Three Reasons Why GM's Super Cruise Upgrades are so Significant

General Motors is adding three significant features to its Super Cruise hands-free driving system for 2022. Six vehicles will get the upgrades, including the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado and the 2022 GMC Sierra. The other four vehicles getting the enhanced features are the 2022 Cadillac Escalade, 2022 Cadillac CT4, 2022 Cadillac CT5, and the 2022 GMC HUMMER EV Pickup. While many people talk about Tesla, GM’s Super Cruise allows drivers to truly drive hands free. The system monitors the driver’s eye movements to guarantee that the driver is paying attention.

"We’re excited to expand Super Cruise to even more new models with additional capabilities to provide our customers with even more opportunities to go hands-free,” said Mario Maiorana, Super Cruise chief engineer. “The additional Super Cruise-enabled vehicles and new features are an important step toward our goal of enabling hands-free driving 95% of the time and getting people more comfortable with letting go of the wheel.”

Towing or Trailering

The most impressive of the new capabilities is that Super Cruise will now be able to handle towing or trailering. Drivers of the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado and 2022 GMC Sierra will be able to tow their boat, camper, or trailer while driving hands-free. This is a significant upgrade and could be monumental for pickup owners who tow a lot for work or pleasure. The same will be true for the 2022 Cadillac Escalade and the all-new 2022 GMC HUMMER EV pickup. Lots of different makers off some type of autopilot or self-driving but not with the addition of a trailer.

Automatic Lane Change

The Super Cruise system can determine when a lane change is desirable and it can actually initiate the maneuver, even handling the signaling. Think about that! Not only can Super Cruise handle changing lanes for your vehicle, but it can also handle changing lanes if you are towing something. A lot of drivers have a difficult time determining if they have enough room to complete a lane change. The Super Cruise technology will be able to determine if there is enough room to change lanes safely for you. This could help manage the flow of traffic safely and efficiently. Drivers often have trouble changing out of the slow lane of traffic and merging with faster vehicles and vice versa. Super Cruise can help drivers with those calculations. Notice I said help, drivers must always monitor even the safest technology and maintain control of their vehicle to avoid accidents.

Enhanced Navigation

Super Cruise will be able to display, on the navigation system, which routes are compatible with Super Cruise hands-free driving. This will allow drivers to choose which route works best for them. The vehicle will have to have the embedded Google Maps app for this capability to work. As of now, Super Cruise allows drivers to travel hands-free on over 200,000 miles of compatible roads in the U.S and Canada.

Super Cruise will also be able to provide over-the-air updates for some 2021 vehicle owners, which will give them access to Super Cruise’s latest upgrades and enhancements. At this point, GM isn’t saying which vehicles will qualify for the over-the-air upgrades. Super Cruise will be available on 22 vehicles by 2023, including Cadillac LYRIQ and GMC HUMMER EV SUV. Additional vehicles that offer versions of Super Cruise include the 2022 Cadillac XT6 and the 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV.

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