Cadillac Super Cruise comes to more roads in 2019, more cars in 2020

The best driver assist tech just got a little better.

Read the whole story

 

[Rockchurch]

"Although we make every effort to cover our own travel costs, in this case Cadillac flew me to Detroit and provided three nights in a hotel."

This disclosure always sounds oddly worded to me.

You aren't making every effort to pay travel costs if you accepted travel costs.

I like the disclosure, and there's nothing wrong with accepting help when it is disclosed, but the wording seems a touch disingenuous.

Edit: This is such a slight niggle, and I didn't want to spark argument about it. Something like the following would be 100% in integrity:

"Although we frequently cover our own travel costs, in this case Cadillac flew me to Detroit and provided three nights in a hotel.

 

[luckydob]

"Although we make every effort to cover our own travel costs, in this case Cadillac flew me to Detroit and provided three nights in a hotel."

This disclosure always sounds oddly worded to me.

You aren't making every effort to pay travel costs if you accepted travel costs.

I like the disclosure, and there's nothing wrong with accepting help when it is disclosed, but the wording seems a touch disingenuous.

How would you know if they didn't make every effort to pay?

Sometimes budgets do not allow for all kinds of things depending how the month/qtr/year is panning out. If they have already exhausted travel expenses for a specific time frame, then they don't have a lot of options.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

 

[peachpuff]

Eye wonder if it can be fooled by these glasses https://sc01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1sugpPXXX ... XFXXXg.jpg

 

[peragrin]

GM is being smart, adding the supercruise to expensive limited sell vehicles, doing solid testing.

unlike Autopilot supercruise also forces you to pay attention to the road ahead.

 

[thekaj]

If the system decides you've taken your eyes off the road for too long (the time interval is context dependent but is typically a few seconds) it begins escalating prompts and warnings to get you to return your attention to the task of driving.

I wonder what the cost would be to install this part of the system on all cars, regardless if they've got Super Cruise. Seems that might drastically reduce accidents if it could monitor all the times people are texting or worse when in motion. Bonus points if the system was designed to scream out "JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! GET YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!!!!"

 

[flunk]

"Although we make every effort to cover our own travel costs, in this case Cadillac flew me to Detroit and provided three nights in a hotel."

This disclosure always sounds oddly worded to me.

You aren't making every effort to pay travel costs if you accepted travel costs.

I like the disclosure, and there's nothing wrong with accepting help when it is disclosed, but the wording seems a touch disingenuous.

I agree, if Ars was making every effort they would have refused the invitation. Taking money from some manufacturers and not others is in some ways worse than taking it from all manufacturers. I'm sure not everyone will agree, but that's my assessment.

I would be happier with Ars taking the press trips as long as it's disclosed than the current situation.

 

[Dr Gitlin]

If the system decides you've taken your eyes off the road for too long (the time interval is context dependent but is typically a few seconds) it begins escalating prompts and warnings to get you to return your attention to the task of driving.

I wonder what the cost would be to install this part of the system on all cars, regardless if they've got Super Cruise. Seems that might drastically reduce accidents if it could monitor all the times people are texting or worse when in motion. Bonus points if the system was designed to scream out "JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! GET YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!!!!"

I am pretty sure every new Subaru comes with a gaze-tracking driver monitoring system. I think BMW might have one, and I know Mazda does for the new Mazda 3 but not in the US. Volvo is also working on adding a standard DMS too.

 

[afidel]

"Although we make every effort to cover our own travel costs, in this case Cadillac flew me to Detroit and provided three nights in a hotel."

This disclosure always sounds oddly worded to me.

You aren't making every effort to pay travel costs if you accepted travel costs.

I like the disclosure, and there's nothing wrong with accepting help when it is disclosed, but the wording seems a touch disingenuous.

It could be that GM had a standard press package and they weren't flexible with which accommodations they would comp if you wanted to participate in the press briefing.

 

[Nonapod]

Dumb question: If the system tracks eye positions can I still wear sun glasses?

 

[Rockchurch]

"Although we make every effort to cover our own travel costs, in this case Cadillac flew me to Detroit and provided three nights in a hotel."

This disclosure always sounds oddly worded to me.

You aren't making every effort to pay travel costs if you accepted travel costs.

I like the disclosure, and there's nothing wrong with accepting help when it is disclosed, but the wording seems a touch disingenuous.

It could be that GM had a standard press package and they weren't flexible with which accommodations they would comp if you wanted to participate in the press briefing.

It could be that unicorns exist too.

Edit: I'm not sure why I'm still arguing. Made my point about the slight niggle with the wording.

Something like the following would be 100% in integrity:

"Although we frequently cover our own travel costs, in this case Cadillac flew me to Detroit and provided three nights in a hotel.

 

[jock2nerd]

"Although we make every effort to cover our own travel costs, in this case Cadillac flew me to Detroit and provided three nights in a hotel."

This disclosure always sounds oddly worded to me.

You aren't making every effort to pay travel costs if you accepted travel costs.

I like the disclosure, and there's nothing wrong with accepting help when it is disclosed, but the wording seems a touch disingenuous.

I wonder if Tesla would pay your expenses somewhere, would you say nice things about their superior system and software?
Why was it necessary for GM to pay your expenses? How about simply saying "no".

[Added:]
The reason car companies pay for the expenses of reviewers is that it affects the reviews. Also why they often do these junkets in exotic locations (not this case) is that also influences the reviewers. Sorry, but it is simple human nature and often very subconscious.
The auto companies know this, and they've known it for decades.
Same reason people selling life insurance, or medicare supplements, or reverse mortgages want to make a pitch for it over a meal.

[More] Link: https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/ ... ee_pa.html

 

[AndrewClarke]

"Although we make every effort to cover our own travel costs, in this case Cadillac flew me to Detroit and provided three nights in a hotel."

This disclosure always sounds oddly worded to me.

You aren't making every effort to pay travel costs if you accepted travel costs.

I like the disclosure, and there's nothing wrong with accepting help when it is disclosed, but the wording seems a touch disingenuous.

This issue of paid trips was brought before the readers for a vote and discussion in 2017: https://meincmagazine.com/cars/2017/03/ar ... -coverage/ .

The disclaimer's wording is odd though as it seems that Ars is increasingly accepting paid trips. Maybe a link in the boilerplate text to a deeper explanation would be helpful.

 

[Dan Homerick]

I have Super Cruise and it sucks.

Like, how?

 

[yh852]

Dumb question: If the system tracks eye positions can I still wear sun glasses?

Interesting point; I googled that and The Verge had an article noting that it didn't work with polarized glasses which blocked out the infrared camera. I'm assuming that means it works with regular sunglasses?

https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/28/1851 ... -show-2019

 

[metalliqaz]

I hope their tech is better than Tesla's in avoiding accidents. I see that one of the roads they are adding is the highway next to where I live. Just had a guy rear end a slow moving tractor and kill the farmer on that same road. Granted, wasn't autodriving, but this tech should keep idiots from crashing anyway.

Emergency braking has been a Cadillac feature long before Super Cruise was added.

 

[jason166]

We've seen lots of praise on SuperCruise from reviewers from a safety standpoint but never any objective measures of how well it performs in various driving situations that are less than the happy path it was probably given to journalists in.

I'd love to see a real comparison that runs it through the paces vs Autopilot:

1. Sharp turns at high speed. Can the system maintain proper position?
2. Night driving, how does it perform in the night time.
3. Inclement weather
4. Poor lane markings
5. Cut in detection/reaction. How does it respond to cars cutting in front of it?


This would be an interesting story, @DrGitlin

 

[corscan]

How would you know if they didn't make every effort to pay?

I'm assuming Cadillac didn't hold them down, wrest their credit card from their person, and make an online payment in the amount of the travel and hotel...

It's exactly zero effort to refuse money.

This is not a big deal, just something that isn't 100% in their integrity.

It's right there at the top of the page, and couldn't be much more prominent without flashing lights. Whatever minor (imho) quibbles you may have, it's more than I see on many other sites.

On topic of the article:

If the system decides you've taken your eyes off the road for too long (the time interval is context dependent but is typically a few seconds) it begins escalating prompts and warnings to get you to return your attention to the task of driving.

I wonder what the cost would be to install this part of the system on all cars, regardless if they've got Super Cruise. Seems that might drastically reduce accidents if it could monitor all the times people are texting or worse when in motion. Bonus points if the system was designed to scream out "JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! GET YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!!!!"

Extra bonus points if details are written to a black box for law enforcement to access.

Having said that, in the UK, there are numerous examples of juries refusing to convict even when there is very clear evidence the driver wasn't paying attention - e.g. many text messages back and forth with a girlfriend for 1/2 an hour or so, all while driving, with the last only moments before the crash. and yet still no conviction. The only possible explanation I can think of is that there was 1 too many drivers on the jury thinking "errr, I do that..."

Anything that can add a bit more objectivity to driving offences regarding dangerous driving, driving without care and attention is a positive in my book.

Far simpler of course would be to record speed as HGVs/articulated trucks do [edit: in the UK], but that hasn't happened and I've never heard a politician even suggest it for cars, so I won't hold my breath.

 

[afidel]

If the system decides you've taken your eyes off the road for too long (the time interval is context dependent but is typically a few seconds) it begins escalating prompts and warnings to get you to return your attention to the task of driving.

I wonder what the cost would be to install this part of the system on all cars, regardless if they've got Super Cruise. Seems that might drastically reduce accidents if it could monitor all the times people are texting or worse when in motion. Bonus points if the system was designed to scream out "JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! GET YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!!!!"

I am pretty sure every new Subaru comes with a gaze-tracking driver monitoring system. I think BMW might have one, and I know Mazda does for the new Mazda 3 but not in the US. Volvo is also working on adding a standard DMS too.

Nope, DriverFocus is only available (and standard) on the top touring trim (at least on the 2019 Forester). Based on past history for Subaru with safety tech it will become an option on premium and above in a year or two and then probably standard in 4-5 years.

 

[ThinkingMore]

I came away very impressed with its performance. In fact, it's so good that I wondered why General Motors was taking such a long time to roll the system out to vehicles other than the CT6.

Maybe they are being responsible and learning as much as possible with limited rollout instead of pushing out as fast as possible,

 

[Dr Gitlin]

Dumb question: If the system tracks eye positions can I still wear sun glasses?

Yes, it works even with polarized sunglasses.

 

[nehinks]

Dumb question: If the system tracks eye positions can I still wear sun glasses?

Interesting point; I googled that and The Verge had an article noting that it didn't work with polarized glasses which blocked out the infrared camera. I'm assuming that means it works with regular sunglasses?

https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/28/1851 ... -show-2019

Ugh, thanks. I can't imagine driving without my polarized sunglasses when the sun is out.

Same problems with HUD units usually. Love the idea, but they usually fail with polarized sunglasses, making it worthless to me 80% of the time.

Edit: And now I'm getting mixed messages. Guess it might work after all?

 

[Dr Gitlin]

Dumb question: If the system tracks eye positions can I still wear sun glasses?

Interesting point; I googled that and The Verge had an article noting that it didn't work with polarized glasses which blocked out the infrared camera. I'm assuming that means it works with regular sunglasses?

https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/28/1851 ... -show-2019

I’ve spent many hours using Super Cruise wearing polarized sunglasses (at least 12 hours of daytime use, probably) and it was never an issue.

Alex Roy tried fooling it with two pairs of sunglasses for a piece for The Drive and it still worked, iirc.

 

[asciii]

The number of supported roads seems quite limited. Is the system really worth using if you can barely ever use it?

 

[efram]

Eye wonder if it can be fooled by these glasses https://sc01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1sugpPXXX ... XFXXXg.jpg

 

[afidel]

The number of supported roads seems quite limited. Is the system really worth using if you can barely ever use it?

Yes, Level 4 autonomy (which this is working towards) is still very useful, it would probably cover 95% of long distance driving and reduce highway accidents significantly.

 

[afidel]

Not excited about a slightly better version of Cruise Control, no matter the maker. Call me when I can, legally and safely, take a nap, go to sleep for the whole drive, play a game, etc.

It's not 'slightly better', at least the Subaru Eyesight system has reduced their crash numbers by 85%, if every car had that type of system we'd save about $200B a year and have about 40,000 fewer premature deaths a year.

 

[efram]

How well does it work in stop and go traffic?
Where I live, you need to be aggressive in order to stop people from taking your space. The ACC system in my car is.. too passive (even on the shortest follow distance setting)

 

[jhodge]

I'd like to know how GM plans for long-term maintenance of the high-resolution mapping. Even highways change on a ongoing basis, and a high-res map from six month ago may no longer reflect the current configuration of lanes, barriers, etc. I know that, for example, a newly added highway exit near me and the associated lane reconfigurations took months to be reflected in Google Maps.

 

[eric102]

"Although we make every effort to cover our own travel costs, in this case Cadillac flew me to Detroit and provided three nights in a hotel."

This disclosure always sounds oddly worded to me.

You aren't making every effort to pay travel costs if you accepted travel costs.

I like the disclosure, and there's nothing wrong with accepting help when it is disclosed, but the wording seems a touch disingenuous.

I wonder if Tesla would pay your expenses somewhere, would you say nice things about their superior system and software?
Why was it necessary for GM to pay your expenses? How about simply saying "no".

[Added:]
The reason car companies pay for the expenses of reviewers is that it affects the reviews. Also why they often do these junkets in exotic locations (not this case) is that also influences the reviewers. Sorry, but it is simple human nature and often very subconscious.
The auto companies know this, and they've known it for decades.
Same reason people selling life insurance, or medicare supplements, or reverse mortgages want to make a pitch for it over a meal.

And as why I, as a physician,.refuse to take anything from any drug rep and refuse all visits.

 

[ThinkingMore]

I'd like to know how GM plans for long-term maintenance of the high-resolution mapping. Even highways change on a ongoing basis, and a high-res map from six month ago may no longer reflect the current configuration of lanes, barriers, etc. I know that, for example, a newly added highway exit near me and the associated lane reconfigurations took months to be reflected in Google Maps.

I would guess that this system could better detect those smaller road changes against the lidar map. Certainly a big thing to maintain overall, maybe they can partner or sell data to others.

 

[compgeek89]

If I have to constantly monitor the road ahead, what exactly am I gaining by having a "driver assist" running? the actual physical process of moving the steering wheel is, for me, not really very onerous. This sounds like a feature that I would rarely if ever turn on as it gains me no real benefit and I can only imagine how annoying false positive "pay attention" alerts would be.

 

[compgeek89]

I'd like to know how GM plans for long-term maintenance of the high-resolution mapping. Even highways change on a ongoing basis, and a high-res map from six month ago may no longer reflect the current configuration of lanes, barriers, etc. I know that, for example, a newly added highway exit near me and the associated lane reconfigurations took months to be reflected in Google Maps.

I would guess that this system could better detect those smaller road changes against the lidar map. Certainly a big thing to maintain overall, maybe they can partner or sell data to others.

Does it handle road work where they close off lanes or shift lanes onto the shoulder while they repave? The reliance on pre-scanned lidar is very confusing given the highly dynamic nature of road work in the US.

 

[jock2nerd]

I'd like to know how GM plans for long-term maintenance of the high-resolution mapping. Even highways change on a ongoing basis, and a high-res map from six month ago may no longer reflect the current configuration of lanes, barriers, etc. I know that, for example, a newly added highway exit near me and the associated lane reconfigurations took months to be reflected in Google Maps.

I would guess that this system could better detect those smaller road changes against the lidar map. Certainly a big thing to maintain overall, maybe they can partner or sell data to others.

Does it handle road work where they close off lanes or shift lanes onto the shoulder while they repave? The reliance on pre-scanned lidar is very confusing given the highly dynamic nature of road work in the US.

That's the Achilles heel of systems relying on hyper-accurate maps. If the companies aren't making accurate map updates on a very frequent basis, the systems break down.

 

[therealjoxer]

How well does it work in stop and go traffic?
Where I live, you need to be aggressive in order to stop people from taking your space. The ACC system in my car is.. too passive (even on the shortest follow distance setting)

I had similar issues with a rental Pathfinder, but on multilane highway. Even on the closest following distance allowed by the cruise, people seemed to think that although I had been going say 5-10mph faster previously, I was happy settling in behind them at their speed since I gave them so much room. And this is with a fairly large vehicle, a smaller sedan would probably fare even worse.
Also, when there was an open passing lane to switch into, it started slowing me down at just the time I wanted to move into a 'faster' lane, really annoying if there was also someone else in that lane already that I would then be cutting off by my reduced speed. In both cases I ended up frequently overriding with the gas pedal. Maybe the second scenario was just one to get used to, as in switching to the passing lane sooner than I would naturally do, but I ended up feeling like my own car's regular cruise was better suited to me, even though it means I have to cancel it from time to time. And I do use regular cruise quite a bit as a means to curb my lead foot and leave me with more attention to things other than the speedometer.
Anyway, interesting to see new tech, and anything that improves safety is welcome, I'm just not sure that any of the currently available self-driving systems (even the 'superior' one ;-) ) actually do that.

 

[mmiller7]

Dumb question: If the system tracks eye positions can I still wear sun glasses?

Good question...also wonder how it does with prescription glasses / prescription sunglasses (which I use - oversized dark polarized semi-reflective style frames/lenses)