Jim Kenzie of the Toronto Star tries out the U3-X - click above for high res-image gallery
When we visited Honda's headquarters last month after the Tokyo Motor Show, we asked company officials what they would be showing at upcoming auto shows. As you might have guessed, they were reticent to provide specific answers. What we were told, however, is that they would be following last year's pattern of showing an advanced concept in Los Angeles and then a new production model in Detroit. The Detroit is broadly expected to be the final production version of the CR-Z hybrid sport coupe.
Today, Honda did provide a hint of what the LA concept will be, although they provided no images. The Personal-Neo Urban Transport or P-NUT is some kind of very small coupe. Based on the very brief description Honda has provided, it sounds like Honda's take on what General Motors tried to do with the Segway-based Puma concept shown in New York earlier this year. The idea is to provide increased personal mobility in crowded urban environments without resorting to actual cars.
Presumably, the P-NUT will be somewhat larger than the U3-X unicycle we saw in Tokyo, although we wouldn't be surprised to see Honda incorporate the novel Omni-traction drive wheel that can go in any direction.
