Cadillac Catches Up With Lane Changing Tesla

Paul Myles

TU-Editor

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28th January 2020

Cadillac has added automated lane-changing to it latest Super Cruise system as it catches up with Tesla technology.

Among other enhancements to the new system, automatic lane-changing should allow “hands-free” switching between lanes, albeit hands will have to be on the steering wheel to meet local highway regulations. The system will feature on both the 2021 Cadillac CT5 and CT4 and followed by the new 2021 Cadillac Escalade.

General Motors describes the function as “when Super Cruise is engaged, the driver can either tap or fully latch the turn signal to indicate that they would like to change lanes. This will prompt the system to look for an acceptable opening in the indicated lane, while also taking time to let other cars know that a lane change is imminent. If the system determines that the indicated lane is open, the vehicle will merge into said lane. The driver attention system will continue to require the driver to focus on the surroundings during the lane change”.

It all sounds remarkably similar to the Tesla system I tested when the Model X first came to market. While it worked reasonably well on the motorway section where I engaged it, the system was not faultless and appeared either over cautious or a little rash in one or two manoeuvres

Mario Maiorana, Super Cruise chief engineer, said: “In order to add automated lane change and provide our customers with the same level of confidence that they currently have in Super Cruise, we made improvements to both our software and hardware,” said Maiorana. “This included improving rear-facing sensors and advanced software algorithms so that the system can confidently track vehicles approaching from the rear. As a result of these improvements, we are able to ensure that Super Cruise will hold in its current lane and only change when a sufficient gap exists.”

— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in London. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_