Nissan will soon begin selling a new hands-free automated highway driving assistance program in Japan that goes even further than what Tesla offers. Nissan's ProPilot 2.0 will follow a navigation route while allowing the driver to take his hands completely off the steering wheel in some situations.

Tesla's TSLA General Motors GM or ProPilot Assist, but it only keeps a car in its lane and maintains a safe following distance from other vehicles.) Like Tesla's Navigate on Autopilot , Nissan's system will only function on limited-access highways providing "on-ramp to off-ramp" automated driving. Nissan's new system combines features similar to those of bothNavigate on Autopilot and' Cadillac Super Cruise. (Nissan currently offers a widely available system called ProPilotor ProPilot Assist, but it only keeps a car in its lane and maintains a safe following distance from other vehicles.)

The new ProPilot 2.0 system will allow the car to handle, largely on its own, lane changes and highway interchanges while following a route set in the car's navigation system. Tesla's Navigate on Autopilot does this, too, but it only allows the driver to take his hands off the steering wheel for short periods of time. With ProPilot 2.0, the driver can take his hands completely off the steering wheel whenever the car is not maneuvering out of its lane.

Nissan's ProPilot 2.0 relies on an array of cameras, as well as radar and sonar sensors.

Cadillac Super Cruise also allows the driver to remove his or her hands from the steering wheel, as long as the car is traveling in a single lane. Super Cruise does not change lanes or drive through highway interchanges on its own, though, as Nissan ProPilot 2.0 does. Cadillac Super Cruise is only for single-lane highway driving.

for passing other cars and merging unsafely when doing so on its own. Consumer Reports has yet to test Nissan's system, which will not be available until the fall and, even then, will be offered only in Japan. It will initially be available on the Nissan Skyline sedan. Tesla's Navigate on Autopilot recently received harsh criticism from Consumer Reports for passing other cars and merging unsafely when doing so on its own. Consumer Reports hasyet to test Nissan's system, which will not be available until the fall and, even then, will be offered only in Japan. It will initially be available on the Nissan Skyline sedan.

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