Every once in a while a story emerges and you say to yourself, “What were they thinking?” And then you realize that they obviously did their market research. They did their sales forecasts. And evidently figured out that it was worth the investment in money, human resources and capitol expenditures. I’m talking about the announcement that GM (which is facing a date with bankruptcy or government bailout) is developing a prototype 2-seater vehicle called the PUMA in conjunction with Segway. This is how InformationWeek described the vehicle.
GM and Segway rolled out an electric two-wheel, two-seat prototype vehicle in New York on Tuesday. Built for use in congested urban environments, Project P.U.M.A. (for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility), as the vehicle is called, combines several technologies demonstrated by GM and Segway.
The 300-pound, zero-emissions vehicle is powered by a lithium-ion battery and dual electric wheel motors. It features all-electronic acceleration, steering, and braking; vehicle-to-vehicle communications; digital smart energy management; two-wheel balancing; and a dockable user interface that allows off-board connectivity.
“Imagine small, nimble electric vehicles that know where other moving objects are and avoid running into them. Now, connect these 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,” Larry Burns, GM’s VP of R&D and strategic planning, said in a statement.
There are numerous aspects of this story that are exciting and scary. Here is my Absurd point of view. Here a car company that has too many product lines to support already is introducing a new product that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to introduce, market, place into production, distribute and support. Its easy to say there obviously is no leadership at the top end of this organization. Or, are they brilliant? Here is a product that potentially reshapes transportation for high density marketplaces. It’s fuel efficient. It’s a little quirky. It’s a Toyota Prius on Steroids. Which is it, Brilliant or Aburd?
Here are some questions I want answered from GM.
- The press release is more than suspect. Is this simply a publicity event illustrating why GM deserves (and I mean deserve) bailout funds from you and me.
- While you were developing the PUMA, what development activities were sacrificed, if any?
- Is this the most exciting new product you have in the pipeline?
- How does the PUMA fit inside a massive and oftentimes missive organization like GM.
- So what…
Over the next weeks and months, GM will be front page news on a regular basis. The PUMA, no matter how nimble should not distract from the real issue on the table. Is GM a viable business going into the future.
