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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题 p" u% j) j% l. L
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
4 K! t$ J$ U0 }3 p1 h4 F: GWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
- a* B6 g5 e4 [! |2 roperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
7 j. ?# U Z; a- O" I1 Bthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"6 I8 p/ M. X |8 _! K
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
% m- W" S3 `7 R' m* U- Q' W* z1 |"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential; G% y3 f, e, G+ H
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
0 v7 f2 B& L" p( h3 w, ]However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
3 M5 u0 R# k4 A, x' P9 n: Yacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and3 U! T" U4 O: P
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor6 U, t7 W: U6 F/ C
mats and sticking accelerator pedals./ Z. |- h' f' ^% P1 T4 Q
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal# j1 ]5 {' S( C6 [8 h N
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp$ Z, x2 ]5 O% m& E' P/ w. c5 `
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be3 v. P( H9 Z- R4 F( `, i; M
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
6 h* {- f8 w* `" Vnot stop her runaway Lexus.
- @9 K: t2 r9 J' }+ H"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,. f' q9 L/ z8 P% J7 E5 F+ l; p
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
% V1 V3 Z* b& z6 a% h( k0 A9 z"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
3 v, K6 n" p. k1 dTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues0 M e/ ?, R$ i) V
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
9 t, o; q% G+ w, r& D& G3 U"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
/ Y! f" }! h( r B- N" Ydone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway( w; m) z' {! Z4 q5 g
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
- C% R) e' X( r' Einvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
) F( w. F9 L6 C W! ~- G. p$ F( ELentz said the company had not completely ruled out an4 y u# \6 G. {; J9 e2 j
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of+ \5 w" r; k/ Z3 a6 l' P5 {3 D
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a1 x) [# {& W- M2 o" l' B! I/ C. Q
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he ]& V: e- U5 ? ~/ x
said.
; m5 V( Z9 o b6 i& T: ]As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what9 h( F. j0 D; L, c, l b* r" N4 g
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe" J" B- W% F& ]4 `0 d, ?: Q
about driving our products," Lentz said.
7 M' F# F; s) _Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
' X2 T2 i0 z" o# R! a8 p9 Sproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
7 c% Y- p1 B4 I7 q* l! i6 T5 |recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 64 u( d$ l' l8 O' [, F
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
1 b6 ?- F6 C0 w# R p7 ?unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
* ?2 ~% D6 T ]* T: P- F8 P5 {6 }issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering! S7 V6 _: n' o. s1 b
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of2 B8 k3 p2 G; P% T7 A4 t1 d( O" g
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow0 T( l) p3 r2 A- S7 j; X X
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
C: A V2 J0 @. Z/ P* E( treceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
& l: f' I4 n, l4 {. z2 `; Y" fof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
R8 n# A+ O$ a8 K+ yLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
4 f$ {/ n- }' N' g# P5 N2 ybrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
/ K( L- ] A4 Munderstood the pain.
" M8 h3 e, A% G& B! D' s"I know what those families go through," he said. ~" A5 i9 M' Z4 Z% E0 v* V4 K
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's* l" ]1 z8 R+ L7 ?$ P
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.5 d* J& q; M) p: d$ s
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
9 O/ W, x: E0 `: A% ]% y7 c% z2 LHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put- T2 S0 o$ Q. w1 A
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it," f Z% H C: @$ [+ E" }7 M
Lentz replied: "Not totally."' S' ]$ ?1 [1 d) C* Y' I, J6 F
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
: Z& F+ G3 a- q; k"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
9 F+ |' { s9 ` zToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
8 @) Y! e P! E* a, [pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its5 f/ ^# `( U( I9 r7 d
vehicles already on the road.7 |/ j3 b& v% d9 W; z+ d
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify4 l/ I N$ Z2 B, |' Q! w
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full) Q5 k0 O5 J. q- M3 n6 F! ]
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and# Z( t$ _0 O$ o" G6 W" ]
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
! }( g3 d1 @) e4 hkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
# [, b% f& s( ]) j: j"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a* I7 _! J: d9 e* L6 C
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony, e# J( @" n" J4 n M
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
) s" Q( I& g- {6 F# T4 vCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
" W9 S$ d* _1 ccommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to+ F, h# M% T2 m0 g2 {
restore the trust of our customers."/ L7 J, L' \5 u( P0 Z. c
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from+ Y8 ~7 r7 ^2 l# \' c& v
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
1 ^# L1 ~) T$ {0 V- Uzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
/ u% N/ M7 A) k+ vshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and4 y- e+ a D1 u6 o* X" E9 Q: ?
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough6 q* {, q. |6 B$ L; |" L) i
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and* H3 N" l/ e& m
turn off the engine.
9 K$ g9 u0 B6 P- r+ \Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of' a0 S# p. N& b' u& _! O9 D5 R4 ~' Z
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
8 K* B, X. w0 {' B& e"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she& W# P1 ^4 d$ l- A9 Q( i
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond# G. g) [6 m3 M0 s) s* U" R
to her complaints." h8 J9 J! l/ m; }& g; `% _# i
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers) D; W6 D. r* b' O& n( t- J
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic$ T, M7 S6 q; A9 H0 _
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.6 q! K* w% I5 ] g, D. s$ v
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric, s }; O' e1 z. w, Z) t
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
. \' g( i& X5 G5 o& r8 V"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
! V9 q8 z) M3 K; {1 i, A: M7 Hoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
$ N+ z- [' O0 w$ P' BTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
7 `8 B2 {1 Q: S+ o* d/ h: gprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
' V: W. M$ V$ K0 H4 a9 Gbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls# ?0 i7 |7 k. p+ ?4 |$ Q
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
: E" I. z) w) L! vevery question."
- I( c4 R4 m: @7 g) O& `Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether2 H" P" }3 M: ] w& n$ q" ?( x
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
% g# ~$ z: Q4 n ?firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
7 h2 P9 A! d& \" d* J+ v6 qcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
" b# I2 r- i1 V/ M( ?5 g3 k9 qnumber of vehicles
' [, F- U# r4 H9 k- a- ?) CTracking down an electrical problem can be far more* r. y5 `- Q+ A9 H" B* V. t
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a/ ]! `+ L7 Y* Q4 ^/ c9 x o6 E
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
" P# S, p" c: A& fsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.! M4 B1 F: ~4 v% \; A. k
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,9 {8 ~$ z0 q \7 Z- z" X; c$ Z
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no5 j1 |1 Z; z# [' F+ t
trace at all.
3 _2 G P% {1 ` @% E$ wHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call8 _3 q' L/ G5 M/ ^, g
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden! U$ \: B7 Q7 V% [1 m1 X: s
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the, {# c2 a' I# V
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
3 U+ m d: V1 P' T5 S5 \, ^' DRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
9 z' T- a& r' w* usaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
! y- {! x: T3 f# k- ?) n; E8 L* xother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the% b0 B( p' u+ a) _3 ^# w
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
% p2 g+ z5 j- ?9 Z& s1 ycause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
7 ~" z( z) v( R$ ~* q3 V& |such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
3 V4 T A+ r8 ]2 }$ Xby Toyota's lawyers."/ y/ l* B M2 l8 C; n% c( K
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
0 f3 y: X; Y& i( w9 c3 A/ oproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
; U: W4 _7 T; W5 l+ m0 pcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
* \' S. [( }$ C. \& {+ Q- S+ u0 o1 X6 }said.% w0 S- u; ?+ L: u
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with4 t- C9 N. A, f, H D
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
1 J4 ^& d: r. jgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
) T. P0 x \. Z% [' D8 ^. A; I0 J$ Kofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.6 Z0 g2 A; z& Z
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying! A5 K' j- F, R C9 A4 G
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
9 f" q4 O' i4 `; R6 J6 c+ @rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
L" ]+ ~7 v5 a# j/ u7 N& p3 Cautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
& h6 M# C( z$ {' d! {2 Einvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
# i9 k8 z- ?6 a' Z, G% YChrysler.$ J/ G9 L0 |4 h% ?% D3 i
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax7 p! O+ u- Q+ k0 p: f( W1 q8 C
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a1 U" s4 `1 U/ b/ e
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also |6 Q+ [! [7 q8 d
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
" v# G7 w3 L9 }& n! iwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
2 Z0 T0 X; c) V( d" X2 B' Itough."0 X' T! t; g2 i9 N, Y, w4 z# |
---' a5 b5 p% \% l/ B' {- p
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom) { _2 O4 ^: \. e
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to. i8 O3 {1 j) O1 r' R5 f! O
this story.
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