UsableMarkets

Many things are mysterious about GM’s new PUMA (or Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility vehicle), such as: why is a company facing bankruptcy creating such a wacky thing which clearly has almost no market?

To this, I’ll add the following: The Segway was also supposed to revolutionize travel in cities, but clearly has not. The PUMA will face the same fate for almost the same reasons. Because it’s too small to be of any use — no where to put the groceries, for example — and yet too big to actually maneuver, say, on the sidewalk. It’s in fact utterly useless to your average city dweller, since it doesn’t actually solve any of their transportation related problems.

I suppose it was rolled out for show because it solves a GM problem: that they look big, slow and archaic. It seems to me that this kind of PR-manship really just reinforces that image.

Next up: Segway mates with motocycle.

(Thanks Technabob)

After that: Segway mates with mac truck.

~alex