Quote:
Originally Posted by RyanN
Just my personal opinion, but I really don't like the idea... I love electric vehicles and the idea of the balancing Segway, but not for a vehicle to move people to work and such. I'm sure there is a decent amount of waste energy to keep this thing balanced all the time, which will decrease the distance you can get with one. Why not add a front wheel for steering or just a dummy wheel, that way you don't waste energy keeping it balanced and you can also add more battery packs to increase the distance it can go in one charge.
...
Maybe I just don't understand the purpose of this? And yes... I know it has front wheels, but they aren't supposed to touch the ground.
|
Per GM's
FastLane blog, it does rest on the front wheels when stopped. (I presume that the rear wheels are there as a safety precaution.) Keeping it on two wheels does offer the big advantage of a turning radius of
zero. As someone who has to maneuver big cars through tight spaces on a daily basis, I like cars with small turning radii--and it doesn't get any smaller than zero.
Any vehicle derived from the PUMA can't possibly be the solution for everyone--there will still be a need for transportation for groups bigger than two (and, presumably, loads bigger than a quick supermarket run). But if it's just you and everything is a mile or two away, a potentially-capable vehicle for a few thousand dollars (the bandied-about figure is 1/4 of the price of a regular sedan) seems appealing.