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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题0 P7 K/ Y ~8 t6 B7 j ^8 W: }
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
1 P" |. m' `5 `8 {Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
* e' }& l; \# z- F9 D! soperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that7 U7 E1 t+ l. o* ~% a
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"2 l% _8 \3 h2 H6 f: g
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration." ?1 E8 |; ~) R
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential' H/ l# i' {% t6 M! m
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.( V d* f, l0 r3 N1 P2 g, g
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
5 S1 z, P3 l1 R$ \6 Tacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and: k; B5 U$ z6 r Z+ G) C8 k
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor1 ~' R- k0 h7 v5 c7 i# ^: h% ]
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.4 p0 ]$ S- B% K/ I) B; K/ {5 o
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal4 ]: t) g/ ] o# d8 c
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp( ^' g+ S2 t# r/ ~' z/ @4 p5 T
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
- _9 Y7 E6 T' H2 ?+ z8 r0 l, hfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could1 ^) T! H S( n. J
not stop her runaway Lexus.
& U9 m. Y7 _9 B, ?) J"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
9 S( g8 |2 u$ [Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second( m: c: s( D2 E" r; B( G
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
; i8 W8 @1 |2 G; A3 wTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
2 U/ g4 ?( a" h7 y" n* eearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
* K# A+ ~' M( @# k$ F. q3 D3 w"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has q. t/ e1 S7 h$ Q' I# S z
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway' ]# T1 I$ Z! @7 {
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
1 S( _) k9 x' d& [investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."+ D+ L3 w6 X3 |: M' L$ `2 o
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an0 o/ V2 q$ @( l0 _7 w. B
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of2 f) m! q8 U/ R9 X6 \: o' ]
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
* o6 [# M4 A1 b. g9 K" x% {malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
2 {8 V5 w8 J) a* f2 V2 xsaid.
~' U$ G1 Q" G# t G5 W JAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what' \ K9 B/ Z: J
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
2 n8 n2 W% N/ _5 O2 e$ c. M g! gabout driving our products," Lentz said.
/ t6 N8 v/ n: iThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
9 [3 t5 |# N+ `$ nproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has# F; \* E8 M9 v! W' S
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
! L- B8 j+ n% h. Y( [% G dmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
) B; V0 k7 l) i# gunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking; P. V6 Y- h9 r: Q. P
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
) d) D1 w; L7 y c" L9 M4 pconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of( _* O! H# W h( \5 n
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow/ c' { S2 Q6 J2 }
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
6 s5 X# C p3 F& t! E h# Dreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
$ E8 H9 ^$ V; w6 j0 t N9 Q+ E" G- zof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
8 G* L7 N0 K _5 T* R6 Y1 lLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
& r1 R7 g% u0 X$ Ibrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
) X$ y: g, X5 z6 @1 dunderstood the pain.- c* }6 I: _3 ?3 Y- g2 c2 P
"I know what those families go through," he said.
9 g) ^# m) S. c* n+ qLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's1 R' a) |4 w9 F8 k; s
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.; ?0 C8 w1 H" ~1 z
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman4 B) ^1 e2 L9 i* {( p9 ]
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put& r t2 o' E: k
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
$ y& K. @7 U. B! aLentz replied: "Not totally."( @# |2 e/ u1 N3 W8 R4 n% T+ E5 c+ h
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were2 M0 E+ j+ d% K2 V& E* y
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said3 q/ o8 p" G4 [2 U% e- F4 y$ P' z
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
# T1 |, u" y4 X! ^3 u7 Ypedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its- A) f" w7 j& z4 p
vehicles already on the road.
8 p% G5 i9 E$ d; O% W. b7 KMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
5 Y( B( V5 ?' T: Nbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full' z6 B) M" H' L$ \) p+ C! J
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and2 O' T* f/ Y) [5 q) `5 |
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were/ D0 ~! s! F* e& I# q( B+ S4 k
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.5 l9 ^ o' K, D8 V7 d8 L
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a" j6 L8 t0 o/ [ Y- Y5 Y+ }/ w+ y
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony! V" R: _2 p# p. C( U
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight0 x/ Q/ p, V2 ]5 I9 \0 p' I3 N# f/ ~
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal7 K7 d0 R8 O& [8 Z
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
# d: k0 g9 v9 G: `5 ]+ krestore the trust of our customers."
4 r( p& `- e& ~4 a' t) m xLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
2 R2 a& @' g8 }# a+ d( [Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly% O% ~7 P# S6 `# ]3 Q p
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
, w- ^, o& C) {: Qshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
8 @# l7 W9 C0 Dhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough! f( q" S. D+ a2 i' A+ o, U6 ~
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and; s* o: D6 K, x2 L3 [6 d7 Y
turn off the engine.
$ h- a3 q+ g4 W' W9 j1 gFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
; F2 x/ u: T* HOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
d) p# o1 Y9 ^"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she/ `6 u% q) j% G. `7 @, V+ [
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
9 u+ s+ C" n8 A1 B8 |to her complaints.
. s0 M" B1 }+ U# g2 X p1 @In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers1 P$ e) y* S d1 n$ Y
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
! W! r: {6 Y6 q3 l7 }' F) S, Q0 Qmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
2 R" S" w, `0 \4 U% j v* v; t0 c"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric; \' }7 L" | k0 J; o$ V
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited# W& b" v+ {5 T$ ^0 u
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut. r9 B2 j! A0 h9 G4 E3 ?
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
4 ~, H# i) F: `$ wTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in% W7 A! O8 R ~: u% Y& R: ?6 d. ^3 K
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were+ ?8 B$ p' x, i, C$ g1 M3 w; U. T
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls* h6 u/ M, Q: M: l/ B$ v; w
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
+ P' p+ L2 ]7 w: t! S/ j+ e _- a9 Tevery question."
0 o9 C. ~: }& a- w3 wToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
4 Z+ |. q1 m5 ^/ }) ^7 B$ W P" ~- Helectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The& A, d3 Y& d* Y0 ]
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But: e5 p( a* A( a1 V9 j
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
! P6 S: n% L* }number of vehicles- {0 h0 ]; l2 c1 U& q
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
& P7 O7 i1 V: p) ndifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
0 y/ G' m( D9 L1 q& Tmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one9 t: J- l5 ~0 S* [% g
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.9 Y1 g9 g* g6 b$ X& d9 N G3 G" Y1 b
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
4 h, g# i2 { u, Xwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no4 r4 |& k# q$ R1 t. ~ L4 L
trace at all.2 V& c, b/ Y3 ~0 j7 o9 b* e! l
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
1 H0 e0 O, |) \database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden1 {, B! U; B1 }" g
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the7 `7 o+ \8 B7 C$ V9 v; q6 ^3 Y# V
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
, Y1 x) o T2 r& u7 m" ^Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
7 `* ?; |. ]" E. ~& X; csaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and4 X9 p! a5 _6 x1 V5 K1 e2 n. w
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the$ Z+ l& _7 o# [1 ^: O \& G; H
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible# X2 D0 N( W# ]
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
8 N, k: w: k5 i* s Z$ jsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
: u+ g: v" w! @4 O) rby Toyota's lawyers."
k1 E$ i. E" P$ ?Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
# v# [0 S- ?+ Y6 Rproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our+ C7 N& t) ~, t( V; Y
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
# K2 h/ r# u, d2 u. l# ]said.( g5 @: @% M% E) r& |! L
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
k7 S7 x8 X9 a& Ta rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our O! n5 r9 P8 t+ r4 y0 A
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
- P1 |* d2 |5 w! d8 v6 V B% Lofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
% w5 L$ e3 @( S' s$ y9 cSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying6 f, R. C. v% i& i+ x; D
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
9 [1 V# s& |5 }2 Lrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
) {1 a4 Z4 f0 F: Zautomaker, at least in part because of the government's1 L+ {6 c5 y% D4 i* t" W
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
! b4 A$ u# I R; v* F4 @Chrysler.( F! R: p: w e$ ] j4 U
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
$ k8 g! F' T) ~" G6 f8 Ddollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a% W$ I! b" B. r; I8 \# e
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also4 z9 z/ I, J( L1 `
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete0 \& N, M" s) Y o. [
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty0 e! C1 G0 _$ H* E# g" R
tough."
. M1 j- y1 h4 B/ P- K, ?& ]5 C% I--- U- O' x# a8 h2 m
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
, w R$ T% q) D) {Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
% _8 I( N3 K, p: L" F( i) \this story.
/ Y4 P) K* r, t; [% S; w" q: ?7 J6 D5 Y3 ]5 I8 U
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