GM Continues Circling the Drain

A bankruptcy looms for General Motors and preparations are being made, and yet General Motors and the other automakers are trying to put on a brave face and attempting to show product lines at the New York Auto Show which opens this week. Of course, GM ran Saturn and its other brands into the ground and other bad business decisions turned the once proud company into a model of how to destroy a company. Instead of using the Saturn model to remake the rest of the company, GM's corporate culture and policies and practices crept into Saturn, destroying the promising company. Now, Saturn looks like it is one of the brands that will end up on the chopping block in any future GM.

That's just the start. Other ideas that GM is considering? They're contemplating putting out niche vehicles that so few people would want that it makes little sense. Why would people want to buy a $5,000 2-person glorified golf cart? Yet, that's what GM is doing in a deal with Segway.

The companies announced Tuesday that they are working together to develop a two-wheeled, two-seat electric vehicle designed to be a fast, safe, inexpensive and clean alternative to traditional cars and trucks for cities across the world.

The Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility, or PUMA, project also would involve a vast communications network that would allow vehicles to interact with each other, regulate the flow of traffic and prevent crashes from happening.
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“We’re excited about doing more with less,” said Jim Norrod, chief executive of Segway, the Bedford, N.H.-based maker of electric scooters. “Less emissions, less dependability on foreign oil and less space.”

The 300-pound prototype runs on a lithium-ion battery and uses Segway’s characteristic two-wheel balancing technology, along with dual electric motors. It’s designed to reach speeds of up to 35 miles-per-hour and can run 35 miles on a single charge.

While the battery technology is interesting, how this represents a viable option remains to be seen. Why would people want to buy a vehicle that does a fraction of what a typical economy car can do, with less of the safety features? Even if this is meant for the overseas market, it doesn't exactly inspire confidence that GM can engage in a turnaround.