Unfortunately, it’s not the kind you’re thinking. I saw this on Clever Cycles‘ Twitter feed this morning and thought it was worth checking into but wow, when I saw the photos…
Image via autoblog.com. Shock and disbelief via your own eyes.
What the hell is this thing anyway? Huffington Post has a photo gallery of this uh, thing and it ain’t pretty. In fact, I don’t quite know what it is. This two-seater hyper-tech looking golf cart vehicle perhaps most resembles a ferris wheel section that decided to break free and roll away on its own.
A "new" invention GM may want to take note of. (image via Wikipedia)
GM is collaborating with Segway ” to build a new type of two-wheeled vehicle designed to move easily through congested urban streets” under the project name “PUMA” (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility”). That sounds remarkably like another vehicle that’s already been out for a while but I can understand if the folks at GM have never seen one.
The GM press release states:
“Imagine moving about cities in a vehicle fashioned to your taste, that’s fun to drive and ride in, that safely takes you where you want to go, and “connects” you to friends and family, while using clean, renewable energy, producing zero vehicle tailpipe emissions, and without the stress of traffic jams,” said Burns. “And imagine doing this for one-fourth to one-third the cost of what you pay to own and operate today’s automobile. This is what Project P.U.M.A. is capable of delivering.”
Seriously, though, do the inventors of the hybrid Cadillac Escalade really think urban dwellers are going to be standing in line to drive a hideous-looking contraption like this one?
They must be taking us for suckers, because they’re trying to sell us a “new and improved” product when a solution was already created over a hundred years ago, one with more style, grace and function than the “PUMA” vehicle will ever have.
on Apr 7th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Heh, don’t be hatin’. Bikes and these would get along Just Fine in most urban areas.
on Apr 7th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
““Imagine moving about cities in a vehicle fashioned to your taste, that’s fun to drive and ride in, that safely takes you where you want to go, and “connects” you to friends and family, while using clean, renewable energy, producing zero vehicle tailpipe emissions, and without the stress of traffic jams,” said Burns. “And imagine doing this for one-fourth to one-third the cost of what you pay to own and operate today’s automobile.”
Wow. Yeah. Imagine having a vehicle like that. And a good commuter bike is what, about *one twentieth* the cost of a new motor vehicle?
on Apr 7th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Yeah sorry for the diatribe, but really, their whole press release sounded like it was for the bicycle, when they just want to keep you chained to their products in one form or another. If this is really the best idea GM can come up with, maybe they really won’t last too much longer.
on Apr 7th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
My first thought when I saw this was “and this is better than a bike how?” In all honesty, I’d prefer them to cars, but I think sub-compact cars like a smartcar or yaris or mini probably make a lot more sense as most of those can fit four people and groceries, while the roid-rage segway can fit two and no cargo. An xtracycle beats that, hands down – two and cargo, easily. Maybe they should use this as a marketing scheme.
on Apr 7th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Amelia – that is kind of what we were thinking when we chose the cars for Austin CarShare: when you need a car, you need it to hold big things or lots of people. This bizarre concept vehicle really doesn’t do anything you need a vehicle to do, and yes, an Xtracycle would haul way more than this thing or even a Smart car.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 4:51 am
Believe it or not, you don’t have to buy GM products. They are just presenting an option that may have a market. Those chains that you perceive are just imagined.
Don’t be so negative. Did you ever hear someone say “We don’t need to spend money on bike lanes because so few people bike”? If this is a good idea people will buy them. If not, they will go the way of the segway.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 8:50 am
Advantages over a bicycle: You can arrive not covered in sweat. It can be used by people that for one reason or another can’t ride bikes (disabled, elderly, etc). It’s faster.
Disadvantages: Way more expensive, and you look like a dork.
It’s an interesting concept, but I think they’d be better off with an actual four-wheeled multi-passenger car that can carry some cargo.
If something like this ever does make it to market, it will almost certainly be way overpriced, and thus killing any chance of success that it might have. Like the Segway.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
um… i could be splitting hairs, but i count 6 wheels.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Yeah, I read an argument that this would be really good for the elderly and disabled, and I agree on that point for sure, this would definitely be an improvement over many types of wheelchair, for those that can handle the speed. However, at the current speed cap and distance cap (35mph and 35 miles) I don’t think these have much of a place in most cities yet, at least not in America. Apparently the goal is to get these vehicles to have their own lanes, which might present a problem, because even if these have a significant minority market share, the chance they’ll overtake cars, or even bicycles is very minimal. I maintain that a smartcar fortwo is a better general design (and not much larger!), and with four wheels you don’t need a gyroscope to do that whole two wheel balancing thing.
on Apr 10th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Hmm… looks kinda like a wheelchair with a safety cage to me. Speaking of handicapped folks using this, hope they don’t need a wheelchair whenever they get to where they’re going. And as for those two smaller sets of wheels, makes me think it’s likely to tip. Does not inspire me with confidence. Nonetheless, they are at least trying to think outside the box, I guess…
on Apr 11th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
The extra sets of wheels are likely there for when it’s parked — sure, it could sit there and balance, but that would drain the battery.
Looks like fun, sort of like a go-cart is fun. But having them drive in the bike lane? No way …