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GM, Segway team up on 200-mpg 2-seater

Zyphlin said:
Honestly, I always thought it'd be incredibly neat to find a bunch of venture capitalists and try to create a planned community type city with perhaps a university in the vicinity designed around a lot of new tech.

Set it up so that things like Segways, or something like this, can be reliable and workable means of travel through the entire area. Have an electric grid set up to allow for charging of electric vehicles in various places. WIFI across the entire community, etc.

Granted you'd need some kind of main industry along with the college (which would make sense as some kind of tech college) to work. But I think it'd be a rather neat case study of trying to design a modern town based on modern technology.
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I would hate that town with every fiber of my being... :rofl:rofl
 
Reverend_Hellh0und said:
I would hate that town with every fiber of my being... :rofl:rofl
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You could see some awesome segway crashes there when two segway riders, both completely enthralled in whatever they're reading on their dashboard placed laptops, smash into each other at the harrowing speed of 3 mph.

Or you could get liquored up and go segway tipping.
 
Zyphlin said:
Honestly, I always thought it'd be incredibly neat to find a bunch of venture capitalists and try to create a planned community type city with perhaps a university in the vicinity designed around a lot of new tech.

Set it up so that things like Segways, or something like this, can be reliable and workable means of travel through the entire area. Have an electric grid set up to allow for charging of electric vehicles in various places. WIFI across the entire community, etc.

Granted you'd need some kind of main industry along with the college (which would make sense as some kind of tech college) to work. But I think it'd be a rather neat case study of trying to design a modern town based on modern technology.
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Where I went to undergrad school we generated our own electricity. This was in Brooklyn.
 
Hey, I will admit, I'm a tech nerd.

I had pre-curser to the "netbook" craze, the Jornada 820, back in high school in the late 90's (netbooks, for the non-tech geeks out there, are the little sub 13" notebooks that have been popularized in the past year).

I've been a PDA geek for probably a decade now, graduating up to the smart phones, and anxiously awaiting the new Palm Pre.

Love wireless internet or at least mobile internet, going so far as to buy my first cell phone model specifically because it had a connection that could hook into my pda to act as a modem.

New Tech, and finding ways to put it to use, is just something that's always interested me. Which is why I was anxiously reading up on the "IT" when it was coming out, and why things like this...while foolish and maybe not practical...are interesting enough to me to look into it a bit and think of various possabilities.
 
Where do you put your stuff?

Crap like this is fine for college students, and old people that live in retirement communities. Its highly impractical for people that have such ludricous things like families.
 
Reverend_Hellh0und said:
Ah, so they help the mall cops stay buff. :lol:


I never see them.
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MallCop.jpg
 
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new coup for you said:
Again, what's the benefit over a bike? If the town is dense enough for segways it's dense enough for bikes. Which require no significant infrastructure. And don't look retarded. And don't result in fat people who can't walk.
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but it has GYROSCOPES
 
Zyphlin said:
You can go HERE for a rendering of a concept sketch for what it'd look like.

The images we're seeing is essentially the shell. Its like looking at a car without any of the paneling, etc on it.

In regards to tipping, it in general shouldn't happen. From what I've read from people that have ridden in it it feels amazingly stable and actually less forces feeling like its exerted on you during acceleration or deceleration based on the physics of it. It functions off of a lot of the same mechanics as the Segway scooters, allowing for apparently a near 0 turning radius and amazing balance.

Their hope is to demo this out in cities that have dedicated bike lanes that would allow for this to be used.

I applaud GM for trying something new. I think the issue with this, and the Segway's, as Gottahurt stated is that it really takes a good bit of community planning to make these work on a wide basis.

Benefits of this over a Motorcycle? Well, a few things. First, it seems it'll get good gas mileage. Even my little 250cc Cycle that I have gets 80mpg. This is reportedly going for 200. Additionally, it'll have a roof making it likely far better for a variety of weather conditions. The passanger area doesn't seem to be more uncomfortable than the main compartment or add any difficulty to riding.

There's benefits of the motorcycle over it as well, but I think it does have some pluses over it.

They're reportedly shooting for a price of about 25% of what a standard car would cost.

Its unique, and innovative. I do think its something that GM should've been making an attempt for years ago, instead of now while they're scrambling.
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It could get 500 per gallon, I wouldn't buy one; they'll be way overpriced.
A real vehicle hitting the egg would crush it and its passengers.
A novel toy to show neighbors... real transport? Not.

The shell... still makes it look like a new wave golf cart.
I'm not joking, that's their future if they can produce them for less than existing carts... that I doubt. 25% of what standard car? What is "standard". AMG55?

.
 
Zyphlin said:
Honestly, I always thought it'd be incredibly neat to find a bunch of venture capitalists and try to create a planned community type city with perhaps a university in the vicinity designed around a lot of new tech.

Set it up so that things like Segways, or something like this, can be reliable and workable means of travel through the entire area. Have an electric grid set up to allow for charging of electric vehicles in various places. WIFI across the entire community, etc.

Granted you'd need some kind of main industry along with the college (which would make sense as some kind of tech college) to work. But I think it'd be a rather neat case study of trying to design a modern town based on modern technology.
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Here you go Zyph:

FOXNews.com - Ex-NFL Lineman to Build Solar-Powered City in Florida - Science News | Science & Technology | Technology News
 
Syd Kitson's vision, Babcock Ranch, will feature a variety of green innovations including recharging stations for electric vehicles, the world's largest photovoltaic solar plant and a smart power grid, Time magazine reported.

Kitson's plan is to build a self-contained city where people shop, live, work, go to school and play without having to take a long car trip.

The city would feature a bikeable and walkable downtown, 8,000 homes, a school, a wellness facility and sustainable retail stores, Time reported.

"Some people think I got hit in the head a few too many times," Kitson, who played in the NFL for six seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers, told Time. "But, I still believe deeply in Florida. And the time has come for something completely different."

Florida Power and Light said Thursday they would join the ex-football star's vision and provide electricity for the city of tomorrow with a 75-megawatt photovoltaic plant — nearly twice as big as the current record holder in Germany, Time reported.
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Sorry, could never live in a city made by a damn cowgirl. ;)
 
Zyphlin said:
Sorry, could never live in a city made by a damn cowgirl. ;)
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Indeed, I'd hate for you to be associated with a winner. Your side has a history of failure, and it's good to see you embrace it, and continue the tradition. ;)
 
Might be a good way to reduce healthcare costs.

..
 
GottaHurt said:
Indeed, I'd hate for you to be associated with a winner. Your side has a history of failure, and it's good to see you embrace it, and continue the tradition. ;)
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Call me when you all are losing in January again...you know, like for the past decade ;)
 
Zyphlin said:
Call me when you all are losing in January again...you know, like for the past decade ;)
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Almost 2 decades for your last SB appearance. :cool:
 
Why do you need a helmet when using Segways?
 
zimmer said:
It could get 500 per gallon, I wouldn't buy one; they'll be way overpriced.
A real vehicle hitting the egg would crush it and its passengers.
A novel toy to show neighbors... real transport? Not.

The shell... still makes it look like a new wave golf cart.
I'm not joking, that's their future if they can produce them for less than existing carts... that I doubt. 25% of what standard car? What is "standard". AMG55?

.
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Am I missing something? This thing runs on batteries. :lol:
 
winston53660 said:
I see them all the time in large parking lots where security guards use them.
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Yet a bicycle works 100 times better, requires no batteries and provides aerobic exercise for the security people which would keep them in shape.

Segways are a gross failure. This will also be a gross failure and is essentially the same as strapping yourself into a death trap; another really stupid idea that can only be supported by those wallowing in deep denial about global warming and fossil fuels.
 
GottaHurt said:
From the link provided in the OP:

He forecasts energy consumption equivalent to 200 miles per gallon of gasoline. That falls to about 70 mpg adding in fuel to generate electricity used to charge its battery.

GM, Segway team up on 200-mpg 2-seater - USATODAY.com
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ah so it was a guess..


so this wheelchair with a roof can only muster the equiv of 70mpg?

my motorcycle gets 50+ and I don't look like a buffoon in it. lol
 
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