Toyota Motor Corp. says it has determined how to fix the defective accelerator pedals that are prone to sticking and will begin this week to notify the owners of 2.3 million recalled U.S. vehicles to schedule the repairs.

The company says dealers should begin receiving repair parts later today or early tomorrow. Dealers will install a steel reinforcement bar in the accelerator pedal assembly to eliminate the excess friction that has caused pedals to stick. The company plans to use a similar remedy in Canada, China and Europe, where it has recalled an additional 2.1 million vehicles for the same problem.

Toyota has put its efforts to address the recall into high gear in an effort to reassure customers, appease lawmakers and minimize damage to its reputation. In a blitz of interviews, television appearances and press conferences, Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., says the company is “truly sorry” for the concern it has caused customers and is doing everything it can as quickly as possible “to make things right.”

Toyota says many of its U.S. dealers plan to extend service hours to perform the 30-minute repair, and some will stay open 24 hours per day. The company aims to make repairs on all 2.3 million recalled vehicles—an ambitious goal given that only three-quarters of vehicle owners typically respond to recall notices, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Toyota says it will lift its freeze on sales of the eight models involved in the recall as dealers fix individual vehicles. But the company says fixing customer vehicles takes priority over repairs to unsold models.

The company plans to resume production of the eight affected models at five North American assembly plants on Feb. 8 after a one-week shutdown. The plants will equip new vehicles with a modified accelerator pedal mechanism now being shipped by the supplier.

Toyota Motor Corp. officials are expressing complete confidence that they have found the ultimate solution to accelerator pedals that can stick in the open position, thus making the vehicles difficult to slow or stop.

But lawmakers, safety advocates and some customers are questioning whether Toyota was too slow to acknowledge the problem. Some accuse the company of covering up a defect that goes beyond the current recall and involves electronic throttle control systems.

Toyota attributed early complaints about difficulty in stopping its vehicles to loose or improperly fitting floor mats that could jam the accelerator pedal. The company has recalled 5.6 million vehicles in the U.S. and Canada since last fall to fix the floor mat issue.

Jim Lentz, president of Toyota’s U.S. sales unit, says the company first became aware that the problem went beyond floor mats in late October. He denies that the Toyota delayed its response or engaged in a cover-up. Lentz adds that Toyota has done “exhaustive testing” and found no evidence of problems with electronic throttle systems. Consumer Reports magazine says it has been unable to replicate alleged braking problems involving electronics in its own tests of Toyota vehicles.

Lawmakers are asking questions about how Toyota and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration handled early reports of accelerator pedal problems. The company says Yoshi Inaba, president of Toyota’s North American operations, will testify at a House Oversight and Government Reform committee hearing on Feb. 10.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and NHTSA Administrator David Strickland also are scheduled to testify. In addition, the two transportation officials are slated to appear at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on Feb. 25. It isn’t clear if Inaba also will testify at that hearing.

Toyota now faces at least 12 lawsuits seeking class action status in the U.S. and Canada, many of which blame vehicle problems on the electronic throttle control system, Bloomberg News reports. Lawsuits were filed in Canada and Texas in recent days, alleging that pedals and floor mats are not the primary reason for hard-to-stop vehicles. Since November, plaintiffs also have filed lawsuits in California, Florida, Louisiana and West Virginia.

General Motors Co. and Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Corp. say they have agreed to extend the deadline for closing the sale of GM’s Hummer SUV unit by one month until Feb. 28 as Tengzhong awaits Chinese government approvals.

GM and Tengzhong signed a tentative agreement on the sale of Hummer in June. When they reached a definitive agreement in October, GM said it hoped to complete the sale within 30 days.

But obtaining clearance for the acquisition from China’s regulators has taken much longer than GM expected. The company says it remains “optimistic” about the deal’s progress thus far.

Beijing is reviewing such applications closely as it tries to consolidate an auto industry glutted with carmakers and capacity. GM said last month that Tengzhong faces tough scrutiny because it is a producer of road and construction equipment, not an established automaker. Analysts also have questioned whether the purchase of a brand with Hummer’s gas-guzzling image fits the government’s goal of promoting more environmentally friendly vehicles.

Factory activity expanded in the U.S. in January at the fastest pace since August 2004 as new orders and production jumped, according to the Tempe, Ariz.-based Institute for Supply Management.

The research group’s index of manufacturing activity expanded to 58.4 last month from 54.9 in December, marking the sixth consecutive month-over-month increase. A reading over 50 indicates expansion. ISM says 13 of the 18 industries it tracks reported growth.

The jobs component of the index increased for the second consecutive month to a four-year high of 53.3 from 50.2 in December. The index’s price measure, which gauges inflationary pressures, rose to 70 from 61.5.

U.S. personal spending increased 0.2% from November to December, marking the third straight month-over-month gain, according to the Dept. of Commerce.

For all of 2009, consumer spending dropped 0.4%, its largest decline since 1938. Consumer spending is crucial to a recovery because it accounts for about 70% of the U.S. economy.

The core index for personal consumption expenditures, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, which excludes food and energy, inched up 0.1% from November to December and was 1.5% higher than in December 2008. The Fed aims to keep inflation in a target range of 1.5%-2%.

Personal income increased 0.4% in December, the sixth straight month-over-month gain. Americans saved 4.8% of their income in December, up from 4.5% in November. Economists say consumers will remain cautious about spending until they see signs of sustained strength in the job market.

Separately, the Federal Reserve reports that most banks stopped tightening loan standards for consumers and businesses in the fourth quarter of 2009, but few have begun to ease credit yet. The Fed’s quarterly survey of bank loan officers finds that demand for business and household loans has weakened over the past three months.

U.S. construction spending fell 1.2% in December from the month before, the fifth decrease in six months, the Dept. of Commerce reports. Residential and commercial spending posted declines.

Construction outlays fell 12.4% from 2008, the biggest drop since the government began tracking the data in 1964. Automakers say a rebound in construction activity is needed to revive demand for their highly profitable fullsize pickup trucks, which are favored by contractors.

Fiat SpA says it plans to increase spending to develop new models this year to about $6.3 billion after a 15-month freeze during the global recession.

Speaking to analysts, CEO Sergio Marchionne defended his earlier decision to delay vehicle launches, saying it would have been a “waste” to introduce new models this year in an uncertain market. Fiat has said it expects demand in western Europe to shrink at least 12% this year to 12 million vehicles—and 16% if government scrappage programs are not extended.

As a result of the delays, the company will launch the Lancia Ypsilon and Fiat Panda minicars in 2011, two years later than originally scheduled.

Automakers sold 238,400 cars, trucks and buses—excluding minivehicles—in January, up 37% from a year earlier, marking the sixth consecutive year-over-year increase, according to the Japan Automobile Dealers Assn.

Sales of passenger vehicles surged 43% to 219,800 units, while sales of trucks and buses fell 9% and 8%, respectively. Car sales have been buoyed by government scrappage incentives. Honda, Nissan and Toyota boosted sales by 65%, 24% and 45%, respectively, last month.

Sales of minivehicles (which have engines displacing no more than 660 cc) increased 1% last month to 128,300 units, the segment’s first year-over-year gain in 15 months, says the Japan Mini Vehicles Assn. Government incentives are not as generous in the minivehicle category.

The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Assn. predicts demand for non-minivehicles will increase 4% this year to 4.8 million units.

Robert McElwaine, a founder of the American International Automobile Dealers Assn., who was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, died Sunday in the Washington, D.C., area at age 86, notes Automotive News.

As a spokesman for U.S. dealers selling import brands, McElwaine lobbied Congress to oppose import quotas, tariffs and domestic content requirements.

McElwaine was advertising director for Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz Cars unit in North America before he helped establish the Volkswagen American Dealers Assn. in 1970 to fight Congressional efforts to impose quotas on auto imports. The group opened its membership to dealers of all import brands two years later. AIADA now represents 11,000 U.S. dealerships.

Automotive News says McElwaine rallied support for Chrysler’s request for a federal bailout in 1981 because he believed the company’s failure would hurt the whole industry. He retired from AIADA in 1989.