GM's new 2-Wheeled Vehicle adds Excitement to a Stodgy Product Line

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Freakin' A!







Okay, not really. Its actually more like a rickshaw without a homeless person pulling it. A "hoboless carriage," if you will:
MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- General Motors Corp. and Segway on Tuesday unveiled a two-seat, electric-powered urban vehicle called the Puma, which they compare to an iPod on wheels, complete with Internet connectivity and an on-broad brain to drive by itself and find its own parking spot.

With its jelly-bean concept shape and sliding doors, the Puma resembles flying vehicles from the futuristic cartoon "The Jetsons." Another version features gull-wing doors shaped in the tradition of the DeLorean sports car of the 1980s.
The Puma is said to reach a top speed of 35 miles per hour, and ride about 35 miles on a single charge.
Larry Burns, vice president of research and development for GM, said it would cost about 35 cents to charge the Puma's lithium ion battery system -- essentially a larger version of the power system for the Segway Personal Transporter.

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Linky.


It warms my heart to see GM put serious development dollars into the types of cars that the Japanese make mostly just to laugh at during auto shows. Really, way to spend that government money, GM. What will future life be like with a larger, even more pointless Segway? The possibilities are mind boggling.
 
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I too fail to see a single purpose for this vehicle other than "It's cool!" And even that's debatable.
 
Do we need more proof that GM should be bankrupt? What sidewalk is going to accommodate a 35mph rocking chair? What road is going to accommodate a 35mph rocking chair?
 
I think I'll take something else with 2 wheels and something made by GM....

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>X3
 
Sorry, Toronado, but I have to take Jim's version of the GM two-wheeler... although may I remind you that GM was not the first to make a rocking chair for the street?

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The Toyota i-Real. Richard Hammond's favorite plaything.
 
The i-Real has 3 wheels. Or, it looks like it does...

I'd love to see that two-wheeler fall over with somebody I don't like (not mentioning names) in it.
 
Hmmm. I really don't know what to make of it, other than me assuming that this was something penned a long, long time ago.
 
So is it going to be like the Segway where whoever is in looks like a total idiot.
 
Well both will look like complete idiots. You'd need internet connectivity to keep yourself entertained while only going 35. May as well look for a mode of transport that doesn't look so ridiculous while you're at it.
The i-real was hilarious! Richard made fun of that thing so bad. Kudos to GM also for thinking outside the box.[/sarcasm]
 
I just read the article again, and I think GM is obsessed with the #35.
35 mph
35 mpc
35 cents per charge
I think the price might be 3,500, it will also be called the 35
 
Is this an attempt to make us grateful for their existing vehicles? Because it's working.
 
Well, the GOOD news is that your money probably wasn't spent on it...In fact, Segway's money was probably mostly spent on this...rolling rollcage.

Although, the Boss Hoss technically is only slightly less pointless...That rear tire cannot take 425-or-so horsepower alone. :<
 
This thing gives me hope. Look at it, a marvel of design and space efficiency.

It took the engineering genius of GM to finally answer the problems inherent in the Segway's design. They gave it training wheels and a seat.

Now all they have to do is remove that ridiculously overblown gyro system, give it one more full-sized wheel and... wait... somebody built that already?

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Oh.
 
35 miles on a single charge with a top speed of 35 mph?

Doesn't anyone else see a problem with a battery life of about an hour and a half under normal driving conditions, and only an hour if you actually go 35 mph?
 
This thing gives me hope. Look at it, a marvel of design and space efficiency.

It took the engineering genius of GM to finally answer the problems inherent in the Segway's design. They gave it training wheels and a seat.

Now all they have to do is remove that ridiculously overblown gyro system, give it one more full-sized wheel and... wait... somebody built that already?

Toyota_iReal.jpg

Its just a concept from Toyota.
 
Do we need more proof that GM should be bankrupt? What sidewalk is going to accommodate a 35mph rocking chair? What road is going to accommodate a 35mph rocking chair?
Agreed, this thing is pointless. It didn't take long to realize the Segway was also. But at least the Segway was small and could actually be used on a sidewalk or in a building.

Also, that chair concept that Hammond tried out...yeah...he drove that in an empty building, and on an empty road. Completely impractical.
 
Its just a concept from Toyota.

A running concept. Which Toyota realizes is completely impractical, so they're content to leave it at that.

Whereas GM creates an eerily similar concept... a few years late... that is essentially the same, yet they are suggesting it actually has greenie points merit.
 
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