Automakers are racing to develop the latest and greatest driver assistance tech, with General Motors serving up Super Cruise, framed as the automaker’s semi-autonomous hands-free driving system. GM is currently expanding the availability of the system across its brand portfolio, and while many GM models are equipped with the system as standard, customers are required to pay a subscription fee once the initial prepaid period has ended. Now, GM has identified how many Super Cruise customers opt to continue to pay for the system after the initial prepaid period ends.
During its recent fourth quarter 2024 earnings presentation, GM indicated that roughly 20 percent of Super Cruise-equipped vehicle owners pay a subscription fee to ensure the system is available after the initial three-year prepaid period ends. This 20-percent figure, which GM refers to as the “attach rate,” indicates that one fifth of General Motors customers are willing to pay extra to continue to use the semi-autonomous system past the prepaid period.
Looking ahead, GM will greatly expand the availability of the semi-autonomous system across its portfolio, with a total of 24 models expected to equip the feature by the end of 2025. Roughly 360,000 Super Cruise-enabled vehicles are on the road today, with that figure expected to double in the coming year.
For those readers who may be unaware, the General Motors Super Cruise system is considered to be Level 2 autonomous technology, which means that it provides driver assistance, rather than full automation. The system incorporates visual cameras, LiDar mapping, GPS, and radar sensors to autonomously steer and brake the vehicle while traveling on the highway, including features like full-speed range adaptive cruise control and lane centering. The first production vehicle equipped with the system was the 2018 Cadillac CT6.
General Motors announced late last year that it will no longer pursue its fully autonomous robotaxi efforts, instead opting to refocus its autonomous vehicle technology development on personal vehicles. The move is expected to save a significant amount of capital, while also enabling the continued development of the Super Cruise system.
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I would love to know how you jailbreak your car so you don’t have to pay for anything
Now you might find yourself in a bind, since all these systems are dependent on cloud computing at some level
It’s called open pilot. It’s free open source auto omous driver software. You can add it to almost any car that has lane keep assist and adaptive cruise control.
This is not true. Comma AI, which owns open pilot has not been able to crack any of the encryption of GM’s global B architecture. I mostly not available for global A architecture. The list of supported vehicles is mostly limited to Toyotay, Honda, Hyundai, Kia and other foreign automakers.
Izzy,
That’s not surprising. The vehicles you mentioned are being stolen by 11-year-olds.
Mary Bara is a bean counter – Get a man or woman in there that knows cars !
GM is now making everything they make is crap except for their Corvette and the Silverado! No I find a recall on the truck engines failing! God help us if Chevy can’t make a truck! HEY PUT A LITTLE LS1 in all their trucks with cylinders deactivated to make the tree huggers happy! But no they give us BS 5.3L variations of some kind? True idiots! They ramping up the EV autos while Trump told everyone in advance there will be no free incentives for the EV market! God let them go out of business with no bailout from the Government and see who really makes the best car EV or ice car it doesn’t matter as long as our government doesn’t pay the price!! Common sense economy! Geez !🙄
So you subscribe to “GM Authority” just to let everyone know how much you hate GM and EVERYTHING theyr’e doing? Why not simply hit the unsubscribe button?
It’s not that responders hate GM, but it’s really been hard to like GM with all of the stupid corporate decisions lately: Not selling Saturn to Penske or making Saturn the ‘future/EV division’; decision to kill the Pontiac brand; investing in China; committing the whole company to drop the ICE and build only electric; Hummer EV; discontinuing the Extended-Range EV, Chevy VOLT; drop in product quality control; commitment to Super Cruise; every day it seems to be something else.
Pontiac was dead long before they pulled the plug.
And the dumbest move? Spending millions to turn GM to lower case gm.
Just look at the difference in the two in that sentence.
Personally, I think it’s weird that so many posters here don’t seem to be enthusiasts. I’ve been into muscle cars my entire life and enjoy going to the track, car shows, cruise ins, and just going on drives in a car that I think is fun. It’s odd to me that so many posters here seem to be into basic transportation and then we get flooded by the EV Discord folks.
If someone is angry at everything they don’t like, or don’t understand, GM will be no exception. Since GM sells the most vehicles in America, and is the market share leader in several segments, e.g. pickups, body-on-frame SUVs, and compact crossovers, buyers collectively can think beyond the 140 character cranial capacity limit of the boo-birds.
That 6.2 liter V8 is having issues with rod bearing failure according to the internet. There could be a recall soon as power loss at highway speeds can be dangerous. So far the cause has not been determined. It could be a manufacturing problem, such as sand from casting in the block, or an engineering and design problem. But a lot of the 6.2 gas V8s are dropping dead, some with very low miles.
Makes me wonder about all these engine failures …..Can you say 0w20 motor oil. Maybe good for gas mileage, not so for engine life
Remember the oil embargo of the 70’s? The American manufacturers were only producing the gas-guzzling vehicles their customers wanted. Then the Japanese stepped up with smaller fuel-efficient vehicles. That gave them a big start, and now the Japanese are world-class manufacturers, and serious competitors. The exact same thing is happening again! The rest of the world is switching to electric vehicles, be they battery, or hydrogen, or something else, and major world markets are requiring the move away from internal combustion. The Chinese are poised to take over the world market in EVs, with US and Europe having to resort to tariffs to keep them out. Sound familiar, folks?
The end of burning stuff and dumping it into the air is coming – we can’t keep polluting the air and water, and it has nothing to do with the politicians – ours or anyone else’s.
Are the American manufacturers going to be caught with their pants down…. again?
Or are they going to continue to develop new, clean technologies, knowing that it is only a matter of time before they will be required?
Ummm EV’s pollute more than ICE, you just are changing where the pollution happens.
EVs have their own pollution, exploitation, abd recycling problems.
Our electric grid is majority fossil fueled. And coal is part of it. The other enviro Cody’s include larger usage of plastics in manufacturing, the proportionally higher use of toxic chemicals (in large batteries, for instance) – which in turn use fossil fuel to extract and manufacture. Also, what to do with all of those exhausted batteries? Hard to recycle very toxic chemicals and more plastic/silicon waste (the Superfubd list is filled with battery sites). Here’s another point – the competition and procurrment for the precious elements for the EV tech includes exploration of third world countries and eventually political issues with China. And finally, cost, recharging and range. EVs are too expensive, there are no basic EV drivetrain vehicles available. There are consumers that are not interested in the excess tech not related to the safety and function of the EV components and basic safety programs. Some want or don’t need panoramic dashboards, full length sunroof, huge rims, leather seats, mood lighting or autopilot (predictive braking and strictly safety features are
fine.). Charging is a chore. Unless you own a home with a driveway to charge, you’re on your own. In this city, public chargers are hard to find (let alone working) and it takes too long – so it’s not a one to one switch when it takes 5 minutes to fill a tank of gas abd go 2 to 3 times the range. People’s time is to valuable to waste on that. So much for that. As it is (here) EVs are playthings for the wealthy who have driveways to show off their EVs, take them out for a pleasure trip here and there, but save the real work/chores/kids to school in their Tahoes and Siennas. EVs have some huge retraction and are a showy answer to real isdues sone choose to ignore. Hybrids are the way to go for now until EVs become more practical for ordinary citizens concerned for the environment.
Mary’s gotta go. The sooner, the better
20% want to own nothing and be happy.
John, 20% want to own everything and be miserable.
I purposely bought my Cadillac without that stupid super cruise. I also let the on star expire. GM called me up, trying to sell me their plan, at a discount. I told them that in the 2 years I’ve owned my car, I hadn’t used on star once. And in the 15 years prior, I didn’t use on star in my Pontiac either. So why, prey tell, do I need this plan now? No answer….
It used to be if a cop saw you driving your car with your hands off the steering wheel you are getting a ticket. How times have changed.
I have Super Cruise that was included with the purchase and won’t renew it. It drops out whenever another freeway is crossed. In LA, it drops a lot on any interstate.
Jonathan Lopez, you need to write an article that is complete. You did not say what the charge is to the customer per month, or year to continue it.
I don’t have an answer on the super cruise but do know the data plan that I need to operate the google navigation costs me $40.00 to $60.00 a month.
GM cannot tell me why it is so expensive so I cancelled it and use the data plan with my phone at 50% of the cost. Plus get phone/text coverage
Hey Don. Call to cancel the AT&T plan. They will negotiate with you. I did it when my free time elapsed on my 2023 Silverado. Mine started out at $30 per month. I got them down to $15 a month for unlimited. It’s been over a year and a half and I’m still at $15 per month. An amount I consider reasonable. Good luck.
GM can “attach rate” my two balls for OnStar renewal.
Isn’t there ultra cruise as well in some Cadillac variations, or is that discontinued? I think you could of expanded on that and included estimated pricing.
Ultra cruise was killed off. Super Cruise is the only semi-autonomous system under GM.
Our 2023 Denali Ultimate has Super Cruise which has been so undependable I doubt it will ever be used again. Our dealer has worked on it several times and has done their best but frankly this system is a cruel joke.
No, I will not renew the subscription if I still have this truck. Other than Super Cruise it is a great truck.
I have a 2024 Sierra 1500 with supercruise and I absolutely love it. I will never purchase another new vehicle without it!
25.00 per month
If you are military (retired, active, reserve) or a first responder there is a discount available. You have to tell them that you are one of the above. I paid $200 for the year. I think the discount was around 20% or more. It is expensive to do a month to month renewal
I love the SuperCruise in my Sierra EV. Recently on a ski trip into the mountains I was able to use it for 3h40min out of a 4h trip and makes driving much more relaxing, once you get used to supervising SC. Will definitely extend once the time comes. I only wish auto-marking worked (this is how I sold my wife on a full-size truck in the first place) and it doesn’t at all. Hopefully future updates will make stuff have higher coverage / more dependable, especially now that Cruise employees got fold into the mothership.
I started driving in 1980 and none of this junk was available then. I am still driving, and I can still read a paper map. My 2001 Park Ave will be the LAST car on the road for all I care. I dislike SUVs and if I need a new truck, I am at a loss to decide which crap I want to lose money on.
And that’s an awesome classic Buick to ride in all the way. Enjoy.
So basically, another reason I think self-driving cars are practically DOA. Aside from the other points I made that it would require massive infrastructure upgrades to implement that noboy wants to pay for, the other route this will take is companies will want you to pony up for the feature and 80% of customers are smart enough to not buy into a glorified cruise control system subscription when A) I never even use the cruise control system to begin with and B) I’d rather save the money and control the car myself and enjoy my car.
But y’all keep dreaming of this all autonomous fantasy world filled with self-driving pods and unicorns.
Yep. Daily drive, I never use Cruise Control, nor does it even occur to me Cruise Control is available. Long, destination, 8 to 10 hour drives, while I try to use Cruise Control, I typically give up. There are too many morons on the road, under speed, over speed, tailgating, and/or weaving in-and-out of lanes… even when there is road construction and lane restrictions.
I love how my Caddy rides. She’s smooth and glides down the highway. Why would I give up that joy of sensation to a system and pay for it?
It’s no dream. It’s here to stay.. Although it isn’t perfect, I personally like it. They’ll get all the bugs out of it eventually. If you’re on a long Interstate drive and soloing, just that little extra electronic assist that keeps the vehicle straight and at speed without driver input will lead to less fatigue.
lets see a survey on Onstar and GM data plans. How many subscribe to that? And those that do, I would say they are 35 years old or younger. As the older people remember a time when none of this existed and guess what, they SURVIVED to tell about it.
Onstar is needed for remote start. Living in Minnesota, it is worth it to me in the winter.
not if you have remote start option on your key fob. But if your using your phone for remote start, yes than you have to pay for it.
Greg,
What do you mean by remote start.
My 2019 GMC Acadia starts from my key fob and I don’t have OnStar.
Using the phone app, the fob won’t always work from my work building, and the app gives confirmation when it starts.
If you’re too f*&%ing LAZY to drive your car, stay the f*#k off the road, PLEASE! Geezuz….
BadBob,
Wow. Has anyone ever mentioned to you that you may benefit from anger management classes, or psychotropic meds.
I bought a Tesla Model Y 4 years ago and paid for Full Self Driving.
3 years later, I bought a Modely Y for my older son as a graduation present.
I took advantage of the free transfer of Super Cruise to his car.
I never used Super Cruise because it seemed jerky to me when changing lanes and when using cruise control and he liked it.
I think GM has a little bit of a better model of watching your eye balls versus Tesla having to constanly hold on to your steering wheel. I think Tesla has changed theirs a little to also using the camera to watching your eye balls.
Tesla’s Super Cruise is still way over priced so I would never pay for it again. I think I paid $8K for it 4 years ago and now it is $12K. At the same time, the base price of the car has dropped by about the same amount
I’m looking at a 2025 Tahoe, I doubt I will get supercruise unless it is included in a package that I really want something else with.
The ability to pay for it for for a month at a time is a big advantage
It’s obvious you haven’t experienced Tesla’s last self driving version v13. It’s vastly improved and years ahead of Super Cruise. On 99% of my drives now I never touch the steering wheel or brake no matter where I’m driving. I haven’t had to disengage on the highway since early November. (Boston area). This past Saturday a car ran a Stop Sign at 35mph and FSD stopped hard halfway thru the intersection avoiding getting T-boned. My passenger was amazed.
I have SC on my GMC Sierra. Absolutely love it. Go several hours on Michigan roads without touching the wheel. Still at attention but much more relaxing ride. I will renew after three years ifni don’t get a new truck which will definitely have SC. I could see some issues with SC in congested cities but it will only improve over time.
Absolutely love the Super Cruise on my 2019 CT6 Platinum. I travel from North Phoenix to south of Tucson and back every other week and it makes the 3 hour drive so much more relaxing and pleasant.
Yes, I pay for Super Cruise and I will continue to as long as I have to make this drive 2x a month.
$25/month
Regardless of ones likes or dislike for automation, I think its very hard to extrapolate the long term loyalty rate for SuperCruise as the majority of vehicles sold equipped with this capability are still in the free trial period (up to 3 years) and those early experiences that the free trial term is over was during a time of much lower highway coverage. These are level 2 automation and not full self driving. As such not ideal nor recommended for in town driving. The highway miles mapped have increased from 200K miles a couple of years ago to over 400K miles at the end of last year and will be around 700-800K miles this year and the equipment is getting better. I think the % of drivers that frequently drive long distances on the highways will only increase as time goes on.
Or you could call Uber Rent a Mommie. A forty-something matronly enabler drives you around town and asks you, “Is everything okay in your safe space ?”
Maybe I’m paranoid but I have a trust issue with automated systems that could be hacked. Trusting in a system that can take me safety anywhere I want to go means trusting in a system that is capable of taking me somewhere I might not want to go at speeds I might not want to go or not taking me anywhere when I really need to go. I own several newer vehicles (all ice) but my daily driver is a 93′ Chevy pickup, it always starts, stops and does exactly what I want it to do and it’s not going to get tracked or hacked. I’m 80 and when my time comes to go, I may just take this old truck with me.
I bought a 2022 XT6 specifically so I could get Super Cruise. Then I got a 2024 Lyriq and got Luxury 3 specifically so I could get the improved Super Cruise. I really like Super Cruise and use it whenever icon says it’s available. So, use it in long distance driving, Interstate and many two lane highways. Also use it daily on urban expressways in stop and go driving. It really makes stop and go bumper to bumper easy. It is a stress reliever. While it’s not necessary to hold steering wheel it is necessary to “supervise” the system. The new Super Cruise has lane change on demand as well as automatic lane change. Super Cruise is simply a safer way to drive as well as a fun way to drive. I’d like the subscription price to be less, but I’ll pay the price for the benefits and safety. I’m looking forward to GMs next advance in Super Cruise which I understand will add more local roads and streets.
FSD integrated into Super Cruise would be the hot setup. I’m guessing here, but it’ll be available in a year or two. I say this because AI will accelerate its development much faster than we’re used to.
I wouldn’t pay for this. I probably wouldn’t buy a vehicle that has it. It’s a waste of my money in the first place. I don’t trust it. And it’s not helping me if I have to stress the entire time it’s on because I’m always having to watch to see when I need to take control. I like the way I drive better than some absolutely flawed technology. I’d rather make my mistakes than let the computer make its mistakes. So why would I ever have this? This exists purely out of this weird human desire to keep doing new things, even if those things are absolutely pointless, and probably not good for the state of humanity. Not saying I would turn down a vehicle that had everything else I wanted just to avoid its existence. But I can think of no situation where I’d use it, and GM would definitely get no money from me for it after a trial ended.
An interesting note not mentioned is that many of those supercruise enabled vehicles are probably lease, so I’d say it’s more like very few people are adding it as the 2nd owner. So as a weighted average thing, possibly 5% of 2nd owners pay for it, maybe 50% of initial owners continue it, but a much heavier number are 2nd owners due to 3 year lease.
Supercruise is a very nice system, but it may be very hard to justify monthly. My wife has it currently but would not pay to continue it, as most months she would only use it once or twice because her commute is not highway. If it were me, I might be inclined to pay for it because I do more highway driving taking the kids to travel sports games most weekends. But what they charge (I think about $40) would be a tough pill to swallow. Plus no one understands their OnStar plans and tiers.
I wonder if the folks that like Super Cruise are the same ones that the teacher had to keep telling, “wake up and pay attention”.
Its pretty sad that our society has gotten so lazy that driving with your hands and right foot is too stressful…
So….80% people have no plans to renew.
Can the business be “profitable” at a 20% renewal rate?
Take your hands off your juicy box or tool and drive the vehicle.
My favorite feature with super crew on my 2024 Denali is my ability to hold a burger with two hands while driving. Because it truly does take two hands to handle a Whopper.
If you can’t pull your head out of your butt long enough to get to your destination, call Uber.
Right on!
No AI for me. Until the law is changed to hold the vehicle manufacturer responsible for accidents I will be 100% the driver of my vehicle.
The notion that you should have to pay subscription fees to keep your vehicle’s options working is just wrong. If you paid for the option upon purchase, it should work for the life of the vehicle. GM is not alone in this relatively new practice, and all manufacturers should be complained to for foisting it on the buying public. I’m a GM devotee of many decades, and will continue to be so. At the same time, there is no harm and perhaps some value in complaining about dumbassery on their part.