If you are wondering what the future of car holds, then you may want to take a look at Project PUMA by General Motors and Segway. These two companies have collaborated and developed a new kind of vehicle, which may become the personal transportation of the future. Short for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility, PUMA is basically one of those high tech projects that may seem too good to be true.
Try remembering the Segway scooter. The PUMA is basically a two passenger version of it.
Although PUMA is a prototype electric car, its not really long before we see it being used all over the city. Developed jointly by General Motors and Segway, PUMA offers one of the best electric cars you can ever ask for.
Why?
For starters, PUMA can go 35 miles per hour. For city driving, this speed is considered to be adequate. It also accommodates two passengers and a single charge can take you 25 to 35 miles per hour. The best thing about all this is that it will only cost you 60 cents to fully recharge the PUMA lithium-ion batteries.
As you can see, the cost for using PUMA is way less than using a conventional or even a hybrid car. Running purely on electricity, PUMA is really a green car that maximizes energy usage of the car itself to recharge the battery.
Because it doesnt use gasoline or diesel or any other petroleum products, there is zero emission, which means that you will be able to contribute to a cleaner and greener environment.
PUMA features regenerative braking, which means that you will be able to recharge the batteries every time you step on the brakes. Instead of wasting precious energy when you brake, PUMA will save that energy and use it to charge the batteries.
Another great benefit that PUMA offers is that it uses its dynamic stabilization or balancing technology. This will allow the vehicle to balance itself on two wheels. It also has a zero turning radius which will let you spin around in place.
It also has a digital dashboard, which will display battery life and speed. In addition to that, it will also have the ability to send information from the vehicle to a handheld device wirelessly, such as your mobile phone or laptop.
PUMA is all about minimizing everything. It uses less space, less energy, less parts, and also creates zero emissions. Because of all these facts, PUMA is really a promising vehicle which will eventually become the future of transportation. It wont be long where you will be able to see PUMA being driven by your neighbor all over the city.
In fact, General Motors plans to start mass producing PUMA by 2012. With all the benefits that PUMA has to offer, you can be sure that this project will become successful. So, the next time you imagine what the future of personal transportation will look like, you may want to imagine PUMA.
Through PUMA, you will be able to save a lot of money on gasoline. Because of its small size, the city will also benefit from lessening traffic jams and increase parking space.
PUMA will be more than just a project in the near future but it will likely be the primary method of transportation.
