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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题/ t# l. v* O: B" O1 i% ?9 A
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS5 x* E4 ~- [ {+ p+ ]6 ] n
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
) H- H6 v' E3 f# hoperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
8 E6 K$ U( R' E: q Lthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
( ?. k1 D8 w; p8 K1 E0 `" psolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration./ _. h! c4 N- @7 r! ]
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential8 u( b: g1 [; r, P
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
+ ?3 @* Q! d# ~' ^4 A s9 C f7 gHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected3 H, o$ f% s0 B. u2 i. V
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and! A3 c5 ^! ~1 B! t; p; B. N
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
3 ?1 ?5 @ I$ wmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
$ g5 j4 D/ \8 e" R* v9 GHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal4 x; `$ r; o. c- E
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
" i& a0 `4 J, \criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be/ Z7 b# z5 L. q c) s1 T1 D8 D
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
X {2 W0 q# F1 ^4 i' ~2 cnot stop her runaway Lexus.
" M# M, }7 }& V" t( L4 |"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,9 ~3 `8 @% G$ @; E
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
: x/ H7 @7 T8 M& t; f8 e"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
$ b' M. Q& \' E5 [4 |' w9 C+ FTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues/ ~; F( S4 J7 c
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said, d0 K8 j. L2 D6 C: ]! S
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
; n9 A( \8 w* s l) c1 Sdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway# M1 u7 I7 v7 Q5 K( r. Y
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's5 o- C- g1 B" o7 P& p/ M# ]6 O
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
3 e0 z: x" w3 T( ], M0 o2 RLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
) y" J% H6 D3 }' Oelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of: w, p Z1 @6 I5 ^9 o
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
! l' W3 L( r8 }malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
8 U, B' m5 {$ f" ~said.# v1 K4 g6 I9 S8 l4 h5 N- G
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what8 s( g& Q5 m: C3 N" j
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe* e9 S M! ?: K& E& q1 R
about driving our products," Lentz said. {- k1 z" t5 K# ^4 \0 E
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
& T4 g# b) j/ x9 gproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
, {9 c2 b6 A5 q" |4 G( X; e' Wrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
) c, f: {& n, M _" N; Umillion in the United States -- since last fall because of2 p& z" q5 P/ Y8 @" z u! p
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking* ?! p7 i% v: I2 p8 J
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering- c* B" r4 ` c. ^. g2 W
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
! q! Y. v/ t. Z. J- Q' Jtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
3 U. S, R' ^) p) P& Q2 @2 Q' d# e2 Bdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
2 m( u6 G; |% S5 Z+ {9 D/ n7 K, Creceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
) H8 ^$ z) v9 Z, Y' oof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
" g/ P9 f& `/ s; a$ e" W9 R sLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
7 a( Y. B. [/ b7 m% [1 j& J4 B1 q8 sbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
0 t; G. i6 z0 s7 K' P6 Aunderstood the pain.7 N& `* p: g& i$ _
"I know what those families go through," he said.
3 T. r% B7 Q* L, {5 t; WLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's7 ]# `# G+ ?' t! V
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.- a4 j5 ?! x' m! U7 o+ O3 f: e/ d
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman6 ~- m& v h; W+ I, l& C
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put |- L" y+ H( B. J
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,3 a$ S! G5 O3 a% p3 ?, d x
Lentz replied: "Not totally."6 z! ^* n7 N' v4 Y0 M- g
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were8 m0 z+ o b7 p U# [
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
' }0 w, o1 b6 v1 gToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas+ u# F% O! Q0 f8 v2 S
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
& m' a( A0 ^+ Z' Evehicles already on the road.9 P" F F% a0 X3 d! e
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify: J4 T* i3 J5 }; Y5 C/ @( j
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full* U* j! r" H# u) P" X2 t5 z
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and; m/ O1 e! V- `5 s7 }; `' N
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
# T# s2 `4 l+ m) ~' ykilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.6 Z! T, o" S/ Z/ z& ~1 x+ g* O
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a; i U! h9 L: R/ F0 `* Y
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony; C6 t2 f1 {1 o6 f! ?
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight2 }! H; i! f* m
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal- O' G0 r3 ^" t! C! c( R b
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to* ^+ D" Z0 M. n7 r/ C2 } k, v
restore the trust of our customers."" G0 d. x5 R% O; B: `( s0 d( T; ?
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
- m: R) R2 E1 L% D# ]; j* @& BSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
, ~' ?& R p2 d2 o6 Xzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
5 S" ]! E$ k/ F3 B0 Yshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and4 Y" i p! H' Y$ I* Y& r
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough8 ]4 T' U9 z* y. m7 S: S$ b. I
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
2 ?: Y% h. O" D5 F4 aturn off the engine. O( v' h& k8 z) N
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of1 o! i( s% y; }3 W
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
2 W3 l" z+ a& j# ]0 @6 @. ?"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she9 O+ E% u% L+ T6 m$ {4 s
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
' R4 u6 N* p) f' l/ pto her complaints.
8 J4 Y- P8 e' p" c* x4 `. c9 xIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
- l* `( X* ^- i4 Oreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
5 S1 D9 u/ w6 ^) Y, K; Q. D$ lmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
5 z/ `! W* a5 n; k"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric- Q. H3 n: b5 o [7 @( a) m
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited# G _6 v1 P( Y/ w" Y
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut- T5 |" G D: j9 s( G# c
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."6 g2 ^1 H! g' B" e
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
# p' {( I, L9 k( @% _) pprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were" g% g3 o, L/ f: M
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls5 ~4 g" r( ~) f, K7 f6 y# O
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
- c9 o0 W1 P& Q; n! j- Pevery question."
$ e( [6 u* b* CToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether) X7 I& |/ ^6 W# U% `4 f+ K7 P
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
: w/ Y+ Z2 i! y2 _firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
( V3 f1 o4 n0 C+ Gcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
' ~( x: z3 w& l( bnumber of vehicles' x4 x b, S; e3 f) m& B* c
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
1 N8 B( u' A7 x; K; K6 ~3 Ldifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
$ _* \: C0 r1 j* I- i; B$ b( _3 bmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
& N4 ]# C/ A! v5 e- \2 Hsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
! r' [$ n5 \0 nMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,4 x0 j7 l7 ^, G- z) }# h5 S* d
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no5 ]5 }& J0 d5 b& \
trace at all.
( N# d; H. [7 g$ Z6 DHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call3 {6 b! P) I+ M, W% b
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden4 K$ K' q* G% |% _4 t) {* n2 y! U2 `
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
- p) h. n y& r) K' M8 ^recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.2 h1 _& k+ Q0 G# Y$ s6 ~! S
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
5 _1 ^3 X0 e' ksaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
- C8 F" @0 Z% a( Q$ L7 x7 `other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the6 N& s- G( f( _1 k. \2 b6 U; a1 w& N
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
$ t" N: q$ |9 m* @: ncause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only+ e- j$ T$ j: N* K1 p
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained8 ~6 A3 N5 F/ {
by Toyota's lawyers.". {2 e' N; o, o3 o; J% x
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of; E; Z+ r& L- Q* j1 x5 {
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our; g& g: E/ N1 Y, L
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he2 z" M* A. L" k- P! f7 Y, Z
said.
( H1 b" S9 K4 l"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with% u, s# }6 a. ]/ y% \/ Z
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
* }2 v F6 R6 {3 w8 a# bgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating" W( L; g2 n" G# N. b/ F
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
) z4 z9 K4 Z4 @" [! Q4 w4 u8 [Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying# a+ j: p) ~6 ~4 k
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread. X% x" R" K0 t* D; D+ e
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
) s( c8 Q% t Y lautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
j6 Y( h8 W& J- ]* \9 K( A1 S+ Finvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
( b6 Y# b. f4 T; A% ~8 dChrysler. [$ Q% j9 f; o; w( j
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax$ y% _. h |/ R# R2 k8 _+ d2 p
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a( A7 F3 ~1 H2 Q. Z7 _
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also5 \8 A* q, @+ a8 Y1 I/ c. u# b
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
: R5 B. o3 S% s! k B) Wwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
, @. ?: G% M: l2 j* t/ D% \. i( Ytough."4 C0 v$ C$ E9 u! H) [' g5 I
---
* m" ^8 N; b# bAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom- I! |% Q, n. Q
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to, t1 K8 ]7 @' C5 q8 I7 i
this story.
+ X) P( Q% h# g* C# ~* a( F9 R0 a3 A" ~
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