General Motors PAD
Remember the GMC PAD (pictured)? That was General Motors entry to the Los Angeles Auto Show's Design Challenge, "An LA Adventure". Except for some pictures and some general statements as the vehicle being powered by a diesel-electric hybrid system, very little information was provided.
Now gizmag provides a detailed exploration of this unique vehicle. GM's tagline 'Why commute? Adapt', is supported by onboard fuel and water supplies; solar-powered cells; and continuous Direct TV and XM radio. And a spa! Having been caught up in L.A.'s infamous traffic jams, it would have been heavenly.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Andy Keck 12:28AM (12/19/2005)
Ark III maybe?
http://www.70slivekidvid.com/ark.htm
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Jared 12:28AM (12/19/2005)
I hope this vehicle never ends up in a celebrity's hands who wants to "pimp" it out. I can already see MTV devoting a show to see who can make the best "Pimpalicious PAD". God help us all...
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GQ 12:28AM (12/19/2005)
This is very cool, very cool. Great concept and design. The mobility of an RV, without the stigma. Awesome. How do we get them to build this? I want one!
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Eric 12:28AM (12/19/2005)
"With the PADs resource management technology, onboard fuel & water supplies would last for weeks or even months on end."
? Let me guess: you drink your own urine?
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Glen 12:28AM (12/19/2005)
Ummmm, drink your own what?????
Sorry...I can't resist... Will the extended wheelbase version be the MAXI PAD?
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Tucker 12:28AM (12/19/2005)
"...and, with a teraflop of on board memory, the digital life has never been so deep & abundant."
So... What are they trying to say here? Looks like somehow GM created memory units that can also perform floating-point operations. The press releases shouldn't be about the vehicle, they should be about the groundbreaking new computing technologies GM has invented!
...Or they could hire better marketing people and write "with a Terabyte of onboard memory..."
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ccweems 12:28AM (12/19/2005)
Articulation to increase the footprint makes sense. Articulation to make the walls tilt? There was not better place to put GM's now vanishing bucks? When GM goes bankrupt people will remember follies like this.
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mega 12:28AM (12/19/2005)
lol...
This thing looks like an old canister vac.
Or maybe the bastard stepchild of a GM coach RTSII:
http://www.btco.net/Vehicles/RTS/3355_22.jpg
and a '73 GMC Motorhome:
http://www.gmcmotorhomes.com/catalog/page00.html
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ETMC 12:28AM (12/19/2005)
If you see RTS-II in that design, you're on crack.
If anything, it's a combination of a Motorhome and the old Futurliners.
See that cab up top? That's where the driver sits. And technically, it's the inverse of the old motorhomes - the dual axles are the front steering axles...
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