Arguably, GM’s Super Cruise is the greatest driver aid to come out in the last 20 years, allowing motorists to zip along on approved stretches of roadway without having to operate the pedals or steer, which is a big fricken deal. Making this technology, which is available in numerous vehicles, including EVs like the all-electric Chevy Blazer, Cadillac Lyriq and GMC Hummer SUV even better, on Thursday, GM announced it’s dramatically expanded the amount of roadway this system can be used on.
GM’s groundbreaking hands-free helper can now be engaged on a whopping 750,000 miles of compatible highway in both the U.S. and Canada, that’s three-quarters of a million miles, a huge upgrade over the 400,000 or so miles it functioned on before. According to the automaker, this upgrade gives Super Cruise a huge advantage over competing systems like Ford BlueCruise or Stellantis’ new Hands-free Active Driving Assist, because Super Cruise offers nearly six times the coverage rivals do.
Getting to that whopping figure, the latest update now allows Super Cruise to operate on additional so-called minor highways, dramatically increasing its coverage – and the convenience it offers motorists. As before, automatic lane change functionality and the ability to tow with the system engaged are still included.
“GM is all-in on safely deploying Super Cruise as we make the technology available on more vehicles, more roads and for more people to enjoy. A key part of that is expanding the road network — in this case nearly doubling it again — with LiDAR mapped highways,” said Anantha Kancherla, GM vice president of ADAS in a media release. “High precision LiDAR mapping gives us an operating domain where we are confident in Super Cruise’s abilities.”
Not surprisingly, customers have taken a shine to this hands-free highway helper. According to GM, 80% of surveyed owners say Super Cruise makes driving more relaxing, though really that figure should be 100%, since the technology works so phenomenally well. Super Cruise has logged more than 160 million accident-free miles since it debuted in 2017 on the Cadillac CT6 sedan, a number that will only increase as the automaker continues to invest in this technology.
