A method and apparatus is disclosed for determining the available gears of a geared vehicle based on the ratios of vehicle speed to engine speed, together with a method and apparatus for determining the current gear in which a geared vehicle is being driven based on the current ratio of vehicle speed to engine speed.

A method and apparatus for evaluating an advised driving speed of a vehicle traversing a particular portion of a road network is disclosed. The method comprises accessing first predetermined data indicative of the variation in average fuel consumption for the vehicle with speed of the vehicle, using the first predetermined data to determine data indicative of average fuel consumption for the vehicle for a plurality of speeds within a range based on a speed limit for the portion of the road network being traversed, and evaluating the advised driving speed of the vehicle based at least in part on the determined data indicative of average fuel consumption for the vehicle for the range of speeds. The evaluation of the advised driving speed may further be based on second predetermined data indicative of the variation in a likelihood of the vehicle being in the highest gear with speed of the vehicle.

A method and apparatus for providing an advised driving speed to a driver of a vehicle travelling on a road network is disclosed. The method comprises determining an advised driving speed of a vehicle for a portion of the road network currently being traversed, determining a current speed of the vehicle on the portion of the road network, and determining a speed limit and/or an expected driving speed for the portion of the road network. An indication of the advised driving speed is then provided to the driver of the vehicle when: (i) the current speed of the vehicle is greater than a first threshold value based on the advised driving speed; and (ii) the speed limit and/or the expected driving speed is greater than a second threshold value. A method and apparatus is also disclosed for determining a score indicative of the compliance of a driver of a vehicle to an advised driving speed during a journey on a road network.

A method and apparatus for providing an indication to a driver of a geared vehicle that the vehicle is not in an optimal gear is disclosed. The method comprises determining a current gear of the vehicle and determining a current speed of a drive unit of the vehicle. An indication is then provided to the driver of the vehicle that the vehicle is not in an optimal gear when: (i) the determined current speed of the drive unit is greater than a predetermined threshold; and (ii) the determined current gear of the vehicle is less than a maximum gear of the vehicle. A method and apparatus is also disclosed for determining a score indicative of the amount of time during a journey on a road network that a geared vehicle is driven in an optimal gear.

A method and apparatus is disclosed for evaluating the driving of a vehicle performing a journey on a road network, comprising determining at least one constant speed zone of the road network, a constant speed zone being a portion of the road network at which the vehicle can travel at a constant speed, said determination being based upon expected speeds of travel along the road network determined from positional data relating to the movements of a plurality of vehicles over time along the road network. A speed of the vehicle traversing the road network is determined at a plurality of times during the journey, and a value indicative of a consistency of the speed of the vehicle within the at least one constant speed zone is further determined.

If a predicted compression-time in-cylinder temperature Tp having a positive correlation with the intensity of predicted pre-ignition is equal to or higher than a pre-ignition threshold value Tig when a request for automatic start is made, a forward/reverse switching mechanism is placed in a released state, and an engine is automatically started. If the predicted compression-time in-cylinder temperature Tp is lower than the pre-ignition threshold value Tig, the forward/reverse switching mechanism is placed in an engaged state, and the engine is automatically started.

Control apparatus for internal combustion engine in which alcohol fuel can be used includes: acquisition unit for acquiring alcohol concentration of fuel; electric motor for driving internal combustion engine; and a control unit configured to control the internal combustion engine and the electric motor. The control unit is configured, when the running time from a low-temperature start to the stoppage of the internal combustion engine or a parameter increasing with an increase of the running time is equal to or lower than a predetermined value, to cause, after the stoppage of the internal combustion engine, the electric motor to subject the internal combustion engine to motoring and to set the motoring time of the motoring to be shorter when a fuel alcohol concentration acquired by the acquisition unit is relatively high compared to when a fuel alcohol concentration acquired by the acquisition unit relatively is low.

Systems and methods are disclosed for generating a fueling plan based on navigation data for the trip, fuel type data for the vehicle, and fuel price data for fuel locations within a geographic threshold of the trip. The fueling plan may include a selected fuel location. For instance, the system may determine, based on the fuel type data, that the vehicle cannot reach the selected fuel location. In response to this determination, the system may automatically configure the vehicle to reduce fuel consumption. In some embodiments, this may include limiting acceleration of the vehicle, limiting speed of the vehicle, or modifying the operation of non-critical systems and services, such as shutting down the AC, opening or closing windows of the vehicle, limiting the number of built-in screens which are consuming content or disabling the functionality of some or all the screens, disabling media streaming functionality or auxiliary functionality such as pairing a phone with the infotainment system, disabling device chargers, etc.