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 In the same time frame, GM also will introduce more advanced
technology allowing hands-free driving in some cases, she said.
"I'm convinced customers will embrace (vehicle-to-vehicle) and
automated driving technologies for one simple reason: they are the
answer to everyday problems that people want solved," she said in a
text of a speech delivered at a conference here.
Auto companies, academics and government agencies globally are
working to develop cameras, sensors, radar and other technologies
that allow vehicles and surrounding infrastructure like stoplights
to alert each other about nearby driving conditions.
The industry is rolling out such features as adaptive cruise
control, crash-imminent braking and semi-automated, hands-free
driving like GM's 'Super Cruise' feature to make roads safer.
However, GM and other automakers have emphasized that even with
hands-free driving, drivers will be responsible and need to maintain
attention on the road. Meanwhile, Internet search company Google Inc
is working to develop fully autonomous vehicles.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has made developing connected
car technologies a high priority, a view shared in Japan and Europe.
And when cars can also talk to surrounding infrastructure, the gains
will be exponential, Barra said.
However, she said commercializing a fully automated vehicle may take
until the next decade.
Congestion causes urban Americans to travel 5.5 billion more hours
and purchase an extra 2.9 billion gallons of fuel each year, she
said, citing outside data.
In 2016, GM will sell a 2017 model Cadillac CTS sedan standardly
equipped with vehicle-to-vehicle technology. However, the car can
only communicate with similarly equipped vehicles and it will take
time for the industry to introduce the technology broadly, GM
officials said before Barra's speech.
They added that U.S. regulators still need to finalize requirements
for these technologies and cyber security protections need to be
developed.
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Also in 2016, GM will roll out Super Cruise as an option allowing
hands-free highway driving at both highway and stop-and-go speeds,
as well as lane following, speed control and braking in a new,
unidentified 2017 Cadillac model in a segment where the company does
not currently compete.
GM did not disclose either feature's cost, or timing on offering
them on the No. 1 U.S. automaker's other brands.
GM will introduce the connected CTS sedan and the unnamed Cadillac
with the Super Cruise feature in the United States.
In 1956, GM showed the Pontiac Firebird II concept that included a
system to work with an electrical wire embedded in the highway to
guide the car. Three years later, the rocket-like Cadillac Cyclone
concept boasted an autopilot system that steered the car, and radar
in front nose cones that warned of a collision and automatically
applied the brakes.
Barra said the U.S. Congress can help develop
vehicle-to-infrastructure communication with funding in the next
federal transportation bill.
She also said GM is joining the University of Michigan and the state
of Michigan to develop vehicle-to-infrastructure driving corridors
on 120 miles (193 km) of metro Detroit roadways. State officials
said Ford Motor Co is also part of the effort.
(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by Paul Simao)
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2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be
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