SAN DIEGO -- This much is not in dispute: Inspectors could not duplicate the sudden, unintended acceleration that a motorist reported last week when his Toyota Prius reached 94 mph on a California freeway. They tried during a two-hour test drive.

Disagreements begin over what that means.

John Gomez, an attorney for the motorist, James Sikes, says it is insignificant and not surprising.

"They have never been able to replicate an incident of sudden acceleration. Mr. Sikes never had a problem in the three years he owned this vehicle," he said Sunday.

But Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said the failure to duplicate the stuck accelerator, along with a vehicle design to prevent such occurrences, raises questions about the driver's story.

"We're not saying Mr. Sikes is wrong or that he lied, we're saying that questions have arisen in the investigation," Bardella said.Toyota Motor Corp. planned to announce preliminary findings of its investigation at a news conference Monday in San Diego.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into claims from more than 60 Toyota owners that their vehicles continue to accelerate unexpectedly despite having their vehicles repaired.

Technicians with the NHTSA and Toyota could not duplicate what Sikes said he experienced March 8 on a mountainous but lightly traveled stretch of Interstate 8 east of San Diego, according to a congressional staffer's memo prepared for the House Committee on Oversight and"Every time the technician placed the gas pedal to the floor and the brake pedal to the floor the engine ... Click the link below to read more.
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Mercedes-Benz automobiles have always been coveted for their luxury, performance, and, increasingly, style. But safety has always been high on the company's list of priorities, and it is the excuse many a spouse has used to convince their significant other that the premium price for the car of their dreams is worth it. The automaker is a pioneer in technologies like energy-absorbing crumple zones and has also taken the innovations of others to new levels.

The German brand has now brought many of its ideas for future technologies into a single vehicle, the S400 Hybrid-based ESF Safety Concept, which is full of hot air... in a good way.

The front passenger seat airbag uses four internal straps to adjust its size depending on the seating position of the occupant, and it can vary the stiffness of the bag to better match the person's weight. Another inflatable device deploys vertically between the two front seats to help keep heads and extremities from flailing around the cabin and passengers from striking each other if the car rolls over or his hit from the side. Riders in the back get inflatable seatbelts that spread the force of impact to help soften the blow.

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