Category Archives: New Technology

2013 Cadillac SRX enters on Cue

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NEW YORK – Cadillac introduces technology and design enhancements to the SRX luxury crossover SUV this week at the New York International Auto Show. Among the new features for 2013 is CUE, the in-vehicle user experience that incorporates touch-screen controls similar to the most popular mobile devices.

The 2013 SRX’s enhanced technology also contributes to safety, with Cadillac’s new Driver Awareness and Driver Assist technology packages. Their features include Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Cadillac’s Safety Alert Seat technology, Automatic Front and Rear Braking, Adaptive Cruise Control and more, using radar and other technologies to help avoid collisions.

2013 Cadillac SRX courtesy Cadillac

Interior and exterior design updates further distinguish the 2013 SRX, while active noise cancelation technology helps provide a quieter driving experience. It goes on sale this fall.

“The 2013 SRX illustrates the Cadillac philosophy of never leaving well enough alone,” said Don Butler, vice president of marketing for Cadillac. “The enhancements for the SRX – including CUE – are examples of how we’re developing advanced technologies and pushing them consistently through the Cadillac portfolio. They are also some of the key elements of the all-new XTS luxury sedan and ATS compact sedan, which will expand the Cadillac portfolio this summer.”

Since its redesign in 2009, the SRX has established a strong visual signature for Cadillac in the luxury crossover segment. The 2013 SRX refines that appearance with a new design for the front upper and lower grilles that conveys greater depth and the brand’s attention to detail. The front fender vents are new and incorporate LED light pipes.

Three new exterior colors are offered: Evolution Green Metallic, Glacier Blue Metallic and Silver Coast Metallic. Also new is the SRX’s range of 20-inch wheel designs, including new chrome and polished aluminum wheels for the Performance and Premium Collections – the top two option packages.

The SRX is offered in FWD and Advanced AWD models, each powered by a 3.6L Direct Injection V-6 that was added for 2012. It is rated an SAE-certified 308 horsepower (230 kW) and 265 lb.-ft. of torque (358 Nm).

Cadillac CUE

Cadillac CUE (Cadillac User Experience) is standard on the 2013 SRX. It is the brand’s new design and technical breakthrough for intuitive in-vehicle control and connectivity.

CUE pairs entertainment and information data from up to 10 Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices, USBs, SD cards and MP3 players with a vehicle infotainment system that reduces complexity through customized information, voice commands and fewer buttons and larger icons. The comprehensive, in-vehicle experience is designed to be unique for each consumer, from the “simple user” to the fully connected “super user.”

The heart of CUE is the vibrant, eight-inch LCD multi-touch sensitive screen – with proximity sensing and haptic feedback – that is seamlessly integrated in the top of the central instrument panel. It displays CUE’s home page, which resembles a smart phone’s screen, with large, easy-to-target icons that execute commands. Capacitive technology on the screen and faceplate enables consumers to use the same “swipe,” “pinch” or “spread” gestures common to most popular smartphones and tablets.

A motorized faceplate for the system reveals a concealed storage area for smartphones or other mobile devices and includes an illuminated USB port.

Interior enhancements

CUE is the foundation for the 2013 SRX’s enhanced driving experience and is complemented with additional features and design refinements:

  • Standard HD radio
  • Bluetooth audio streaming is available for all collections
  • A USB port in the storage bin behind the CUE faceplate
  • The center console now features two additional USB ports, an SD card slot auxiliary input jack and 12-volt power outlet
  • New headphone and remote design for the rear-seat entertainment system, which also includes a rear USB port and SD card slot
  • New shift knob design
  • New steering wheel design
  • New instrument cluster with new driver information center for CUE integration.

Active noise cancelation is new for 2013 and helps create a quieter driving experience. The system uses microphones to detect ambient noise, the frequencies of which are processed by a computer that directs counteracting sound waves through the audio system to tailor the sound quality and character inside the cabin.

A new Light Titanium interior color combination is added and matched with a new Raven Sapele wood color accent.

Popular interior features returning for 2013 include keyless access, ambient lighting, power-adjustable pedals, heated front and rear outboard seats, heated steering wheel and the UltraView power sunroof.

‘Control and alert’ safety features

SRX is the latest to incorporate Cadillac’s “control and alert” strategy that employs advanced technologies – including radar, cameras and ultrasonic sensors – to help prevent crashes. The safety features are part of Cadillac’s new Driver Awareness and Driver Assist technology packages.

The advanced technologies bolster driver vision and awareness of road hazards, intervening to help the driver avert potential collisions. In some cases, Cadillac’s crash-avoidance systems will act without the driver, such as automatic braking, which activates based on information indicating potential hazards.

Radar-based adaptive cruise control and front and rear automatic braking are available. Front and rear automatic braking relies on short-range radar technology and ultrasonic sensors to help the driver prevent front and rear low-speed collisions via a progression of alerts that extend to complete braking, if necessary. Additional advanced safety features offered on the 2013 SRX’s Driver Awareness and Driver Assist packages include:

  • Forward Collision Alert
  • Lane Departure Warning
  • Rear Vision Camera With Dynamic Guidelines
  • Safety Alert Seat.

Side blind zone alert and rear cross traffic alert are standard. Each uses radar to detect vehicles that may be out of the driver’s vision, providing visual alerts in the outside mirrors and, in the case of rear cross traffic alert, audible warnings. StabiliTrak electronic stability control system with traction control, and four-wheel disc brakes with four-channel ABS are also standard, along with:

  • Dual-stage frontal and side-impact driver and right-front passenger air bags.
  • Head-curtain side-impact air bags.
  • Rollover mitigation sensors.
  • Front safety belt pretensioners and load limiters.

The SRX is also designed to meet European pedestrian protection standards, with the front bumper positioned for greater compatibility with car bumpers.

Cadillac XTS Safety Seat Alerts Drivers to Dangers

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Industry-first directional seat vibrations alert drivers to crash threats

DETROIT – When the all-new Cadillac XTS luxury sedan begins production this spring, it will be the industry’s first car to use directional tactile sensation – vibrations of the driver’s seat bottom – to warn of crash threats while driving and parking.

The patented Cadillac Safety Alert Seat generates vibrating pulse patterns on the left and/or right side of the lower bolster to alert the driver of potential dangers, such as drifting from a traffic lane or toward nearby objects while parking. Threats from the front and rear trigger pulses on both sides of the seat.

“It’s good to see automakers experimenting with new technology to help communicate to drivers when their driving is about to get them into trouble,” said Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. “We commend GM for their innovative use of haptic feedback and hope that drivers find it helpful.”

The system works in tandem with other visual alerts, and research shows that it can quickly and accurately focus driver attention to the direction of potential dangers.

“It’s akin to someone tapping on your shoulder in a crowd to get your attention,” said, General Motors Active Safety Technical Fellow Raymond Kiefer. “Using the tactile sense to communicate crash threat direction provides an effective and intuitive way to cut through the clutter of visual and auditory sensory information that drivers routinely experience.”

The seats are part of the Cadillac Driver Awareness and Driver Assist packages, a combination of active safety systems designed to help drivers avoid crashes. The Driver Awareness Package, available for the launch of the Cadillac XTS this spring, includes Forward Collision Alert, Lane Departure Warning, Side Blind Zone Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

The Driver Assist Package, available this fall, also uses the Safety Alert Seat and features Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic Collision Preparation, and Front and Rear Automatic Braking Systems.

The Drive Assist Awareness and Driver Assist packages will also be available this year in the Cadillac ATS luxury sedan and SRX luxury crossover.

According to Kiefer, GM research shows that the seat may direct driver attention to the location of a crash threat more quickly and accurately than beeping alerts.

“Vibrating alerts also may help drivers who do not hear beeping alerts due to hearing loss or competing noises, and may be preferred by drivers and passengers who might be annoyed by beeps and shut crash avoidance features off,” Kiefer said. “The last thing we want is for drivers to turn off features with safety benefits.”

The Safety Alert Seat works with a variety of sensors and cameras installed in the car that help “intelligently” decide when to activate warnings. For example, if a turn signal is on, lane departure warnings are not presented.

Safety Alert Seat vibrations can be selected by the driver, via an in-vehicle menu, to replace the audible beeping alerts used across much of the industry.

The seats also will be connected to the XTS Park Assist system and Rear Cross Traffic Alert system to help make parking in tight spaces easier.

Using exterior cameras, drivers can see the outside of the car along with dynamic parking guides on the eight-inch LCD screen, located on the center instrument panel. As the car backs up, the seat provides a few quick pulses to both sides of the seat when an object is first detected directly behind the car, and then provides repeated pulses when an object is closer. Meanwhile, the Rear Cross Traffic Alert system looks for approaching cross traffic behind the vehicle that is signaled with either left or right pulses to the driver.

“We feel customers will appreciate the intuitive elegance of the Safety Alert Seat, and more importantly, will appreciate the ‘good vibrations’ afforded by the features linked to this seat,” Kiefer said.

Cadillac XTS Named Connected Car of the Year

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Honored for balance of safety, convenience, infotainment

DETROIT – Connected World magazine awarded the Cadillac XTS a Connected Car of the Year award in the luxury category.  Available in late spring 2012, the new XTS will debut Cadillac CUE, a comprehensive in-vehicle experience that merges intuitive design with auto industry-first controls and commands for information and media.

Cadillac CUE (Cadillac User Experience) Program Manager Jeff Massimilla (left) demonstrates the Cadillac CUE technology at the Los Angeles International Auto Show in Los Angeles, California. CUE is a full suite of infotainment, navigation and communication tools that combines natural voice recognition, fewer buttons, larger icons and greater customization to provide a more intuitive connected driving experience. CUE has 3.5 times more processing power than current auto industry systems. (Photo by Steve Fecht for Cadillac)

“Rather than just looking for power, speed, and performance, a connected car means turn-by-turn directions, voice-activated controls, and precollision systems,” says Peggy Smedley, editorial director, Connected World. “Car buyers now want it all under one hood and in the cabin.”

CUE, which stands for Cadillac User Experience, is a highly customizable user interfaces including a standard eight-inch (203 mm) screen in the “center stack.” CUE features several auto industry firsts, including capacitive-touch control with proximity sensing, gesture recognition and natural voice recognition.

The intuitive touch interface used in CUE is the same technology employed by many of today’s most popular handheld phones and tablets. Designed for both tech savvy and tech averse users, it allows consumers to securely store those mobile devices while channeling the information on those devices, along with navigation tools, weather maps with Doppler radar and AM/FM and XM radio.

In addition to CUE, the XTS will debut a network of safety cameras, radar and ultrasonic sensors to bolster driver vision and awareness of road hazards and intervene to help avert potential crashes.  In some cases, Cadillac’s enhanced vision and sensing systems will act without the driver, such as though automatic braking based on information indicating potential obstacles.

The Connected Car of the Year awards honor vehicles with technology that strike the right balance of safety, convenience, and infotainment. Chosen by the editorial team at Connected World magazine, the 2012 winners were named in   small, mid-size, luxury, and ultra-luxury categorie