We'll confess -- the Segway
did a lot of damage to urban mobility as a whole, but General Motors (of all companies) might have just mended a wound we thought un-mendable. Unveiling today in Shanghai, the two-seater EN-V concept is a play on last year's altogether riveting (albeit forgotten)
P.U.M.A., and yes, it seems as if some of those design cues have worked their way into this one as well. The Electric Networked-Vehicle was engineered to "alleviate concerns surrounding traffic congestion, parking availability, air quality and affordability for tomorrow's cities," and they're also fully capable of transforming this place we call Earth into a next-generation Epcot. A trio of designs made their debut -- Jiao (Pride), Miao (Magic) and Xiao (Laugh) -- and we're told that twin electric motors and "dynamic stabilization technology" allow 'em to turn on a dime and operate autonomously (!) using integrated GPS. The Li-ion batteries can be juiced from a conventional wall outlet, and the expected range is around 40 kilometers on a single charge. Best of all? There's built in wireless of some sort, enabling your fellow EN-V owner-friends to keep track of your late-night escapades if you so allow. We know -- you'd buy one of each if these were available today, but mum's the word on when (or if) they'll ever hit the production line; meanwhile, expect something called a "Malibu" to remain in the product pipeline for the better part of next decade.
posted March 24th 2010 11:43AM
Another answer by American capitalism for a question nobody asked.
And where does one put their stuff?
As a kind of Taxi maybe. But these just don't look comfortable and lack a lot of the functionality of even a small automobile (storage, etc.).
For short distances, I concur with other commentors- why not walk, bike or skateboard instead? More Earth-friendly, more human friendly (exercise) and more versatile on where it can fit, be stored, etc.
For these to be practical they need to approach the functionality and practicality of a small car, not try to replace human-powered methods of transportation.
@Gamoe you totally hit the heart of the issue in your last line there. why are we trying to replace human-powered and human-scale mobility with expensive energy-intensive devices? we should definitely be scaling down automobiles (and phasing them out as much as possible), but we should not be trying to replace that most basic mode of human locomotion, "the walk."
That's one bigass Honda Asimo head.
Parallel or perpendicular parking? That is the question.
They must not have potholes in Shanghai. In a perfect world with no potholes in the pavement this hoover vehicle would work. However in the US it'll probably flop over when it hits one.
"...but General Motors (of all companies) might have just mended a wound we thought un-mendable"
Really? Because when I looked at this thing it felt like GM just poured salt in that wound.
I can see myself never picking up chics in this.
GM must be high... most of the paved surfaces in the US suck and it looks alike a good crack or pothole would stop it dead in its tracks, or you would be high-centered, get out and then push it to get unstuck
Any chance these will be handicap accessible in the future?
"A trio of designs made their debut -- Jiao (Pride), Miao (Magic) and Xiao (Laugh)"
That last name is strikingly appropriate.