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GM to show EN-V mobility device at CES 2011

In addition to its next generation infotainment system, GM will be showing off the three electric two-seater EN-V concepts it debuted at the 2010 Expo in Shanghai last March.

Liane Yvkoff
Liane Yvkoff is a freelance writer who blogs about cars for CNET Car Tech. E-mail Liane.
Liane Yvkoff
GM

A cutaway of GM's Electric Networked-Vehicle.
A cutaway of GM's Electric Networked-Vehicle. GM

The next stop for GM's Electric Networked Vehicle(EN-V) concept is the upcoming 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in January. In addition to its next-generation infotainment system, the carmaker will be showing off the three electric two-seater concepts it debuted at the 2010 Expo in Shanghai last March.

The personal mobility vehicles are one-third the size of typical cars, offer a 25-mile electric range, and are built on Segway's self-balancing two-wheeled PUMA platform. But the EN-V is more than just an upgraded Segway: it's equipped with drive-by-wire technology, and its carbon-fiber body is outfitted with GPS, distancing-sensing, vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-grid communications technology that enables the EN-V to be driven either manually or autonomously.

While autonomous drive will free occupants' hands for whatever time-wasting social media is popular in the future, the feature is designed to ease traffic congestion in dense urban environments, which will house the majority of the world's population by 2030, according to estimates. The following video shows one of the EN-V concepts in motion.