This is the EN-V, a two-wheeled, two-person concept vehicle that General Motors is demonstrating at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas. It may be cute, with cuddly Chinese names that translate to Pride, Magic and Laugh, but it's a very serious attempt by GM to deal with urban congestion, pollution and resource use.
EN-V stands for Electric Networked Vehicle. It's years away, if it ever makes it to market, but it does serve to map out one possible answer to those problems. The EN-V is about half the size of current mini-electric cars, and it's built on Segway technology, so it can pivot in place and park without any turn radius. GM says five or six of them can fit in one standard U.S.-size parking space. It's bristling with GPS antennas and motion sensors, so it can autonomously sense possible collisions and avoid them on its own. (And because it can drive itself, you can retrieve it by telling it to come to you.)
It should be able to travel up to 25 miles at 25 mph on a single charge. Christopher Borroni-Bird, its inventor, says that's plenty to cover the needs of most people in dense cities, who he said research shows rarely drive more than that each day.
Many obstacles remain before the EN-V or anything else like it is seen in the wild, however. It can't share the road with normal cars, and it needs a network of easily accessible charging stations, Borroni-Bird said. GM would have to coordinate with governments to make sure the infrastructure and proper policies are in place, which a GM rep said could take as long as 15 years.
But as a demonstration of what could be, it's awfully compelling. Msnbc.com went along for a ride, which felt just like a trip in any other — admittedly tiny — car. And that's the point. Concepts like the EN-V aren't supposed to be adventures — they're supposed to be adventurous attempts to resolve ordinary, everyday problems.
