Cadillac's new CTS will warn each other what's up ahead

Knowing what lies on the road ahead is hugely important, which is why vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) tech -- where cars share information from their sensors -- will be helpful when it arrives. And it's coming to later this year.

Cadillac will equip every CTS sedan in its 2017.5 half-year update, which is now in production, with V2V technology. It uses GPS and dedicated short-range communications to transmit messages to vehicles up to 1,000 feet away.

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It's built with safety in mind. For example, if a CTS slams on its brakes, it could alert nearby drivers, which might prevent a rear-end collision. Or, if a CTS ends up in a collision, it can let nearby owners know to stay out of the way. It can also send reports to other vehicles on road conditions. Personally, I'm hoping it learns how to detect and warn drivers about potholes.

"Connecting vehicles through V2V holds tremendous potential, as this technology enables the car to acquire and analyze information outside the bounds of the driver's field of vision," said Richard Brekus, Cadillac's director of product strategy, in a statement. "As an early mover, we look forward to seeing its benefit multiply as more V2V-equipped vehicles hit the road."

For now, it will only work between 2017.5 CTS sedans, and it's unclear if the automaker will offer retrofit kits for older vehicles or update other new Cadillacs throughout the 2017 and 2018 model year.

Nevertheless, it's good to see more companies embracing this kind of tech. President Obama's administration sought to mandate V2V technologies across the industry. Delphi, a supplier, previewed Cadillac's V2V system at CES this January. Audi is taking a different approach, starting with vehicle-to-infrastructure communication to provide more information at red lights.

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