General Motors will introduce in two years its first car that can communicate with other vehicles to help avoid accidents and ease traffic congestion, Chief Executive Mary Barra said on Sunday. In the same time frame, GM also will introduce more advanced technology allowing hands-free driving in some cases, she said. “I’m convinced customers will embrace vehicle-to-vehicle and automated driving technologies for one simple reason: they are the answer to everyday problems that people want solved,” she said in a text of a speech delivered at a conference here.
GM has announced details of its first cars to employ automated driving technology. Addressing the Intelligent Transport Society today, CEO Mary Barra said a new Cadillac model equipped with what the company calls Super Cruise, a semi-automatic system that enables hands-free driving on highways whether you’re traveling fast or stuck in traffic, will go on sale in around two years. Barra calls Super Cruise “an advanced, highly automated driving technology” that lets the driver “take a break from the wheel and pedals and let the car do the work.” Also set to hit the market in two years is GM’s first car equipped with V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle) technology. The 2017 Cadillac CTS will be able to communicate with other V2V cars and infrastructure to help reduce crashes and congestion. Barra compared the technology to active traffic management projects that are up and running in various parts of the world, but believes the concept has the potential to be “much more impactful” if the cars themselves were communicating with the roads and each other.
