General Motors and Segway have collaborated to develop what they call Project PUMA (fancy name for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility). I hear you ask “What is the PUMA Project?” Well, do you remember the Segway scooter? They made a two-passenger version, so if Bush went down again, he’d take someone with him (Cheney, maybe?).
PUMA is a prototype electric car (no, not one of those electric remote-controlled toy cars), jointly developed and unveiled by American automaker GM and scooter maker Segway, that has a top speed of 35 miles per hour. It seats two passengers and a single charge of this little electric car will get you up to 25 to 35 miles. The best part is that it will only cost 60 cents to recharge PUMA’s lithium-ion batteries. Don’t you just love electric car batteries?
The “green car”, PUMA, features regenerative braking (which helps recharge the batteries) and zero-emissions operation. Its Dynamic Stabilization (Balance Technology) will give PUMA the ability to balance on two wheels and have a zero turning radius, meaning you’ll be able to steer in place. PUMA’s digital dashboard will allow the driver (or cyclist) to send vehicle data such as battery life, speed, etc. to a handheld device wirelessly.
One thing is certain: PUMA takes up “less” space, uses “less” energy, contains “fewer” parts and generates “fewer” emissions. But it will be “more” than a mere prototype and will be the “future of transportation” as Segway claims, that remains to be seen. GM plans to start producing PUMA by 2012. PUMA is sure to cause a stir in the world of electric cars. If it turns out to be a successful project, one could expect many big automakers to follow in GM’s footsteps and the streets will be filled with new electric cars. How much does the GM PUMA and Segway cost? Well, that’s another point we’ll have to wait and see. But PUMA is expected to be much cheaper than electric cars on the market right now. It might even be a better alternative to converting to an electric car. What if Project PUMA [http://www.greenvolume.com/2009/04/puma-in-streets.html] fails, you may start a new “who killed the electric car” debate.