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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题) a2 X5 m$ t4 `
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
/ P9 a% t! f: E' ?0 v7 RWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
# v' ?% {- J% Goperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that$ x. V$ B' [* F8 B( j' a2 _
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
. ?' s w6 T9 h; U7 isolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
! X! D! Q/ q, s* u2 s& l5 a"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
% U. u4 G) e8 R+ tcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
1 F+ U& L9 M% R4 l4 b7 B6 hHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected+ w. n" u' l6 h
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and2 `0 b: b$ s6 g |
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor# l" a; J2 I& c7 V3 k2 t
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.8 a7 s$ n# m. o# p
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
9 w4 v7 ]; Z6 ^9 U/ oand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp8 T2 z' u% I! N3 [+ ~& T) t; i
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
+ T0 m6 Q3 e1 R% U0 Dfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
\8 p: ~& G( d8 {* D& snot stop her runaway Lexus.
& M0 b- N) \: o) J5 k0 U8 E: m"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
% \2 W- u, z) f8 G7 F: Y) V7 {Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second0 r% b7 A$ R; _4 a: b$ I" ^3 E
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
9 H2 A2 h6 T) X9 Z. CTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
5 o( ~* p2 q$ _# cearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said- \5 Q; a1 q# \# k# W0 M
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
3 O' M$ K' l' }/ D" P) P$ Ldone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway& l0 B+ _7 j+ _. O$ R/ N5 ~
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's8 e& J$ t4 X" c
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
, [1 `0 ?; F+ a# J* e8 d* LLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
" X' Q$ e+ J W: x% \: Qelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
$ [. X N7 Z# P. w+ l+ Y' ithe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
3 H" Y F0 c `& I& D( X; u, m Fmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he8 o2 N1 c3 w7 T. c
said.
7 q) R ~ ~( u2 D! S# p$ JAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what D2 V; V% D P) \* F
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe+ ]: F# B; K1 O
about driving our products," Lentz said.
! G' u8 n+ `* W# N7 f7 MThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
7 f+ m7 @ Y( {& R6 I- Yproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has9 K! \2 R& m% k& J$ N0 [2 V
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
9 ^5 K& R2 R1 T7 P5 U0 r' Qmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
" y5 R# _# ]4 Dunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
- w I2 z4 C0 ]# \8 g: wissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering1 T+ w8 f" h5 m$ S; w8 ~" u) t U
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
V/ m# k" a- h+ ?8 Rtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
7 m) c _3 J cdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has4 C# C/ I% {3 Q9 u8 e
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
5 ?% ?% c: h) m9 b$ p) `% w; Tof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
* J! _) B7 O4 B( i( N: ALentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own9 V6 _0 d4 O% `: S+ O( c" y
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he- A' E) m. k' A
understood the pain./ ?, M$ L) N# E: E( o' H9 z
"I know what those families go through," he said.' i" d7 G! k. Y9 B% m
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's. w4 u& o/ w( m$ r
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
' G7 a$ q6 }: WBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman4 i0 T) ~$ f5 t5 B
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
3 |6 ^2 E* R5 N# V: S. |. Lin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
: Z7 O" i$ L2 Z- n+ vLentz replied: "Not totally."
; ~! o8 m% w* \; L5 `9 D% ZStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were4 s6 S0 I( u6 K
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said; H# S" n& P [- ~' q
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas! y2 q0 x( [& e; c9 `
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its7 Z: I6 i- Z8 Q9 [2 t! B
vehicles already on the road.
/ j. C$ g. [# a# dMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
- ]+ i6 B" q; Ubefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
- v& C9 P7 s2 e+ w) {responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and: P3 s& g# _" L& }
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were2 [! _. G" ^& w- J) M
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
! ]( H& O7 i8 A, @"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
1 j# [# t0 h, Gtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony% C( \. n0 u8 w" _9 G: B6 D
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight, H H+ t* y/ z8 T! O9 Y
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal5 u/ k% ^+ ?& b3 [# J
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to$ x" j3 Z# Z% @
restore the trust of our customers."8 s, b9 \6 O. `* Y j
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
! \; S4 l+ f h3 t3 Y# HSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly1 }4 T4 u- k+ H4 _0 f1 ]
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
) {5 C5 v2 |4 N. F4 L; qshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and g6 Q1 ~# N; a ~, y
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
* P! H$ n+ c% v) _" v& U- _( fthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and4 L2 j9 t: K5 c3 x* i
turn off the engine.
1 C0 _* O; e2 a/ H/ d7 a3 \Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of k: H4 G1 G6 P5 Z4 G7 {* w! _
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
) J) c% Y+ F) ~"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she+ V( t. m& ]; Q7 O
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
7 k" S) C( I7 Vto her complaints.
# G5 l7 i4 M4 Z% i. t( nIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
2 Y2 j- ]5 v$ T+ l; creturned again and again to the question of whether electronic& O. _7 U/ ~0 O4 s6 ?
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
9 [$ h! ?9 r1 n7 T6 D5 L"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
2 N/ ^ S. m, f2 K( B- gthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
, A$ {+ T5 n: T: t* q"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
% M: c: d2 J4 Q& j& ~- t( Goff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."- W% u g' S: _8 o
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in o M$ P! K8 c' q4 }2 Z
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were9 q7 P4 s& M, `; u$ j
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls* u, R8 ]) R$ {, R: i$ n. ?- Z
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer2 X/ I1 o, q6 U
every question."
; p8 z1 o$ ]: u1 a; J9 Y2 mToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
( r0 a) z; X- v4 z9 f8 Kelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
. x. v* G* h) m. vfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But9 X& Z; d- u% F. ]7 g
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small/ D; @7 q" a, `. ~, a: F
number of vehicles @1 g" }$ B- ~# d
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
9 A2 @9 s2 N" L3 g8 ]difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a- {5 G% p. I$ h2 X6 J8 K9 f
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one- w. l$ N2 K4 e* m0 q- Z! c+ P
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.( n' w0 |8 Q) F' @# R
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage, F/ @% f* t2 V6 K* f; Q! z$ [
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no. b9 h$ |5 \- n$ r0 Q
trace at all.
2 Q" L1 \9 y3 Q: j8 d& eHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
. n) W" @6 j; ^$ i& }. Zdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden8 z' |5 | |; M- K6 {
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
$ S t+ K; Y! ~. lrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
. H8 x f1 F( D% _! {# V0 tRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
0 x5 f9 K; `2 b9 w9 ^' ~5 Wsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and/ `( ^ F9 Z' \4 ^. A! [
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
: Q" l$ J. K" j& ^% K) I$ M. telectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible7 M+ e- d& |- z) s% c- j0 d8 d, A
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only+ y* a5 b. t) g- G' F5 e
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
3 q' V% g( \/ i1 v! Aby Toyota's lawyers."/ l6 U# P$ ] E' Y; w7 j1 E; f" _
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
& m' d% G5 c" D3 I9 F& Qproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
+ d1 C+ y; W6 R: m3 t* C; zcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
f/ Y# |1 [1 C3 g' b) ^+ Dsaid.: l7 e- _7 e7 o5 y9 b0 w6 s
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
/ ]& D5 d/ l8 f5 Ba rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
3 H* ~" I6 m: ?! ygood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating5 ^, O+ a5 `, S4 \6 y' `
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.# q4 ~- Q9 x' o1 N4 J
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying9 Z1 a# n& d: V& S7 g0 O0 {
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
6 s5 I. r: w- a, z: Krancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the2 q% e1 ?4 A* u3 a! r' G H ~, ~
automaker, at least in part because of the government's& L* L% a* Y6 |+ ~4 c; R& Q! l
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and- a* h+ I& r# \
Chrysler.
. i7 Y2 P0 V# W6 E, N) x* k"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
! F, f- `* P/ E. Z3 ^# ~& F% xdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
) M) G" O; A/ _7 ]0 a8 f0 _Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also+ F4 t$ b8 x8 b5 D1 [8 b# D C
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete; h# R" H' T" X, o; e- t, O
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty- f4 k, q; w! s: v- u/ ~
tough.", k, T, T s' U5 Y# n6 R, ?2 U
---
. b8 m0 ?1 d, VAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
: Q! v' c$ [9 g0 n3 u1 Q6 hRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to' p. v T8 a) U5 c
this story.; w- W, f7 o, M. _
3 D1 R; ?. t5 w- D6 I
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