Wallpapers
GM’s En-V Car
28May
Sharpening the Focus of Future Urban Mobility
General Motors unveiled the Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility (P.U.M.A.) last year. “We were the S.U.V. company, and we accept that,” states GM’s Vice President Larry Burns. “We want to become the U.S.V. company — known for ultra-small vehicles.”
G.M. and its strategic partner, the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, have taken another step inthat direction. This year, they unveiled the EN-V, a futuristic personal mobility vehicle that uses the P.U.M.A. platform. According to G.M., by 2030 more than 60 percent of the world’s population will reside in urban environments. Public transportation will not be able to meet the demands of this growing populace, the automaker said.
“EN-V reinvents the automobile by creating a new vehicle DNA through the convergence of electrification and connectivity,” said Kevin Wale, president and managing director of the G.M. China Group. “It provides an ideal solution for urban mobility that enables future driving to be free from petroleum and emissions, free from congestion and accidents, and more fun and fashionable than ever before.”
By communicating with its surroundings, G.M. said, the EN-V could react quickly to changing driving conditions and significantly reduce the number accidents. G.M. said the EN-V could slow down and stop sooner than current vehicles for pedestrians and other obstacles that happen upon its path. No speed demon, the diminutive EN-V — a sixth the size of a standard passenger car — has a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour and a 25-mile range. G.M. said the car would work well in large metro areas, where half of all trips are three miles or less and 28 percent are one mile or less. In cities, more than 85 percent of vehicles have only one occupant, the company said
Mr. Borroni-Bird said the EN-V showcased “what might be possible by 2030.” The EN-V will have its “official” debut at the S.A.I.C-G.M. pavilion at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai in May. There are three separate EN-V body designs, but with similar underpinnings. Each was designed by a different G.M, design team. Xiao, which means “laugh” in Chinese, was designed by G.M. Holden’s design team in Australia; Jiao (“pride”) was designed by G.M. Europe; and Maio (“magic”) was designed at G.M.’s Advanced Design Studio in California.
The Jiao (or “pride” in Chinese) model was designed by G.M. Europe.
Maio (“magic”) was designed by G.M.’s Advance Design Studio in California.
Xiao (“laugh”) was designed by G.M. Europe’s design team.
