Quote:
Originally Posted by 101lifts2
Its a cheap way to get around. Does every vehicle have to be "cool"? Americans idea of what is cool and what is not will change once Obama mandates 35mpg CAFE standards.
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Correction, it is supposed to be a cheap way to get around. It will not be. A Segway costs $5k or more and has no new technology. This thing, based off the talk, is going to have lots of new technology. It is going to take more than GPS alone for this thing to drive itself with or without someone behind the wheel. Even if that idea is left on the drawing board it is still going to cost significantly more. The additional capabilities will require better motors and better batteries while being more complex to build. All that costs more money.
The fact is GM and Segway don't know what they want this thing to be. It is supposed to be for locations where people ride bicycles and scooters. The problem is people typically ride bicycles and scooters because they don't have much money. They'll be lucky to keep the price under that of a car, putting it out of range of that intended audience. How many in that audience have a place to keep it where they can also charge it? It is also supposed to be a technology showpiece placing its target audience as the well off living in cities. They have the same problems with where to park and how to charge it. The fact is it is impractical for most of the people who would have a use for it due to an inability to charge it and difficulty parking it.