with GM in such a shambles, why is it putting resources into Segway’s (once failed already) 2 wheeler plan?
someone explain this to me, because it makes absolutely no sense, given the dire circumstances they face. seems to me they should put resources towards cars people actually CAN and WILL buy. not pipe dreams and yet another vehicle that generates no revenue (and is a financial debacle).
don’t they know that green is already passe? lol
I had the same thought when seeing the 2-wheeled toy.
Of course, GM has been losing market share for years by producing cars that people don’t prefer as much as other brands, so why should we expect them to pull a rabbit out of their hat now?
Don’t know for sure but this sentence from a news article provides some hints as to what may be behind this.
The machine, which GM says it aims to develop by 2012, would run on batteries and use wireless technology to avoid traffic backups and navigate cities.
Obviously, battery technology is a huge part of GM’s future. To a lesser degree, sensing and computer techology is also something all car companies are working on to some degree. I suspect that GM is partnering with Segway on the technical research and in exchange, gets access to the techology and gets its name on the scooter thing. Doing this with a partner and in a context that may actually bring in a bit of money (however small it may be) versus just doing it yourself in a lab is not a bad idea at all.
ok. still makes no sense to me though. if they could stop making awful cars, that might be a great first step.
Who is running GM?
We are in a period of transition when it comes to the auto industry. There are a lot of questions about what the next stage of transportation will look like and what technology will be used. Gas is going to be $4+ a gallon again, it’s inevitable. How the auto companies will stay in business and what the technology will be behind their offerings is a mixed message as you can see here. I think the GM Segway idea might be great in the city if they can actually deliver it, especially when gas prices rise again. Have you wondered why anyone that lives and works in the city NEEDS an SUV? Are they all hauling cement? Transitions can be tough. There will be many players as the shake out continues including some we have yet to hear about.
ok. still makes no sense to me though. if they could stop making awful cars, that might be a great first step.
They actually have already done that. The next step is to get people to stop thinking they make awfull cars. Unfortunately, that is going to be alot harder. It may even be impossible at this point.
Anyway, most folks have no clue how the auto industry works. All the car companies, foreign and domestic, spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year on R&D. New technologies don’t just magically appear and, even after they are developed, turning them into manufacturable products takes even more time. There are probably 10 different things on this Segway thing that, if after developement they can work and be made cheaply, will be useful in regular 4 wheel cars. This is probably just as much about developing some feature they can add to the 2014 Silverdo pick up as a $500 option as it is about selling 2 wheel scooters.
I posted in another thread a pic of Toyota’s version of the same type of Segway thing. Only Toyota had their prototype running 2 years ago so the real story here is why is GM late on this type of test bed, not way are they doing it at all.
I think the GM Segway idea might be great in the city if they can actually deliver it, especially when gas prices rise again. Have you wondered why anyone that lives and works in the city NEEDS an SUV?
Very true… but also old news… in the sense that we’ve had the technology to make light, efficient, and cheap electric “city cars” for quite some time. I think all that is needed for them to flourish is the political will to remap the roads to make them safe and easy to use.
I don’t see the Segway concept scaling up to a 2 passenger car. Has anyone seen the concept for the GM+Segway venture?
I mentioned this in the other thread, but GM claims that this vehicle will probably never be accepted by the American market. It is more of a competitor for the Tata Nano in large Asian cities. That is the fastest growing market in the world. If they want to continue being an international company, they need to find solutions for those markets and not just produce what they think the average farmer in Kansas wants.
They actually have already done that.
Thank you. I don’t understand this idea - oft quoted in the media - about the horribleness of U.S. cars, particularly GM and Chrysler. They’re, by just about any objective measure, pretty much on par with anything else. Personally I’m not a huge fan of GM or Chrysler styling, but that’s just me.
They did pretty much miss the hybrid boat until Ford’s Fusion Hybrid this year which is by all early accounts, absolutely fantastic.
The problem with GM isn’t so much the cars, but the financial structure of the company. It’s just not efficient enough.
I think with this new Segway/GM thing is that people sometimes forget that GM is a global company. Such a small, smart “car” might not catch on in the U.S. until gas hits $10/gallon, but it makes a lot of sense on the small, congested streets in Europe and Asia. I’m glad to see some forward thinking. They didn’t handle the press release very well, but good R&D nonetheless.
I think the GM Segway idea might be great in the city if they can actually deliver it, especially when gas prices rise again. Have you wondered why anyone that lives and works in the city NEEDS an SUV?
Very true… but also old news… in the sense that we’ve had the technology to make light, efficient, and cheap electric “city cars” for quite some time. I think all that is needed for them to flourish is the political will to remap the roads to make them safe and easy to use.
I don’t see the Segway concept scaling up to a 2 passenger car. Has anyone seen the concept for the GM+Segway venture?
I wonder about the “cheap” part. What’s the cheapest electric car you have seen come from the Big 3? Or from Asia? The Segway today goes for between $4 - 5K. If GM could deliver the Segway “car” as a 2 seater with a 35 mile range for under 10K it would be a good deal for some markets, not all.
A few years back the internet was filled with similar posts about Apple…“what the hell are they doing? MP3 players? music downloads? they need to get back to building good computers or they’ll go bust. Steve Jobs is an idiot.”
I wonder about the “cheap” part. What’s the cheapest electric car you have seen come from the Big 3?
The reason is that they only look at making a car with all the comfort and performance of existing cars. Obviously, the big manufacturers are not going to encourage anyone to downsize… and people who make these things on a very small scale cannot do so nearly as cheaply… but you can still put something decent together for $5k or so.
I’m talking about something on the level of an enclosed 3 wheel scooter. Nothing fancy or high tech… just an efficient way to get between A and B for 1 or 2 people. Electric vehicles can be very simple… just an overgrown alternator and some batteries.
Here is one example that is in the ballpark: http://www.bugev.net/
Which would pass probably none of the current government mandated-safety standards…
Which would pass probably none of the current government mandated-safety standards.
And neither does my bicycle, scooters, motocycles, etc. Legally this is a motorcycle.
If the traffic consisted mostly of vehicles like this and smaller… like the ones I mentioned above… then they would be quite safe to use.
Yeah but those technologies where new. This is an electric chair with a bigger motor. A bicycle, scooter, feet, skateboard and many many many things are already doing what this does at a much cheaper cost.
I know it’s cool to hate the Segway… but really it’s a fantastic product. Just 10 years too early, 10 times too expensive, and now because of the hatred (largely from the hype and the lobbying and the cost) it’s basically a doomed idea. I used one for a weekend after knee surgery and it truly is a fantastic mobility machine for what it is.
Small cars on the other hand, are a very workable solution for commuting. If you can get twice as many cars in an existing lane, you’ve halved your need for infrastructure. You also decrease your power requirements not hauling around unnecessary weight. That is a good thing.
Do I think the GM/Segway is the perfect vehicle? No, not for my commute (on a signposted 50mph road that most people travel 60+ on)… but within a city I think it makes more sense than a GEM or a Xebra and definitely more useful than a Segway (if only for carrying luggage in the passenger seat). The Aptera is close, but people scoff at the looks of that and they’ve still yet to deliver one at any cost.
Should GM be spending bailout money on innovative products that may or may not have a future? Well… I certainly don’t think they should be spending it continuing with the same crappy vehicles they have today that I would never buy. And I think the Volt is doomed to failure on ugliness alone (reference: Pontiac Aztek) and the price without tax rebates won’t help. I’d rather they attempt something different and learn from the technology and the mistakes. Eventually they should hit on something that the public is willing to adopt.
Neither would the “Segway” in question. What’s being discussed is a NEV, and there are literally tons of them on the market ranging from “Electric bicycles” to fully functioning cars. Most have top speeds of less than 50 MPH and a range of less than 60 miles. They are meant to “Get around town”. Some are cheap enough to get as a “Second car” and since a massive portion of most peoples driving are done at speeds less than 50 MPH and less than 60 miles a day these make a lot of sense.
~Matt
I wonder about the “cheap” part. What’s the cheapest electric car you have seen come from the Big 3?
The reason is that they only look at making a car with all the comfort and performance of existing cars. Obviously, the big manufacturers are not going to encourage anyone to downsize… and people who make these things on a very small scale cannot do so nearly as cheaply… but you can still put something decent together for $5k or so.
I’m talking about something on the level of an enclosed 3 wheel scooter. Nothing fancy or high tech… just an efficient way to get between A and B for 1 or 2 people. Electric vehicles can be very simple… just an overgrown alternator and some batteries.
Here is one example that is in the ballpark: http://www.bugev.net/
Very cool. We have NEV routes in our city so you find golf carts everywhere. Something like this would be ideal with some additional storage space for groceries.
The Segway is a Rube Goldberg Device of the highest order. It works and is incredibly neat but has no reason to be as incredibly complicated as it is.