The Low Down On Green Living
April 9th, 2009
Here Comes the PUMA: Electric Two-seater from Segway and GM
Stumble it!
Just when you thought GM was a washed up brontosaurus, they come out with a pretty cool announcement. GM and Segway are teaming up to develop an electric two-seater called the PUMA. This small vehicle is for urban use– with a top speed of 35 miles per hour. And they say it can go for about 35 miles on a single charge.
The producers are comparing the vehicle to “an iPod on wheels” due to its revolutionary nature. (Wishful thinking?) The snappy little car comes complete with Internet connectivity and an electronic brain to drive by itself. They claim it can even find its own parking spot!
They plan to roll the PUMA out in 2010 but they have not yet announced a price.
Read more about the PUMA in this Marketwatch article and the Segway website.
Popularity: 6% [?]
Comments
David Tannen
April 14th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Interesting but not very useful for most people in USA.
If you live in an urban area with very high concentrations of people (NYC, Boston, etc) then this vehicle might be useful. But if you live in places like Phoenix, Tampa, DFW, Denver, LA, etc. it is very unlikely that this would be a useful vehicle. Especially when you look at the likely cost to buy one and the fact there isn’t any ’storage’ space.
My round trip commute is 26 miles, 90% of it on the freeway (~40 minutes) or 18 miles, all streets, (~60 minutes). When I lived in places like Phoenix or DFW there is no way I would consider any of the ‘eco’ vehicle options I am seeing.
Annie in TX
April 15th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
It is cool, but…
Reminds me of the iBot which is a beautiful and functional wheelchair that almost no one can afford since they cost around $20,000. So I’m guessing this little transporter will be around $40,000. I live around the DFW metroplex and agree with David that it is not very useful. On the other hand, I would be interested in the Tesla!
Post a Comment