GM and Segway's P.U.M.A. unveiled and no, this isn't a joke
By Ross Miller 
posted Apr 7th 2009 1:21AM
posted Apr 7th 2009 1:21AM
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Well I guess... Umm...
I was about to say
Yeah, I guess that's one way to... umm
I can't even finish
I don't get the hate. They're trying to come up with a friendly, green alternative to a scooter for around town travel.
Add it to the list of things I think are cool but I'd never get.
I think Segway views the problems of the world as just needing a balancing wheel. An electric bicycle or scooter would be a much better solution.
"They're trying to come up with a friendly, green alternative to a scooter for around town travel."
And what's wrong with just using a scooter?
Now you can pop a wheelie all da time!
Cool thing is nobody will question your use of the blue parking spots anymore.
Well, for one thing, although you can't see it from this picture, that thing seats two. It shelters you from rain and wind (at least the enclosed concept would shelter you from a crosswind). Is it any safer? That I don't know but I imagine that's what they're going for. For whatever it's worth, that thing has a little bit of a roll cage and seat belts, even if you would still fly off an SUV like a tennis ball of an aluminum bat.
Hey, save all the R&D money GM. Call Yamaha and rebadge their golf cart.
Um.... WTF dude?
You see me rolling, on my segway, tryin to catch me white and nerdy
You mock, but university police and mall cops around the world are rejoicing in unison. Whole campuses and shopping centers will be designed around this chariot for anyone who thought riding a segway was far too exhausting.
The Tata ain't got nothing on this
looks... interesting
For all the people down below who say "this is stupid", the problem is not the vehicle, but rather the context.
1. This is an experimental prototype, not a finished design.
Engineers understand the concept of "rain", and the final design should do something about that and many other issues.
2. This is not a replacement for a car.
This thing is not meant to be driven on the roads between SUVs and semi-trucks. In the ideal setting, there would be streets where only light vehicles like this are allowed. The major problem right now is that streets are designed for cars & trucks, sidewalks are designed for people, and there is nothing in between.
This is really the biggest problem for this vehicle: cities in general are not designed for it; they are designed for cars. Areas like golf courses, gated communities, and maybe farms and big factories can certainly use something like this. But until new cities are made, it's hard to see how something like this can hit the mass market.
Yes, this would be a new type of vehicle. After seeing it though, i have to wonder if everyone won't flock to get Electric Scooters. This might get people who would go absolutely minimalist but don't like Bikes.
My major worry, honestly, aside from Safety, is weight. I'm fairly sure two big guys and a gas guzzling pickup truck can 'cart' it off no problem.
and so those little front and rear wheels are for when....angular momentum stops working?
Well, you need to park it right? lol
Well I mean you gotta have another set of wheels somewhere to counter balance the squealing wheel take offs & threshold braking maneuvers this miniature Ferrari is cable of...
They're for when the thing, well, runs out of juice.
Ever been on a segway when the battery dies? Yeah, it's supposed to give you some time and fair warning, but I've ridden ones that discharged too quickly. Let's just say faceplanting or having to jump off the thing isn't the most fun. I still have scars on my shins.
Well, when you grow up and actually learn how to ride it, they take the little wheels away...
Actually, I think the rear wheels are for going up a hill. Cause otherwise this thing is stuck on
Right, forgot Engadget's comment system is completely flabergasted by a "greater than" or "less than" symbol...
As I was saying, otherwise this thing is stuck on "less than" 5 percent gradient roads and sidewalks.
If it won't topple head-over-heels on a steep incline, I can see this being useful in a city like San Fran, with all those steep-ass, 20-foot-wide, "light vehicles only" streets.
reminds me of wall-e...........................
i don't wana be fat!
LOL
Get. A. Scooter. (Or, God forbid, a bicycle.)
Alright, so the mockup with the full enclosure would have an advantage in the rain. But this still reeks "build a better mousetrap."
Scooters are for third world countries. Don't you know anything?
[/sarcasm]
I LOL'd, seriously.
V2V communication, sounds like fun.
One P.U.M.A. sends a text message to another P.U.M.A.
"d00d plz dn't hit me"
lolpuma?
"For when your to lazy to just stand there and have a machine move you around . . . . ."
Wonder what would happen if you t-boned this in a semi.
Same thing that happens when you t-bone anything with a semi? Pain, wreckage, possible death
Yeah, break away car, forget the air bags! This thing is great! I live in Seattle and you see some pretty cooky **** in places like Downtown, the University District and on the east side (Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland). I saw this lady getting on the freeway on a moped in the U District with a full faring on it. You should have seen the bull-dike look on her face! It was hilarious! And people driving these thumb cars all over the place, and on the freeway! Unbelievable. Yeah, I'd like to see some semi wreckage video of that myself.
Seriously after the US govenment helped them and wanted them to improve their products they come out with this scooter thing wow
How is this a scooter?? I love how folks scramble to put labels on things that are too new to be classified. "ooh ooh! It's that horseless carriage!"
If you don't live in DC, you wouldn't know how insanely awesome this type of thing would be.
I live just outside DC and even *I* don't think it would be cool.
The only thing that it would be good for is guided tours if they could be remote controlled or set on a pre-determined route. Other than that, you gonna commute in that? Not on our roads. Take a date out with it? Ha. Pick up groceries? Nope.
...the US govenment helped them ...
HA, that's a good one! You actually called that help? What did they give them, 20 bucks?
@ vertigo1:
I live and work in DC, and I would not get caught dead in one of these things. Well, actually, with DC's buses and drivers in general, I probably would END UP dead in one of these things, which is sort of the point. That and the utter ridiculousness of the proposition of rolling up to an office on K Street, Conn. Ave., PA Ave, or any other Ave, in one of these. And where do you park it? Chain it to a parking meter?
Wow, GM can't even produce an April Fool's joke on time.
fuckin' A !
nice comment.
Didn't Mr. Garrison already invent It?
First thought in my head was the "IT" from that South Park episode.
I'd love to see this thing's crash test rating.
*Thunk* "Joe, you should really watch that curb!"
Look. This thing may seem silly, but it's on the right track in one key way. That is that any energy efficient vehicle has get rid of as much excess weight as possible. The balancing controls weigh less than the extra wheels and frame would, so it should go further on a given amount of energy. Looks cool to me.
Yah, the irony is that it is GM who also makes the huge Trucks + SUVs which this clown cart will encounter all across the USA. I guess they could be onto something if their goal is population control. One just never knows.
Ah so is this how GM plans to ride into the sunset? So sad.
Great, just great.
Finally...
Me want!!! I mean that is what I said about the original Segway too, though then I saw the price tag and decided my lazy butt could use the exercise.
YEAH! Bring it! This is what we need- something small that gets people within urban areas on their small commutes- seriously nice- I will buy it!!!
I'd rather have Toyota's iReal, which is a hot!
Now that is for the extremely lazy. . . lol
Also, whats up with everyone using the "i" on every god damn thing. . .
I bet if apple used a "q" instead of that everything would have a "q" in front of it. . .
Back in my day, we used to call these things "Wheelchairs" and they were generally reserved for people who had some kind of disability that prevented them from walking, which is generally what one does to travel short distances in an urban enviornment.
Do you know any wheelchairs that go 35 mph?
YES these guys down my street race them they hooked up some NOS, they hit like 50MPH!!!!
I believe wheelchairs that go 35mph are called rascals.
I'm glad someone else thought so too :)
Looks like a wheelchair to me.
looks like it folds down into a make shift coffin for when you get sandwiched between suvs.
and this is what is supposed to save GM...
It's what Emperor Obama said GM should do after firing Rick Wagoner.
Oh leave it to Government to screw things up even more..
As weird as this is, I feel like I would buy one if I had a lot of extra money lol. Plus I want a vehicle called puma "A puma, its a big cat, like a lion" "I think your making that up".
I can't believe it took that long for someone to mention that
I haven't watched RvB in such a long time...
.
an incredibly STUPID idea!!!
it uses the very expensive self-balancing Segway technology just to save the (much lower) price of two furter wheels!!!
.
sweet a smart car with less wheels and doors and an auto-balancing system!
1/2 the wheels, 1/4the the price. Seems like a good deal to me.
It's actually 150% of the wheels, as long as you count casters.
And 1/5 the seating, and 1/10th the range, and 1/25th the cargo space...
(Just because you add a second headrest behind the driver's shoulder doesn't make it a two-seater)
If they can't deliver this for significantly under $4k (which is the figure I'm assuming to be 25% of the cost of a car in marketing-speak) they are kidding themselves.
I'll bet President Obama was briefed on this a few hours before Rick Wagoner resigned.
If you actually follow through to the other pics, it's not quite as gay as this one makes it out to be. I think it's got potential, hopefully they can make it cool.
"it's not quite as GAY"
Fail
And GM wonders why they are going bankrupt.
And I love how it will be priced at just 25% that of a regular automobile, so it'll still be about 3x the price of the Tata Nano.
LMAO!!!
Hey its another genius GM research finding something thats gonna truely sell, not a small hybrid PRIUS rival but a wheelchair with power.
I agree whole heartedly. Gotta love vanity though right? People flip the heck out if anything "balances". Might make them look *gasp* GEEKY! Remember computers were considered "nerdy/geeky" 10 years ago and now literally everyone and their mother is on Facebook or the like. They despised the Segway too for God-knows what reason (great for DC if you want to arrive on time and clean). Ahh small minds - gotta lov'em. And for the folks who think you can get anywhere on a bike and not get shunned for B.O., you just go on stinking! It's a free country!
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my bike. But the phrase "there's a time and a place" comes to mind. If every building had a shower, count me in! Otherwise I'll take my assisted transportation. Thanks.
I see vehicle-to-vehicle communication being problematic. The problem being: I don't want a bunch of inane vitriol, frequently effused by the many moronic assholes who populate the roads, piped directly into my own vehicle when previously it was mercifully contained in another vehicle entirely.
that's not what they meant by V2V, it means the vehicles communicate with each other to prevent collisions and the like
why couldn't they just make it look like the concept picture. the concept picture doesn't look half bad
It's sad that the first thing I thought of when I saw the article title was Red Vs. Blue....
How does GM or some of you think that this is marketable? I admit the technology looks cool, it'll be even cooler if it had like a 1100cc motor. But to the unit is OPEN, so adding windows/covering adds weight, we're used to amenities (like radio, a/c, heat, and bluetooth) which also adds weight, and as a driver do you want to be driving behind some electric wheelchair.
Top speed 35mph? Check out how you drive daily, home to work? home to store? do you really go 35mph?!
This what you do, you showcase your product in like say a big movie *TRANSFORMERS* you debut the car the same day the movie opens NOT TWO YEARS LATER.
Some of you think the VOLT is a genius idea. Yes the technology is great. How many of you when you get home park near an outlet? Majority of us don't or live in apartments. Make the Cobalt cool, add a hybrid and market that.
"...don't go to jail for the next 15 years because somebody smudge your puma"
-Chris Rock-No Sex in the Champagne Room
Apparently a lot of commentators have no imagination or vision for what the future may look like. What's that? Oh, that's my pity for you fools.
But seriously, there is a vast market that is untapped for vehicles like this. Imagine places where it is nice all the time like Florida and Southern Cal where most people only travel a mile or two to get to their bingo/grocery/walmart/drugstore. Their developments are closely linked and there is no need for an actual car most of the time.
Hence the widespread use of golf carts for short distance transportation in such areas.
My regular daily travels all take place within about a 1 sq. mile area in Tempe, AZ, so as far as short distance travel and regularly nice weather goes I'm there. However, I'd be terrified zipping around in one of these things around here. The traffic is heavy and made worse by the terrible, inconsiderate drivers.
I could see using something like this if I lived in a somewhat more rural area and didn't have to travel on 6 lane roads surrounded by interstates and highways.
Yes, people who live in So Cal and Florida want to buy something that costs thousands of dollars so they don't have to walk down the street to the grocery store. It's gonna save them a bundle!
If people were that concerned about walking such short distances they would have already considered buying a muchy cheaper motor scooter.
It is vision like this that took Segway to where they are now - nowhere.
Walk? Bike?
I'm sure Police has already headache.
um, sure...
so the car is only marketable to warm weather areas? The pics show a guy riding in NYC, problem with this he cannot ride in designated 'bike' lanes since he goes to fast, he cannot ride in the streets (he'll wouldn't even if the cage was made from a fusion from titanium and adamantium )
OH weather in "nice places" aren't nice all the time, it your looking for a practical solution to these areas specifically , its way better to force homeowners add solar panels to their homes.
rival....
Another failure by Segway...
That would be real cool hear in Wisconsin in Feb with 12ft snow, cool right down to your nut's!
I demand a video of one of these in action. Is there any way it could be disappointing?
Every way.
In a quest to counter the arrival of Tata Nano GM launches their own cheap American version.........
New York cab drivers have perfected the art of vehicle to vehicle communication.
Hey, same to you pal.
Same to you.
Interesting. The 2-wheel concept makes is very maneuverable and there is at least some impact protection. Should be a bit hard to integrate into regular urban traffic. Lacks a little in the storage-area department. The closed concept seems to provide some protection from the elements (I dislike those egg-cooker "you in a bubble" designs, they always seem to lack ventilation) but looks as though it would be a little hard to board/exit.
Essentially it is a 2 passenger / one obese person Segway for people too lazy to stand up straight or too stupid to grasp the original controls, which we all agree were the two major design deficiencies of the original Segway, i.e. this one will sell like hotcakes.
35 mph.
I would like to see what happens when it tries to stop from 35 mph. I suspect it just starts rolling end over end, like a guy in one of those monowheels...
Wow, I'd actually buy this. If it doesn't require a stupid license to drive, and is relatively affordable, then I might actually get one. Right now, I just can't buy most cars to due to their limitations.
wait, what?
..wot?