April 7th, 2009
Does the future of GM include a tricked out Segway?
Segway and GM on Tuesday will announce a project dubbed P.U.M.A., which stands for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility, that aims to create two-wheeled car replacements for cities. These P.U.M.A. transporters would carry two passengers and reach speeds between 25 mph and 35 mph.
Is this the future of transportation? For cities it could be. GM and Segway are making the announcement at the New York Auto Show. Given GM’s problems the Segway partnership is a nice little piece of innovation.
Gallery: GM, Segway take P.U.M.A. for a spin
Segway’s latest prototype is quite a change from the sports cars we’re used to seeing at auto shows. The concept picture P.U.M.A. makes the Smart Car look like a Hummer. In a blog post, Segway said the vehicle isn’t a kit Segway, but a separate prototype (Techmeme).
The P.U.M.A. prototype makes the Smart Car look massive.
Among the details:
- The P.U.M.A. prototype can go 25 miles to 35 miles on one charge.
- It’s built on Segway’s balancing technology.
- It’ll cost you 60 cents per charge.
This thing could actually work—although I do wonder what happens when you hit a cab with it. Is the future of GM Segway?
Credit: Segway
Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 04/07/09
