Abstract: An audio system for projecting sound toward a rear opening of an automotive vehicle is disclosed. Each side of the vehicle includes a speaker assembly mounted to a side interior wall between a side door and the rear opening of the vehicle. The assemblies each include a speaker housing containing a forwardly disposed speaker cone with an axis generally perpendicular to the vehicle side and a rearwardly disposed speaker cone with an axis disposed toward the rear opening at an angle of about 15 degrees relative to the forwardly disposed speaker cone axis. An audio transmitter is in signaling communication with each of the speaker cones for driving the speaker cones.

Abstract: A vehicle having an adaptive cruise control system with active deceleration control responds to capture of new in-path vehicles which violate a predetermined inter-vehicle spacing to attenuate unnecessarily aggressive deceleration responses. New in-path vehicles may be identified by inordinate changes in inter-vehicle spacing. Deceleration response of the system to controlled vehicle closing rate and new in-path vehicle deceleration preferably remain unattenuated.