Move Over Tesla. Here Comes Cadillac.

[McRat]

Very interesting... I say that because my wife thought AP was a gimmick until she took the Model S to work for the first time and now can't wait to give her Volt up to get a car with AP... Granted no two experiences are the same but I feel like I've heard more than a few people talk about how AP (from whatever vendor and whatever that vendor names it) isn't interesting to them until they experience it, especially in traffic...

Jeff

Wifey's current daily driver is 540rwhp uncorrected, and ~7,500lb curb w/driver. She drives the Volts when required, but she loves her mid 12 second kinetic energy weapon. http://mcratracing.com/k/wendy1250.wmv She's the one winning.
She also drives/races our manual Vettes, and recently sold her personal CTS-V. Her best ET is about 9.3x @ 145mph.

She has no burning desire to own a car that does the driving for her, and has never used ACC in her life. She refuses to even try it so far. I'm a bit more lenient, and I will use the Volt ACC now and then. It works flawlessly, but she would rather not bother with it.

We almost bought the CT6 PHEV last weekend but she didn't like it.

 

[jeffro01]

Wifey's current daily driver is 540rwhp uncorrected, and ~7,500lb curb w/driver. She drives the Volts when required, but she loves her mid 12 second kinetic energy weapon. http://mcratracing.com/k/wendy1250.wmv She's the one winning.
She also drives/races our manual Vettes, and recently sold her personal CTS-V. Her best ET is about 9.3x @ 145mph.

She has no burning desire to own a car that does the driving for her, and has never used ACC in her life. She refuses to even try it so far. I'm a bit more lenient, and I will use the Volt ACC now and then. It works flawlessly, but she would rather not bother with it.

We almost bought the CT6 PHEV last weekend but she didn't like it.

Fair enough. To each their own...

Jeff

 

[Electricfan]

I'm desperately trying to wait. I think in 3-5 years what we'll be able to buy will be so much better than what we've got now. That said, I'm looking forward to trying the SuperCruise, and if it will actually drive me to work without requiring me to take over, I may, just may, go back to a gas car. My AP1 requires me to save the day at least once no matter what highway I take on my 35 mile commute. I would really love a car that could handle Houston highways without intervention.

 

[Sawyer8888]

For the total cost of this option [AP2] you could've literally bought another car, or taken a very nice holiday.

Could we have taken a nice holiday with the $5K we dropped on AP2? Sure we could have. We could also take a nice holiday with the $3K needed for the full self-driving option, but we've held off on that non-existent feature for now. In the meantime, I will continue to take a "very nice vacation" during my near-two-hour round-trip every day in my Model S with AP2 enabled (my personal driver, with a slight learning disability).

Here Comes Cadillac? Sure, maybe in the future. Because of Tesla, we're already driving the future; or should I say it's driving us?

 

[twonius]

Could we have taken a nice holiday with the $5K we dropped on AP2? Sure we could have. We could also take a nice holiday with the $3K needed for the full self-driving option, but we've held off on that non-existent feature for now. In the meantime, I will continue to take a "very nice vacation" during my near-two-hour round-trip every day in my Model S with AP2 enabled (my personal driver, with a slight learning disability).

Here Comes Cadillac? Sure, maybe in the future. Because of Tesla, we're already driving the future; or should I say it's driving us?

True, even just normal AP is a game changer. I had to drive my parent's Lexus a couple of hours over Christmas and I remember thinking on the highway "I have to drive this thing manually for an hour.. like a savage?!"

 

[brkaus]

I'm desperately trying to wait. I think in 3-5 years what we'll be able to buy will be so much better than what we've got now. That said, I'm looking forward to trying the SuperCruise, and if it will actually drive me to work without requiring me to take over, I may, just may, go back to a gas car. My AP1 requires me to save the day at least once no matter what highway I take on my 35 mile commute. I would really love a car that could handle Houston highways without intervention.

I don't see any system in the near future dealing with Houston highways fully automatically during rush hours. Not being from there, I found it a white knuckle experience.

 

[Sawyer8888]

I don't see any system in the near future dealing with Houston highways fully automatically during rush hours. Not being from there, I found it a white knuckle experience.

The future is not always crystal clear or easy to see, but it is coming fast...

 

[diamond.g]

If I understand this article, Supercruise isn't available as an after the fact purchase. It also appears they are only doing yearly map updates. Cadillac has a secret weapon in its quest to beat Tesla at self-driving

 

[NerdUno]

I suspect that OTA updates will be pushed out as needed with more complex map changes annually for a fee. Even if limited to annual, that would be about 3 years ahead of Tesla's current maps.

 

[McRat]

I suspect that OTA updates will be pushed out as needed with more complex map changes annually for a fee. Even if limited to annual, that would be about 3 years ahead of Tesla's current maps.

IIRC, the Super Cruise option is going to come with several (5? 8?) years of OnStar. OnStar already has OTA and has for awhile.

 

[NerdUno]

Just released our 4-month report card on Tesla AP2 together with a comparison to the new Cadillac approach:

The Autonomous Car: Move Over Tesla, Here Comes Cadillac – nerd vittles

 

[oktane]

Excellent article, you nailed it.

 

[30seconds]

We are talking about SuperCruise that Cadillac announced it was including in 2016 models, then the 2017 models and now the 2018 models?

I think I'll wait to see what actually is released.

 

[diamond.g]

@McRat can you find out if you can order supercruise after the fact? It seems like they are already including all of the parts and that it is just a software feature, or is that wrong?

 

[McRat]

@McRat can you find out if you can order supercruise after the fact? It seems like they are already including all of the parts and that it is just a software feature, or is that wrong?

No, Super Cruise is hardware. The steering wheel makes it really clear to tell which cars have it. The Super Cruise steering wheel has a lighted bar on top. But there is also the IR facial mapping sensor that does not appear on non SC models.

You can also tell which GM cars have ACC without getting inside. The grill emblem is smooth, not 3D. The radar sits behind that.

Non-functional content is rare on GMs. The only real perk was the ability to increase engine output simply through reflashing the ECM. My best nearly 100% gain on the LLY diesel variant.

 

[diamond.g]

No, Super Cruise is hardware. The steering wheel makes it really clear to tell which cars have it. The Super Cruise steering wheel has a lighted bar on top. But there is also the IR facial mapping sensor that does not appear on non SC models.

You can also tell which GM cars have ACC without getting inside. The grill emblem is smooth, not 3D. The radar sits behind that.

Non-functional content is rare on GMs. The only real perk was the ability to increase engine output simply through reflashing the ECM. My best nearly 100% gain on the LLY diesel variant.

Ah, bummer.

 

[CurrentRide]

Just released our 4-month report card on Tesla AP2 together with a comparison to the new Cadillac approach:

The Autonomous Car: Move Over Tesla, Here Comes Cadillac – nerd vittles

We will have to see if hands free Supercruise will work when we wear sunglasses.

 

[McRat]

We will have to see if hands free Supercruise will work when we wear sunglasses.

IIRC, it is mapping your head orientation, not looking at your eyes as was originally thought. People wear glasses, have different head shapes, and different hair fashion.

 

[CurrentRide]

IIRC, it is mapping your head orientation, not looking at your eyes as was originally thought. People wear glasses, have different head shapes, and different hair fashion.

I predict that the software will have significant difficulty identifying when we are paying attention to the road. Given a generally risk-adverse corporate culture at GM, there will probably be many false inattention alerts, making it functionally far from "hands free."

 

[NerdUno]

The alternative is having autopilot software that drives you into oncoming traffic. Lucky us