GM Delays Hands-Free Driving Feature
January 15 2016 - 4:00PM
Dow Jones News
General Motors Co. said it would delay by at least several
months a feature allowing hands-free driving on highways,
underscoring the challenges auto makers face in perfecting
autonomous-vehicle technology.
GM's so-called super-cruise feature that can control speed,
braking and keep vehicles in their lanes won't be available until
next year, the company said in a statement. The Detroit auto maker
in October said the feature would debut this year on the all-new
Cadillac CT6 sedan. The luxury car is scheduled to go into
production later this year.
The super-cruise feature "breaks new ground with true hands-free
capability for the highway and will be introduced in 2017," a GM
spokesman said in an emailed statement. "Getting the technology
right and doing it safely is most important, so the exact month of
introduction cannot be announced at this time."
The spokesman didn't give a reason for the delay. Trade
publication Automotive News reported the delay earlier this
week.
Auto executives and government regulators are bullish on the
potential safety benefits of driverless-car technology. The Obama
administration this week proposed spending nearly $4 billion over a
decade to make driverless cars more widespread.
Still, the technologies come with potential pitfalls, and the GM
delay shows that even getting them ready for deployment can prove
difficult.
GM Chief Executive Mary Barra has said the super-cruise system
must work flawlessly when introduced.
The real-world ramifications of how driverless cars work are
already starting to emerge. Tesla Motors Inc. recently restricted
use of its autopilot function after videos appeared online of
drivers reading or sitting in the passenger seat while the vehicle
moved. No one was injured.
Tesla will now disable the autopilot feature on residential
streets and roads without a center divider, and prevent vehicles
from exceeding posted speed limits by more than 5 miles an
hour.
Write to Gautham Nagesh at gautham.nagesh@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 15, 2016 15:45 ET (20:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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