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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题& ~" ^/ p, y# m2 H& V/ l* [ G4 p n
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS" h& i- e% @# E$ x% y+ U) I
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
; r$ i& x& q1 E3 c9 Joperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that0 ~8 w6 [( J) P- N4 U& a
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
* I; x& p; V( [# \/ osolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
( Z, g9 [) u/ I' h8 T2 o5 |"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential9 l' F5 s8 T8 Y( H0 z" i
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
Y/ q$ t3 e- B( G/ s9 v* z4 JHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
u: ~/ `5 Y, t# D& \9 q2 }7 O& s5 Tacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
2 D9 [3 J8 {& ~trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor9 u' [/ I1 u. l; `/ }$ }, F
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.+ p, S# V5 ~9 c8 p/ m3 g g
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal8 w: S: Q _1 d u9 j+ R
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp v% k: ?: x% p8 ?9 y
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be. K- I# u. q* k0 g
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
% Q/ q+ q! t; s- Vnot stop her runaway Lexus." R! q2 o& K( l# a: O' L
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
# m% \0 z! n3 S6 A/ k* cTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second2 M0 b1 x1 [9 k( {
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
, x! a, K8 q2 u( B8 c2 O2 @$ JTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
/ H; v/ D+ y- U# o6 c Uearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
4 ?6 t) t' t+ R. x+ c- f; D"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has8 } g. R4 [* @0 ]! G k3 u( n
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
! Z3 L# v+ G$ c0 hthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
) p$ o& R) a4 V" R) Y0 u& e z8 @investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."% m, h% d8 x1 w" z0 W6 n
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
* K6 M% B4 W+ w8 N* ?0 Q3 K, Ielectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
0 e, ]- s. f- Y5 C9 F& Sthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
0 q$ S5 F; E; _" Vmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
, x( r2 E1 o" Gsaid.
8 y6 H- u% |* `2 G" u; ?3 W% GAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
* \0 [0 f$ U# E: phappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe+ {' B* ~' `5 _# h2 g! _0 R
about driving our products," Lentz said.$ Y+ a+ X1 K1 S, ~
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's! N2 C4 o. Y9 @; u% `* \, Q" q
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has- i) n5 G3 @2 q9 w% g6 |
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6. c7 {7 J( _4 U7 [% ^* p1 k) `
million in the United States -- since last fall because of" w) g ?) M6 M e
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
. u) F6 a& |1 H% V- y# p' F2 Iissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering# [& ]6 ]4 x" w1 _) B/ l
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
6 v; A) ^; N p, Otheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
J0 `5 [ g* ?/ s2 w: |down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
$ r+ [/ ]/ q& t7 l: Z5 o: treceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
4 j M4 p* f; b/ B% [/ P. mof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
0 d! L+ S3 [" i* K& H( FLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
: @& o9 X) S3 W$ E1 l+ w4 dbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he: k) J h: A I* q, V
understood the pain.
/ ]; Q) B* x3 ~- R P+ G0 c"I know what those families go through," he said.
& H# o1 R3 t; m+ n& G, w: u* i; CLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
: x8 u2 F! a' G( Ifixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.9 s' {1 ^; W- t7 b7 E+ B
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman0 S! l0 u) K2 R) B# P
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
. X! M* C, X( s/ C. {( d% S$ g( oin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
6 X1 `0 x' n* R3 V) {* k9 c, [Lentz replied: "Not totally."
5 `% s! }0 a, A# L* ~1 |$ \, {Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
2 H M" L* I1 z* C( h8 M) }"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said* C2 J0 k2 r' }3 V
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
$ _+ J8 J. n( _# J8 k6 q( Lpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
5 _! e* M( i$ Z8 Y! Rvehicles already on the road.5 [3 R" q2 \' H
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
; [6 \& O7 L+ N* X! i, J \. M( ?2 dbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
: y1 Z# a$ `( ], U3 _' vresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and, S( ` P4 g- [9 H# `9 u" @
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were" J- b N' T/ \" S
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.- W4 [2 F! Y9 J0 B; c" N1 `
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a) l) t T. M" [, G7 R; R, [; T
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
) J; p' z# c, n* Gfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight; J: [) R, ?0 I) G4 v" B* C
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal# F8 w* N% j$ ^4 r+ q
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to- E; H$ m" H4 P2 {, D; V
restore the trust of our customers."" D1 z R6 K2 q9 T' o) v
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from: H' F& o U8 F
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly! g" o( K& j7 Z: ]2 g+ _' A5 }
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --; u5 c1 Q6 U( }
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and- e' B' E8 t# h% ]& |/ B7 R0 E
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough* K. D9 ^ ?* z' ~$ m
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
8 E. [* V$ S( t1 j; e$ Nturn off the engine.: I* f# O. N: y* G5 B
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
4 U* _9 A$ o, F2 g1 eOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."4 }" G, ^+ Z( }# p) ~3 l5 w, p; ]
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she2 i( {0 X$ T+ Z5 Y% P4 g" t7 i
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond M" S+ @7 `! ~ t$ B, K
to her complaints.: j' V. r5 N% U2 X
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
. {$ y) R! f. x: j4 T& Mreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic7 R9 p8 T/ V7 E3 m
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.) D' W/ J! ~* o- M' s7 \9 M
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric$ @0 S Q) F8 m& V
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
0 `3 Q. _" g/ V) I- G; @"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut" e* N8 w0 D. H% L) D, [( S
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
' D; s* R C+ { D gTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in* L' J4 `) f. |# A, K
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
) n8 J- h4 H, S( p# o4 |/ v6 m# Gbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
0 z' G$ Y1 h/ i6 K! U0 @were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
; X( N6 r. n: |every question."
. X9 }7 S( b3 I( L8 n- \Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether) }5 |5 m4 {" ?0 n9 u
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
q e9 N9 q% Q- s' K4 D% V; M& afirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But. b9 S! D$ ^# y- s+ c, V4 U
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
2 g( U: \, u3 `1 h R/ O0 Xnumber of vehicles8 c0 N9 J) M) t3 I9 E0 j) g
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more2 B' w3 q8 {! x O6 u _
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a: ^3 ]" ?2 R1 V2 M1 ~) L
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
; f* a: ^* D/ L3 Osource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.- K9 X& S7 [! U, B# x! C6 V
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
! X5 l9 N2 ^. b2 p1 ] ewhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
' r; `' d. C" F8 d+ H# c# }' ~trace at all.
6 H) A7 d1 `: v8 B0 X i% \4 n" aHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call$ o' C& h$ \" _5 ~3 |6 o) E; |2 _
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden6 \( a6 @% U# B
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the- v% H6 W6 G; z- r* y% d
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
m8 s" M4 a( ^Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,3 ]' t/ u* r1 T3 o2 T' J* g
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
; A* l+ O. V% s- nother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
: Z) G( p# q0 Y% H, Nelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible6 w4 z {/ S+ e- R$ @
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only* X' t% a+ d3 |' K
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
) B; H) H9 k# O% Q! K0 U8 V2 L/ q1 iby Toyota's lawyers."
0 v7 T8 e/ L+ J2 ^) ULentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of& w* k9 E! @& k. e1 K; y
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
0 ]1 i" z4 g7 ~1 \5 vcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
! N8 t$ d# ]4 W) vsaid.$ t7 ]8 @+ v& E
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with1 W9 n5 x0 @: R K
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our" W' p5 _' d+ d5 [% I
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating' }# O; g- V2 S ]& I$ g" G
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc." V2 p' f4 f( z9 Y! _* i% M
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
% X+ v8 {% N. F9 }- Q8 emembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread! d+ u: z3 E$ }& {4 `
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the' u9 q# ?( L& L/ p/ O A
automaker, at least in part because of the government's$ f6 N% v: y$ x. b$ |
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
5 v8 G2 N. i1 e5 t, L: y+ @/ b; dChrysler.
9 }) N& E7 i) X' O# `"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax* k4 B4 N4 b' A
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
' \: f! B& W& g) tHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
- m. U# h6 `% yserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
+ ~5 D" ^8 I" Z, J7 G; e$ _8 \with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
7 g6 _) r- k1 ptough."
" q& k8 W; l/ q3 [, [' x- F+ ~! H5 l) i---; f7 G& T. p P4 S1 O' i% J
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
- J# B8 i: v1 ZRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
5 p' |% ^* a! b! }% Zthis story.
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