2022 Automotive News Canada All-Stars

As advanced feature owner of trailering at GM’s Canadian Technical Centre in Oshawa, Ont., Ralph Schlottke, 57, is working with an international team to develop technologies that make towing trailers both easier and safer. Schlottke’s Ontario team connects weekly with counterparts in Michigan and Israel to review progress and discuss what’s next.

He has logged more than 10,000 kilometres on Ontario’s 400-series highways — many of it hands-free — while towing a double-wide snowmobile.

He’s refining GM’s Super Cruise driver assist system so trailers of any legal size can be towed safely. His team also developed GM’s Transparent Trailer View system, which uses strategically mounted cameras that effectively makes any trailer see-through for the driver.

GM’s own data found that about 70 per cent of pickup drivers are towing trailers, and 40 per cent of those GM trucks now have the transparent-trailering feature