A PUMA Runs in Manhattan --

    As if spying the stray Segway on the busy streets of New York City weren't disturbing enough, cash-strapped General Motors and Segway are teaming up to build a new two-wheeled vehicle to move through city traffic. GM, now heavily subsidized by the US government, unveiled the prototype, PUMA (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility) in Manhattan today ahead of the New York Auto Show, though it's cutting costs on advertising and product-development programs elsewhere.

The first incarnation of the Segway, nicknamed "Ginger," attracted a lot of attention eight years ago, but didn't make a splash in the market due to a high price tag and restrictions on its use in many places. As TechDirt points out: "Segway won't be widely accepted until its price comes down, but its price can't come down until it's produced on a much larger scale." There's also been a rotating cast of characters on the executive level at the privately-held company, which hasn't helped the company's overall fiscal health.

PUMA, however, will have more car-like components, including an enclosed compartment and a top speed of 35 m.p.h. It's not known yet how much a PUMA will cost, but research chief Larry Burns tells the Wall Street Journal that it would be one-third to one-fourth the cost of a regular vehicle.

"We are excited to be working together to demonstrate a dramatically different approach to urban mobility," Jim Norrod, Segway CEO, says in Wired. "There's an emotional connection you get when using Segway products. The Project PUMA prototype vehicle embodies this through the combination of advanced technologies that Segway and GM bring to the table to complete the connection between the rider, environment and others."

But BusinessInsider's Jay Yarow calls it "embarrassing ... you will never get a second date if you pick someone up in one."