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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题* S% R2 D9 `6 i) A( E5 L/ Y, J
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS6 J0 B2 ~1 h& P6 @ O
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
0 F, k( O8 s- k# Ooperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that, E0 @) j" v7 V6 ]" |5 b- u
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
{/ J( h9 M+ ~' W( ~solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
, r6 P1 O6 T& |5 g"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential- {( Q) I7 X: N3 f- d) N9 {# x
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.7 G9 h& g$ I; Z/ L" Y* S' Q
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected% { }% E5 k% u6 ~: @4 z9 o( x n
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
( T* }/ S5 U: G8 J- h6 y6 utrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor7 x! r8 Q5 x7 S( a8 v! k
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
7 h. x2 v7 P2 |* iHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal( ?; j b9 a2 r- r
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp( b( @4 j' c: w
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
, N) s! y1 i, z' ^: g3 ufurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
8 j3 x) E" Q/ h/ f0 `6 T1 Xnot stop her runaway Lexus.
4 P8 I. v, j- ["Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville, D1 z5 g2 c1 l3 _9 U
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
4 q ]$ Y p2 s"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.) o: B8 E7 e! C! W
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
# }8 D- ?1 e+ j/ r2 f6 kearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
7 u2 `4 A2 y+ r) i6 q) \"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
y6 a D' V6 N. Idone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway. Y n# r- y& u' x8 |) n
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
, {, c: W0 c* s0 rinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
1 r" D$ \0 Z6 h( O1 _ e9 DLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
5 c" E) I6 n' `- c7 nelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
. {% P: h& b; }the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
2 Z* a+ j3 v2 C; P/ i$ Hmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
4 s* p& H4 }) T$ X* L5 Ksaid.2 }3 o" W% D" w
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
& p ^0 m. v/ S9 p- _. Xhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
' b8 Z T# T2 L9 _about driving our products," Lentz said.
, [- e1 ^% O( I! b, }9 ^6 fThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's2 k6 q2 B: V+ e* l& o2 }" y& M& r
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has8 Y1 ]$ P( e! k# t% e3 w( ]5 i
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6 |3 F3 V! \2 u( Y! N& Y' \
million in the United States -- since last fall because of3 `3 V3 v( I) X; `9 `% i* E
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
0 i! g) D# V) d; i& F) c4 W- Bissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
: o& g4 g3 C3 @2 m# nconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of7 k! s$ F. a6 L/ m- b2 e3 }: W
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
% z3 ~" B# Y- u! q/ B2 ~! e1 i1 t4 ]down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
& H3 C( s2 J8 T! k1 Freceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
* R: O( r. r8 T8 m" |! b7 Z* q- Zof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
, A. A+ O8 i; M2 w' x* t" { {Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own0 K; ]! o! X, a5 W
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he7 P, ?1 X6 S; J: d7 c$ h+ l5 {
understood the pain.* y0 g8 H( G7 _$ q
"I know what those families go through," he said.
5 s/ a' J% I# ^Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's' R1 E1 v9 k$ u/ A+ a
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
' x M" u5 I9 l/ ^1 K7 z6 j2 WBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
4 K7 M. U0 V# b+ P" K# F; e9 d' rHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
. q! `$ O) U, tin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,2 Q& t! Z1 _0 R% E* o# l
Lentz replied: "Not totally.": a! w. w( K$ {, z! H4 ]9 w
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were/ ?4 d! ~. e3 G. j) ?
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
- h: A4 r7 P6 D' V. \1 RToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas5 O* Y; I5 R' h( C* I8 d
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its- V3 Z; y- ^2 k; o
vehicles already on the road.
* c/ h; }: V! T8 dMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
q a6 G8 a8 I) V) ?0 {before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full% }8 w3 A2 i+ R8 Y+ H3 I' ?
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
9 K1 h( b' Y9 F4 N& G6 |9 m" Voffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were5 s$ B9 h. N$ V% P* U
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems." g& N/ h3 R& ~& @( O
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
0 ?% \9 S. ~5 S6 Y8 p* Utragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony2 A) o7 Q1 D- H* _0 | Q( X8 |
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight% h0 p; `+ V' @: {' U' N3 ~. Y# o, B
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal q* ]; S2 J6 Y1 T5 X' U9 Z
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
, N( _2 X3 W) u$ Xrestore the trust of our customers."
$ o7 u. R+ W0 u9 r$ DLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
: p5 x6 i2 P7 v) D) r& VSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
; G; [" R$ Y/ S4 v, d; Vzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --3 T8 a) @: I/ a) X! @$ D' M
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and2 C* Z2 B' w; Q! o/ A
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough; l- E: |0 Q% y/ i
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
$ ~8 \0 ?6 X" x$ l' Q" Jturn off the engine.* I" i9 j; ]2 m. G( M* l( l
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of2 j. z% \0 k F; Z3 W4 X
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
# \2 _& t( m7 g- o& `"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
T. Y0 I/ S1 y. Nsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond$ ^/ }; C* c7 Q
to her complaints.+ b. g; m/ [9 Q7 V- t* O2 u; n
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers8 Q- {# Y# U b6 F3 o7 ]
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
) S. H" X0 L. Lmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.1 k0 t2 l" o% V2 V& n8 l6 J- |# C3 i
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
, t& \6 @9 V. t5 C5 \9 q& g9 Kthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
: I# R' A$ w* j/ i! d6 s3 e; U"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut2 D. B. W5 V' c; m3 |
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure.") I6 u7 r7 D6 S5 b) b
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in: k) [, f9 K3 N1 D
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were& V% S' \+ ~" J( i. h$ X
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
" x/ L0 X: c4 l& ywere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
; g$ ]- i$ J8 F: U% C: revery question."* X7 t/ h) H, T* i* u
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
: [' x. y% C% ]6 s9 pelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
$ f5 T, _9 E2 M) l1 `- H/ y2 f' ~firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
/ z7 D h/ \+ S; b' m F0 mcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
; @5 h& L, A8 ]4 Onumber of vehicles
, B6 f- d& J- J: RTracking down an electrical problem can be far more! e) \, z, l# m6 O2 ?* ^ s. j
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a& \+ m6 H# Z8 Z" S
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one4 g) h u- ~( g p
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
& o1 v1 w1 q sMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,$ O; L$ \. H' W; ?
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
# q) j- ]+ x) ^1 h; o) V3 A( ptrace at all., `- |, ?4 I5 W2 A
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
( K3 E$ U! V( [ ^database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
1 b9 i$ E" X% [- R# Tacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
" J# Y% ?, z; a$ n: rrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
0 }" a5 J4 D% e9 D$ RRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
. q' y* B7 C4 ^6 A# S, ]said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and8 e& |" g- G7 y6 f) ~
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
* o' K: [& q5 a8 V9 S+ Xelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
9 q8 w4 p0 x4 G$ U7 ccause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only) f w8 W5 b1 O5 D# X
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained: u( I5 y1 v$ L3 P2 v
by Toyota's lawyers."
! s: c* V. a! ZLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
# y- E- j: D4 S" Oproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our5 g9 K) H. s. N- Q1 d! L
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
5 D, }' p, R! p5 r3 J, |) x+ Y- Jsaid.
" j/ p+ @0 d4 {) _. s- g, A' B"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
9 N: C' N7 J' T. B$ \) w/ T. b( ka rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
) C: F2 e# I: P( W/ ugood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
* I G) d1 \- M. u5 dofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
0 i/ t' J8 j! i" J3 r# ]% m5 `+ MSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying' @. b; B* o6 r1 D# `; v( b: V
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread/ o4 @2 L0 o8 x* c
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the Z" f- |7 v0 V
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
7 c+ K$ Y) n; ?/ f/ Hinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and+ ^, z0 X$ l: l! B9 m
Chrysler.# R0 T8 c$ H& w# b. O m+ h' V1 O |
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax8 a" F6 B. D$ _/ n# A
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
$ v% `7 [" M1 V& r3 ^1 Z; O3 ^Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also1 ?; u a: k+ n: }& {4 g8 w
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete% q: d) w0 s J7 j; Q; x
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty$ m d, h- ]' d/ C% ?! E& b- q
tough."9 W8 ~/ E" K4 [" F( h1 P
---/ E, o' y2 C9 Y
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom* W, V5 ?" ]" R/ ? z! O
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
% L. `8 L0 Z# ^+ d% j' J7 W- T' zthis story.
2 k4 Z4 j2 Z4 n# Z) E5 |- E5 Y8 q& g" I
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