Forget the fires: Hoverboards just want a second chance

Months ago, the powered scooters — which balance themselves but don't actually "hover" — largely vanished from the U.S. market after they exhibited a distressing tendency to burst into flame. On Wednesday, Segway — which also makes the eponymous upright scooter beloved by mall cops and airport security — will begin taking Amazon pre-orders for a new hoverboard, the MiniPro. Produced by little-known companies, the scooters shot to prominence late last year after a host of celebrities from Justin Bieber to Jamie Foxx were seen riding on them. Since last August, the Consumer Product Safety Commission counts at least 62 hoverboard-related fires and an estimated 7,200 falls that required emergency-room visits. Chipotle is still recovering from a 40 percent drop in sales after federal investigators probed the chain's E. coli outbreak last year. [...] hoverboards' earlier problems were mostly associated with no-name brands, making it possible for more reputable manufacturers to establish a better safety record, says Laura Ries, an Atlanta-based brand consultant. Several other manufacturers, including Razor USA, a private California company known for its kick scooters, have also received UL certification, and plan to relaunch hoverboards in the U.S. market soon.