This could save GM.

[rafterman]

Ha ha ha.

In their dreams.

Man oh man this is desperation.

NEWS FROM Globeandmail.com

From the Escalade to the PUMA, an industry slims down
SIMON AVERY
00:06 EST Wednesday, Apr 08, 2009

Can the company that brought the world the Hummer save itself with a 136-kilogram knockoff of a golf cart?

Struggling to reinvent itself, General Motors Corp. said yesterday that it has teamed up with the iconic scooter company Segway Inc. to develop a battery-powered, two-seat, two-wheeled vehicle that would cost between one-quarter and one-third the price of today's automobiles.

The self-balancing device – called PUMA for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility – would be able to avert collisions by using digital communication and other technologies and run for as little as 60 cents (U.S.) a charge, the companies said.

News of the project confounded the industry as GM and Segway demonstrated a prototype in New York City yesterday. The vehicle, which resembles an extra-wide wheelchair with a plastic canopy, is capable of a top speed of 56 kilometres an hour and can cover 56 kilometres on one charge of its lithium-ion batteries, they said.

“It's a very interesting green play, but no one is expecting this to re-float General Motors,” said Bill Pochiluk, president of AutomotiveCompass LLC, a consultancy in West Chester, Pa. “I just see it as a start of a new relationship. It's not enough to change anybody's mind about General Motors or Segway at this point.”

Segway, of Bedford, N.H., introduced its Personal Transporter scooter in 2001 to great hype, but has never lived up to early billing that it could transform the way people move around cities. The product has won the hearts of numerous celebrities, including Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak.

But it has also suffered from recalls, some bad press and bans in some public places, including Walt Disney Co.'s theme parks.

GM, which sold more than eight million gasoline-powered vehicles worldwide last year, has been touting its green technology in recent months, at the same time as it has appealed for government financial assistance.

Its venture with Segway follows promises of introducing a hybrid-electric car next year called the Chevrolet Volt and an effort to sell its Hummer unit.

Larry Burns, vice-president of research and development and strategic planning at GM, described the prototype PUMA yesterday in utopian terms.

“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,” he said.

GM is aiming to launch the vehicle in 2012 and, Mr. Burns said, could begin with an area such as a university campus.

Jim Norrod, chief executive officer of Segway, said the two companies had demonstrated “a dramatically different approach to urban mobility.”

The firms did not provide any details about production plans.

With files fro Dow Jones Newswires

© Copyright The Globe and Mail

 

[Ceiling Cat]

Too little, too late!....................anyways, if a car hit you in it you will realy need a electric wheel chair!

 

[lookingforitallthetime]

I saw this mentioned on CNN too. They say it will only cost about 1/3 the price of a "normal" car.

1/3??? WTF????? There is nothing to the fucking thing????

Fuck that! I'll call up Scooter Chair first. They say they can get me one for free!

 

[danmand]

crazy: $10,000 of fancy electronics and gyros in order to save 2 wheels.

 

[lookingforitallthetime]

crazy: $10,000 of fancy electronics and gyros in order to save 2 wheels.

Another couple of grand and you can get a Smart car. At least it has a trunk.

 

[Carrie Moon]

GM is aiming to launch the vehicle in 2012

Isn't the world ending in 2012?

 

[lookingforitallthetime]

Isn't the world ending in 2012?

I think GM's world will be ending sooner.

 

[danmand]

I think GM's world will be ending sooner.

Except we will be paying for GM for many years.

 

[lookingforitallthetime]

and a metal safety cage for the passengers!

Good point!

 

[Shades]

Me thinks the bright minds at GM are trying to find something to compete with the new Tata Nano...which they won't be able to do with their cumbersome infrastructure and labour costs around tooling and production.

A partnership with Segway...a partnership made in the bankruptcy courts

 

[Meister]

I'm not so worried about GM, they'll be around in form or another, Obama will make sure.

I'm more worried about the suppliers, they'll get screwed in the process. And, it's the least of their fault. But, then again, capitalism at it's best, 'I'll screw you for my own gain'.

 

[bishop]

GM is getting desperate, I heard through the grape vine that they are looking to partner with nike to make a $10000 sneaker.

 

[rafterman]

I'm not so worried about GM, they'll be around in form or another, Obama will make sure.

Good GM - GMC, Buick, Chevy, Cadillac brands.

Bad GM - Hummer, Saturn, Saab everything else.

Really they should go with two names, Chevy for the common man, Cadillac for the upscale market. Same as Toyota / Lexus, Honda / Acura, Nissan / Infiniti.

 

[realthing69]

Good GM - GMC, Buick, Chevy, Cadillac brands.

Bad GM - Hummer, Saturn, Saab everything else.

Really they should go with two names, Chevy for the common man, Cadillac for the upscale market. Same as Toyota / Lexus, Honda / Acura, Nissan / Infiniti.

I would just keep Chev and GMC.

I think the Cadillac name has been tarnished so I'm not sure Cadillac can compete with the high-end German and Japanese cars.

 

[Mr. Piggy]

I would feel safer riding a motorcycle.

 

[Big Sleazy]

Isn't the world ending in 2012?

I thought it was 2016 ???

BS

 

[RollingStone]

I can see GM scrapping the barrel for incentives - a sure winner for Terbites :

"All 2009 Chevvy Impala's come c/w a BBBJ at every oil change. Offer only good for initial owner."

.....and NO you can not schedule weekly oil changes!!

cheers eh!
RS