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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题! a$ }5 X+ ^) }! i* n+ Y `0 }, D8 e, o
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
1 E% B7 ^* T7 I- W0 V5 N& F1 QWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.* d7 G3 [- @. D
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that, Y6 A7 w( I$ w, y1 p
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"& Q3 ~# _$ i: e5 z6 ~
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
% t8 B( l6 y' j' D( q"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential2 Q3 Y8 y8 [$ Z# x
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.& ?; T1 l/ {. }- T0 v
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected( e0 K1 D* V( U- i% z1 Z
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and: l8 l' n: K% h. @5 _% p+ w. C& u
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor1 U* c3 p: v, g. o/ M# I
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.3 V! y, I; d9 F% I/ F/ M
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
" n; S; j3 H3 B' \3 pand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp( R" F/ x0 S, S
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
& x- Q$ b: S/ W7 s1 D4 y5 C. lfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could4 O `/ ?& G9 z, L; a- I
not stop her runaway Lexus.
* {0 i0 y6 `6 R9 b$ ]$ O o"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
3 ]% X2 @& k1 r+ i0 eTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
: c. X* K3 Q9 y3 W0 c) C; W9 z+ D"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators./ x( X3 e6 Y9 P; J& p: r
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
% m; b; w+ ^5 C4 C% fearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said4 X0 ^5 T. N' ~4 b+ j4 v
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has; x/ Z4 `, Q: E$ |: z
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway9 r" o f% D) }/ I; u
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's) U" q8 ]6 k6 k! {# v
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham." V. L4 D/ q5 W. F+ C1 x8 P
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
6 u( v/ j% m4 n& l& N# o' ]electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
' s8 q7 {* @. l- Vthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a) B2 f5 q0 y8 z0 i7 A7 B$ \! V
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
: A; s1 l6 R- usaid. d A% w* o/ Q1 B& {
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
# z5 }" T! i/ B" ]/ I, L& f" y5 Z+ [happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
; q! x+ y( ?/ i( u6 S% |: Z3 [2 @about driving our products," Lentz said.
4 @% b9 c# F# F+ aThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's8 A' e% F/ R" i5 K- p; d
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has, Y3 H$ l6 \! a6 e0 p+ q; E$ j/ E
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
/ ~7 T; T" `8 }$ c7 ]4 n4 z) J; ?million in the United States -- since last fall because of
. y9 B! A* b8 {8 m( k, {8 Tunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
; D" K% u$ _3 [& C3 j* y' O+ Uissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering7 T' X% ^) l& M" h6 D( O
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
0 v7 D; j0 O7 Vtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
6 J8 r. F4 c$ edown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has# {! L& O! g$ F* `" L F
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration6 @) D- c6 a4 p) U+ A: k! V( f
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.6 @0 |7 ~- t/ q- h9 H) ~
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
5 }- R* k9 o- @7 L0 V' hbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
" Y/ h* Q- ]9 Y6 p& Eunderstood the pain.
+ |9 g0 P+ B' w' r" s8 u"I know what those families go through," he said.! C2 a! I1 {) z4 f0 z
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
% p- n2 x# `+ E3 o# f, Jfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
' [: L; ~2 W5 R" j6 M4 |But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman1 G$ V+ S8 i; d2 c
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put) J8 f% A b; _' z+ f" W
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
+ [( N/ z0 ?' `$ ]. ?9 {Lentz replied: "Not totally."2 _5 d3 }8 K' X
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
( G9 ~7 m3 |: n% i- g"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said& x7 J0 O4 K1 I- d. F# c
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas& _! b3 u J+ x% \" k
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
! c; n2 s. x1 q' e+ wvehicles already on the road.. C6 E( \4 S* H; {) q
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify6 V% Y" d( r' Z, z8 C6 p' g
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full$ L+ m# s% }* A+ {& g
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and$ j3 J! l7 W7 |
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
# T& e+ R/ r" O5 }. a% o( Tkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
. M/ T1 B3 ^9 D! `"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a( M# u. D8 t/ `, N2 t" W; @/ a
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony* P* v* n& z! z, |0 R
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight, L; S0 X1 z t9 B1 Z' t( R$ E* d
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal+ [: P2 L3 l$ R4 A, F+ M5 F
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
8 F: u8 B8 `4 [8 ?1 x: R9 Lrestore the trust of our customers."
7 j( U0 O6 s' D$ GLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from* S8 x5 ?. @; ~0 v+ n! f
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly y9 K+ V4 D$ s* `6 \" E8 J6 z
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop -- Q; ]) W' [1 }) F( _) N
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
& Y* ?, a& {" Y5 Ahitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
9 T" P7 m" `: I: z- K/ Y$ Ithat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and, r& w I' ^- \# c. f
turn off the engine.
9 n& t0 C3 V+ ~. L% G: ]' m1 l* T% uFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of1 M* Y6 G# R5 B
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
! j; y2 b7 S3 u9 N. G3 f% g! X# ["After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she, G; `1 x2 j1 c8 P* V, b, d2 ?* Y
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond) t# d/ t$ c, ^5 |- H, H
to her complaints.
. |, o" n8 |. G, b5 a. H( BIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers: t f3 s! x6 y' K0 \1 X% H
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic- {/ c) H6 j% c( t
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
3 j+ |& V: m/ i# v I- I; l"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
% r: J. O2 }: g3 }throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
! y3 a# f0 X) C8 ^; _. J0 K"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut& v# ^/ }2 O# G) F' l8 D. P9 U. D
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
: ~ A6 m, a$ QTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in0 a& X2 |- p6 c
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
+ A c! }8 l& Z0 K7 }& Ibeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
8 t" s- J! v9 [) ~& c; x5 E6 Nwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer& q; j" D1 }$ f- ^+ z! }3 j5 g
every question."
9 d! n* i2 |" f' v2 E' [Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
0 K' V) F$ }5 Welectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
! M8 d" I8 j% B9 Sfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But. |" j3 C. n" h% P2 E0 u
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
2 b& h$ e8 w' f4 J$ r( v7 D/ tnumber of vehicles
- p) o( n) O3 b, w6 k5 X6 A/ FTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
' `/ V0 t$ m+ Hdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a4 D) }# a$ a$ t: [! h
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one+ X& Q6 t( R( S' p/ w
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.' y- P" h: h+ q3 M9 Q* o+ F! D
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,/ L* v8 A, z+ k
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
& A5 J; R. o, F) P8 Y" mtrace at all.5 c3 j P, E/ b$ b Q5 @
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call$ }) X2 W+ K5 v: K6 M
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
2 w0 K2 E% _7 ^; B' B9 eacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the' d" \9 X; ~7 G6 y
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
& e* O" u8 Q# n# h! ^/ aRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
# b1 r( q+ A' }2 k9 Gsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
( H7 n. f2 w) Z9 \, z qother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
9 M C5 v" |5 _0 _) O+ U) R4 Pelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
/ o) A! ? c0 `8 Ucause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only. u6 a9 ^: o2 m7 x: n5 r2 i
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
( G" [! s" V5 oby Toyota's lawyers."
$ T& X) a6 R8 Y( zLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
7 w7 A2 u8 ?" b6 a, X6 @ ?) \problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
2 |: }8 n4 I8 F: t0 acustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he1 Z: {) @$ a7 A
said.; F+ ^, V6 o7 P- M. |2 A
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with+ c2 L& D, Q$ ^+ Q9 K, N. q: c5 |0 H
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
# o* B: x- E3 z4 j; L% H( V+ b- zgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
& W2 C0 m$ [$ P3 V, _officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
$ n* c) \% H+ U' TSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying: t# i* S9 _ t4 D, [* Q3 \
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread( }9 ?- {1 N. U3 `/ t `0 p
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the9 H, z7 o T) A/ c1 H* C
automaker, at least in part because of the government's) M8 x$ i0 [8 B" C
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and; p# V. s+ \4 {0 _ P9 l: t4 e
Chrysler.
# P7 ^5 S r! P) x7 [$ }9 a"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax( p- w7 k C1 a0 \, p
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a7 [' z) J1 x# i+ Q1 P) Z8 \
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
8 v9 p0 @% K! ?; v2 Xserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete9 f- h! u) Y8 u8 ^0 O
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty4 @1 }0 u/ {+ W1 z/ x
tough."
5 ~9 N6 r4 d% Y" Y3 ?4 n) l: S: R1 o---4 L L* d. f$ S# P
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom2 j8 Z0 P" } T( g& d- I/ z
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to5 M" w: s' C0 P5 C+ m) u" e
this story.
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