Talking Cars: GM to Launch a Hands and Feet-Free Cadillac in 2017

Do you remember KITT from the famous TV series “Knight Rider”? If you grew up in the 80’s, then you probably know what I’m talking about.

KITT is an A.I. (artificial intelligence) vehicle that is built by Knight Industries and operated by Michael Knight (David Hasselhoff). Just like any kid, I was pretty amazed by the talking car and wished that our car could talk, too. There were even times that I pretended that our black Mitsubishi Galant Lambda was talking to me just like the 1982 Pontiac Trans Am talked to Michael Knight.

Your childhood dream of having your own KITT may finally come true in 2017 models (on sale in 2016) as General Motors is set to launch a Cadillac model that has “talking car” capability. Bloomberg reported last week that the largest automaker in the United States will introduce a hands and feet-free car. Soon, you can drive your car without holding the steering wheel or putting a foot on a pedal.

General Motors CEO Mary Barra revealed that the 2017 Cadillac model will feature a “Super Cruise” technology that controls the acceleration, steering, and braking of the vehicle in both congested traffic and highway speeds up to 70 miles per hour.

Barra said, “With Super Cruise, when there’s a congestion alert on roads like California‘s Santa Monica Freeway, you can let the car take over and drive hands free and feet free through the worst stop-and-go traffic around.”

The GM CEO also said, “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. Having it done for you — that’s true luxury.”

Ms. Barra announced that in two years, GM will be the first automaker (that is, if no other car company will work on beating them to offer the same car features) to produce a model that has a vehicle-to-vehicle technology that allows the car to communicate with other automobiles. The new technology is also designed to improve road safety and warn of traffic hazards.

The main goal of GM is to ease traffic and avoid any road accidents. She even called on other automobile manufacturing companies to produce cars that can communicate with each other. Barra said, “Let’s strive to build cars and trucks that don’t crash. Let’s connect our vehicles.”

My image of KITT suddenly disappeared after hearing about their plans to mass produce talking cars. What makes Knight Rider’s car cool is because it was the only talking car during that time. Now all I can think of is the Disney animated film “Cars” where all sorts of automobile talk to each other.

Do you think the 2017 Cadillac CTS will improve the traffic and lessen the road hazards? Let us know by leaving a comment in the Disqus box below!

Mic Florendo is a Content Writer and Car Rental Expert at VroomVroomVroom. Mic recently wrote about traffic and public transportation woes in Manila, and sometimes wishes that a robot brain would take over the mass transit system and solve the problems commuting to work in urban areas!