A travel control apparatus of a self-driving vehicle having a drive power source and a transmission installed in a power transmission path from the drive power source to drive wheels. The travel control apparatus includes a vehicle class detection part detecting a size class of a forward vehicle and a microprocessor. The microprocessor is configured to perform controlling the drive power source and the transmission so as to follow the forward vehicle, recognizing a vehicle type of the forward vehicle in accordance with the size class detected by the vehicle class detection part, and the controlling including controlling a speed ratio of the transmission in accordance with the vehicle type recognized in the recognizing.

Disclosed herein are systems and methods, implementable in a vehicle equipped with adaptive cruise control, for maintaining in a subject vehicle substantially constant following distance relative to a preceding target vehicle where there has been a change in slope of a surface on which the subject vehicle is travelling and/or where pitch of the subject vehicle has changed. Systems and methods disclosed herein may maintain such substantially constant following distance by managing engine torque. Such engine torque management effective for maintaining substantially constant following distance relative to a preceding target vehicle, notwithstanding change in driving surface slope and/or change in pitch of the subject vehicle, may be realized, according to the subject vehicle's torque map, based on data received into the subject vehicle's electronic control unit through sensors for detecting surface slope and sensors for detecting vehicle pitch, which may be located on the subject vehicle.

A method for controlling a transmission provided in a vehicle may include providing a reference data for automatic shift of the transmission according to a speed reference of the vehicle, collecting a detected data delivered from at least one detector or operation state information related to an in-vehicle device, wherein the at least one detector and the in-vehicle device is attached or mounted on the vehicle configured for recognizing a driving condition, determining a mode for the automatic shift based at least on the detected data or the operating state information, and performing the automatic shift according to the mode.

Disclosed herein are systems and methods, implementable in a vehicle equipped with adaptive cruise control, for maintaining in a subject vehicle substantially constant following distance relative to a preceding target vehicle where there has been a change in slope of a surface on which the subject vehicle is travelling and/or where pitch of the subject vehicle has changed. Systems and methods disclosed herein may maintain such substantially constant following distance by managing engine torque. Such engine torque management effective for maintaining substantially constant following distance relative to a preceding target vehicle, notwithstanding change in driving surface slope and/or change in pitch of the subject vehicle, may be realized, according to the subject vehicle's torque map, based on data received into the subject vehicle's electronic control unit through sensors for detecting surface slope and sensors for detecting vehicle pitch, which may be located on the subject vehicle.

A vehicle controlling device comprises: a VSA-ECU which controls deceleration of a host vehicle using an inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and another vehicle running ahead of the host vehicle; and an engine controller which performs idling stop control to stop drive of an engine as a driving power source of the host vehicle when a stop condition, inclusive of an entry of a vehicle speed of the host vehicle into a predetermined low vehicle speed range, is satisfied, and which performs restart control to restart the engine when a predetermined restart condition is satisfied. A power supply mounted on the host vehicle is used in common as a power supply used for the deceleration control and a power supply used for the restart control. While the idling stop control is on, the VSA-ECU disables execution of the deceleration control of the host vehicle using the inter-vehicle distance.

The invention relates to the operation of a motor vehicle having a long-distance driver assistance system comprising at least one sensor which detects the area in front of a vehicle, and a control device which is designed to detect another motor vehicle traveling ahead, in order to drive the motor vehicle relative to the other vehicle traveling ahead when the driver assistance system is activated and operationally ready, wherein the activated driver assistance system can be deactivated from a control or regulating mode by driver activity, wherein upon deactivation, the system may enter into a system standby mode continuously detecting the area in front of the motor vehicle, and can reactivate autonomously once another motor vehicle traveling ahead is detected and a drag deceleration is required to reduce a velocity difference between the operated motor vehicle and the other vehicle traveling ahead.

A method for controlling a transmission provided in a vehicle may include providing a reference data for automatic shift of the transmission according to a speed reference of the vehicle, collecting a detected data delivered from at least one detector or operation state information related to an in-vehicle device, wherein the at least one detector and the in-vehicle device is attached or mounted on the vehicle configured for recognizing a driving condition, determining a mode for the automatic shift based at least on the detected data or the operating state information, and performing the automatic shift according to the mode.

The invention relates to a method for operating a motor vehicle (1) having a long-distance driver assistance system (2) comprising at least one sensor (3) which detects the area in front of a vehicle, and a control device (4) which is designed to detect a vehicle traveling ahead as a function of sensor information and to output control or regulating commands to one or more of the vehicle components (5, 6) used for long-distance driving in order to drive the motor vehicle (1) relative to the vehicle ahead when the driver assistance system (2) is activated and operationally ready, wherein the activated and operationally ready driver assistance system (2) can be deactivated from a control or regulating mode by a driver activity and vice versa, wherein, when no vehicle ahead is detected by the activated driver assistance system (2) and the driver assistance system (2) is deactivated by a driver activity, detection of the area in front of the vehicle is continuously carried out and, when a vehicle ahead is detected, either a notification is output to the driver to reactivate the driver assistance system and to place the system in control or regulating mode by means of another driver activity, or the driver assistance system is activated autonomously and switched to the control or regulating mode.

The disclosure relates to a method for automatic longitudinal control of a motor vehicle and to a corresponding assistance system and a motor vehicle equipped therewith or, alternatively, configured accordingly. In the method, within the scope of user-side setting of a gap for the longitudinal control, a display position for displaying a relevant gap marker by means of a head-up display is determined proceeding from the position of a vehicle in front. In response to a user input for setting a changed new gap, the previous gap marker and the new gap marker are then initially displayed simultaneously by means of the head-up display at the corresponding display positions. When the longitudinal control has achieved the new gap, the head-up display is actuated to only display the new gap marker and not the previous gap marker anymore.