it is so fucking funny to me every day that nintendo marketed controller vibration as a new, exciting feature by giving it a dumb name and EVERYONE bought into it.

I distinctly remember watching people go "woaw i can really feel the HD RUMBLE™... so cool..."

idk if you're still doing fic requests, but i've had this half-formed idea kicking around in my head and i trust you'd be able to bring it to life: 12 builds an inspector gadget style dildo/sex toy machine thing. i don't know what else would happen (like i said: half-formed) but that seems like it'd be a fun fic. alternatively, maybe another Kate Lethbridge/12 one because that pairing doesn't get nearly enough attention.

ooh, i’ve refined it a bit more if you’re at all interested: Clara asked him to build one and he gets more excited about the gadgets than the dildo, and ends up being hilariously unusable. but also sexy? idk; i trust what you come up with.            

So You Want to Build a Sex Machine12/Clara, not explicit but still risque, comedy mostly, ~1k words

(read on Ao3 instead)

Here’s what you’ll need.

1.

Considerations: materials, feasibility, semantics, ethics, use-case scenarios, mechanics both internal and external. The fulfillment of desire, what ‘want’ means; how to create it, or find it; friction. Erotic as a poorly-translated word from a language you do not speak and that your ship will not speak on your behalf.

2.

Google searches:

sexual requirements of the average human

sexual requirements of the unusual human

sex toy personality quiz

Metallica

how can i know what she wants without asking what she wants

3.

The three ‘R’s: Research, Research, Research.

3A

An hour spent watching videos of anonymous amateur fucking and masturbation.

3B

Two minutes spent with your hand wrapped experimentally around what you’d let someone assume was a cock, if anyone were around to notice. Three minutes with your right thumb pressed into the spot just below your rib cage, where your key is still lodged. You feel nothing, and an aching empty sort of wrongness, in that order.

3C

Five hours spent watching videos of people unboxing new dildo shipments. It’s satisfying, watching them crack open the packaging and methodically assess the contents,

4.

Plans. I know it seems weird, to plan ahead of time, but trust me on this.

Four-One

Two mood boards, one on the ship - in a private room tucked far away - with magazine clippings taped to a dry erase board, and one on Pinterest that is followed immediately by a user named KinkyDave17. Hey there, Kinky Dave.

Four-Two

Fifty rough concept sketches, loose and easy. One drawing of Mr. Blobby holding a sign reading “There is no such thing as ethical consumption under capitalism” (it’d seemed funny at the time). Ten selected and elaborated upon; five chosen and explored with attention to detail. Four mugs of tea, two of which are immediately forgotten and eventually absorbed back into the timestuff of the ship.

Four-Three

One sketch, and fifty variations. The implication and execution of multiple penetrative devices. Orifices, modularity. Texture, color, the minutiae of hydraulics. Desire diagrammed. Both mood boards gradually evolve into evidence that Sammy Hagar is a fixed event in time and space. The Pinterest board is immediately followed by GuitarDave1975. Hey, Guitar Dave.

Four-Four

One variation, ten life-size mock-ups. Cannibalize parts from automobiles and electric pianos. Use similarly-shaped objects as stand-ins for dildos. Create a Catherine wheel of bananas. Remember, belatedly, that that’s probably not how sex works. Take a mental note of the texture and firmness of the bananas anyway. Eat one. Eat four more, and regret it instantly. Thrust, vibration, pressure, response, haptic feedback and precision stimulation. Turn the motor on and watch it spin as you eat a sixth banana.

5.

On the mood board in your ship, tape a picture of her over Sammy Hagar so it looks she has Sammy Hagar’s body, or that Sammy Hagar has her face. Resist the sudden impulse to punch the dry erase board. Resist the constant impulse to do something sentimental. Do it anyway. Say something that pretends to be mean, like your human pastimes are ridiculous at best or it’s just an interesting engineering problem, that’s all. Touch the picture of her face, or Sammy Hagar’s face, touch the picture of the face gently and try to think positively about the ten failed attempts littering the room. Eleven, the eleven failed attempts. Or is it twelve, now?

6.

Immediately realize it’s been Eddie Van Halen all along. Spend an hour arguing in the comments section of a YouTube video with a user named, simply, Dave. We meet again, Dave.

7.

Punch the whiteboard, delete the Pinterest account. Sit down on the middle of the floor with a cup of tea. Make a mental list of all the times you can recall her making a face or a noise or a motion, an indication that there was something in her body you only partially recognize:

When you’d had your hand inside her, knuckle-deep, fingers crooked

The time it took for the red mark to show after you bit the skin on her neck, just under her ear

Not sure but it was a Tuesday local time and you were on your knees

8.

why not ask her, Dave will type. or just fuck her lol. Pause. Type back, shut it you sorry excuse for an internet avatar i never liked you anyway. Turn off your personal computation device with a degree of petty, misdirected anger. You will still be on the floor, at this point. Stretch your legs out and then lay down and press the palm of your right hand to the spot just under your rib cage where your key still is, where it’ll always be, where it’s throbbed inside you since before you left home.

9.

Ask her. Ask her, ask her, stammering and fumbling. Make sure it’s a Tuesday local time. You aren’t on your knees but you might as well be. Ask her what she wants.

And she’ll say, you, and she’ll laugh, but not in a mean-spirited way. Pull out your diagrams, your lists from your pockets. Put them back.

Say No, I mean specifically, in terms of the specific thing. Make a gesture that implies fucking and also hopefully how you understand and accept and regret your inadequacy in this area.

You, she’ll say again.

But for when you’re not there, or you’re there and you can’t, or you can but you’re not enough. What does she want? What’s better than you, what’s the ideal?

Don’t you get it yet? she’ll ask.

From here, futures splinter. It could go any way, there is a near-infinite set of possibilities. But if you take her hand and stay, it’ll be one of the good ones.

10.

Let her lead you to her bedroom on the ship, where she feels safe. Let her hold you. Admit you spent the better part of two days, local time, inventing her a sex machine. She’ll roll her eyes and say I’ve got it covered, but thanks I guess, gesturing to her proudly-displayed collection of dildos and vibrators and a fair few things you’ve never even seen before, despite at least three Googles. You nod and feel a certain awe come over you.

11.

Guide her hand to your belly, the spot just below your rib cage. Feel your key move inside you. Try not to cry.

Go down on your knees; it worked once before.

12.

Later, return to the Van Halen fan forum and ask Dave if he’s David Lee Roth, and if so, is he a fixed temporal event. He won’t respond.

This is the One plus 7T so if you followed the leaks take a promo. You've probably seen pretty much every angle of this thing but now it's officially been unveiled. This is a pretty easy phone to explain so one plus the company they have. They're sort of upper mid-range phones somewhere around five hundred six hundred dollars like One Plus 7. More Technology Information for You: 9 New future gadgets and Invention of 2020 This Best Mini Photo Printer For Your Smartphone Gallery This key finder will be the best essentials of 2020 Then they have their premium high-end flagship stuff like One Plus 7 Pro. That's closer to seven-eight hundred bucks so, this phone the One Plus 7T kind of a hard name to say out loud. it's not the seventy but it's the One Plus 7T. This phone is sort of a Frankenstein between those two groups, it's right between the Super High end and the upper mid-range.  if that makes any sense so to be perfectly clear it is a really great phone for the price. which is basically the One Plus, special at this point they've continued this fascinating slow creep up in price, but when you go over this phone and everything they've combined in here. OnePlus 7T Design and Display It's pretty on point for what you're getting for $599.95 combination of things despite not being the highest end display. You know it gets pretty bright up to a thousand knits, so outdoor visibility is no problem and the teardrop not being a little smaller makes it super easy to ignore on this gigantic screen, But it's also 1080p not 1440p.  The bezels are just a little bit thicker a tiny bit, as you can see and I have noticed some real off-axis color tint and rainbowing, and other consistencies like that.  You'll notice on not so high-end OLED displays so, it's not the super best of the best, but it's like right underneath. It's right in between its making Sense right. They're bringing things down from the higher end phone that makes sense while keeping the sort of baseline of the mid-range.  The High refresh rate I think is the most important thing that they brought down, that I just love it, some 90 Hertz some high refresh rate goodness. so that's good to see and then just the design of this phone, in general, is also a bit of a Frankenstein. you've probably noticed it by now, there's this or a blue color again although. this time it's not as matte as before it's kind of closer to like a satin, because it has more of a sheen to it.  it's not really glossy like some other phones. But you definitely do still see fingerprints much more than a matte phone, so it's somewhere in between again the 7 pro is more matte than this one. some other improvements you do have the alert slider is tighter, so it's more satisfying to move between the three Positions.   that's pretty sweet they brought down the high-end really precise haptic motor, that's honestly only really matched on Android by the pixel at this point. so that was great and they brought the optical fingerprint reader underneath the glass. that's also the same sensor as the one from the 7 Pro. OnePlus 7T Sound Speaker and Battery I think one of the best in any Phone under the Glass. Right now, these Speakers are also just as good as a 7 throat, they sound loud and full and there's also a bigger speaker grow up at the top. Charging is now even faster, so they're calling it to warp charge 30 Tit's still a 30-watt fast charger but thanks to improved battery chemistry.  In the 3800-milliamp hour battery in this phone, it'll charge 23% faster than warp charge 30 already did, so in other words, it's silly fast and it's kind of you to know a different philosophy on battery management on one hand. This massive battery inside and all-day battery life.  That was crazy fast charging just lets you have this peace of mind at any time. you're starting to get low, you can just plugin for a couple minutes and be right back up to set 80%. it's like a different kind of confidence in the battery. I don't really have a preference between the two. it would be great to have both but this one is much better.  this we're charged 30 t they say we'll get you to 70% from dead in half an hour and that's awesome but I'm even more impressed by just how much you can add from plugging in for five minutes ten minutes and just giving you a massive boost for the rest of the day. so, the 7T does have a decent battery life but this is the steady compromise they make for not having the best battery life. OnePlus 7T Camera Details Of course, the gigantic camera circle on the back it's genuinely. I think the first design from one plus that doesn't feel to me like really sleek or clean like they've done triple cameras before, even but this one is very different.  it’s kind of reminds me of somewhere between Motorola or the red hydrogen or you might even remember the Nokia Lumia series back in the day. so, anything is these are essentially the same exact cameras that the oneplus 7 pro, already has same standard 48megapixel standard camera same 117degree ultra-wide and then a shorter 2x telephoto zoom camera instead of a 3x, so if you're actually looking for some big camera improvements for the 7T that is not what's happening here.  it's actually not like the One plus 7 pro camera was bad, it's just that it was the one part of the phone that wasn't you know best-in-class. it sorts of holding it back from being an arguably perfect phone in a way, but in a $600 phone in the Starts of 2019, this set of cameras is perfectly good.  I've been taking photos and videos with it just to see if I notice any substantial differences around but there isn't anything too drastic. still very solid and daylight and a bit color fringy and soft around the edges with close up subjects and passable, but not amazing shots in less than ideal lighting. if you think about other cameras in this six-hundred-dollar price range, that's about right.  Actually, right up until they start to get blown out the water by the $700 iPhone 11. you can take portrait mode shots now in telephoto or standard cameras now, which is cool. They are also enabling 4k 30fps video from the ultra-wide camera so they've heard our feedback, they are going to do that. I think them impressive improvement here is the new super macro mode so, you hit the little Flower icon in the top corner and you can get way up close to things to point five to eight centimeters away from the camera lens, which most smartphones do struggle with.  if they don't have a macro mode and so with this, I was able to take some close-ups that I couldn't even get with the iPhone 11. and Then, of course, this wouldn't be a new one plus phone without really killer high-end on-paper specs. OnePlus 7T Performance Snapdragon 855+ the newest chip 8gb of ram, not 12 and 128 or 256gb of Usb 3.0 storage so, this thing is fast and it's running the latest version of Oxygen OS 10 on top of Android 10. which I think makes this the first non-pixel Android 10 phone. they're early 2 updates and performance has actually been really smooth.  A lot of Android apps for other things Twitter to switch between accounts, flamingo for Twitter, TikTok, your Whatsapp, Google Photos, the Play store I mean a lot of Google apps use that hamburger menu.  The screen is so big on this phone that We don't really want to reach up to the corner, with one hand to press the hamburger menu every single time. but aside from that Android 10 has been really nice really smooth as you'd expect on a new phone, with a 90 Hertz screen and all the optimizations one plus is continually working on for oxygen OS. they really show so all that for me using this phone has added up to it being a pretty solid set of trade-offs, that add up to a pretty good phone for a pretty great price.  it really feels like they're taking the stuff that they learned how to do better and more efficiently from the 7 Pro and bringing it down to a more competitive price which is a great way of sell a lot of phones. now for to be perfectly clear the one plus 7 pro is still a better phone than this just because of this small bit of trade-offs.  they've kept a higher quality display higher resolution not as much color fringing and things like that bigger battery-less ugly camera bump on the back.  and the notch-less the screen on the front so all of that sort of adds up to a few trade-offs here. but overall this is that incremental update you expect from a t phone from one plus. with the X-Factor of that 90 Hertz display that is so hard to switch back from. so, that's the statement that the phone leaves me with is that I'm glad that one plus is doubling down on the high refresh rate stuff to really make phones feel smooth high refresh rate all the things. this is gonna be a really good buy for people who want to spend like 600 bucks on a phone. Get Oneplus 7T now-

http://getotheoffer2.blogspot.com/2020/01/oneplus-7t-review.html

New and Future Cars for 2018 and Beyond

In 2016 the car-making industry saw its seventh consecutive year of record sales in the U.S. with 17.55 million purchases in all. So far in 2017 the numbers seem to have finally plateaued, with analysts forecasting a final total closer to 17 million—still not too shabby. Various social, political, and economic factors are driving the slight decline, but don’t blame it on a lack of interesting, exciting, and appealing new vehicles designed to grab our attention. Indeed, the following is filled with more than 100 cars, crossovers, SUVs, and trucks that are either on sale now or will be within a few years. Even so, this lineup is not exhaustive in terms of everything coming down the pipe. It is composed of the top 100-plus machines that pique our interest as the automotive world continues to change on a seemingly daily basis. Although there might come a day when, as some predict, we will see a sad end to our celebration of No Boring Cars, the good news is—as evidenced on the following pages—we aren’t there yet by a long shot.

2020 Acura RLX

When to Expect It: Summer 2020

The beak is dead! Long live the diamond pentagon grille! Aside from the new mug, expect to see a bigger badge and a wider body similar to the Precision Concept for the new RLX. More tech from the flagship NSX supercar as well as more powerful electric motors for the sport hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive luxury sedan should continue to trickle over. The extra juice should provide a healthy gain to the V-6 hybrid system’s current combined 377-hp output, but the standard 310-hp V-6 in the RLX could be replaced by a version of the 2.0-liter turbocharged i-VTEC four-cylinder that’s in the 2018 Honda Accord. The six-speed automatic and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission will probably be replaced with a new 10-speed automatic transmission. More radar and lidar equipment should find its way to the redesigned RLX, as should a lot of autonomous features in the cockpit if Acura expects its fully autonomous fleet to hit the 2025 target date. The car should be available in 2020 for a starting price of around $60,000.

2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio

On Sale: Now (Early 2018 for Quadrifoglio); Base Price: $42,990

Alfa Romeo figures consumers in the U.S. bought about 2.1 million vehicles in the premium segment last year, a quarter of those being premium SUVs. It’s hard to imagine the mandate to build SUVs was a dream come true for Porsche, Bentley, Maserati, and very soon Lamborghini, nor would we guess Alfa loyalists unanimously embrace the idea. But that’s the market reality and why we have the 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio, named for a mountain pass in the Swiss Alps. Based on the Giulia platform, the all-wheel-drive Stelvio is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 280 horsepower mated to an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission. Styling is a strong point, as is the welcoming interior. Steering and handling are suitably Italian—weight distribution is 50/50—and even at the base level ($42,990), you get some nice features ranging from leather upholstery to a carbon-fiber driveshaft. You can step up to the Ti Lusso package for more luxury or Ti Sport for better performance, including 20-inch wheels and an upgraded suspension. You’ll have to wait until early 2018, however, for the Stelvio Quadrifoglio and its meaty 505-horsepower twin-turbo V-6.

2020 Aston Martin Valkyrie

When To Expect It: Deliveries begin 2019

Aston Martin has conceived what it calls “the hypercar of our time,” created in partnership with Red Bull Racing and Formula 1 design legend Adrian Newey. The key to achieving its goal is the Newey-designed aerodynamic package. This is a ground-effect car. Its radically sculpted floor sits higher off the road than the body sides while the “grille” is an opening to funnel air into tunnels along the cockpit sides. The Valkyrie features variable ride height and a hybrid rear-wheel-drive powertrain. The engine is a new, naturally aspirated 6.5-liter Cosworth V-12, supplemented by an electric motor. Total output should exceed 1,000 hp. Constructed from materials including carbon fiber and titanium, a 2,400-pound-or-less curb weight is the target. Figure 0-60 mph in less than 3 seconds and sustained lateral grip and braking in excess of 2 g. Aston will build 150 road cars and 25 track-only versions. Price should be about $3.2 million, but all road versions are already sold.

2018 Audi A5, S5, RS 5

On Sale: Now (Late 2017 for RS 5); Base Price: $43,775 (A5) / $55,575 (S5) /$70,000 (RS 5 est)

Although not as elegant as the original Walter de Silva-designed first generation, Audi’s second crack at the A5 makes up for that with big leaps in technology and refinement. The simple, clean cabin is wisely designed around the stellar virtual cockpit instrument display, a segment-best feature in infotainment.

The base 252-hp turbocharged four-cylinder for the A5 is as smooth and punchy as ever, and standard all-wheel drive serves up balanced control alongside steady handling. Thanks to the new five-link front and rear suspension, the last-gen car’s unwanted understeer is a thing of the past.

For the brawnier S5, Audi amped up both power and torque by swapping out the old supercharged engine in favor of a turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6. The new mill’s healthy 354 hp and 369 lb-ft are now sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission, which better manages the gobs of low-end torque than last generation’s dual-clutch.

The A5 and S5 are already in showrooms, but Audi has also confirmed a buck-wild RS 5 will arrive by year’s end as a 2018 model. Chomping at the bit with 450 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque from the 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-6 it shares with the new Porsche Panamera, the RS 5 should match the 503-hp Mercedes-AMG C63’s 3.7-second sprint to 60 mph, owing to its sophisticated all-wheel-drive setup. The A5 and S5 start at $43,775 and $55,575, respectively. The RS 5 coupe starts around $70,000 and goes on sale late in 2017.

2019 AUDI A8

On Sale: 2018 / Base Price: $80,000 (est)

Handsome. Conservative. Understated. These words have, for a decade or more, been the key descriptors of Audi’s exterior design ethos. That has changed in the last 24 months or so, and it’s going to keep changing with the introduction of the Audi A8.

The interior carries forward past themes, too, but with an edgier, futuristic flair and no more buttons thanks to two haptic feedback screens. There’s a lot going on beneath the surface as well—things such as unattended self-parking, a 12.3-inch high-resolution virtual cockpit display that replaces the instrument panel, and the ability to interpret GPS route data and sensor information to automatically coast (at speeds between 34 and 99 mph) or recuperate energy via the 48-volt belt-alternator starter system.

The 2019 Audi A8 goes on sale in the U.S. sometime next year with a starting price around $80,000.

2019 Audi Q8

On Sale: 2018 / Base Price: $55,000 (est)

Following the trend of style-first, function-second SUVs such as the BMW X6 and Mercedes GLE Coupe, the Audi Q8 will begin production in 2018 as the flagship of Ingolstadt’s SUV portfolio. The nearly finished concept version (pictured) of the Marc Lichte-penned Q8 showcases a chunky and purposeful styling language meant to break Audi’s traditionally restrained mold. (If all moves ahead as planned, it’ll be by far the least hideous option in the segment.) We also expect the Q8 will launch with the next generation of Audi’s infotainment system, featuring multiple touchscreens and a new head-up display, which will make their debut first on the new A8.

Unlike its three-row Q7 sibling, the Q8 will come exclusively as a two-row SUV, riding on the same MLB architecture that also underpins the surprisingly athletic Bentley Bentayga. Powertrain options are undetermined, but we expect the 333-hp turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 from the Q7 at launch, with a plug-in hybrid option as well as a sportier S model in the pipeline. Look for a starting price north of $55,000.

2018 AUDI RS 3

On Sale: Now; Base Price: $55,875

An absurd, white-hot 400-hp dynamo of an entry-level luxury sedan used to be the sort of thing we’d have to lust after from across the ocean. These are blessed times, however, seeing as Audi has renewed its commitment to beefing up its RS portfolio here in the States to better compete with BMW M and Mercedes-AMG.

Europe was able to enjoy the last RS 3 as a hatchback with a 367-hp turbo inline-five, but we’ll only get it as a sedan. Using the same all-new turbocharged inline-five and seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox as the more compact TT RS, the first-ever Audi RS 3 for the U.S. has the added benefit of four doors and a more usable back seat. Despite a little more weight and a less track-focused approach to suspension tuning, the $55,875 RS 3 will still be a potent answer to the Mercedes-AMG CLA45, capable of cracking off 0-60-mph sprints in less than 4 seconds.

2018 Audi TT RS

On Sale: Now; Base Price: $65,875

Anyone accusing Audi of being too sedate would do well to sample the TT RS. Packing 40 more horses and maintaining the same 3,306-pound weight, this 400-hp überTT won the heart of contributing writer and race-car driver Andy Pilgrim. A big part of the appeal is the distinctive, all-new 2.5-liter turbo inline-five. True to Audi heritage and electrifying to witness, the new aluminum-intensive engine drops 54 pounds and sounds delicious with an optional sport exhaust.

Other major bits of kit include a nonadjustable sport suspension and carbon-ceramic front brakes, but the TT RS is a beast even with its standard steel brakes and adaptive magnetic dampers. Even under serious punishment the TT RS will not understeer; its all-wheel-drive system is capable of sending just shy of 100 percent of available torque to the rear axle.

With no real competitors at its $65,875 price point along with all-wheel drive and brutal 3.6-second 0-60-mph launches, the TT RS is in a class of its own.

2018 Bentley Continental GT

When To Expect It: Summer 2018

The 2018 Continental GT will make its debut at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show with a newfound focus on athleticism, technology, and an appropriately avant-garde design language. Although the new Conti’s looks borrow curvy cues from the EXP 12 Speed 6e concept, its chassis is based on Porsche’s MSB platform. The Continental’s top-dog model will be powered by a new edition of the venerable 6.0-liter W-12 delivering 624 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque. In this guise, the new model eclipses the outgoing Speed version with a 0-60-mph time of 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 207 mph. By 2019 a 550-hp, 4.0-liter V-8 model should materialize, as should a plug-in hybrid that utilizes a 3.0-liter V-6. A hefty fuel tank and drivetrain efficiency improvements will deliver a cruising range of around 500 miles.

2017 Bentley Continental Supersports

On Sale: Now; Base Price: $296,025 (coupe) $325,325 (convertible)

The curtain call for the current Conti invokes brag-worthy milestones, appointing the 209-mph Supersports coupe ($296,025) as the world’s fastest four-seater and the 205-mph Supersports convertible ($325,325) as the fastest four-seat convertible. The W-12 engine sees its most potent application to date with a reworked intake and charging system and larger turbos that can spin at 150,000 rpm. The upgrades extract 700 horsepower and 750 lb-ft of torque from the 6.0-liter W-12, a 67-hp and 131-lb-ft gain over the Speed model. That motivation can launch the 2.5-ton steed to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds, aided by 88 pounds of weight loss at the wheels, brakes, and exhaust. The notoriously long-in-the-tooth infotainment hardware is at least garnished with more inventive finishes such as a dashboard embedded with a checkerboard pattern made of 12,000 strands of carbon fiber, each 10 times thinner than a strand of human hair.

2019 BMW 8 Series

On Sale: 2018 / Base Price: $100,000 (est)

The original 8 Series was revered for its timeless shape and forward-thinking technology. This Adrian van Hooydonk-penned successor will be no different. (IFTTT

New and Future Cars for 2018 and Beyond

In 2016 the car-making industry saw its seventh consecutive year of record sales in the U.S. with 17.55 million purchases in all. So far in 2017 the numbers seem to have finally plateaued, with analysts forecasting a final total closer to 17 million—still not too shabby. Various social, political, and economic factors are driving the slight decline, but don’t blame it on a lack of interesting, exciting, and appealing new vehicles designed to grab our attention. Indeed, the following is filled with more than 100 cars, crossovers, SUVs, and trucks that are either on sale now or will be within a few years. Even so, this lineup is not exhaustive in terms of everything coming down the pipe. It is composed of the top 100-plus machines that pique our interest as the automotive world continues to change on a seemingly daily basis. Although there might come a day when, as some predict, we will see a sad end to our celebration of No Boring Cars, the good news is—as evidenced on the following pages—we aren’t there yet by a long shot.

2020 Acura RLX

When to Expect It: Summer 2020

The beak is dead! Long live the diamond pentagon grille! Aside from the new mug, expect to see a bigger badge and a wider body similar to the Precision Concept for the new RLX. More tech from the flagship NSX supercar as well as more powerful electric motors for the sport hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive luxury sedan should continue to trickle over. The extra juice should provide a healthy gain to the V-6 hybrid system’s current combined 377-hp output, but the standard 310-hp V-6 in the RLX could be replaced by a version of the 2.0-liter turbocharged i-VTEC four-cylinder that’s in the 2018 Honda Accord. The six-speed automatic and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission will probably be replaced with a new 10-speed automatic transmission. More radar and lidar equipment should find its way to the redesigned RLX, as should a lot of autonomous features in the cockpit if Acura expects its fully autonomous fleet to hit the 2025 target date. The car should be available in 2020 for a starting price of around $60,000.

2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio

On Sale: Now (Early 2018 for Quadrifoglio); Base Price: $42,990

Alfa Romeo figures consumers in the U.S. bought about 2.1 million vehicles in the premium segment last year, a quarter of those being premium SUVs. It’s hard to imagine the mandate to build SUVs was a dream come true for Porsche, Bentley, Maserati, and very soon Lamborghini, nor would we guess Alfa loyalists unanimously embrace the idea. But that’s the market reality and why we have the 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio, named for a mountain pass in the Swiss Alps. Based on the Giulia platform, the all-wheel-drive Stelvio is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 280 horsepower mated to an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission. Styling is a strong point, as is the welcoming interior. Steering and handling are suitably Italian—weight distribution is 50/50—and even at the base level ($42,990), you get some nice features ranging from leather upholstery to a carbon-fiber driveshaft. You can step up to the Ti Lusso package for more luxury or Ti Sport for better performance, including 20-inch wheels and an upgraded suspension. You’ll have to wait until early 2018, however, for the Stelvio Quadrifoglio and its meaty 505-horsepower twin-turbo V-6.

2020 Aston Martin Valkyrie

When To Expect It: Deliveries begin 2019

Aston Martin has conceived what it calls “the hypercar of our time,” created in partnership with Red Bull Racing and Formula 1 design legend Adrian Newey. The key to achieving its goal is the Newey-designed aerodynamic package. This is a ground-effect car. Its radically sculpted floor sits higher off the road than the body sides while the “grille” is an opening to funnel air into tunnels along the cockpit sides. The Valkyrie features variable ride height and a hybrid rear-wheel-drive powertrain. The engine is a new, naturally aspirated 6.5-liter Cosworth V-12, supplemented by an electric motor. Total output should exceed 1,000 hp. Constructed from materials including carbon fiber and titanium, a 2,400-pound-or-less curb weight is the target. Figure 0-60 mph in less than 3 seconds and sustained lateral grip and braking in excess of 2 g. Aston will build 150 road cars and 25 track-only versions. Price should be about $3.2 million, but all road versions are already sold.

2018 Audi A5, S5, RS 5

On Sale: Now (Late 2017 for RS 5); Base Price: $43,775 (A5) / $55,575 (S5) /$70,000 (RS 5 est)

Although not as elegant as the original Walter de Silva-designed first generation, Audi’s second crack at the A5 makes up for that with big leaps in technology and refinement. The simple, clean cabin is wisely designed around the stellar virtual cockpit instrument display, a segment-best feature in infotainment.

The base 252-hp turbocharged four-cylinder for the A5 is as smooth and punchy as ever, and standard all-wheel drive serves up balanced control alongside steady handling. Thanks to the new five-link front and rear suspension, the last-gen car’s unwanted understeer is a thing of the past.

For the brawnier S5, Audi amped up both power and torque by swapping out the old supercharged engine in favor of a turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6. The new mill’s healthy 354 hp and 369 lb-ft are now sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission, which better manages the gobs of low-end torque than last generation’s dual-clutch.

The A5 and S5 are already in showrooms, but Audi has also confirmed a buck-wild RS 5 will arrive by year’s end as a 2018 model. Chomping at the bit with 450 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque from the 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-6 it shares with the new Porsche Panamera, the RS 5 should match the 503-hp Mercedes-AMG C63’s 3.7-second sprint to 60 mph, owing to its sophisticated all-wheel-drive setup. The A5 and S5 start at $43,775 and $55,575, respectively. The RS 5 coupe starts around $70,000 and goes on sale late in 2017.

2019 AUDI A8

On Sale: 2018 / Base Price: $80,000 (est)

Handsome. Conservative. Understated. These words have, for a decade or more, been the key descriptors of Audi’s exterior design ethos. That has changed in the last 24 months or so, and it’s going to keep changing with the introduction of the Audi A8.

The interior carries forward past themes, too, but with an edgier, futuristic flair and no more buttons thanks to two haptic feedback screens. There’s a lot going on beneath the surface as well—things such as unattended self-parking, a 12.3-inch high-resolution virtual cockpit display that replaces the instrument panel, and the ability to interpret GPS route data and sensor information to automatically coast (at speeds between 34 and 99 mph) or recuperate energy via the 48-volt belt-alternator starter system.

The 2019 Audi A8 goes on sale in the U.S. sometime next year with a starting price around $80,000.

2019 Audi Q8

On Sale: 2018 / Base Price: $55,000 (est)

Following the trend of style-first, function-second SUVs such as the BMW X6 and Mercedes GLE Coupe, the Audi Q8 will begin production in 2018 as the flagship of Ingolstadt’s SUV portfolio. The nearly finished concept version (pictured) of the Marc Lichte-penned Q8 showcases a chunky and purposeful styling language meant to break Audi’s traditionally restrained mold. (If all moves ahead as planned, it’ll be by far the least hideous option in the segment.) We also expect the Q8 will launch with the next generation of Audi’s infotainment system, featuring multiple touchscreens and a new head-up display, which will make their debut first on the new A8.

Unlike its three-row Q7 sibling, the Q8 will come exclusively as a two-row SUV, riding on the same MLB architecture that also underpins the surprisingly athletic Bentley Bentayga. Powertrain options are undetermined, but we expect the 333-hp turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 from the Q7 at launch, with a plug-in hybrid option as well as a sportier S model in the pipeline. Look for a starting price north of $55,000.

2018 AUDI RS 3

On Sale: Now; Base Price: $55,875

An absurd, white-hot 400-hp dynamo of an entry-level luxury sedan used to be the sort of thing we’d have to lust after from across the ocean. These are blessed times, however, seeing as Audi has renewed its commitment to beefing up its RS portfolio here in the States to better compete with BMW M and Mercedes-AMG.

Europe was able to enjoy the last RS 3 as a hatchback with a 367-hp turbo inline-five, but we’ll only get it as a sedan. Using the same all-new turbocharged inline-five and seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox as the more compact TT RS, the first-ever Audi RS 3 for the U.S. has the added benefit of four doors and a more usable back seat. Despite a little more weight and a less track-focused approach to suspension tuning, the $55,875 RS 3 will still be a potent answer to the Mercedes-AMG CLA45, capable of cracking off 0-60-mph sprints in less than 4 seconds.

2018 Audi TT RS

On Sale: Now; Base Price: $65,875

Anyone accusing Audi of being too sedate would do well to sample the TT RS. Packing 40 more horses and maintaining the same 3,306-pound weight, this 400-hp überTT won the heart of contributing writer and race-car driver Andy Pilgrim. A big part of the appeal is the distinctive, all-new 2.5-liter turbo inline-five. True to Audi heritage and electrifying to witness, the new aluminum-intensive engine drops 54 pounds and sounds delicious with an optional sport exhaust.

Other major bits of kit include a nonadjustable sport suspension and carbon-ceramic front brakes, but the TT RS is a beast even with its standard steel brakes and adaptive magnetic dampers. Even under serious punishment the TT RS will not understeer; its all-wheel-drive system is capable of sending just shy of 100 percent of available torque to the rear axle.

With no real competitors at its $65,875 price point along with all-wheel drive and brutal 3.6-second 0-60-mph launches, the TT RS is in a class of its own.

2018 Bentley Continental GT

When To Expect It: Summer 2018

The 2018 Continental GT will make its debut at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show with a newfound focus on athleticism, technology, and an appropriately avant-garde design language. Although the new Conti’s looks borrow curvy cues from the EXP 12 Speed 6e concept, its chassis is based on Porsche’s MSB platform. The Continental’s top-dog model will be powered by a new edition of the venerable 6.0-liter W-12 delivering 624 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque. In this guise, the new model eclipses the outgoing Speed version with a 0-60-mph time of 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 207 mph. By 2019 a 550-hp, 4.0-liter V-8 model should materialize, as should a plug-in hybrid that utilizes a 3.0-liter V-6. A hefty fuel tank and drivetrain efficiency improvements will deliver a cruising range of around 500 miles.

2017 Bentley Continental Supersports

On Sale: Now; Base Price: $296,025 (coupe) $325,325 (convertible)

The curtain call for the current Conti invokes brag-worthy milestones, appointing the 209-mph Supersports coupe ($296,025) as the world’s fastest four-seater and the 205-mph Supersports convertible ($325,325) as the fastest four-seat convertible. The W-12 engine sees its most potent application to date with a reworked intake and charging system and larger turbos that can spin at 150,000 rpm. The upgrades extract 700 horsepower and 750 lb-ft of torque from the 6.0-liter W-12, a 67-hp and 131-lb-ft gain over the Speed model. That motivation can launch the 2.5-ton steed to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds, aided by 88 pounds of weight loss at the wheels, brakes, and exhaust. The notoriously long-in-the-tooth infotainment hardware is at least garnished with more inventive finishes such as a dashboard embedded with a checkerboard pattern made of 12,000 strands of carbon fiber, each 10 times thinner than a strand of human hair.

2019 BMW 8 Series

On Sale: 2018 / Base Price: $100,000 (est)

The original 8 Series was revered for its timeless shape and forward-thinking technology. This Adrian van Hooydonk-penned successor will be no different. (IFTTT

New and Future Cars for 2018 and Beyond

In 2016 the car-making industry saw its seventh consecutive year of record sales in the U.S. with 17.55 million purchases in all. So far in 2017 the numbers seem to have finally plateaued, with analysts forecasting a final total closer to 17 million—still not too shabby. Various social, political, and economic factors are driving the slight decline, but don’t blame it on a lack of interesting, exciting, and appealing new vehicles designed to grab our attention. Indeed, the following is filled with more than 100 cars, crossovers, SUVs, and trucks that are either on sale now or will be within a few years. Even so, this lineup is not exhaustive in terms of everything coming down the pipe. It is composed of the top 100-plus machines that pique our interest as the automotive world continues to change on a seemingly daily basis. Although there might come a day when, as some predict, we will see a sad end to our celebration of No Boring Cars, the good news is—as evidenced on the following pages—we aren’t there yet by a long shot.

2020 Acura RLX

When to Expect It: Summer 2020

The beak is dead! Long live the diamond pentagon grille! Aside from the new mug, expect to see a bigger badge and a wider body similar to the Precision Concept for the new RLX. More tech from the flagship NSX supercar as well as more powerful electric motors for the sport hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive luxury sedan should continue to trickle over. The extra juice should provide a healthy gain to the V-6 hybrid system’s current combined 377-hp output, but the standard 310-hp V-6 in the RLX could be replaced by a version of the 2.0-liter turbocharged i-VTEC four-cylinder that’s in the 2018 Honda Accord. The six-speed automatic and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission will probably be replaced with a new 10-speed automatic transmission. More radar and lidar equipment should find its way to the redesigned RLX, as should a lot of autonomous features in the cockpit if Acura expects its fully autonomous fleet to hit the 2025 target date. The car should be available in 2020 for a starting price of around $60,000.

2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio

On Sale: Now (Early 2018 for Quadrifoglio); Base Price: $42,990

Alfa Romeo figures consumers in the U.S. bought about 2.1 million vehicles in the premium segment last year, a quarter of those being premium SUVs. It’s hard to imagine the mandate to build SUVs was a dream come true for Porsche, Bentley, Maserati, and very soon Lamborghini, nor would we guess Alfa loyalists unanimously embrace the idea. But that’s the market reality and why we have the 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio, named for a mountain pass in the Swiss Alps. Based on the Giulia platform, the all-wheel-drive Stelvio is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 280 horsepower mated to an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission. Styling is a strong point, as is the welcoming interior. Steering and handling are suitably Italian—weight distribution is 50/50—and even at the base level ($42,990), you get some nice features ranging from leather upholstery to a carbon-fiber driveshaft. You can step up to the Ti Lusso package for more luxury or Ti Sport for better performance, including 20-inch wheels and an upgraded suspension. You’ll have to wait until early 2018, however, for the Stelvio Quadrifoglio and its meaty 505-horsepower twin-turbo V-6.

2020 Aston Martin Valkyrie

When To Expect It: Deliveries begin 2019

Aston Martin has conceived what it calls “the hypercar of our time,” created in partnership with Red Bull Racing and Formula 1 design legend Adrian Newey. The key to achieving its goal is the Newey-designed aerodynamic package. This is a ground-effect car. Its radically sculpted floor sits higher off the road than the body sides while the “grille” is an opening to funnel air into tunnels along the cockpit sides. The Valkyrie features variable ride height and a hybrid rear-wheel-drive powertrain. The engine is a new, naturally aspirated 6.5-liter Cosworth V-12, supplemented by an electric motor. Total output should exceed 1,000 hp. Constructed from materials including carbon fiber and titanium, a 2,400-pound-or-less curb weight is the target. Figure 0-60 mph in less than 3 seconds and sustained lateral grip and braking in excess of 2 g. Aston will build 150 road cars and 25 track-only versions. Price should be about $3.2 million, but all road versions are already sold.

2018 Audi A5, S5, RS 5

On Sale: Now (Late 2017 for RS 5); Base Price: $43,775 (A5) / $55,575 (S5) /$70,000 (RS 5 est)

Although not as elegant as the original Walter de Silva-designed first generation, Audi’s second crack at the A5 makes up for that with big leaps in technology and refinement. The simple, clean cabin is wisely designed around the stellar virtual cockpit instrument display, a segment-best feature in infotainment.

The base 252-hp turbocharged four-cylinder for the A5 is as smooth and punchy as ever, and standard all-wheel drive serves up balanced control alongside steady handling. Thanks to the new five-link front and rear suspension, the last-gen car’s unwanted understeer is a thing of the past.

For the brawnier S5, Audi amped up both power and torque by swapping out the old supercharged engine in favor of a turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6. The new mill’s healthy 354 hp and 369 lb-ft are now sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission, which better manages the gobs of low-end torque than last generation’s dual-clutch.

The A5 and S5 are already in showrooms, but Audi has also confirmed a buck-wild RS 5 will arrive by year’s end as a 2018 model. Chomping at the bit with 450 hp and 443 lb-ft of torque from the 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-6 it shares with the new Porsche Panamera, the RS 5 should match the 503-hp Mercedes-AMG C63’s 3.7-second sprint to 60 mph, owing to its sophisticated all-wheel-drive setup. The A5 and S5 start at $43,775 and $55,575, respectively. The RS 5 coupe starts around $70,000 and goes on sale late in 2017.

2019 AUDI A8

On Sale: 2018 / Base Price: $80,000 (est)

Handsome. Conservative. Understated. These words have, for a decade or more, been the key descriptors of Audi’s exterior design ethos. That has changed in the last 24 months or so, and it’s going to keep changing with the introduction of the Audi A8.

The interior carries forward past themes, too, but with an edgier, futuristic flair and no more buttons thanks to two haptic feedback screens. There’s a lot going on beneath the surface as well—things such as unattended self-parking, a 12.3-inch high-resolution virtual cockpit display that replaces the instrument panel, and the ability to interpret GPS route data and sensor information to automatically coast (at speeds between 34 and 99 mph) or recuperate energy via the 48-volt belt-alternator starter system.

The 2019 Audi A8 goes on sale in the U.S. sometime next year with a starting price around $80,000.

2019 Audi Q8

On Sale: 2018 / Base Price: $55,000 (est)

Following the trend of style-first, function-second SUVs such as the BMW X6 and Mercedes GLE Coupe, the Audi Q8 will begin production in 2018 as the flagship of Ingolstadt’s SUV portfolio. The nearly finished concept version (pictured) of the Marc Lichte-penned Q8 showcases a chunky and purposeful styling language meant to break Audi’s traditionally restrained mold. (If all moves ahead as planned, it’ll be by far the least hideous option in the segment.) We also expect the Q8 will launch with the next generation of Audi’s infotainment system, featuring multiple touchscreens and a new head-up display, which will make their debut first on the new A8.

Unlike its three-row Q7 sibling, the Q8 will come exclusively as a two-row SUV, riding on the same MLB architecture that also underpins the surprisingly athletic Bentley Bentayga. Powertrain options are undetermined, but we expect the 333-hp turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 from the Q7 at launch, with a plug-in hybrid option as well as a sportier S model in the pipeline. Look for a starting price north of $55,000.

2018 AUDI RS 3

On Sale: Now; Base Price: $55,875

An absurd, white-hot 400-hp dynamo of an entry-level luxury sedan used to be the sort of thing we’d have to lust after from across the ocean. These are blessed times, however, seeing as Audi has renewed its commitment to beefing up its RS portfolio here in the States to better compete with BMW M and Mercedes-AMG.

Europe was able to enjoy the last RS 3 as a hatchback with a 367-hp turbo inline-five, but we’ll only get it as a sedan. Using the same all-new turbocharged inline-five and seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox as the more compact TT RS, the first-ever Audi RS 3 for the U.S. has the added benefit of four doors and a more usable back seat. Despite a little more weight and a less track-focused approach to suspension tuning, the $55,875 RS 3 will still be a potent answer to the Mercedes-AMG CLA45, capable of cracking off 0-60-mph sprints in less than 4 seconds.

2018 Audi TT RS

On Sale: Now; Base Price: $65,875

Anyone accusing Audi of being too sedate would do well to sample the TT RS. Packing 40 more horses and maintaining the same 3,306-pound weight, this 400-hp überTT won the heart of contributing writer and race-car driver Andy Pilgrim. A big part of the appeal is the distinctive, all-new 2.5-liter turbo inline-five. True to Audi heritage and electrifying to witness, the new aluminum-intensive engine drops 54 pounds and sounds delicious with an optional sport exhaust.

Other major bits of kit include a nonadjustable sport suspension and carbon-ceramic front brakes, but the TT RS is a beast even with its standard steel brakes and adaptive magnetic dampers. Even under serious punishment the TT RS will not understeer; its all-wheel-drive system is capable of sending just shy of 100 percent of available torque to the rear axle.

With no real competitors at its $65,875 price point along with all-wheel drive and brutal 3.6-second 0-60-mph launches, the TT RS is in a class of its own.

2018 Bentley Continental GT

When To Expect It: Summer 2018

The 2018 Continental GT will make its debut at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show with a newfound focus on athleticism, technology, and an appropriately avant-garde design language. Although the new Conti’s looks borrow curvy cues from the EXP 12 Speed 6e concept, its chassis is based on Porsche’s MSB platform. The Continental’s top-dog model will be powered by a new edition of the venerable 6.0-liter W-12 delivering 624 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque. In this guise, the new model eclipses the outgoing Speed version with a 0-60-mph time of 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 207 mph. By 2019 a 550-hp, 4.0-liter V-8 model should materialize, as should a plug-in hybrid that utilizes a 3.0-liter V-6. A hefty fuel tank and drivetrain efficiency improvements will deliver a cruising range of around 500 miles.

2017 Bentley Continental Supersports

On Sale: Now; Base Price: $296,025 (coupe) $325,325 (convertible)

The curtain call for the current Conti invokes brag-worthy milestones, appointing the 209-mph Supersports coupe ($296,025) as the world’s fastest four-seater and the 205-mph Supersports convertible ($325,325) as the fastest four-seat convertible. The W-12 engine sees its most potent application to date with a reworked intake and charging system and larger turbos that can spin at 150,000 rpm. The upgrades extract 700 horsepower and 750 lb-ft of torque from the 6.0-liter W-12, a 67-hp and 131-lb-ft gain over the Speed model. That motivation can launch the 2.5-ton steed to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds, aided by 88 pounds of weight loss at the wheels, brakes, and exhaust. The notoriously long-in-the-tooth infotainment hardware is at least garnished with more inventive finishes such as a dashboard embedded with a checkerboard pattern made of 12,000 strands of carbon fiber, each 10 times thinner than a strand of human hair.

2019 BMW 8 Series

On Sale: 2018 / Base Price: $100,000 (est)

The original 8 Series was revered for its timeless shape and forward-thinking technology. This Adrian van Hooydonk-penned successor will be no different. (IFTTT

New Post has been published on http://www.buildercar.com/first-ride-with-cadillacs-super-cruise/

First Ride With Cadillac’s Super Cruise

MILFORD, Michigan – Audi has a suite of self-driving features ready to go on its 2019 A8, although it remains unclear whether either North America or the European Union will allow it on the roads quite yet. Tesla’s Autopilot came quickly with a number of advancements a couple of years ago, though some features, including hands-free driving were removed by software update after some YouTube videos showed owners “driving” from the front passenger seat.

Because Tesla brought those features to market without the kind of belt-and-suspenders safety regimen that every mainstream, traditional automaker has been practicing for about half a century, Cadillac is ready to take the lead on self-driving car development. The General Motors luxury brand’s new Super Cruise is set to become the most advanced semi-autonomous technology on U.S. and Canadian roads if none of the above changes.

Super Cruise becomes standard on the 2018 Cadillac CT6 Platinum, and optional as part of a safety package that builds on such features as intelligent cruise control, on the CT6 Platinum Luxury, this fall. Cadillac says start-of-production of the ’18 CT6 is about one month away, so figure Tesla, Mercedes, Volvo et. al. (the ’19 Audi A8 can’t be a model year-’19 until January) have until the end of September before the first examples are on dealer showrooms.

Super Cruise will let Cadillac CT6 drivers pilot their new cars hands-off so long as conditions are right and the system can find the middle of the car’s lane, on about 160,000 miles of limited-access highway in the U.S. and Canada, mapped by GM and its high-definition mapping partner, Geo Digital. The system consists of front cameras, a map database in back, and a high-precision GPS developed with GM partner Trimble, which can pinpoint the car’s location to within two meters. Conventional GPSes are no more accurate than four meters, GM says.

“The driver is always in control,” chief engineer Barry Walkup says, which is unlike Volvo, whose Drive Me test program lets XC90 drivers read, eat breakfast or even nap. Volvo remains the only automaker to claim responsibility for any of its vehicles involved in an accident while operated by its autonomous systems, but the Drive Me test program is being conducted with 100 Volvo XC90s on just 50 kilometers (31 miles) of limited-access highway in Gothenburg, Sweden, which, I am told, doesn’t get much snow.

Super Cruise is easy to operate, if you’re familiar with ICC and lane-keep assist, or any of a number of variants of such technology from the past half-decade. Enter a freeway, center in your lane and wait for the Super Cruise steering wheel icon to appear on the dash. When the icon appears, press the system’s button on the steering wheel and the dash icon (which frankly, takes your eyes off the road to find it) goes green. You won’t miss the green LED along the top of the steering wheel rim, which also confirms Super Cruise mode. You may take your hands off the wheel for as long as the system is “green,” and at speeds up to 85 mph.

You can “drive” like this for miles, even, potentially across states for as long as there’s gas in the tank. But if you want to pass or change lanes for any reason, you must grab the steering wheel. If you touch the brakes, you’ll disengage the system, just like any standard cruise control, but if you give it more throttle to pass, just like any cruise control, Super Cruise will resume its original settings, once you’ve centered in the lane again. Super Cruise can slow the Cadillac down in tight freeway curves, such as those found in the American and Canadian Rockies.

The steering wheel LED goes from green to flashing-blue while you’re changing lanes or speeding up by overriding the ICC. Manual lane changing and speeding up back up Cadillac’s position that the human driver always is in control of the Cadillac.

“This is hands-free, but the driver is supervising the vehicle,” says Pam Fletcher, GM’s executive chief engineer for autonomous and electrified vehicles.

Red lights drive that point home. Super Cruise incorporates a GM-proprietary “driver attention system” that makes sure your eyes are on the road, even though your hands don’t need to be on the wheel. Take your eyes away for a long time, say to talk to the person in one of the passenger seats, or to jab at the touch-screen buttons on the CUE infotainment program and eventually the steering wheel LED and the dash display steering wheel icon go red.

How long does this take? Depends on the car’s speed, but if you don’t move your eyes back to the road, you get an audio warning and a haptic warning in the seat. Still not moved? The system eventually slows the car, then to a full stop in its lane, locking out Super Cruise for the key cycle. You must turn off the ignition and restart it to use Super Cruise again.

I tried to trigger the red light during my drive, by looking directly at Cadillac executive chief engineer Brandon Vivian, who was in the front-passenger seat. I could not get it to go red. I couldn’t take the idea of looking away from the road while traveling at 70 mph for that long, so I guess it works.

Will Super Cruise allow Cadillac owners to drive, or supervise, longer in a given day, I asked? Perhaps drivers will go for 10 hours instead of six, though I’m sure most CT6 owners won’t drive more than 200 miles before jumping on an airliner or private jet.

Super Cruise will allow its human drivers to arrive fresh for a business meeting or various arbitrage, Vivian told me. Well, he didn’t mention the arbitrage, but you get the idea.

We didn’t bring up the obvious: that Super Cruise also will make it safe for drivers to make calls and text on their smartphones, so long as their eyes are pointed toward the road. Cadillac would tell you to use the CT6’s Apple CarPlay or Android Auto instead, but the idea’s the same. Super Cruise will let you safely concentrate on that call to your broker while keeping you in the middle of the road without tapping the brakes every 500 feet.

Yes, you could have this level of hands-free control, more or less, in a Tesla Model S circa 2015, but as several of its less-intelligent owners proved with YouTube videos, Tesla’s system wasn’t well-tested. Super Cruise’s Driver Attention System makes it impossible, Cadillac says, to put your dog behind the wheel while you sit in the front passenger seat taking a selfie.

Cadillac first announced Super Cruise in 2012, and it was expected to launch in the ill-fated ELR extended-range electric. Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced Autopilot in 2014, added it in 2015, and has since retrenched a bit, though he plans to amp it back up with a cross-country autonomous drive by the end of this year. For now, you have to keep your hands lightly on the wheel for the Tesla system to work.

But by taking its time, and mapping out 160,000 miles of U.S. and Canadian highways, Cadillac seems to have a much more robust system, far less prone to driver errors or hooning than Tesla’s Autopilot. Thus, Cadillac stands as the leader of this technology, to-date.

Price hasn’t been announced, though Barry Walkup told me at the New York International Auto Show last Spring that it would be part of a $2,500 “safety” technology package. The 2017 Cadillac CT6 Platinum has a base list price of $84,790, and it remains to be seen whether the ’18 model’s price goes up to absorb the Super Cruise cost. The CT6 Premium Luxury starts at $54,890. I suspect that when pricing for the ’18 models come in, the option price on the Premium Luxury will be somewhat higher than the $2,500 mentioned earlier this year.

Cadillac plans to add Super Cruise to the Chinese-market option list some time in the future (mapping that country should take a bit longer than five years). If it proves successful in moving autonomous technology forward, Super Cruise will quickly trickle down into Buicks, GMCs and Chevrolets.

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