Because we’re primarily a sports car-centric media outlet, we don’t frequently get invited to press launches for more general-interest consumer vehicles. So we were intrigued when Chevy called us and asked us to come check out a feature on its newest Silverado 1500, and we were even more intrigued when we showed up and the test trucks had race car-sized trailers hitched behind them.
The unique arrangement was due to the fact that Chevy is promoting the functionality of its Super Cruise system for towing.
Super Cruise is GM’s advanced, hands-free highway driving package, available since 2022 on select GM models. It’s not a true self-driving or autopilot system–it only functions on limited access roadways that GM has specifically scouted and mapped for such a purpose. But when it’s engaged on those roads, it’s pretty spectacular. It also takes a lot of the tedium out of long drives while retaining enough engagement that you don’t feel like the machines are taking over.
And this seems to have been GM’s strategy with Super Cruise. Rather than trying to create a Tesla-style self-driving system, GM extensively scouted and mapped roads–more than a quarter-million miles of them in the U.S. at last count–and combined that with on-board LIDAR and camera sensors operating in real time to make an advanced highway assist package.
Image courtesy GM
High-tech highway assists are not unique in the industry. Ford’s BlueCruise and Tesla’s Autopilot will both whisk you down the freeway with your hands in your lap, but GM brought a big, exciting favor to the party with Super Cruise: towing. Currently, Super Cruise is the only hands-free system that’s trailer capable, and that’s why Chevy wanted us to sample it.
So we headed down to a hotel next to the Palm Beach airport, where the highways are crowded and chaotic, and saw our two hitched-up chariots. After the Chevy crew ran us through the basics of operating Super Cruise, we were on our way.
And … it’s really good.
Operation is pretty simple. A couple lights on the dash let you know when conditions exist for Super Cruise to be engaged. Mostly you’ll need to be on a limited-access highway–nearly all U.S. interstates are in the database, along with tens of thousands of miles of state roads and toll roads–centered in the lane, and maintaining a reasonable following distance and speed from surrounding traffic.
When conditions are right, hit…
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