A new P.U.M.A.

This past year, some Hillary Clinton supporters allegedly went by the acronym PUMA, for "Party Unity My Ass," after Obama began besting Hillary. It was just a tiny fraction of Hillary supporters, but of course the media made hay with it, trying to suggest that the Dems were in-fighting.

Forget that one. Now we have a new definition of P.U.M.A. It stands for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility, and it's a freaky two-seater electric vehicle created by GM and Segway. I have to give them credit for keeping this one under wraps. This type of innovative thinking could help pull GM back from the brink of bankruptcy.

GM, Segway partner on two-wheel city vehicle
by Martin LaMonica

A Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility concept vehicle.(Credit: GM)

General Motors and Segway plan to take a two-wheel concept vehicle for a spin around New York City on Tuesday.

The prototype vehicle, called Project PUMA (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility), is designed to ease congestion and pollution problems in cities. It is based on the Segway Personal Transporter but holds two people, instead of one, and lets them sit, instead of stand.

A PUMA runs on lithium ion batteries, can reach 35 miles per hour, and can travel up to 35 miles between charges.

It includes some high-tech touches, including GM's wireless OnStar communications technology that lets a passenger locate other drivers in a city.

The two-wheeler is meant to address the mounting problems of urban car transportation, according to the two companies that plan to unveil the vehicle at an auto show in New York.
GM is touting other features as well.

"Imagine small, nimble electric vehicles that know where other moving objects are and avoid running into them. Now, connect those vehicles in an Internet-like web and you can greatly enhance the ability of people to move through cities, find places to park and connect to their social and business networks," said Larry Burns, GM's vice president of research and development, and strategic planning, in a statement.

(Credit: GM)
GM is looking to drum up excitement for its vehicles as it undergoes a massive restructuring in an effort to become financially viable and more competitive with other automakers.

The Segway Personal Transporter, a two-wheel vehicle that allows people to stand and move around at slow speeds, was released with great fanfare several years ago, but it remains a niche form of transportation.

The original story is here.