Segway has been a personal mobility pioneer in the electric vehicle space for well over two decades now. It has established itself as one of the best brands that recognize the customers' functional needs to provide effective solutions. Segway collaborated with General Motors to create a new type of personal vehicle called the GM PUMA (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility) Concept vehicle.

Introduced at the 2009 New York Auto Show, it captured everyone’s interest with its vision for a better future of urban transportation. Even though the GM PUMA has become a lost concept, there is a need for a safe Personal Mobility Solution during the pandemic, and the Segway-designed vehicle could have just been the answer. Providing optimum space and mobility, the GM PUMA Concept was a solution that never got underway.

As customers try to incorporate personal safety with travel, General Motors and Segway had provided a cost-effective, electric solution for Personal Mobility long ago. Here’s a look back at the 2009 GM PUMA Concept.

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A Unique Travel Pod

The GM PUMA Concept Car
Via autoevolution.com

Segway first gained popularity for its Personal Transporters (PTs), the two-wheeled, self-balancing scooters that offered a quick mobility solution. They expanded on the same idea to build an electric-powered vehicle that could seat two people. With a combination of advanced technology and comfort, one of the most peculiar aspects of the Concept vehicle was the shape itself.

Shaped similar to a jellybean, the GM PUMA Concept was unlike any other vehicle in the market. A yellow and black roll cage was installed with a large glass windshield that covered the entire vehicle to protect passengers. The size was only one-sixth of the average car, which made it easier for navigation and movement.

Unlike the Personal Transporters, the PUMA Concept was to be driven from a seated position. The car didn’t come with a steering wheel. Instead, it had a yoke similar to the ones seen in aircraft. GM and Segway wanted to create a network interface that could interact with outside objects to avoid collisions. Some of the onboard software included vehicle-to-vehicle communication, GPS, and adaptive cruise control.

The Project PUMA concept car only utilized 20% materials that were used to build an average car. This reduced the weight of the concept car to merely 700 lbs. The concept was a solution to reduce pollution and congestion in cities, which was and is the need of the hour. With the growing population, the car's small size would’ve been an effective solution to the parking problems that people face today.

Interacting With Cities

The GM Puma Concept Electric Car
Via autoevolution.com

The 2009 GM PUMA Concept was built to ease movement from one city to another. It used lithium-ion batteries and digital intelligent energy management to allow functionality. These dual electric motors used electricity worth only $0.60. The concept car was able to travel to 35 MPH with a 35-mile range between every recharge.

PUMA used a similar balancing technology like the Segway Personal Transporters for the wheels. The PUMA concept balanced on two wheels and came equipped with two wheelsets in the front and rear to prevent it from tipping over, similar to drag-racing vehicles. When parked, the car relied on the front set of wheels.

The movement in the PUMA Concept was achieved when the weight of the cabin shifted forwards or backward on the rails connected to the floor and chassis. The seat moved to accommodate the occupants, and the driver and passenger’s movements were connected to the vehicle.

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Mobility For The Future

The GM Puma Concept Electric Car
Via CarandDriver.com

General Motors and Segway created a conventional concept that was a viable solution to quick movements in and out of the city. The collaborators had already created a next-generation prototype for 2010 with better performance and robust features.

Personal Mobility Solutions have become life-saving options for people around the globe as the pandemic surges, and there are times like these when the GM PUMA Concept would have been a quick fix to people’s concerns. The two-seater Concept car came with a canopy-covered windshield that could’ve easily fixed the social-distancing problem. The miniature size of the car could provide seamless parking for the young and elderly alike.

The requirement for small, convenient vehicles had seen a surge in the market when the GM PUMA Concept was a practical demonstration of an electric vehicle with zero local emissions. As the population and congestion become intolerable, the need for a Personal Mobility Vehicle has become pertinent.

The General Motors and Segway’s brainchild, the PUMA Concept, was supposed to cost less than half the price of a regular car. However, the lightweight and mobility features were not enough to keep the project afloat. With the increase in fuel prices and greenhouse emissions, personal mobility has become a key concept. This was when the electric-charged GM PUMA Concept would’ve offered the ride and comfort people sought.