I believe this vehicle has a severe safety-affecting problem with the programming of it's engine control unit. under certain conditions, mostly (but not always) while the engine is cold or cool, the vehicle occasionally will not respond to inputs from the throttle pedal. this occurs while the road is clean and dry - i want to stress that this is not a manifestation of traction control. during these incidents even if the throttle pedal is fully depressed the car will only accelerate very slowly. when this occurs, varying the amount of throttle has no affect. more worryingly, this evening, the reduction in power was so severe that the car would not accelerate at all. the reduction in acceleration persists as long as your foot remains on the throttle pedal, regardless of the distance you may have travelled during the incident. normal throttle behavior only returns once you fully release the throttle pedal, then reapply throttle. all of the above occurs on flat streets and highways. this is a fault in the engine control unit or transmission control unit's programming. in a merging scenario, such an unexpected and comprehensive reduction in acceleration is a severe safety hazard that i believe warrants the nhtsa's attention.