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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题" V) y# p6 d& j+ E
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
7 `/ ^9 ]- C6 u; r- J" V% ?Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
. x6 R) X5 W; O# O. F/ I4 {operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that3 z0 ?) P, i7 k
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
$ J) J1 U: c: q7 ?% `solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
, ^4 \- ?$ N( F# G8 K"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential( h) @, \0 a6 u% `. _ W# r
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.) J1 S1 u, _' I( g I
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
" E, K% r7 C$ b Gacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and: _" n8 `7 P, D/ D3 \5 {
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
& x, o! B; m: u: Pmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
4 y4 H) v; e6 p2 GHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
- ]" h" T1 Y2 `$ R5 @& \/ \and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp) o0 `# m8 O3 ]2 [9 i4 K
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be* \- y5 Z! K( X. m0 N, B# D
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could& t' o8 V; w9 H2 Z* ~4 r8 g* l& C
not stop her runaway Lexus.! g4 R3 B! ~$ E( o
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
' y1 h# D- U9 p# X* X$ N! m( }8 ITenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
% q( d3 e1 t* M# y% ?6 ?, f"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.' |3 c, L/ d, Q$ @1 P( o
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
* Z' Z( ^; t& G, e8 K iearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said) i9 y) d m$ f; @5 v7 Z
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has# S: t0 h. K3 g1 {( p$ k* i. `$ ^
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
7 R, G& D" @# b; S0 v# j; Y) sthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's$ f& ~; e6 x5 \; i, B' p6 ^, E$ K
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
" ^5 {& j$ j* n& R3 BLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an2 D3 H' a9 h* F% H& B! f ?, H
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of. Q( P! |* d9 l$ {0 h s3 u
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
- K5 I% u; ^( j: c4 \$ d# e) kmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he) [) J8 F, D) N- C6 ]7 w: i6 |0 C3 h
said.
# ]2 O2 F0 B9 L+ y0 a" {: F' k) rAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what1 T, `! u% ]2 |7 t6 j) p* a
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
; u/ ~& K7 w ]; o3 p7 ^1 X2 yabout driving our products," Lentz said.
% }7 m! k+ q6 e6 A$ h5 S) L8 vThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
8 D& ]4 J" X! R$ p* ?: |problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has Q( e' U3 `* Z5 P; S6 e) X
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6; V) \0 b0 t3 `) ^( L! b0 e4 D
million in the United States -- since last fall because of+ y' m( g* z" {
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking# v% B: ~; j# c0 K( x9 Y, z; R s; A, g% Z
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering7 z7 x, f) K! D. `0 E6 n
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of4 r5 W" w$ K7 }" K; R x/ |
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow0 s6 X, B' ]: v4 H4 U# B: R
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has# A* w% e5 F& M" @$ V
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
4 b5 r' \+ h6 H( |" a) ?0 S1 ^of Toyota vehicles since 2000.4 G6 D/ F, C% V$ a0 D2 ~
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
( D( [/ j r8 m1 E- Pbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he' O( p5 Q/ F8 g" v- P! d7 W
understood the pain.
) c9 Z7 N1 i. z- \"I know what those families go through," he said.: d5 W" z ?8 ~9 e- Q! [
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
! ]: ?9 h& M" j2 E! T# e+ Ufixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.' B7 D8 y% `8 H" q9 f
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
% m6 f1 i/ d1 R1 F- E; THenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
' A- ^6 D7 Z+ t% j9 X. jin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
8 r7 l4 X4 ?; A' d nLentz replied: "Not totally."
, I8 p% o+ E. V, E4 c4 a7 pStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
; g/ r! P0 V" M- n3 L"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said6 a& ^1 m8 Q; e0 s, w a
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas4 u! |1 c: \3 ~8 r# i) N
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its/ m7 c9 B2 l3 y9 F2 W q
vehicles already on the road.! t$ a$ E3 j8 C! J9 s
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify$ V+ n( M$ X' h P+ J2 E0 A
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
V" `+ x, f1 K" Q- W, ^responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
n# x: T' p8 _offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were0 ~0 n% _9 t( W% k. y( f" ~: {) X6 e
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.5 b5 ~6 I7 \: x" W
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
$ V5 Z, ?$ @6 o: C5 M/ Mtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
* K1 M+ y2 e9 q3 ` zfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
/ X$ V- E" [1 L. `, \* [Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
; |+ q$ @. Z; R0 B# a* |4 Icommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
8 \+ S6 B' x" Y% D0 K) Y) Jrestore the trust of our customers."
- h* B# r3 l) ELawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
: G- i q/ b# q" |8 xSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly- I* u6 L* ^) k+ ?
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --/ \- l* J) z/ q
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
& o; k; v2 [8 x( I& C1 T; c/ Ahitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough7 {( u! l- a2 `( f1 V) Y7 m1 L
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and/ e# ^& R8 G ?2 @
turn off the engine.
! Q5 v; j7 L0 P3 e" J2 C4 i( ]Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of: r/ j! G9 H" k+ a- B" G: K5 L
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
+ h" k: `; [/ h1 q% S8 ?0 s- v"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
1 O% j4 A- ]9 w( Fsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond& t: v4 _/ S2 _$ e; q/ L0 o
to her complaints.8 Q$ A# ^9 B+ [
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers5 B9 K. X$ Z9 o
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic% J* j0 }5 B. m$ U# V
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
6 I2 k1 Q4 Q- j( A7 G2 |5 X"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric0 T8 @2 t: m+ O* Q7 ~9 {
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
* @ b& c$ D6 C2 ^2 Q+ }$ i"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
3 j8 f; E' O, F" J+ X$ n0 \$ f) Foff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
- Y- i$ Y% _# dTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in# l, h: Y3 t9 A. B" P
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were3 a% B5 ^% a3 \
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
# F) j% a% W3 ]; q/ C3 v# Bwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
5 u" i; J: F& k9 xevery question."5 D5 {* b/ t- k4 m9 h0 ^) [5 @0 e9 z
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
. ]: ^' i0 R D P) u) D, T2 lelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
+ S. R h! y- K( m$ y& Gfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
9 ]" o! [+ q0 M6 B! T9 x2 \committee investigators said the testing studied only a small8 I1 `$ b9 Q$ G# Y4 U8 J
number of vehicles
* x# k: R( Z* F# O$ m/ R' RTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
$ R7 y' S- j! j' tdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
' _! Z m$ }6 j. m* \mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one$ f# v* Z! M1 M7 Z7 @% q
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.' t, u4 Z9 R: b( x" ~; a
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
; T$ K4 q1 e% @2 Cwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no, j+ M0 b( A8 K2 I3 ]" G
trace at all.) A' ?- W$ R( v4 t# K
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
3 @( R) w/ R; ]9 L* S! Y7 _' P. c3 mdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
* S- H0 F; ?6 c! sacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the1 y, \5 L6 s* P6 g4 x X; v
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
" a. `" \2 r2 t5 a( @Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,7 x5 P6 i: @! j; C4 J
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
- |( d+ W3 J7 R. I; {% `6 C& dother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the$ M, B$ C- }1 ` K) s3 z
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
. n/ s( j8 d5 Z$ p6 ^0 e4 j, wcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only+ _/ X! t7 W8 [+ a5 z2 m0 h
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
( L6 j: H5 [; G0 O# Jby Toyota's lawyers."
+ ~9 @+ T$ H0 [1 X5 nLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of: [) B( B M6 r! L
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
[$ w/ |: N9 Vcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he$ K+ I0 @% m4 I+ F3 P" |, F! i' x2 V
said.
5 U; O, Q7 Q5 `"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with6 L# s* G( J1 V$ s+ P* `/ ^
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
2 ~1 d; j: i I0 jgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating; U& j) G+ L. A: Z M* l0 V+ C
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.; @* D+ ?5 H4 V t: _4 c" ]
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying3 p& C7 O. n2 m/ `
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread: K# |' H0 Y- {; e' r+ j* z
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the/ y, S8 I. Z8 a/ a, U# S' M
automaker, at least in part because of the government's9 B) e9 A, j6 K
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and% Z f9 j& Z& o1 e) \0 i1 X Q
Chrysler.7 O8 Q, e- a. a4 k3 r; R/ D) i( T
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
5 u+ n+ G4 ^; _dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a h3 w( T% H5 p; |. @8 o
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also. o3 \% p* U, o; B( {
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete0 T1 c+ c% b5 g3 e4 f$ B8 O/ g" a) R! i8 [
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
0 b; q F" |; |tough."
1 j$ j: S+ a, r3 b" Y---
! j# k$ }# K4 N8 FAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
, y, _! J7 Y4 fRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
' ^& f9 I9 d" _) \& y" nthis story.
' @* | i: T1 m- }' M( N# Q$ I# G% I% [; x6 q6 Y" [
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