Segway scooter bombing, some sales numbers - GoFuckYourself.com

Mr.Fiction · 02-19-2003, 04:32 PM

Segway's Breakdown

Inventor Dean Kamen promised that his superscooter would change the world. Then reality hit - hard.

Before he'd sold a single one, Kamen blithely forecast that by the end of 2002, his enterprise would be stamping out 10,000 machines a week. Meanwhile, his best-known backer, venture capitalist John Doerr, predicted Segway would rack up $1 billion in sales faster than any company in history.

Segway officials acknowledge their factory sat largely idle last year but refuse to disclose specific sales or production figures. "My sense is they're producing 10 per week," University of Pennsylvania professor Karl Ulrich estimated near the end of 2002.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.03/segway.html

goBigtime · 02-19-2003, 04:34 PM

I think those revenue forecasts were made during the dotcom days. Hy-Wire vehicles on the other hand... gimmie.

chupacabra · 02-19-2003, 04:34 PM

how much are those things anyways..? looks fun to ride around on drunk/stoned..

goBigtime · 02-19-2003, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by chupacabra
how much are those things anyways..? looks fun to ride around on drunk/stoned..

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...559856-2047218

$5000.

goBigtime · 02-19-2003, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by goBigtime

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...559856-2047218

$5000.

I think they would have a hard time making their sales forecasts if the price was $499.

foe · 02-19-2003, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by goBigtime

I think they would have a hard time making their sales forecasts if the price was $499.

for 500 i would get one

Rich · 02-19-2003, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by foe

for 500 i would get one

Same. That's about all it's worth to anyone. I can see it being good for mailmen, meter maids, etc, but no self respection person is going to drive that thing to work every day. People would buy them as a toy if they were less than $1000, but at 5k it's basically like buying a cheap used car.

Backov · 02-19-2003, 05:34 PM

Is it just me that pictured an arab terrorist with a backpack full of explosives riding a Segway?

LiveDose · 02-19-2003, 05:37 PM

I would feel like a dick scooting around on one of those things...

Jak · 02-19-2003, 06:20 PM

Exactly. If they were under $500.00 they'd be selling like mad. Plus, when they first went on sale, wasn't there a big deal about them NOT being available to the general public for a couple of years? I think a lot of people quickly lost interest when they saw both the price tag and the non-availability.

NetRodent · 02-19-2003, 06:39 PM

Lets see...

Costs almost as much as a car.

Only usable in good weather.

No cargo space.

No space for additional passengers.

Were do you park it? You can't just use a bike lock, because for $5k its going to be stolen.

Its got a very limited range and limited speed.

No headlight so only usable during the day (I may be wrong about this).

Seems useless as a real means of transportation. Its more like a bike but without the exercise benefit and about 10-20 times the cost.

Horny Dude · 02-19-2003, 06:40 PM

Saw some punk on one the other day! Think I just might have to jack his ass and try it out for a year or two!

iroc409 · 02-19-2003, 06:41 PM

that's damn near a lot of automobile production... they thought they could compete with car production? lol.

Marcus · 02-19-2003, 06:49 PM

Maybe in Europe. When I was in Amsterdam everyone there rode a bike. Maybe the people there would get this instead of riding a bike...but for $500. Not for $5k

Meni69 · 02-19-2003, 08:45 PM

Dean Kamen is from Manchester, I see the scooters downtown, HIS EMPLOYEES riding them
they are a joke for $5k

marty · 02-19-2003, 09:08 PM

I liked this line

"Kamen has been trying for more than a decade to develop an external-combustion engine."

WTF?

NetRodent · 02-20-2003, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by marty
I liked this line

"Kamen has been trying for more than a decade to develop an external-combustion engine."

WTF?

Its called a Stirling Engine...

Stirling Engine Home Page
Stirling Engines

buran · 02-20-2003, 02:32 PM

Oh come on. It's new, it hasn't reached critical mass for production where they can acheive some of the benefits of Economies of Scale.

It's not targeted to replace the car. It's for people who live in dense urban areas that commute less than 10mi to work.

You have to remember that outside the United States the percentage of people who own cars drops dramatically. In places like Beijing, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, NYC is where I think these will go into widespread use first.

As the pricepoint continues to drop you will see increased acceptance of these devices.

Something has to give, you can't just continue to add more and more cars to a finite number of spaces on the roads. I think segways combined with light rail will make a huge difference in congested cities.

I'm waiting to see an ultradense city begin raising pedestrian walkways that completly cover the street, allowing cars to have additional lanes where the sidewalks are, and getting the "first floor" of buildings moved up to the pedestrian level.

As for the external combustion engine, I don't know why we're all still driving cylinder based four stroke engines. They're terribly inefficent.

Check out the rotary engines at http://www.moller.com

Good luck Dean Kamen and Deka. Can't wait until I see some of the iBot wheel chairs being used.

chupacabra · 02-20-2003, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Check out the rotary engines at...

don't know much about the Moller engines, but i've had a love-affair w/ the Wankel rotary for over 10 years now. mmm, FD3S..!

rooster · 02-20-2003, 02:50 PM

its a bust. The way the thing was hyped up as being the greatest invention ever, I thought it was going to be some type of hover vehicle or something. useless

02-19-2003, 04:32 PM	#1
Mr.Fiction Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Free Speech Land Posts: 9,484	Segway scooter bombing, some sales numbers Segway's Breakdown Inventor Dean Kamen promised that his superscooter would change the world. Then reality hit - hard. Before he'd sold a single one, Kamen blithely forecast that by the end of 2002, his enterprise would be stamping out 10,000 machines a week. Meanwhile, his best-known backer, venture capitalist John Doerr, predicted Segway would rack up $1 billion in sales faster than any company in history. Segway officials acknowledge their factory sat largely idle last year but refuse to disclose specific sales or production figures. "My sense is they're producing 10 per week," University of Pennsylvania professor Karl Ulrich estimated near the end of 2002. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.03/segway.html

02-19-2003, 05:34 PM	#8
Backov Confirmed User Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Cat Detector Van Posts: 1,600	Is it just me that pictured an arab terrorist with a backpack full of explosives riding a Segway? __________________ <embed src="http://banners.spotbrokers.com/button.swf" FlashVars="clickURL=http://banners.spotbrokers.com" quality=high pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="120" height="60"></embed>

02-19-2003, 05:37 PM	#9
LiveDose Show Yer Tits! Industry Role: Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Somewhere Out there... Posts: 25,792	I would feel like a dick scooting around on one of those things... __________________ Scammer Alert: acer19 acer [email protected] [email protected] Money stolen using PayPal

02-19-2003, 06:39 PM	#11
NetRodent Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: In the walls of your house. Posts: 3,985	Lets see... Costs almost as much as a car. Only usable in good weather. No cargo space. No space for additional passengers. Were do you park it? You can't just use a bike lock, because for $5k its going to be stolen. Its got a very limited range and limited speed. No headlight so only usable during the day (I may be wrong about this). Seems useless as a real means of transportation. Its more like a bike but without the exercise benefit and about 10-20 times the cost. __________________ "Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." --H.L. Mencken

02-19-2003, 06:40 PM	#12
Horny Dude Earn enough to buy coffee Industry Role: Join Date: May 2002 Location: San Diego, Ca. Posts: 4,912	Saw some punk on one the other day! Think I just might have to jack his ass and try it out for a year or two! __________________

02-19-2003, 04:34 PM	#2
goBigtime Confirmed User Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 7,761	I think those revenue forecasts were made during the dotcom days. Hy-Wire vehicles on the other hand... gimmie.

02-19-2003, 04:34 PM	#3
chupacabra Confirmed User Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 3,626	how much are those things anyways..? looks fun to ride around on drunk/stoned..

02-19-2003, 06:20 PM	#10
Jak So Fucking Banned Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: ripenedpeach.com Posts: 1,143	Exactly. If they were under $500.00 they'd be selling like mad. Plus, when they first went on sale, wasn't there a big deal about them NOT being available to the general public for a couple of years? I think a lot of people quickly lost interest when they saw both the price tag and the non-availability.

02-19-2003, 06:41 PM	#13
iroc409 Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: midwest side, yo Posts: 4,728	that's damn near a lot of automobile production... they thought they could compete with car production? lol. __________________ <a href="http://www.iroc409.com/"><img src="http://www.iroc409.com/adv/120x60.gif" border=0></a> icq: 1 7 6 4 2 0 9 6 0 Gallery templates for ONLY $25! w00t!

02-19-2003, 06:49 PM	#14
Marcus Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Jul 2001 Posts: 3,472	Maybe in Europe. When I was in Amsterdam everyone there rode a bike. Maybe the people there would get this instead of riding a bike...but for $500. Not for $5k

02-19-2003, 08:45 PM	#15
Meni69 Confirmed User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Manchester, NH Posts: 440	Dean Kamen is from Manchester, I see the scooters downtown, HIS EMPLOYEES riding them they are a joke for $5k __________________ Earn $40/Free Join with Cream Bling.. Exclusive content, tube clips

02-19-2003, 09:08 PM	#16
marty Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 1,656	I liked this line "Kamen has been trying for more than a decade to develop an external-combustion engine." WTF?

02-20-2003, 02:32 PM	#18
buran Confirmed User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: how'd I get here? Posts: 264	Oh come on. It's new, it hasn't reached critical mass for production where they can acheive some of the benefits of Economies of Scale. It's not targeted to replace the car. It's for people who live in dense urban areas that commute less than 10mi to work. You have to remember that outside the United States the percentage of people who own cars drops dramatically. In places like Beijing, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, NYC is where I think these will go into widespread use first. As the pricepoint continues to drop you will see increased acceptance of these devices. Something has to give, you can't just continue to add more and more cars to a finite number of spaces on the roads. I think segways combined with light rail will make a huge difference in congested cities. I'm waiting to see an ultradense city begin raising pedestrian walkways that completly cover the street, allowing cars to have additional lanes where the sidewalks are, and getting the "first floor" of buildings moved up to the pedestrian level. As for the external combustion engine, I don't know why we're all still driving cylinder based four stroke engines. They're terribly inefficent. Check out the rotary engines at http://www.moller.com Good luck Dean Kamen and Deka. Can't wait until I see some of the iBot wheel chairs being used. __________________ [this signature intentionally left blank]

02-20-2003, 02:50 PM	#20
rooster Confirmed User Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 2,384	its a bust. The way the thing was hyped up as being the greatest invention ever, I thought it was going to be some type of hover vehicle or something. useless