Apparatus and method for automobile control using a control characteristic which can be adjusted by the driver

An automobile control system, comprising:

• control devices provided in an automobile for controlling operations of the automobile in accordance with data representing control characteristics of said operation;
• first rewritable storage means for storing operator-specific configuration data representing a plurality of different control characteristics for said control devices, said different control characteristics being related to use by different drivers of said control devices in the operation of the automobile;
• means for reading from said first storage means data representing a control characteristic corresponding to a particular driver who has input data to the system and for delivering the data to said control devices in response to data inputted by the particular driver to operate said control devices;
• means for modifying data representing a designated control characteristic for a particular driver as stored in said first storage means in response to a command and data input by the particular driver to adapt the modified control characteristic to requirements of said particular driver for operation of the automobile;
• determining means for determining whether the particular driver who has inputted data to operate said control devices matches the driver corresponding to the data representing a characteristic stored in said first storage means to control said reading means to read from said first storage means only when a match is detected;
• second storage means for storing data representing predetermined control characteristics;
• means for checking whether or not the data stored in said first storage means and a determination made by said determining means are within a predetermined normal range;
• and
• means for selecting one of the control characteristics of said first storage means and said second storage means for outputting selected control characteristic to said control devices by selecting data representing the control characteristic of said first storage means when said checking means determines that the data stored in said first storage means and the determination made by said determining means are within said predetermined normal range, and by selecting data representing the control characteristic of said second storage means when said checking means determines that the data stored in said first storage means and the determination made by said determining means are not within the predetermined normal range.