Photo: Cadillac
Remember when BMW was charging $80 per year to use Apple CarPlay in the German automaker’s cars and SUVs? After much criticism, the Bavarians took a hint and stopped this questionable practice. General Motors, however, thinks that a monthly subscription for Super Cruise is a great business model.
Cadillac is the first brand within General Motors to roll out Super Cruise, a technology that’s been unveiled no fewer than eight years ago when the CT6 wasn’t even around. Marketed as “ground-breaking driver assistance technologies,” this system is pretty far from what Tesla calls Autopilot.
In the case of the all-new Escalade, the semi-autonomous driving suite costs from $2,500 to $6,150 depending on the model. The thing is, the Super Cruise option comes with a fine print that says “three years.” Following this period, Cadillac wants $15 to $25 per month in the guise of a subscription service.
Have you ever heard of another automaker that does this? I certainly haven’t, and if you add the numbers up, Super Cruise gets rather expensive if you plan to keep the vehicle for a long time. My biggest beef with this business model is that Super Cruise is a GM service unlike your subscriptions to SiriusXM, Pandora, Spotify, and other apps you may be using in your Cadillac. General Motors, however, can go even further.
According to a statement from a Cadillac spokesperson published by Autoblog, “the plan enables the map updates and precise GPS corrections required for Super Cruise to function, and also connects the vehicle to an OnStar Emergency advisor in cases where a driver is non-responsive to escalating alerts.” In other words, GM is taking away a safety feature as well unless you pay for the subscription.
Any person in their right mind would be OK with this arrangement as long as the hardware for the Super Cruise wouldn’t cost a thing when purchasing the vehicle. The same can be said about paying for Super Cruise without GM asking for additional money three years after the purchase. But paying for hardware as well as a subscription service to use the Super Cruise suite you’ve already paid for is pushing it.
On the upside, lane-keep assist and adaptive cruise control will continue to work even if the owner chooses not to pony up for the subscription plan.
In the case of the all-new Escalade, the semi-autonomous driving suite costs from $2,500 to $6,150 depending on the model. The thing is, the Super Cruise option comes with a fine print that says “three years.” Following this period, Cadillac wants $15 to $25 per month in the guise of a subscription service.
Have you ever heard of another automaker that does this? I certainly haven’t, and if you add the numbers up, Super Cruise gets rather expensive if you plan to keep the vehicle for a long time. My biggest beef with this business model is that Super Cruise is a GM service unlike your subscriptions to SiriusXM, Pandora, Spotify, and other apps you may be using in your Cadillac. General Motors, however, can go even further.
According to a statement from a Cadillac spokesperson published by Autoblog, “the plan enables the map updates and precise GPS corrections required for Super Cruise to function, and also connects the vehicle to an OnStar Emergency advisor in cases where a driver is non-responsive to escalating alerts.” In other words, GM is taking away a safety feature as well unless you pay for the subscription.
Any person in their right mind would be OK with this arrangement as long as the hardware for the Super Cruise wouldn’t cost a thing when purchasing the vehicle. The same can be said about paying for Super Cruise without GM asking for additional money three years after the purchase. But paying for hardware as well as a subscription service to use the Super Cruise suite you’ve already paid for is pushing it.
On the upside, lane-keep assist and adaptive cruise control will continue to work even if the owner chooses not to pony up for the subscription plan.
Google News