Cadillac’s CUE infotainmet system was widely considered to be a dud,*something the company is painfully aware of.
“That was not our finest moment,” admitted Brian Ullem, global product head of infotainment at General Motors.
But the luxury automaker’s latest salvo of in-vehicle technology is poised to right these wrongs. “We’re getting away from the name CUE and trying to refocus on the meaning of the system and the experience that it delivers to the customer,” explained Ullem while demonstrating Cadillac’s latest infotainment technology in an interview with AutoGuide.com.
Curiously, unlike practically every rival system on the market today, this one will remain unbranded. “We’re not going to invest in names behind an infotainment system. It’ll become part of the vehicle experience,” said Ullem.
CUE is on the way out, slowly being replaced by the brand’s fresh-faced and un-christened offering, which just launched in the Cadillac CTS. It’s coming to the ATS and XTS sedans later in the year while the brand’s CT6 flagship is slated to receive it in 2018.
Stupid move, right as they finally get CUE to a very nice state they throw it all away and start over again. Is this some of that 80s mentality coming back? I'm sure this new system is fine. But if they really wanted to put the old CUE behind them. Why didn't they just call this CUE 2.0 or something? You'd reset expectations of it while still keeping some of the good will the system has built up over the past five years (don't kid yourself it dose have some). Why reset branding by having no branding at all?
I'll wait for videos and reviews to come before forming an opinion on it. But all ready from those three screenshots it looks a little less classy and more blah generic then CUE. Infortainment systems in cars are becoming less and less relevant as time goes on so whatever it's probably not that big of a deal. Just a strange decision if you ask me.
Perhaps the name "CUE" is too damaged. Though super easy to use (I have a 2013 ATS, so I have the original version of CUE) it has been vilified from the start, so the name has zero brand equity. Maybe better to start from scratch.
They admitted CUE wasn't their finest moment but in all these years they never replaced it.
That speaks volumes
One simple improvement would be to replace the haptic touch with real buttons and knobs.
In reality, they made many meaningful improvements to CUE over the years, to the point where it became quite good IMO. The CUE system in my 2016 ELR is very nice, feature packed, always responsive, and actually great at interfacing with USB media. I experienced the original CUE, which was sluggish and buggy, and it really is a night and day difference.
But idiot journalists always practice the "art of the possible", and will complain about CUE like it's a single button press on their keyboards that helps fill out their word count requirements. This is why, on reflection, it's smart for Cadillac to abandon the name. Makes it harder for those thoughtless complaints about Cadillac infotainment to pepper the sure-to-stay-biased articles.
PS. I very much like the haptic touch volume slider, which I think works perfectly. And when I want to use buttons for the volume, they are right at my thumb's command on the steering wheel. Here's another plus for Cadillac: the volume adjusts in very fine increments, so you can really set just the volume you want. On the Volts I had, it would sometimes adjust from "too loud" to "not quite loud enough", without a setting in between. And that's with your coveted volume knob on the dash.
It wasn't just the software but also the weak chip powering the system in addition to the annoying haptic touch controls.
Would have been an easy fix, they even could have asked Apple to come up with a system for them and label it an Apple System.
How about "Cadillac Progressive Update" Infotainment System, suggesting that the continuous updates make the system better and better, which may be what it actually is?
I like Car and Driver's suggestion for the name of Cadillac's system: State-of-the-art Haptic Infotainment Technology
In the 2018 CTS order guide, the new system is labeled "Cadillac user experience", without the "CUE" acronym:
RPO Code (IO5) Cadillac CUE Information and Media Control System, changes to RPO Code (IOS) Cadillac user experience (17MY interim change)
RPO Code (IO6) Cadillac CUE Information and Media Control System with Embedded Navigation, changes to RPO Code (IOT) Cadillac user experience with embedded navigation (17MY interim change)
Even though you and I usually agree, in this case I'm not on board. BMW had the advantage of a press corp that desperately wants to like everything they do. Cadillac has just the opposite to contend with. iDrive got credit it probably deserved for improving. CUE improved dramatically, but still gets called out as an alleged problem area.
Why do manufacturers have to call their sat/nav infotainment centers anything? I'm glad they've given up on the name and won't be calling it anything. Just call it what it is: sat/nav infotainment center.
The 1948 Buick Roadmaster had "Hydramatic" in huge cursive script on both of the rear quarter panels. Yes, the automatic transmission was a great new amazing technology at that time.
Now no one cares.
Same for satellite navigation and bluetooth. Who gives a turkey? It's just as much a part of a car as a steering wheel now.
Ultimately you are probably spot on but I don't think that time has come yet for a lot of people. BMW with iDrive sounds better then Cadillac with a generic infotainment system regardless of which is better. And while ultimately this stuff might not matter, it would be nice to see some quality branding by SoHo WonderKids.
If there is any doubt about dumping the name CUE, then just read the above negative comments. CUE is so simple to use, the biggest issue was the sub-par chip, not CUE. The haptic feedback is great if used properly (PAD of finger ABOVE the silver guide bars, or PAD of finger on the screen). Cadillac's had three simple failures 1) was the slow chip and 2) not explaining to use the PAD of your finger, not the tip and 3) to touch the area ABOVE the silver guide bars.
But as noted above, if there were a series of buttons then there wouldn't be a name, so why do we need a name for them because it is a computer? We are passed needing a name, move along, nothing to see...
The haptic feedback is great if used properly (PAD of finger ABOVE the silver guide bars, or PAD of finger on the screen). Cadillac's had three simple failures 1) was the slow chip and 2) not explaining to use the PAD of your finger, not the tip and 3) to touch the area ABOVE the silver guide bars.
Part of the problem is that properly designed ergonomics in a car should require little or no learning. You learn it quickly, everything is completely self explanatory and easy to use at a glance or less, without reading the owners manual much.
If you have to explain things to people like the silly haptic feedback and where to put your finger and all that garbage, it's already a loss before anyone even starts the car. Poor design. It should not require any thought while driving at 70 mph. And if you say the haptic feedback doesn't require thought while driving, you're not being honest.
C&D has been incessant about their hatred of CUE from the jump. Improvements have failed to win them over. I understand why GM would rather not want to keep poking them in the eye with yet another iteration of CUE, no matter how much it has evolved The name would be sure to elicit more drivel about how it doesn't suck as much BUT........
As for other C&D Caddy whining let's not forget their angst with the ATS cramped rear seat and a scarcity of trunk space, both items apparently key components to their comparo evaluation of sporty entry level lux sedans.
Sometimes I think I am reading CR.
As for other C&D Caddy whining let's not forget their angst with the ATS cramped rear seat and a scarcity of trunk space, both items apparently key components to their comparo evaluation of sporty entry level lux sedans.
Yes, those are key components of sporty entry level lux sedans. ATS hits a bullseye for the "sporty" aspect, but completely misses the "sedan" part. BMW F30 does a much better job combining both, even if its overall driving dynamics aren't quite up to the ATS' level.
I suspect it is not a new infotainment system at all. I suspect it is a greatly improved CUE and they just dropped the name. That's the way I would do it if I fixed a system that had developed a bad reputation.
It's actually completely new. Internally, GM calls the system described in the OP "NGI" or "Next Generation Infotainment". NGI moves to the Android platform (part of Open Automotive Alliance); CUE was based on embedded Linux while the previous generation infotainment systems from General Motors used QNX and Microsoft Auto. Hardware for NGI will be supplied by Harman International and other component manufacturers. The APIs are new as well. You can download the APIs at GM's developer site: https://developer.gm.com/ngi
Incidentally, there's a "hackathon" event coming up just outside Boston for programmers interested in developing apps for the NGI system:
Like I said before... Chevy's Corvette and Camaro team deserve to be in that damn office in SOHO. Cadillac's ENTIRE team needs to be put in the basement of one of those abandoned buildings in Detroit. They are so embarrassing. From top to bottom. It doesn't take this long to get your act together. Ask Lexus. I'm done...
I'm not reading all the posts so apologies if someone already mentioned it but the "new" system that has debuted in the 2017 CTS is STILL called CUE. It says so on the Monroney Label and is still referred to as the Cadillac user experience in the online order reference guide.
It's just an updated CUE and not that different at all. In fact, it's not as nice or intuitive as the last CUE. That might just be my feelings because I'm not a fan of change for change's sake. The new CUE seems to marry the last gen system with the current BOLT MyLink design which is a hot mess IMO.
Question for you blaksabb: On the Monroney sticker for a late production 2017 CTS with the new generation infotainment system, is the system labeled "CUE" (three letter acronym) or "Cadillac user experience" (no acronym)?
Early versions were quite terrible, not because of UI design but because of poorly optimized code and inadequate hardware.
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