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Could this be the sports car of the future? A new innovation set to appear in 2012 by GM called a puma, "P.U.M.A." stands for personal urban mobility and accessibility. This is a very green effort by General Motors to help out with the energy problems. But can we modify the new Puma? Of course! It will be easy to make these segway puma's quicker. See videos of the GM Segway Puma in action below.
Learn more about the Segway Puma here.
The GM Segway Puma has an open and basic design. It's design is very minimal to reduce weight and therefore easy to work on. Modifying segway's has been around for some time. They even have a segway competition where modified segway's race to see who can scoot the fastest.
Segways can be modified for speed by doing the following:
- Increase tire diameter
- Reduce weight
- More powerful batteries
- More powerful electric motors
It is possible that with the new design of this segway, higher speeds can be reached. The initial stand up segway design allowed 20-30 mph with extensive modifications. It is expected a General Motors P.U.M.A. segway named "puma" will be much quicker because it's stock speed is around 35 mph. It is possible it could reach speeds up to 60 mph with the proper modifications.
Learn more about the worlds fastest segway here.
The GM segway "Puma" was launched eight years ago by General Motors. It turned out that the public wasn't ready for them then. But shortly after $5.00 per gallon gas and the decline of the American economy, the segway Puma doesn't sound so bad. Spending less money on a fuel bill sounds good to most americans, but the price tag of the Puma won't. General Motors says it will cost 25-35% traditional cost of a vehicle. We'll see.
What is the GM Puma?
It's a segway based vehicle that operates from what appears a steering wheel and throttle. Hopefully no more standing or exersize, because that would limit the customer base dramatically. It's a 300 lb prototype for now, but when it becomes mainstream it is expected to have two electric drive motors, a seat, and an auto pilot GPS based system. You enter your coordinates, and the puma whisks you away on electric energy guided by an extensive network of GPS satalites, position locators, and more. "No more accidents" is a design element behind the GM segway puma..JPG)
- Litium Ion battery lasting 35 miles
- Top speed of 35 mph
- Weighs only 300 lbs
- Dual passenger
- Auto Pilot by GPS and sensor network
There is less safety equipment on this vehicle because it drives itself, according to General Motors. Is this okay? I don't like the sound of that. When my computer crashes, I just have to reset it. What happens if my segway crashes while on auto pilot? Who is responsible, General Motors or the dozens of subsidized companies for the networking and GPS systems? There are many questions still left to be had.
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