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GM To Offer Car That Will Almost Drive Itself

Cars that can talk to each other and almost drive themselves at freeway speeds are just two years away from the showroom, according to General Motors executives. The company announced Sunday that the semi-autonomous system for freeways will be an option on an unidentified new 2017 Cadillac that goes on sale in the summer of 2016. In addition, another 2017 Cadillac, the CTS, will be equipped with radio transmitters and receivers that will let it communicate with other cars, sharing data such as location, speed and whether the driver is applying the brakes. The announcements were made Sunday at the opening of the Intelligent Transportation Society World Congress being held in Detroit this week. They are part of a barrage of similar declarations that are expected from other companies throughout the week as the industry shows off progress toward self-driving and safer cars. The freeway system, dubbed "Super Cruise," uses cameras and radar to keep the car in the center of a lane and also stay a safe distance behind cars in front of it. The system will bring the car to a complete stop if traffic halts without driver action, and it can keep the car going in stop-and-go traffic. Other automakers, such as Mercedes-Benz, now offer similar systems that work at low speeds, but GM says it's the first to announce a system that operates at highway speeds. Others could have freeway systems in two years, though. "If the mood strikes you on the high-speed road from Barstow, California, to Las Vegas, you can take a break from the wheel and pedals and let the car do the work," CEO Mary Barra said in remarks prepared for the conference's keynote address on Sunday. But GM said the car still won't drive itself, and the company is working on a system to monitor drivers to make sure they're still paying attention. Details of that system weren't released. "Sensing technology is not yet to the point where the driver can check out," said John Capp, GM's director of global safety strategy. "This is a level of automation that can be done, that is feasible." The new Cadillac that will get Super Cruise hasn't been officially announced yet. But executives have hinted that GM will build a big rear-drive Caddy to lead its lineup in the coming years. Also Sunday, the Michigan Department of Transportation announced that it will partner with GM, Ford Motor Co.

Why GM will import the Cadillac CT6 PHEV from China

There's a clear-cut reason that General Motors is going to build its upcoming plug-in hybrid CT6 sedan in China. Sure, the car will be sold in China and the US, but the real reason for the "Made In China" stamp is environmental. If an automaker wants to build a new model in China, adding a green powertrain is an easy way to do that. The CT6 will have both a PHEV option as well as standard gas engine versions. David Leone, Cadillac's executive chief engineer, told AutoblogGreen recently that, "[China is] far more receptive to approving localized production of vehicle programs that have new energy vehicle powertrain applications." To put it succinctly, since the CT6 has a PHEV option, it is easier for GM to build all CT6 models in China. Some of them will then be imported to the US. "Most new global Cadillacs will also be produced in China as well. It's our second-largest market in the world." "To bring any new car into China, to produce it, you need government approval," Leone said. "The government isn't interested in bringing many new cars to market that don't have new energy credits. [The CT6] also provides new energy credits that enables it to be an attractive, well-received product in China." Leone said that there are two main markets for the various CT6 models: China and the US. The car will arrive in the 2017 model year, so some time after the end of June 2016. There are other practical reasons to build the PHEV in China, like the cells in the battery pack. Those are provided by LG Chem, which makes some cells in Michigan but more in South Korea. And GM already builds cars in China through its joint venture with SAIC, Shanghai General Motors, or SGM. "In February 2013 we started making the XTS, in summer of 2014 we started making the ATS-L," Leone said. "We will be producing [the CT6] within a number of months. Most new global Cadillacs will also be produced in China as well. It's our second-largest market in the world." The Chinese and US versions of the CT6 will be identical, Leone said. While some Cadillacs sold in China are slightly different than the US versions – the Chinese ATS is 77 millimeters longer, for example – the CTS6 PHEV will be exactly the same in both places, other than slight tweaks to the trim levels. Still, "more of our cars going forward will be the exact same car," he said. That doesn't mean that sales will be the same everywhere.

Cadillac recalls 17,500 SRX CUVs in Canada

When reporting on recalls, Autoblog generally tries to focus on the US market. However, a recent campaign in Canada seems important enough to be worth mentioning because it could eventually affect American drivers. General Motors is repairing 17,481 Canadian examples of the Cadillac SRX from the 2010-2015 model years because of the possibility of a loose nut in the rear suspension. For the moment, the automaker hasn't yet announced whether the CUV in the US would require a similar campaign.
The notice was dated September 18, 2014, on the website for Transport Canada, similar to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the US. It says, "the rear suspension toe link jam nuts" might not have been sufficiency tightened, which could allow a rear wheel to turn "inboard or outboard" while driving. If this happens, it could cause a sudden change in handling. Canadian Cadillac dealers are inspecting the parts and replacing the toe link if necessary.
This campaign isn't listed on the GM's running recall tally from September, which includes exported models, but it does list four other campaigns for the SRX this year - three in this range of years and one for the 2004-2006 model. Autoblog reached out to the company to ask about the possibility of this recall expanding to the US and were told "We have not publicly announced US recalls" for the issues affecting the SRX. The New York Times was given a similar quote. Scroll down to read the notice from Transport Canada.