P.U.M.A. and the Future

I have been thinking about the P.U.M.A a lot lately. Yesterday GM and Segway announced a new personal transport vehicle. Everywhere on the web the P.U.M.A has just been ripped to shreds. People wonder why anyone would ever want one of these vehicles. They are saying that this is a sign that GM is a has been and Segway is a never will be. They are wondering what good is a vehicle that cannot go on the highway or survive a car crash.

In my heart, I think there is something important here. If you are a person that thinks either Global Warming or Peek Oil is important, the P.U.M.A. makes sense. It is not the only answer, but it is a piece of the puzzle for a new system of transport. Gas will get expensive again and people will rethink how cars are used.

Right now people use cars in a one size fits all way. No matter where I go or what I need to take there, I have one car to take. I am taking thousands of extra pounds every time I go to the school. Something like the P.U.M.A. can get away from that. I know that I have heard people "Why don't you just walk?" That only works if you have time to work. There are trips where I could pick something smaller if I could.

There is something important here. A plug in car is not the only answer for global warming. Going from gas engines to electric might reduce the carbon footprint, but that electricity still has a carbon footprint. If you want to keep cutting that carbon footprint things like the P.U.M.A are needed.

Did anyone notice that the P.U.M.A is just a concept and has no production date. I think that this is a step in the right direction. I just hope that GM sticks around long enough to make something real with it.