Sit-down Segway, safe for streets, is set
Thu Apr 9, 2009 5:18PM EDT
See Comments (24)
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!
Via CrunchGear (which has lots of video)
Comments on Sit-down Segway, safe for streets, is set
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2 Posted by monko12105 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:25PM EDT Report Abuse
For people who think GM will go bankrupt: Even thought GM could declare bankruptcy and not meet requirements for a bailout doesn't mean they'll go out of business. The Government needs GM to survive, no matter the cost. The auto industry is one of the last few actual industries america has
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3 Posted by wfcat@verizon.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:43PM EDT Report Abuse
The thing looks like an electric rickshaw. Come on GM. You should know the first law of the automotive industry is "you don't build ugly vehicles".
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4 Posted by spartantrader@rocketmail.com on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:35PM EDT Report Abuse
i actually like this idea. if they could make it sufficiently cheap, it could be sold as a good way to get around town without using a lot of energy etc... plus parking bust be a breeze in one of those things.
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5 Posted by fluidlyunsure on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:01PM EDT Report Abuse
It looks like something I would do around town with but no further. I would hold onto my car since what little driving I do it is outside of town. Not only do I doubt its ability to transport me on a local highway, but it would be a major impairment in aggressive traffic like they have in some places I go. I have only one question for local trips: It is street legal in California? I doesn't look like its bumpers will withstand a 5mph accident without damage. IIRC, that is the metric used.
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6 Posted by aeschylus_68 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:46PM EDT Report Abuse
Keep in mind that many new technologies and products are "novelties for the rich" when they are first introduced. Cellphones were novelties for the rich a little less than twenty years ago. I personally think that while this is not a practicality for a family, it certainly is an exciting start into a vehicle that is efficient, environmentally friendly, easy to make space for, and probably a heck of a lot of fun to tool around downtown streets in. Kudos to GM (in this matter, anyway.)
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7 Posted by raiders1637 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:27PM EDT Report Abuse
This is not the reason GM is in trouble. Having to overpay all of the union workers to build them would be the reason.
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8 Posted by vickiebeilharz on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:34PM EDT Report Abuse
Why does this remind me of the movie Wall e everyone was super fat, cuz they couldn't even walk to the mail box.
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9 Posted by alexuribe53 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:50PM EDT Report Abuse
Ford and Chrysler are going: "brilliant idea, lets join the wagon"
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10 Posted by christomartha on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:24PM EDT Report Abuse
I agree with spartantrader - think about some futuristic flicks where people do mobe around in things that looks like this Seg'.
1 Posted by nighteye19 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:38PM EDT Report Abuse
I can't fathom why GM is going under... maybe if they worked more on their car line than working on novelty toys for the rich.