The first vehicle available with the hands-free Cadillac Super Cruise system was the 2018 model year Cadillac CT6 sedan, which began arriving at dealerships in August of 2017.
Super Cruise comes with a free three-year trial after the vehicle purchase, but after this three-year period is over, the owner of the vehicle must pay a monthly fee to keep Super Cruise enabled in the vehicle. That means that the first 2018 model year Cadillac CT6s that left the factory with Super Cruise will be coming up on the end of the free trial period in September – but surprisingly, General Motors has yet to say how much it plans to charge owners for the Super Cruise subscription.
Motor Trend reached out to GM this week to inquire about how much it plans to charge Cadillac CT6 owners for the Super Cruise subscription when their free trial comes up at the end of the month. A GM spokesperson said they could not share how much the automaker plans to charge for Super Cruise once the trial period is over. The person did not say if this was due to the fact that GM has not decided on a price yet, or if it’s just not yet ready to make an announcement.
Super Cruise is a $2,500 standalone option on the Cadillac CT6, though the vehicle also had to come equipped with the optional $3,100 Driver Assist Package to add Super Cruise to the vehicle. Despite this rather significant upfront cost to add it to the vehicle, GM still plans to charge a subscription price for the technology once the three-year trail period is over.
Super Cruise will be offered on more GM vehicles outside of the Cadillac brand going forward, such as the Chevrolet Bolt EUV. The Cadillac CT6 is the only vehicle on the roads today equipped with the technology, although the 2021 Cadillac Escalade, which will begin nat arriving at dealers shortly, also offers it.
Super Cruise is a hands-free driver assistance feature that works on limited-access freeways. Classified as a Level 2 system, Super Cruise can control the vehicle on compatible highways with the driver’s hands off the steering wheel, with an eye-tracking camera ensuring the driver stays focused on the road ahead at all times.
For many people, Super Cruise will be an extremely pricey option, as it also requires an active OnStar plan and an active OnStar 4G LTE Wi-Fi Hotspot – both of which are also run under a subscription program. That’s not to mention the thousands it costs to equip the technology to begin with.
While Super Cruise will be a pricy, high-end option to begin with, the cost may eventually come down as the adoption rate goes up and GM integrates it into more vehicles.
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Comments
That could get them sued. “Here’s a major component of your car. You’ll have to pay for it in the future, and we won’t tell you how much!”
Class action lawyers are lining up to scream detrimental reliance as they walk into the courtroom, as I write this. Great job!
if i buy a smart phone, is there any guarantee what my monthly fee is going to be in three years or when my contract ends?
when you buy a software upgrade from tesla, that software license doesn’t transfer to a new owner if you sell your vehicle.
this is what “mobility as a service” means … subscription fees.
Those customers who bought CT6 with super cruise were informed that at the end of three years they would need to continue with OnStar services, monthly or yearly fee to get the map updates for Super Crusie to work. Also in manuals that came with new CT6 sedans. Nothing hidden. Just not very good journalism.
Robert Jelinek
Earnhardt Cadillac
OnStar =/ Super Cruise. You need OnStar to use Super Cruse, but the fee is different. Squashing that FUD right there.
@Steve: Device and carrier service are two separate things. I can take my phone to another carrier. I have no idea what Super Cruise will cost, and can only use with GM. So that analogy is totally meritless.
You’re the one spreading FUD. Straight from Cadillac’s website: “Super Cruise functions with Cadillac Connected Services† and uses real-time precise positioning, cameras, sensors and LiDAR map data to help detect every curve, helping to make long drives and commutes comfortable and more convenient.
All Super Cruise equipped vehicles include 3 years of connectivity to support functionality, after which a Connected Services† plan must be purchased.”
This makes sense given that they have to continue mapping the roads and delivering the map data to the cars over cellular connections.
I agree with Christopher that they didn’t make this terribly clear. (I’m sure it’s in all their fine print, but I never realized it was considered a subscription service.) Making this a highly touted “updates are delivered over the air and require OnStar” feature might actually have helped them be more “hip” like everyone seems to think about Tesla that keeps doling out delayed/missing features via software updates.
I wish they’d make a reduced-cost, Wi-Fi-only option that only required a basic OnStar plan, but they probably think that gets too confusing and might not update soon enough on extended trips away from home.
I think most buyers will continue to do as they’ve been doing, and buy something other than a Cadillac.
I pay $17 per month for OnStar
Something like that under $50 is semi reasonable but if it get over $100 per month that’s gouging
GM shouldn’t be gouging anyone these days
You only need to continue with the OnStar services. Paying a monthly or yearly fee. The lidar mapping system (seta us apart from all the others) is updated through OnStar. The updates contain the maps or roads that Super Cruise can be used on. It is a $2,500 option on the 2021 Premium Luxury, Sport, Premium Luxury Platinum, and Sport Platinum trims. A little more investigative journalism on your part would have found this information.
Robert Jelinek
Internet Sales Manager
Earnhardt Cadillac
Scottsdale AZ
Sounds like yet another way for GM to make a little extra money in addition to the massive profits they are gouging to even get the tech in the first place. I honestly don’t understand how people are ever going to be able to afford these future vehicles with all these fees and planned big price jumps going all electric because the prices will keep climbing. Then there will be fees for updates and repairs to this tech. A fool and his money are soon parted!
If they don’t figure out a way to include it with OnStar or a discount with OnStar, I’m not sure how anyone but a Caddy owner will pay for it. I’d be really upset if a major reason I bough a CT6 was going to cost me even more than the two-package $5600 price I paid!
Gotta pay for the Lectrics.
Super Lame.
I for one HATE renting software. It’s a business model that needs to die.
GM really is doomed. They are making so many bad long term business decisions.
“renting software sucks”
I agree
As someone who works in the IT sales industry, I can tell you that software subscriptions, or renting software, is going nowhere. The software companies are embracing the recurring revenue model as the new normal and quickly phasing out on-premise software licensing. Adobe, Microsoft, virus protection software, etc. There are free options and open source alternatives, but they will not be as integrated or fully featured as the name brand product.
GM could argue that the $2500 price was the 3 year upfront paid subscription for the super drive feature. That equates to roughly $70 per month, plus having to pay for OnStar and the 4G LTE plan. That can mean upwards of $120 per month for super drive. This could set a dangerous precedent. It will eventually reach a point where heated seats, cruise control, power windows, intermittent wipers, backup cameras, and other features could all become subscription based. It is already being done for remote start and smartphone app based lock/unlock.
I have another idea for GM. Once a year send someone to look under the seats and in all the cracks for loose change. This could add thousands to GM’s bottom line and increase the stock price…
I purchased a used 2018 CT6 3.0TT platinum Cadillac last year (early 2020). I do not live in an area where the Super Cruise is functional but thought it would be handy should I take a trip (not likely for a while with the corona virus). Obviously this function was included in the price of the vehicle. I did not have the opportunity to look at the vehicle’s manual during the purchase and the sales person did not tell me the SC was something to which I would have to subscribe. I now find out that this function will soon be unavailable to me should I have the opportunity to try it out on a trip. I will not purchase a subscription for the very occasional use I might have. But I am disappointed. I also own a 2014 Corvette and have owned several Cadillacs. I have always found their charge for GPS updates to be ridiculous. I feel I have purchased “high end” GM vehicles and got “low end” service. I have the Google Maps on my telephone which does not charge an update fee. Perhaps GM could consider a GPS unit with Google Maps? While this would not help with Super Cruise but “high end” should be “high end” The 2018 Platinum CT6 was not cheap to purchase – even as a used vehicle! My vehicle’s GPS continues to work without an update. Why not Super Cruise?