Apparently not. Of course, neither do either of my newer Hyundais. There was a story on here a few weeks back that made me curious as to how my cars would respond with sudden acceleration and hard braking. I'm not worried about my elantra, as that car has a standard tranny, but the Entourage I took up to 45 and mashed the pedal and hit the brakes. The engine slowed as the brakes stopped the car, but it didn't sound and feel like power was cut to the engine (no let off).
I also tried slamming the shifter into neutral at speed (45 - 65 MPH with and without cruise on). No problems. With the cruise, the engine maintained its speed, but it didn't cut off the cruise - seemed odd. I'm fully confident both vehicles will come to a stop using only the brakes and shifting into neutral.
Both cars will allow the engine to shut off regardless of shifter position, as well. However, the auto will only allow me to get the key out if it's in park or neutral. A safety override prevents the key from rotating all the way to the key removal and steering wheel lock position if the car is not in park or neutral. I've only owned a few automatics, but my folks have owned several brands. None of them ever let me turn the key all the way to the point of removal/steering lock with the car not in park/neutral, at least none of them from the late 80s forward.
I posted this on another Toyota link this morning.
Some Toyotas’ have a laser controlled device in their cruise control that will automatically decelerate if overtaking a slower moving vehicle, then automatically accelerate when you change to a clear lane. I have such a vehicle and the first time it happened to me I was startled.
Also, I believe Toyota was one of the companies that derived the most from the “Cash for Clunkers” program which probably painted a target in it’s back, placed there by Government Motors.