GMC Confirms Its First Truck Taste Of Autopilot-Rivaling Super Cruise

GM promised more cars across its nameplates with Super Cruise, and now we're seeing just how that roll out will happen, with GMC the latest to announce its first hands-free driving model. The ADAS – a blend of adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping, and head-tracking attention monitoring – has so far only been offered on select Cadillac models.

Indeed, until now it's only been offered on a single car, the discontinued CT6. That, General Motors, is set to change over the next couple of years, however. While Cadillac sedans and SUVs such as the CT4, CT5, and new Escalade will get Super Cruise, the system will also be rolled out across other brands under the GM umbrella.

For GMC, the first will be the model year 2022 Sierra 1500 Denali, the automaker confirmed today. Super Cruise will be available late in the 2022 model year.

It'll be the so-called Enhanced Super Cruise, which we've seen GM demonstrate on the new 2021 Cadillac Escalade. That adds to the original system's ability to keep pace with traffic and stay in lane on divided highways in the US and Canada, with the ability to automatically change lanes. Triggered when the driver puts on the indicator, Enhanced Super Cruise can wait for a gap in an adjacent lane and then shift over safely.

While adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance are increasingly common as options on new vehicles, systems like Super Cruise which allow the driver to take their hands off the wheel are far more rare. Rather than a torque or touch sensor in the steering wheel to track how engaged the driver is, Super Cruise uses an infrared camera on top of the steering column to monitor attention. If the driver looks away from the road for too long a period, the car alerts them to pay attention with flashing lights embedded into the upper section of the wheel.

Interestingly, the 2022 Sierra 1500 Denali will support the ability to enable Super Cruise while also towing a trailer. Super Cruise currently operates on 200,000+ miles of roads in the US and Canada, relying on more precise GPS and LIDAR mapped highways.

The expectation is that GMC will also offer the technology in another of its hotly-anticipated vehicles, the upcoming Hummer EV. The electric truck – which GMC has branded its "Supertruck" – is expected to head into production in fall 2021.