Hummm, What would Jesse James do to it to make it cool?

 

Not to start an argument here, but you are really missing the point. :) The world is a bit bigger than the U.S.A. read: Global Market. Developing countries like India, Pakistan, China, Korea, Taiwan, etc. would just love a vehicle like this. My daughter spent six months in India and rode Rickshaws every day. As I said previously, this isn't a final product, but GM is dammed if they do and dammed if they don't. Five years ago they were selling Hummers like there was no tommorrow, and there wasn't. Market changed on a dime and they got caught with their pants down. Everyone said they had no vision. Now they're looking ahead, and read the comments.

When they introduced the 2.0, 2.2 and 2.4, V6 and V8 guys vowed they'd never buy one - myself included. I wouldn't even consider a Malibu with it. Now I see the power that can be developed with it (SS) and am amazed.

I would hope that they are on the right track - Malibu - Lucerne - Volt - and more hybrids.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8Doy_7sOoM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIthEM6pDqw

 

lol, i still say it is silly unless they are going after the rascal scooter market. i am sure they will be a big seller in florida lol.

 

No thank you , I'll pass.

 

I would hate to see that get T boned when a cop is chasing a car thief that runs a red light......

 

{but you are really missing the point.}

Discussing this on the radio this afternoon, it was pointed out that the P.U.M.A. is obviously too slow for the roads and too large and fast for the sidewalks. GM is hoping that cities across the U.S. will build the required infrastructure to embrace this new product. Absolutely insane. What possible niche could this device fill that is not already inhabited by the moped or the bicycle? And yes, the Segway?

By the way, how many Segways has anybody seen cruising around on the streets? Yeah, that was a great idea too. It's a very, very cool gimmick that got a lot of press and then went nowehere. It works great for mailmen and mall rent-a-cops, or at least movie mall-rent-a-cops!

 

 

Lots of them here in Chicago-land. Hell there is even a city tour you can take on Segways.

 

That's interesting - I've never seen a single Segway in use. Besides the tour, how do people use the Segway in Chicago? To commute? Shop? Just for fun? It was heavily marketed as a commercial transportation device for meter readers, mail carriers, etc. but I haven't seen one yet. It's likely that my perception is skewed simply because I've been up and down the west coast from L.A. to Seattle and I've never actually seen one, but it certainly appears that the Segway was not widely accepted. The inventor of the Segway was certain it would revolutionize personal travel. Instead it simply - didn't. Is it fair to speculate that GM is in the same boat with this impractical P.U.M.A. device?

Portland is home to a large community of cyclists and goes to great pains to accommodate them in the form of bicycle lanes, trails, public awareness, etc. I can't imagine any of the cyclists I know cruising around in one of these things. Along with the obvious health benefits, the cyclists I know are generally environmentally aware folk interested in reducing their carbon footprint. Unless you've got solar cells powering your home, the lions share of the electricity you'll need to charge the P.U.M.A. (every 35 miles) comes from fossil fuels. I don't see any them being attracted to this.

The question is, where is the market? I just don't see it. The press release is incredibly – ridiculously - optimistic in the future it paints. The problem is, as wonderful as that future may sound in a press release, that future can NEVER come to pass without an infrastructure to support it, and that infrastructure simply does not exist.

 

I want to see the donk version