Skip to main content

General Motors is delaying its semiautonomous driving technology

2016 Cadillac CT6
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Apparently, you really can’t rush genius — or General Motors. The entire car industry seems to be feeling the pressure of putting an autonomous car on the road sooner rather than later, but GM is now pumping the brakes on its own much anticipated Super Cruise feature, which would’ve allowed drivers to go hands-free on the highway. Despite initial announcements in 2014 from CEO Mary Barra that suggested the semiautonomous capabilities would be introduced in the fall of 2016, the company has now confirmed that Super Cruise will not appear in the CT6 large sedan until sometime in 2017.

“Super Cruise breaks new ground with true hands-free capability for the highway and will be introduced in 2017,” GM said in a statement. “Getting the technology right and doing it safely is most important, so the exact month of introduction cannot be announced at this time.” Of course, given that your car would be effectively driving itself on long stretches of road, it comes as a relief that the manufacturer isn’t pushing things forward before they’re ready. But as Alex Davies of Wired notes, Super Cruise isn’t really all that groundbreaking — rather, it’s more like autopilot, keeping you at a constant speed and within your lane. Your car still wouldn’t be able to make complex decisions — no lane changing, swerving, or anything of the like.

Even Cadillac chief Johan de Nysschen has spoken to the modesty of the new feature, calling it, “just another layer that provides a degree of semiautonomous vehicle capability.” But regardless, that layer just isn’t ready to go yet.

In an interview on Thursday, GM’s global product chief Mark Reuss assured the press, “It [Super Cruise] will come out when it is ready.” But as for when it’ll be ready has yet to be determined.

So don’t expect to see any 2016 CT6’s rolling around the highways with their drivers asleep at the wheel. Or if you do, you might consider calling the authorities.

Editors' Recommendations

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Waymo taps the brakes on its autonomous-trucking project
A Waymo autonomous trick undergoing testing on a highway.

Six years after launching its autonomous-truck program, Waymo has said it’s decided to focus more on developing its ridesharing ambitions using its self-driving cars and minivans.

The California-based, Alphabet-owned company said its decision to effectively put autonomous trucking on the back burner is down to the “tremendous momentum and substantial commercial opportunity” that it’s seeing with the pilot ridesharing service it launched in Arizona in 2018 before taking it to several other states. Customers involved in the program can use an app to call a Waymo driverless car in the same way they would book an Uber.

Read more
Volkswagen is launching its own self-driving car testing program in the U.S.
Volkswagen self-driving ID. Buzz in Austin

Volkswagen is taking autonomous driving a little more seriously. While the likes of Tesla and Waymo have largely led the development of next-gen driving tech, the legacy automakers are certainly starting to invest more heavily. To that end, Volkswagen has announced its first autonomous driving program in the U.S.

As part of the program, Volkswagen has outfitted 10 all-electric ID. Buzz vans with autonomous driving tech, in partnership with autonomous car tech company MobileEye. Over the next few years, Volkswagen says it'll grow this fleet of autonomous cars to cover at least four additional cities, with the current fleet operating in Austin, Texas. By 2026, Volkswagen hopes to commercially launch autonomous cars in Austin.

Read more
Autonomous cars confused by San Francisco’s fog
Waymo Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV

Driving in thick fog is a big enough challenge for humans, but it turns out self-driving cars find it pretty tricky, too.

Overwhelmed by dense fog in San Francisco early on Tuesday morning, five of Waymo’s fully driverless vehicles suddenly parked by the side of a residential street in what appeared to be a precautionary measure, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Another of its cars apparently came to halt in the middle of the street, the news outlet said.

Read more