Sit-down Segway, safe for streets, is set

Before you ride a Segway, you probably just dismiss the thing as an impractical toy for rich kids. Which, in all fairness, it is.

But once you actually ride a Segway, you immediately want one, if for no other reason than so you can tool around your driveway on it -- like a skateboard for grown-ups.

Now Segway is taking a turn for the practical, teaming with General Motors on something called Project PUMA (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility), which finally turns the Segway's self-balancing technology into something that might conceivably become useful outside the gates of your manor and the polo grounds. The project was formally announced this week at the New York Auto Show and it looks awfully cool so far.

The PUMA features the familiar two wheels, side by side, just like the Segway has, but the similarities start to diverge from there. First, you ride the PUMA not standing but sitting down -- as does your navigator. That's right, there's room for two people in the PUMA (and possibly more down the line), which means you'll be able to chitchat with someone about the people pointing at you from the sidewalk while you drive around town.

Then there's the speed and range. At a maximum speed of 35 miles and hour and 35 miles on a charge (all tentative -- this is prototype stuff), you'll be able to get around on city streets without being flattened into the pavement. (The original Segway tops out at 12 1/2 miles an hour, far slower than a typical bicycle, and has a max range of 24 miles.)

There's no telling what PUMA will cost, but the company mentions it will be a third the price of a car (don't know which car) at most. $8,000, perhaps? Seems like a reasonable place to start -- the electric Smart Fortwo two-seater (which is a fixture at San Francisco tourist destinations being driven by mouth-agape renters) runs about $12,000 to start.

There's also no word on a release date, but here's hoping at least for a chance at a test drive in the near future. Stay tuned!

Find out more here.

Via CrunchGear (which has lots of video)