Cadillac is a leading luxury brand of General Motors and showcases this through their cars in creative and progressive ways. From test-drive events to roadshows, Cadillac provides its fans with seamless opportunities to get up-close and personal with some of its stunning creations.
New for 2018 is the “Super Cruise” driving experience, which allowed us to make our way across the US in the all-new CT6. I’ll be the first to admit, but both Patrick and I were somewhat anxious and weary when we agreed to kick our feets back and let an automated car drive us across the Midwest. The self-driving Cadillac event, however, put us behind the wheels for a test drive and broke all of our preconceived notions towards the CT6; more importantly, it provided us with a deeper appreciation for the new features of the future.
Our journey began in the heart of America’s oldest state capitol: Santa Fe, New Mexico. As we arrived, we were kindly greeted by Cadillac’s Executives at the gorgeous Inn and Spa at Loretto.
Over the course of the next day, we were introduced to our futuristic luxury chariot the CT6. We were about to conquer the Midwest’s most demanding sweeping roads and mountain passes on a road trip to Santa Monica, CA.
Before our journey began, we were able to learn about the Super Cruise feature. The amount of detail that went into the process of developing and building these vehicles in unbelievable. Cadillac created North America’s most advanced GPS system for their Super Cruise feature which is eight times more precise than a traditional GPS.
They also spared no expense in creating their hands-free highway feature, teaming up with the best geo-digital companies in the world — User and Trimble. After learning how safe and advanced the CT6’s supercruise feature was, we were eager to put it to the test on the open road.
Cadillac by the windmill in the breezy weather.
Shortly after our educational breakfast, we were off on the gorgeous highways of the Midwest in our stunning CT6. We were ready for anything with our Native shoes and Oakley polarized lenses for comfortability and safety. With not knowing what to expect, our foreheads began sweating and our hearts started racing as we carefully positioned the CT6 in the center of the highway lane to engage Super Cruise for the first time.
The feature was a breeze to start and made driving on the highway an effortless task. It was remarkably smooth, maintaining a safe following distance, and making smooth lane changes. The car is designed to reassure you that you need only grab the wheel or tap the brake to immediately resume full control. Super Cruise constantly scans the driver’s eyes to make sure that they are still on the road. When it notices lack of focus on the road, it shakes the steering wheel and forces you to take control of the vehicle.
Even though the feature requires your eyes on the road, it still offers the luxury of not having to actually drive. That freedom alone is revolutionary.
Cadillac, like every major automaker experimenting with autonomous driving tech, sees many hurdles — the technology, yes, but also regulatory issues, insurance questions, and consumer acceptance. All this must be cleared before we have cars that drive.
The company is planning to introduce autonomous features one by one. It’s a slower timeline than Google’s “moonshot” approach, but one that gives everyone time to accept the technology. For being such a new concept to the public, Cadillac is definitely setting the bar high.
Patrick gliding in the Cadillac Super Cruise.
Cadillac’s classic elegance paired with the technological advancement of self-driving on the highways demands and deserves our highest merits. The freedom of not having to consciously drive your Cadillac on the highway is worth every penny — $88,295 gets you a piece of the future of sophisticated luxury. We urge you to test drive the 2018 CT6 Platinum with Super Cruise.
We are at an inflection point in the history of transportation. The usage of automobiles as we know it is going to fundamentally change. This will have seismic implications for many sectors of our economy and will fundamentally change our way of life. And Cadillac is ready for the future.
Written by Patrick Reynoso.
Images courtesy Patrick Reynoso.