Segway, GM Unveil 'PUMA' Vehicle

On the cult comedy show Arrested Development, Will Arnett's character, Gob Bluth, proudly cruises around town on a Segway, in all its nerdy glory. Oh, how I miss you, AD! The upright, self-balancing electric scooter was intended to be a safe, practical, and economical marvel but instead has found itself the butt of many jokes, developing a stigma of laziness and dorkiness.

Today, however, General Motors Corp. and Segway Inc. hope you'll think otherwise. The companies have joined forces to create not just a two-wheeled electrical vehicle but a two-seater designed to be an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional cars and trucks. The project,called Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility, is part of GM's effort to change its public image and focus on creating fuel-efficient vehicles. It is made specifically for city driving.

Weighing 600 pounds, PUMA would run on a lithium-ion battery and reach speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. According to Larry Burns, GM's vice president of research and development, the vehicles would also be part of a communications network, that through the use of transponder and GPS technology, would allow them to drive themselves. The vehicles would avoid obstacles such as other cars and pedestrians. I hope they can do something about the design; it unfortunately looks more like a rickshaw you'd find up and down the Atlantic City boardwalk.

"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," said Burns. "And imagine doing this for one-fourth to one-third the cost of what you pay to own and operate today's automobile. This is what Project PUMA is capable of delivering."

The Arrested Development movie is slated for sometime in 2010. Maybe we'll get to see Gob upgrade his Segway to a PUMA.

• See how Michelle Obama has boosted J. Crew.
• Find out what gift President Obama gave the queen.
• Learn more about Aaron Spelling's $150 million home.

Reader Comments Read all comments (8)

Add Your Thoughts

Comment Name State Select One AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY International Email

Please enter the two words below into the text field underneath the image.

Incorrect please try again

Enter the words above: Enter the numbers you hear:

Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.