Segway to the rescue! Not the most likely phrase you will ever hear, but struggling GM is hoping that a 2-seater electric vehicle developed in association with Segway will be the answer to its prayers. The P.U.M.A (personal urban mobility and accessibility) designed to do 25-30mph in the city and run for 30 miles on one charge, is the green alternative to high fuel prices.
It makes sense given projections that by 2030 60% of the world’s population will live in densely populated urban centres. Quoting from the Motor Trend Blog, the P.U.M.A.’s footprint is about 1/6th the size of a normal car’s, allowing 380 P.U.M.A.s to parallel park around a typical New York City block, as opposed to about 81 normal cars.
It weighs a fraction of a conventional car and is expected to be only 25-30% the petrol car’s operating costs.
As noted by Chris Borroni-Bird, GM’s director of Advanced Technology Vehicle Concepts, “No new technology needs to be invented to make P.U.M.A. viable.” Journalists will be allowed to drive the first prototype this week, and a second-generation version will be demonstrated this fall. By rolling P.U.M.A. out at the New York International Auto Show, the beleaguered automaker hopes to interest some municipality (Abu Dhabi’s rich?), amusement park (Disney?), the National Park System, or some other entity in the idea of quiet, zero-emissions, lightweight, compact transportation as a social benefit worth paying for. Just don’t hold your breath for the self-driving, uncontrolled intersection concept happening any times soon.
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