In a vehicle control device of an embodiment, a recognizer that recognizes the presence or absence and type of article carried by a user who uses a vehicle and an instrument controller that controls a vehicle-mounted instrument are included, and the instrument controller determines a mode of control of the vehicle-mounted instrument on the basis of a recognition result of the recognizer.

An off-road vehicle speed control assembly that includes a speed control device, a speed sensor, tire pressure sensors and an electronic controller. The speed control device controls speed of a vehicle power plant. The electronic controller is in electronic communication with the speed control device, the speed sensor and the plurality of tire pressure sensors and is configured to operate the speed control device in at least two different modes of operation: a normal mode in which the plurality of tires are inflated to a high-speed tire pressure; and, a first off-road mode in which the plurality of tires are inflated to a first off-road tire pressure that is less than the high-speed tire pressure. In the normal mode, speeds of the vehicle are unrestricted by the electronic controller. In the first off-road mode, speed of the vehicle is restricted.

A method for accelerating a vehicle from rest. The method includes receiving a mode indication indicating a launch control mode selected; receiving a brake-on indication; controlling the engine according to a launch control strategy; determining an accelerator position; for an accelerator position greater than zero, controlling the engine to: increase open a throttle valve and control the engine to limit engine torque output; receiving a brake-off indication; controlling the engine according to the standard control strategy, controlling the engine according to the standard control strategy with the braking system having been released causing the vehicle to accelerate from rest, a first rate of acceleration from rest of the vehicle being greater than a second rate of acceleration from rest of the vehicle for corresponding changes in accelerator position, the first rate corresponding to accelerating from rest after controlling the engine according to the standard and launch control strategies.

A system for monitoring and controlling vehicle operation includes a monitoring unit disposed at a vehicle, the vehicle including rear brakes and front brakes, the monitoring unit configured to monitor driver inputs, and automatically detect a driver's intention to perform a combined brake and propulsion maneuver based on the driver inputs meeting a first set of conditions. The system also includes a control unit configured to receive a brake request and an engine torque request from the driver during the maneuver, and based on detecting the first set of conditions, apply a front braking force via the front brakes according to the brake request, and automatically control a rear braking force applied by the rear brakes during the maneuver, so that the rear braking force is less than the front braking force.

Systems and methods are provided for controlling a transmission. An engine stop-start event may be allowed or denied based on one or more characteristics of the vehicle including the transmission.

A launch control method for a vehicle may include a step of increasing clutch torque of a clutch according to a decrease in braking pressure, a step of maintaining a current level of the clutch torque for a first reference duration, a step of gradually reducing the clutch torque within a range which is lower than the first reference torque level and is equal to or greater than a second reference torque level which is lower than the first reference torque level, a step of gradually increasing the clutch torque until the clutch torque reaches a third reference torque level which is higher than the first reference torque level, and a step of bringing the control to a stop when a state in which a clutch slip is less than a predetermined critical synchronous slip is maintained for a predetermined critical synchronization duration or longer than the predetermined critical synchronization duration.

A control system for a vehicle may include a brake assembly having a brake actuator that operates brakes to apply braking forces to wheels of the vehicle when actuated, a propulsion system having a propulsion actuator operable to apply propulsive forces to at least some of the wheels when actuated, a hand-operated actuator, and processing circuitry operably coupled to the hand-operated actuator, the propulsion system, and the brake assembly to apply a balancing brake force to balance the propulsive forces generated based on actuation of the propulsion actuator while the vehicle is below a threshold speed and both the hand-operated actuator is actuated and the brake actuator is not actuated, and release the braking forces when the hand-operated actuator is released.

A computer-implemented method comprises: determining, by a computer system of a first vehicle, that a traffic standstill criterion is met, the traffic standstill criterion including that the first vehicle is stationary in traffic and that a second vehicle immediately in front of the first vehicle is also stationary; receiving, by the computer system, a camera output relating to a driver of the first vehicle, the camera output generated by a camera positioned in a passenger cabin of the first vehicle; assigning, by the computer system, a distraction level for the driver based on the camera output, the distraction level selected from among multiple distraction levels; determining, by the computer system, that a criterion for a drive-off event is met; and selecting, by the computer system and based on the distraction level assigned for the driver, a first alert level from among multiple alert levels regarding the drive-off event.

A system for a vehicle towing a trailer includes a sensor system configured to detect objects in an operating environment of the vehicle and a controller configured to monitor a relative position of at least one object with respect to the vehicle during an initial vehicle movement and store in memory the information as a reference data set at an instance when the initial vehicle movement ends at a vehicle standstill. The controller is further configured to retrieve from memory the reference data set upon detecting an event indicating an end of the vehicle standstill, process the reference data set to determine whether the at least one object is in a travel path of the trailer corresponding with a subsequent vehicle movement, and execute a contact avoidance measure based on the at least one object being in the travel path of the trailer.

The vehicle control device includes a start determination unit configured to determine whether or not the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle has become equal to or greater than a start threshold greater in value than the stop threshold, and a vehicle control unit configured to start the host vehicle based on a preset speed profile after the start determination unit determines that the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle is equal to or greater than the start threshold and maintain the stopped state of the host vehicle until the start determination unit determines that the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle is equal to or greater than the start threshold after the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle stop.