Control apparatus for vehicle

A control apparatus for a vehicle that includes:

• an internal combustion engine;
• an automatic transmission;
• a damper and a clutch, such that the damper and the clutch are disposed between the internal combustion engine and the automatic transmission,
• wherein the damper includes a damper spring that is elastically deformable to a certain maximum limit, and is configured to absorb fluctuation of torque outputted from the internal combustion engine owing to elastic deformation of the damper spring,
• wherein the clutch is configured to establish and interrupt transmission of a power between the internal combustion engine and the automatic transmission,
• wherein the automatic transmission has a gear ratio that is variable in a range including a torque-fluctuation insufficient absorption region in which the damper spring of the damper is elastically deformed to the certain maximum limit when a misfire occurs in the internal combustion engine,
• wherein the control apparatus comprises:
• a misfire determination portion configured to determine occurrence of the misfire in the internal combustion engine;
• and
• a misfire-case shift control portion configured, upon determination of the occurrence of the misfire in the internal combustion engine by the misfire determination portion when the gear ratio of the automatic transmission is in the torque-fluctuation insufficient absorption region, to cause the automatic transmission to execute a shift-down action such that the gear ratio becomes higher than a higher threshold value of the torque-fluctuation insufficient absorption region.