I really wish the Wall Street Journal would have run this story, GM, Segway to Make Vehicle, seven 
days ago – on April Fools Day. It is so ridiculous it actually doesn’t seem real. Actually, it would’ve made a good post over on The Onion website.
But it is real – and it’s a sign of things to come. Welcome to our new future, when government mandates what will be made and then tries to force on "the masses" (that would be us) what we’ll buy because they know better than we do.
How far the mighty GM has fallen. Once the proud maker of the Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac, GMC Trucks, Chevrolet and even the Hummer, GM now apparently has been humbled to make the PUMA (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility).
I’m sure people will just love tooling around the cities in it and it will be a big hit…… especially on those rainy or snowy winter days – or a hot scorching summer afternoon. Looks fun.
Why does this remind me of the Simpsons episode when Homer’s estranged brother, Herbert Powell, gave him the opportunity to design a new car from the "working man’s" perspective.
At the unveiling of the monstrosity – an $82,000 a car beast with bubble domes and tail fins – Herbert throws himself onto the ground ruined. Homer described his car – named for himself – as "strong and powerful like a gorilla, yet soft and yielding like a nerf bat."
But GM doesn’t have to worry about the cost of the PUMA – after all Homer’s brother didn’t have the U.S. Taxpayers to bail him out.
Truth be told though, if I had to chose between these two masterpieces – I’d rather drive The Homer.
April 7th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Jim, thanks for your commentary. If left to the market, we’d just have Chevrolet and Cadillac — which seems to be where the government is going, only after using huge tax dollars in paying off everybody in the unions.