General Motors Co. introduced a pod-like electric vehicle in Shanghai this week, a vision for a car of the future to help solve urban-transportation problems such as congestion and pollution.
The two-seater EN-V, or 'Electric Networked-Vehicle,' is a third the length of a regular car at 1.5 meters. It will be equipped with wireless communication and GPS-based navigation that will help it avoid accidents and pick the fastest routes based on real-time traffic conditions, GM says.
The EN-V likely won't actually hit the roads for a long while yet - if ever.
GM has put forward a 20-year timeframe for the EN-V to catch on, and it may turn out to be more of a curiosity object like the Segway, GM's collaborator on the project. But if it works anywhere, it will likely work in China, which has no shortage of packed urban environments and swaths of consumers who have little or no history with traditional cars and may be more open to trying new concepts.
GM expects the EN-V, if put into production, to cost less than a small car but more than a moped.
For now, with its future still unclear, the EN-V at least represents an important P.R. move for GM, which has been criticized for not thinking ahead.