General Motors intends to offer its patented Super Cruise technology in 22 vehicles by the 2023 model year, and eight vehicles by the 2022 model year. They are, in no particular order, the 2022 Cadillac CT4, 2022 Cadillac CT5, 2022 Cadillac XT6, 2022 Cadillac Escalade, 2022 GMC Sierra, 2022 Hummer EV Edition 1, 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV, and 2022 Chevrolet Silverado.
This is the first time GM has confirmed that Super Cruise is inbound for the 2022 Silverado 1500 pickup truck. Keep in mind, this is the refreshed truck we’re talking about, and not the 2022 Silverado 1500 LTD, which will serve to fill in the space in the timeline lost to COVID and semiconductor microchip shortage disruptions.
Game Changing Tech On 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Spy photos of 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 prototypes have already confirmed that at least the high-end variants (High Country, LTZ) of the upcoming truck will feature the USDOT Level 3 class semi-autonomous driving technology. For comparison, Tesla Autopilot is only rated as a Level 2 system. The 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali has also been confirmed with Super Cruise.
What makes this technology a game-changer for pickup trucks – aside from hands-free driving on the freeway – is that both the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 trucks equipped with Super Cruise will also be able to tow with the system engaged. This should help reduce and/or limit driver fatigue during those long hauls with precious cargo strapped to a trailer.
Picture this: a hands-free climb up the Eisenhower Pass in a 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 High Country with Super Cruise. That really would be something.
Image via GM Design.## Super Cruise: Industry-Leading Hands-Free Driving Technology
What’s more, General Motors is putting the finishing touches on automatic lane changes for Super Cruise; a function that can be beamed to properly equipped vehicles via an over-the-air update (OTA). All GM vehicles with the Vehicle Intelligence Platform (VIP, aka Global B) are capable of OTA updates.
When enabled, a vehicle equipped with Super Cruise – such as the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 – moving at a certain set speed coming up on a slower vehicle will “look” in the adjacent lanes via ultrasonic sensors to make sure they are clear, and automatically merge to pass. The feature is biased to (properly) pass on the left lane, but if that lane is obstructed, it can also merge to the right and undertake to pass.
The use of GM Super Cruise is geo-fenced, and the lanes are mapped out in high definition so as to know when lanes on the freeway end, as well as when the roads begin to wind a bit. This is all to deliver a driving experiences that’s near-human. However, if you’re more on the skilled and attentive side of driving (as any able-bodied human possessing a license should be), then you may find your own inputs more satisfying at the moment.
The 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is expected to launch early next year, with Super Cruise available late in the model year.
Rendering copyright Matheus Pach, Muscle Cars & Trucks.
