Patent US 6,842,686

A method and an arrangement for controlling the drive unit of a vehicle are suggested. In a first step, input quantities, which are independent of the drive unit, are applied to form a first input quantity. In a second step, a second input quantity is formed from at least this first input quantity and at least one engine-specific input quantity, the second input quantity influencing at least an actuating quantity of the drive unit. In addition, an interface is described between the engine-independent part and the engine-specific part of the engine control.