When living in an over populated city (Shanghai), what do you ultimately wish for?  When traffic jams become unbearable, bumping into people as you walk down the street is second nature, and getting to work on time becomes inconceivable. What shall you wish for when you gaze at the stars at night?  An En-V! that’s what!

The good folks over at GM in a joint venture with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp will soon bring three versions of a new “urban mobility” concept to World Expo 2010 in Shang-(cant get to the corner store without bumping into my boss, old babysitter, super hot ex-girlfriends and her dad)-hai.  As I mentioned briefly before, Shanghai is a superb venue to display such a vehicle.  With nearly 20 million people living in the entire metropolitan area, the city’s traffic is notoriously bad.

However the EN-V, or Electric Networked-Vehicle, is not just meant for cities in China.  The two automakers, along with Segway, aspire to take this baby to metropolitan areas worldwide, where 60% of the world’s population is expected to live by 2030.

With GPS and vehicle-to-vehicle communications the machine has an ability to choose its own route.  Cameras and sensors around the EN-V allow it to react to a changing environment and avoid accidents.  Electric motors built into the wheels are powered by lithium-ion batteries with a 40 km range.  Recharge time was not disclosed, but the vehicle can be plugged into a household outlet (good luck on the bill).  The EN-V is a development on Segway’s Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility concept shown off last April.  Engineers used acrylic, carbon fiber and Lexan to keep vehicle weight at 500 kilograms (1102 lbs). If you see me in a city near you, riding in an EN-V with 26” spinners… please, do not judge me.