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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题, M' A/ T) y8 _6 W1 n( \$ V
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS5 p; w/ h5 F$ {. p/ ?4 L, @
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.5 }' D, R! O2 ~& n# ?2 T
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
3 T4 \0 I; ^) ]$ a+ h) ?the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
/ m9 {! ~3 }% |% u2 [solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.: |' K" n: s% y% `" h( [8 s3 s. \: S
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential! c/ X& d0 r) c3 r& n5 l* M: s) @+ n
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
/ G9 o R% z3 J9 r1 THowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected! _5 D4 ]! b: H* y
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
$ B% W0 t! y Qtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
' v* Y4 y5 U( ]- }mats and sticking accelerator pedals.( Z# o/ W6 m9 R$ |
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
9 F6 d# e0 L% m& _$ vand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
) ]' I7 Y- l/ ^# v9 s. v+ s' zcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
3 p( j, A& E% `2 {7 ?" @; s% Sfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could9 K/ K4 J! S) v- W0 f1 y
not stop her runaway Lexus. u6 d- d! P$ V4 C6 i h
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,, l& ^1 }' n0 z
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second% S- I0 i! B: q. W" c
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.' F3 s! J7 h: P) A# m
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
4 j& ]5 x3 K% U7 k8 V. Kearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
1 K, H7 A/ h/ c5 O* p+ h"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has0 }1 [0 j% ?" j1 Q" e2 ~" p
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway( p7 z. \% G8 G, s
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's7 p/ a5 O# Q" T6 C0 M
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
N3 k0 x5 L8 F8 y7 H4 D* bLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
' j) J9 @6 w& ?electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
% Z1 a, f0 N6 I5 ~the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
1 V9 S+ e9 [! [malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he9 W- [5 ~0 M, l6 W! ]- d( [
said.# e# k- d2 ~; n
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what4 d( A0 D# a l5 u% G0 I3 W
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
/ n8 r. b2 l- G2 R( Z5 [about driving our products," Lentz said.
9 v$ y9 k! A7 n$ t% I3 q, Z; x$ iThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
i- `+ d, \- o$ o Sproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
; R" a7 e. {- {7 t: arecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 61 c, P% Z5 A: T; W |
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
- ^6 _7 a/ `! n: _! {( B7 c( E# W; dunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
5 r; N7 B5 N! m4 ~+ Eissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering4 [- n8 r4 F' r. z
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of/ S3 ^4 |( r$ _6 u
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
' _: a$ C4 L, udown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
/ C4 D+ C. B( N+ z5 i; Jreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
! `' A) B0 m" q% q' o( s! iof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
8 {2 U# S( v2 I9 r o" u6 E3 ZLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
1 t; e. ^! J5 i xbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he, _4 ]2 @- B" C4 G, f
understood the pain.
" z5 X0 R% l7 y+ `/ [. p1 t" i"I know what those families go through," he said.3 i% U8 e3 y/ Q$ ^+ {- N8 g: R
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
# D3 o" Z& s! ^3 ]fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.7 q7 U& ?& c6 d% z" ~) f
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
1 d f- J/ I% _- F5 y# q% {+ h$ h$ F1 NHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
/ K% u3 F% j* ]5 z' D G! C* n( ]in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
" v7 P/ s/ n3 K4 dLentz replied: "Not totally.": h/ H; b( ?1 y5 s
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were# v- K2 Z* W. |3 i0 U1 e
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
% K+ j5 G. b" r8 R9 c9 ]Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
- J/ Z/ h7 F$ G/ G) P6 d8 A0 Y6 zpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its! c- d6 A1 w% M$ }3 s: j8 g& m) S
vehicles already on the road.5 Z% E( U8 N: f5 `2 P7 t6 T
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
! w" Z7 x6 j$ H: T- ]' Sbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full2 P- O5 u5 v R2 b
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
4 s4 _- ?/ u. `3 k5 }4 Aoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were4 N$ f" I. L# G) f7 X/ t
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.7 R2 ], C) p# C' y
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
2 C4 D. g- g# a4 V, w: htragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
& S* b# r: Q2 o. y9 T7 h# efor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight6 \4 S" O. e/ T
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal4 g% Y3 ^. A9 y- C: G0 F: H* v* y
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to: m+ b3 n8 X8 d ^
restore the trust of our customers."7 x8 c W' I: n: y2 Z
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
. [3 w* u4 b7 K5 OSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
0 P5 h: R5 E5 s Z4 p& _zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
( K, N6 E) w7 {8 H" lshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
6 F6 k4 B& w1 U* p0 ~' Q7 Mhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
8 t, x& X; C9 V; A* Xthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and/ I. Q# p1 ], n- J |/ |, {
turn off the engine.
. v+ d8 F/ M5 k% l; ^Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
) T* u/ F) j+ F4 q. NOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
1 _2 H. C; v* \, w- j K"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she& V+ G6 Y$ R! R* a3 t5 X
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond: N! x) w. |; d# C, _
to her complaints.9 U2 t# e$ C2 p4 F; A' h0 W7 }; I: T
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers1 [, w6 L+ m' q7 J- ?6 }1 J
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic0 b7 p9 V# x# ?) g4 d7 N
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
, M7 `8 Q4 b& a+ ~4 N6 ?& ~"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
0 {8 R7 ^! [2 U0 A5 L7 {throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
, Z3 m, d0 ]* A9 L- A"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
3 Q; _+ \! c/ L9 h9 soff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."- [" n* {& o( @) H
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in$ |" j# K' n- M6 ~4 ^4 m- B
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were; g- a4 G2 v' v6 @
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
9 L" ]; y8 c! v/ j, y7 S, bwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer& r# ]3 h; p, E1 m
every question."
" D( r: K. F2 b( \' E( z+ [Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
* {# Z7 X5 W$ d; T2 pelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
- [) K6 W# ?/ c% A' ^( S* Kfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
% X! v: ?4 V) c% }committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
$ r' y* Y4 }, X, R& mnumber of vehicles
' q7 E7 \( @8 A) X% Y- vTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
1 Q' j+ u$ w+ k udifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a: T. M6 t1 V# @, D% v3 W8 z
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
0 w* ?1 S+ y& C5 X/ Nsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
1 G# z6 r! C7 b" y: g CMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
: C' \' y1 J& Y. D; Y& mwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no9 ?4 o' K5 N0 P7 C
trace at all.& V+ U2 ~5 W' j) N7 ?5 U6 e
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
+ O" X' C9 `" y) L" |database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden6 ~1 i- L; g" `- A( d9 {& o
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the. V- S" s7 ]3 K5 x3 W! z* B
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.4 S$ d; {" _+ y& F3 Q
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
/ g" f: ^; ^/ V! R! xsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and+ z. G' e) |' n6 J) x+ ]
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
. d! C4 F' V3 O6 G3 g5 }electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
3 ^9 N. A7 V1 H. s5 L8 ~cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only: V n5 T- x0 W) e! y
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained Z0 g! ?/ p% R- ~
by Toyota's lawyers."
) |, a! j2 w& v! \& C! F2 f# DLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
- d# R% O# g, J; J$ G9 aproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our7 s2 w& w# ?8 y) U- c9 W1 }
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he5 N* H6 b- Z: i0 l0 y1 c) p
said. \* y3 v' g, D7 S/ X- i
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
& m% x% P. f; {+ la rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our' O& G& Q5 I- Q6 |. o
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
" o0 R, g8 E* u tofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
# S7 |5 p( Z5 u5 |& @9 R6 `Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying4 K: R9 g+ T1 x p# P- B
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread; j9 y, q, o; s9 i
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
9 g; L6 K$ q% i" zautomaker, at least in part because of the government's A0 k4 c3 q1 B0 z1 `" N
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
' y3 [1 B% y/ `2 P& CChrysler.6 m9 i' c6 Q8 K
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
: r" g" d; q! G- ?dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
+ v" k+ ]" L4 C0 E( k- cHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
* |) w; O: y% E2 Q" z2 z! M4 X3 Kserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
9 [1 a, d! u1 I: _" v% ]with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
0 q! ?* K* u4 O% ~8 Ktough."
* e/ D3 y! x/ u: e9 ^2 C0 S---% U5 [ ?& ~/ g
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
! ~1 y% [+ _* g; k4 d4 }Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to o$ ~+ M( j i4 u8 o
this story.2 |5 ]% b5 H! B. D- u) ]
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