GM and Segway unveil new two-wheeled urban vehicle Tuesday April 7, 2009, 12:05 am EDT GM and Segway unveil new two-wheeled urban vehicle - Yahoo! Finance Remember the Jetsons? Remember "Back to the Future?" This one just seems weird. I'll be open-minded and give it a chance though. Who knows. Maybe fifty years from now, in it's 50th reincarnation it will be THE vehicle of choice for 90% of the population. But in 2009, I'll stick with relating this one to George Jetson. .
Sounds a lot like a bicycle...except that it will consume a lot more power and cost a lot more. I never have seen the point of the Segway. I've lived in a neighborhood where folks tried to use their golf carts a lot in a similar fashion. Of course, the golf carts weren't supposed to be on the residential streets and the drivers were ticketed when caught. That neighborhood fortunately had very wide roads, because in the South the populace had an aversion to putting in sidewalks. Walking somewhere in town in the South mostly meant in the road and across overgrown right of ways. So what I'm saying is I'm not sure where one would use these two seater Segways. Folks can ride bikes on the road, but I doubt Segways and golf carts are going to be allowed.
You say you want pictures?? OK! GM, Segway team up on two-wheeled concept vehicle | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press
I agree with the wheelchair comment. GM should market this in India and China where their roads are clogged with all kinds of modes of transport anyway. Here, that thing is going to get squashed by your resident cell-phone-talking SUV driving person who isn't paying attention (I watched the video in the post three above and kept hearing the motorcycle in the background (probably the film bike)... I'd wager that the rider of the bike is more safe than the person in that contraption... Don't bet the farm, GM.
Looks good to me (not for my use tho) And thanks dog for showing us that anything can be dangerous. or GM: Goodbye Hummer? Hello electric scooter http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/apr/07/gm-segway-electric-scooter-unveiled
At 1/4 the price of a regular car, this thing would be a hard sell. Especially in India which manufactures a super cheap car.
Hi all, I have had people bounce off me like when I have been walking and having the same sorta face plant. Its really embaresing to the them when they come up from behind like that, and I do not even know they are there. The bicycle people developed this thing to aleviate them from the responsibility of slowing around near pedestrians - just call out "passing on your left". In the outdoor aural enviorment all the pedestrian hears is "squeek squeek mumble mumble LEFT!" over the exhaust noise of a receeding car . So what does the pedestrian do - he/she jumps left right into the path of a bicycle which should have slowed down around pedestrians, but did not. Has happened to me, the bike rider dodged further to the left, off the sidewalk, caught his tire in a drainage rut between the sidewalk and grass, and did a header over the handle-bars. I just do not get the objection to the Segway. My only logical conclusion is its fear of the unknown, or what is called Ludite-ism when the unknown is a new technology. Its really a shame so many comunities have baned them, yet send their kids off to procure oil in the army.
According to the local news the proposal is to use these in bike lanes. I'm sure people riding bikes would love that!
It is wonderful to see that GM's engineers can finally start with a clean sheet of paper when designing a possible new product. This idea could be useful in the cramped areas that most cities are. Parking lots for these things could resemble vending machines!
Yep, and how many bike lanes are there? They are rather rare in places that don't even have sidewalks in residential neighborhoods. Basically, if it is not allowed to operate on streets without a bike lane like a bicycle would then it's going to be DOA for the masses. There are some areas where it is going to make sense, but it will end up competing with bikes, golf carts, and such for those markets. It's not that I'm opposed to this or the Segway, I just don't see them as in any way revolutionary as their promoters believe/claim. They all seem to miss the point: if you want to make these things viable, then you need to create or find a way for the average municipal infrastructure to handle non-automotive traffic in a meaningful way. In most/many places current infrastructure doesn't even handle bikes or pedestrians very well.
Agreed. I really like the Segway, and would own one except for the following two reasons: 1) They are expensive, and 2) I don't have a need for one, so it would be an expensive toy. For me, anyplace I need to go around town is a short walk. Anyplace else is too far for a Segway. I have used them, and they work great. I wish more communities would get a little more progressive in relation to alternative personal transportation. Our little village passed an ordinance allowing golf carts on all village streets, providing they meet some minimal requirements. They work very well for many of the older people in town. Tom
Thanks to a user on TiVocommunity that helped me dig up the comic below. It was done when the original Segway PT came out.
