METHOD FOR FOLLOWING A LEAD VEHICLE WITHOUT VEHICLE-TO-VEHICLE COMMUNICATION

A system for controlling an ego vehicle following a lead vehicle without vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication includes sensors disposed on the ego vehicle and capturing ego and lead vehicle condition information. Control modules disposed in the ego vehicle each have a processor, memory, and input/output (I/O) ports. The I/O ports communicate with the one or more sensors. The memory stores control logic, and the processor executes the control logic, including a lead vehicle following (LVF) application. A first control logic receives a start input from a vehicle occupant via a human-machine interface (HMI) in communication with the I/O ports. A second control logic performs a feasibility analysis of ego and lead vehicle conditions according to feasibility conditions. A third control logic selectively initiates lead vehicle following. A fourth control logic continuously monitors feasibility of lead vehicle following, and fifth control logic selectively disables the LVF application upon receiving a disengagement command.