miles per hour and runs as much as 35 miles between recharges, the companies said. The vehicle runs on large format lithium-ion batteries that the companies say will not produce any emissions, making it environmentally friendly.

The companies said Project P.U.M.A. also features real-time traffic and other connectivity technology similar to GM's OnStar system for automobiles, as well as a system designed to prevent the scooters from bumping into other objects.

"Project P.U.M.A. represents a unique solution to moving about and interacting in cities, where more than half of the world's people live," said Larry Burns, GM vice president of research and development and strategic planning, in a written statement.

Segway is known for the two-wheel individual personal transporters on which a rider stands upright. The devices are often used by urban police departments and by the security forces of tourist attractions such as theme parks and zoos.

For General Motors, Project P.U.M.A. comes at a crucial time. The nation's biggest automaker, which has already received $13.4 billion in emergency federal loans, has been given until the end of next month to come up with a viable plan of operation.

President Obama, in his statement last month on the status of GM and Chrysler, said U.S. companies "are investing in breakthrough technologies that hold the promise of new vehicles that will help America end its addiction to foreign oil."

But Obama said that in order to get further aid from the government, GM must do such as things as pare unprofitable brands, clean up its balance sheet, and work with unions and creditors to come up with a way to do business in the future. The possibility of a bankruptcy filing looms, either as part of a restructuring or the failure to come up with a suitable plan. To top of page
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More photos:
http://www.vancouversun.com/Ca...cle/1472988/story.html
 
Originally posted by: isekii
lets see how much fatter people get with these rolling around in the streets
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Throw a shopping basket on the front and you'll see 'em navigating the aisles at your local megamart.

Edit: I hope there's an optional LS-9 drivetrain! 😀
 
Originally posted by: bignateyk
Man, i'd hate to see the end result of that thing getting into an accident with a suburban
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Well, the suburban has been axed by GM so figure within a few years you won't see many of them on the roads anymore anyway.
 
To be honest, I think GM could create a new industry and possibly become viable if they throw away their existing lines and move to something radically different like this.

Maybe.
 
Originally posted by: SunnyD
To be honest, I think GM could create a new industry and possibly become viable if they throw away their existing lines and move to something radically different like this.

Maybe.
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I agree. There's no reason you can't make an all electric car for under $10,000. It wouldn't have to be the households only transportation, but it would take care of all the local small trips around town. I was super excited about the smart car until I found out it was gas powered. Throw a battery pack in there, and it would be a nice little ride.
 
1) It's too ugly in its current design. I would bet a shiny penny that a decent amount of the female Prius owners (and maybe even some males) like it because it's not only eco-friendly, but it's also "cute". Who wants to ride around in a roll-cage style golfcart?

2) How easy is it to steal this thing? People like to know that their investments are sound and if this is a relatively lightweight machine that's also not horribly complex, the ability to steal them, disable tracking (I assume the OnStar-like device can possibly allow the unit to be tracked) may be quite a lot easier than other cars. Although nothing lists the weight.

But oh well, just my opinion and I'm certainly no expert. It's an interesting idea, but I think they really need to drum up hype for it if they want to make it popular. Get some free publicity via some newsworthy figure wanting to use one (like the Prius saw in its early life with all the Hollywood folk wanting one).
 
The more I look at it the more questions I have. In its current form it can't be used when it is raining or cold unless you want to be cold and/or wet.
 
DOESN'T ANYONE SEE THE MOST OBVIOUS PROBLEM WITH THIS IDIOTIC THING?!?!

There is absolutely no need to have 5000 bucks worth of proprietary self-balancing technology on something that people operate seated. NONE.
If you add a third wheel and move the center of gravity back, you have identically useful device for fraction of the cost. As far as inventions go, this thing is full of FAIL.
 
Originally posted by: Modelworks
The more I look at it the more questions I have. In its current form it can't be used when it is raining or cold unless you want to be cold and/or wet.
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removable doors, i guess.



everywhere else in the world people ride bicycles. here, we buy supercomputer-controlled $10,000 lithium ion battery powered scooters.

Still, he noted, it's not big enough to fetch groceries or haul anything.
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fail.
 
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