GM and Segway plan electric two-wheeler

[russ_watters]

Regarding the issue of small electric vehicles, they seem like a good idea, but their utility is very limited. Others have noted some of the issues, but just consider that overgrown golf carts already exist, but don't have much of a demand.

-They aren't all that useful for city driving because people in cities who might use one don't own cars anyway.
-They aren't that useful for driving more than perhaps 15 miles to work (not at 35 mph, anyway), so you won't get many who buy it as a commuter car (a plug-in hybrid is much more expensive, but vastly superior in capabilities).

The only market I can see for it is the one already dominated by golf carts or similar vehicles: resort community transportation. This is a growing market, but it will never be a large one.

Here's one with a range of 35 miles and a top speed of 25 mph that you can buy right now: http://www.gemcar.com/models/details.asp?MID=3 At $10k, it is a little on the expensive side, but that might be because of the limited market.

 

[sylas]

I confess... it looks cute. But it's a bad idea. What struck me most strongly on reading about this was remarks by Larry Burns (GM's vice president of research and development) as quoted in the Age newspaper here in Australia.

Ideally, 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 automatically avoid obstacles such as pedestrians and other cars and therefore never crash, Burns said.

As a result, the PUMA vehicles would not need air bags or other traditional safety devices and include safety belts for "comfort purposes" only, he said.

(-- Ditch the Hummer, here comes the PUMA, in the Age, April 7 2009 --)​

This reminds me of the joke about the new fully automated aircraft. As passengers arrived, the message came over the PA:

"Welcome aboard the new WTF500. This aircraft is fitted the best of modern technology, to ensure that nothing can possibly go wrong *click* go wrong *click* go wrong *click* go wrong"​

Boggle. -- Sylas

 

[Evo]

Ideally, 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 automatically avoid obstacles such as pedestrians and other cars and therefore never crash, Burns said.​

GPS doesn't work that way. There is no way to get a GPS location of someone walking in front of you real time. What a moron.​

 

[mgb_phys]

GPS doesn't work that way. There is no way to get a GPS location of someone walking in front of you real time. What a moron.

You can broadcast your GPS position constantly over a low power mesh network in the
same way as an aircraft TCAS. There are a few countries looking at this for freeways - Mercedes have a prototype system that is linked to their anti collision radar so that when it breaks it tells any cars behind it that it is braking.
The idea is to ultimately have something like HOV lanes for cars equipped with this - with corresponding higher speed limits (an probably tolls!)

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Regarding the issue of small electric vehicles, they seem like a good idea, but their utility is very limited. Others have noted some of the issues, but just consider that overgrown golf carts already exist, but don't have much of a demand.

They may not have had much of a chance yet. Funny that you mention it though, it didn't even occur to me that my aunt drives one of these, or something similar, as a local commuter vehicle.

Here's one with a range of 35 miles and a top speed of 25 mph that you can buy right now: http://www.gemcar.com/models/details.asp?MID=3 At $10k, it is a little on the expensive side, but that might be because of the limited market.

Global Electric Motorcars, a Chrysler company, has been in operation for ten years. Located in Fargo, North Dakota, Global Electric Motorcars manufactured its first vehicle in April 1998, a 48-volt GEM car that accommodated two passengers and had a top speed of 20 mph. Less than two months later, a significant breakthrough occurred in the market as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) designated a new class of motor vehicle, the low-speed vehicle, also known as the Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV). The low-speed vehicle class allowed GEM cars to be driven on public roads if they met certain safety criteria such as having safety belts, headlamps, windshield wipers, and safety glass. GEM cars always come equipped with these safety features making them a benchmark in the industry.

http://www.gemcar.com/company/

As for a market, who has ever seen one of these advertised? I have seen no marketing whatsoever. You can't sell a secret.

The other thing is that going from 25mph to 35mph takes you from residential streets, to Blvds. So we are not talking about the same class of vehicles.

 

[misgfool]

misg, in the US, people often have to drive 30-70 or more miles from their home in the suburbs to get "downtown" and many cities, like mine, do not have mass transit.

Fubar. Why do you live in the suburbs? Let me guess, the cities are so polluted?

 

[misgfool]

Those make OK unofficial bike lanes, but since we have snow from November through April (and spring months are plagued with huge pot-holes and frost heaves) there is not a lot of cycling going on in those months.

We have rural villages, which have snow from September to June and even they have cycling roads.

 

[physics girl phd]

Bike lanes, you have bike lanes? Most of our roads don't even have shoulders. You're in the car lane. But it looks like the little two wheeler in the OP is for sidewalk use?

Good luck there too. We don't have bike lanes or shoulders either... and many sidewalks in our town are too narrow (being blocked by power-line posts, tree-spots, etc. ... or messed up in regions. We often have a hard enough time getting our son's 1-seater electric wheelchair through.

I also think cities would be likely to put regulations on these regarding pedestrian/bike paths (usually this is done by allowing them... but with a speed restriction). Bike lanes they would perhaps allow. I agree that in general, it seems like a dangerous mode of transportation, turbo's right in that too often people don't even recognize motorcycles (or scooters... or bicycles for that matter).

I'm glad I usually walk to work or use the free trolley, and that we're presently a one-car family (be that unfortunately by necessity a huge honking wheel-chair-accessible gas-guzzling van).

 

[physics girl phd]

Bike lanes, you have bike lanes? Most of our roads don't even have shoulders. You're in the car lane. But it looks like the little two wheeler in the OP is for sidewalk use?

Good luck there too. We don't have bike lanes or shoulders either... and many sidewalks in our town are too narrow (being blocked by power-line posts, tree-spots, etc. ... or messed up in regions. We often have a hard enough time getting our son's 1-seater electric wheelchair through.

I also think cities would be likely to put regulations on these regarding pedestrian/bike paths (usually this is done by allowing them... but with a speed restriction). Bike lanes they would perhaps allow. I agree that in general, it seems like a dangerous mode of transportation, turbo's right in that too often people don't even recognize motorcycles (or scooters... or bicycles for that matter).

I'm glad I usually walk to work or use the free trolley, and that we're presently a one-car family (be that unfortunately by necessity a huge honking wheel-chair-accessible gas-guzzling van... which fortunately does also come quite in handy for transporting science equipment when I do outreach to local schools, since the whole middle area is carved out and I can just wheel a cart in and lock it down!).