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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题# a0 |* J1 e* g$ n- i; a0 _
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
. V1 R3 L2 l1 ?8 P( h) m# OWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.5 Y$ M: V: s( Y5 y" j
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that4 Q: T* K2 M: S- o5 f3 \3 r- O
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
, |, C0 ]# H- y2 D* N4 jsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
' B5 A# p( b( M {5 f) R"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
8 \5 [: ]9 U3 w; F2 x( M8 q5 Hcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
1 H" n$ t3 H8 HHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
- W3 k% a' I/ H4 iacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
[8 H5 I4 M6 q- Ctrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
1 `3 t" ]' |! Tmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
1 Z& I( Y. P) f; z5 n; FHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal r6 p( M$ e! X+ s3 R
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
% {: V; _3 b+ ]# _' @, Pcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be" h" q7 o/ X7 K! K2 M' L4 ?4 L
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could/ y: P0 {6 f/ a7 d+ n4 \ w
not stop her runaway Lexus.
. x% h& K3 S' r, |"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville," T' z8 d; M) ]* W H7 X# o. r: m
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
+ \, R3 t4 p% U$ O6 v; K9 c"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.7 o* h2 N! r" c+ k- R# L
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
/ L& `' A2 c9 fearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said# r6 i$ y: }$ F' M
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
' ^' j3 b$ a! jdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway& N" I+ V1 t1 r) y4 ^
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's! w3 Y$ N }7 G( ]6 w
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."5 k1 U) b. Z1 M. m% d2 e- T- J6 [5 ]) C
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an/ I% `+ T* o- [( v L' }
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of, r2 A% P1 \4 j+ m% i8 [4 o5 a6 ]
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
' T( i R/ ]* Q, amalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
& ^% J0 H2 b4 w2 T+ Tsaid.. d- Q* o+ n: z1 a
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
4 [! d; t; B7 [& X2 ?happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe* G; w b' B ^" a9 e6 j
about driving our products," Lentz said.+ q* E: B( W3 @: h" M+ Y
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
/ i* |3 M9 ^0 Tproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has/ E" m& o6 p0 [, T; l
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
5 O' G0 s7 x, _" U) ~million in the United States -- since last fall because of6 I4 J7 E! j! r. n8 F1 x- v
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
, o3 _6 F. Q% Y3 a1 Q. y9 Uissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
3 I- L7 Q% U6 @: c1 o. R; C$ Gconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
8 T4 \2 L( `! I3 Z$ D1 K1 e6 h- d% l4 utheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow4 ^7 s- {0 `5 ^( D: n6 O
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has. q% }2 Y1 _/ c! V7 U9 V" H
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration# C2 E2 t1 L. t
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.5 G9 n7 Q0 \8 r) ~0 w" F
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
7 j5 N: v; Y& b6 Z2 B! ubrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he0 t; S( Z9 p& B. e. Z
understood the pain.9 _" g, x( T m: K7 W! G3 n& g
"I know what those families go through," he said.8 O5 \/ x+ \; P+ _
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
7 Y% c* K# b' U, j( Q9 Q- r+ Qfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
5 f% G1 ~; L4 Z8 \2 ^But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman# e; @1 u3 a+ z. A( J; x6 b
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put; Z6 N0 r; o7 I1 B# E" G
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,4 U1 s; J% ~2 d/ h" F
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
7 g0 g" D& ]3 ] S) X0 ?Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
6 V$ I6 G, M0 W$ g0 K" F; h2 I. v; w"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said6 `. L) h# f' ], Q
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
( M, S3 k) V* Q e+ Opedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its6 f1 q1 F! {' a
vehicles already on the road. C4 V1 C2 B8 E& J! P# Z. d
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify* l# O1 @9 `1 w2 G) t
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full# N; c) M' f$ w6 D" ?0 v
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and5 D6 ]2 D2 i1 ^3 b
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were* F" h) v3 E( \ j
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.. d7 @7 e6 B/ C Z% n% ^% g
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a6 Q2 n0 u" M$ L8 k; [$ y
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony4 h+ V& @/ b, E, f6 d4 m5 M. s
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight4 O# i; o, c0 ?( Y
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
: _6 D# L/ v" k8 }3 c {0 Kcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to, s+ b% } [; n
restore the trust of our customers."
0 B8 ^& Z8 ^+ R; q, KLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
# o7 R' R# u1 Z( Q" t) H( rSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly( z2 v( i" S( Y- S! a0 P9 ~: o
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --. Q; ?; \/ h' {
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and! x% p% R/ Y3 R& E8 d4 b
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
* F# {- ~5 z& Q4 H# V+ ]' lthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and5 W5 l6 M8 X& s9 ~* V: ]
turn off the engine.7 c0 @/ X R, j9 x/ b2 f
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
. ?& K6 N, J! R6 N% _October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."( W) L8 a9 H$ o) f3 Y6 O# \& M4 J
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
7 y( q, Z8 {! o: @% N- Isaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
2 U0 b. O; b1 @5 _0 e8 mto her complaints.
% E- [: O h; j {4 I8 bIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers6 g& d' D' m& I+ i
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
" z6 H- g. ?- q7 U1 G, Z' t/ fmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.# l/ D% N2 r- ~4 o, m/ ^# W9 ]8 R
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric' C+ n7 _, m x {) U+ m
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
% u* y0 h) f3 W4 F" Q7 [6 K: r. Z"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
2 Z9 i3 R) Y7 f5 i# e7 r& Ooff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."+ n2 b" W9 _ F# a, f5 i7 r$ m$ b }
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
; Y, l' K- O* s: @: m; rprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
* ~4 s0 f. M% i4 o1 R+ mbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls$ b4 z* h" x7 \" P% g) F
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
: i9 g- R( B9 |/ w+ o, ]every question."# F8 J' p) \' u
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
# M; K; _2 @6 R3 O) ?, ielectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The# s% ~% X. i7 _
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But* N7 n' l/ @! G1 E/ l
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
' q/ j& ~5 A0 knumber of vehicles( Q; S# k; X7 X, E; \/ c
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
4 |' w6 n" X* y$ Jdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
. ?( l8 e( \7 M7 a e9 C3 ]mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one8 [" j8 f! d" d' U R6 E" i
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
: e8 t% F8 F) S. c$ d2 E& eMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,$ \9 n3 w3 j- k8 g
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
6 |/ p y4 P: k- i8 a" [/ Ktrace at all.
6 \; w8 ~" r) _( w0 {$ b' NHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call! ^! P; R! C9 f6 S+ C
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden" h. t, N* d0 z8 y
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the' i! U; F, K+ s, J$ R3 o
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
" ~' p0 i$ w! i0 e( v% wRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,3 S# ~1 _8 b% n/ g" t) o
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and4 y; U) f! W4 v" b/ V
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
+ f9 g: n/ [! w+ w- N9 oelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible9 f# G1 k/ k9 ^) w
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
6 W8 x: w k0 {1 N7 W# Ksuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained5 C( ]* \0 ^0 S0 q6 P# T* l
by Toyota's lawyers."+ P* S' E: x0 a
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of; X3 |8 U2 ^4 f; c8 [- ?; \4 J( [4 L
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our. }6 Z9 e Q: s1 c: L
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he& p% a; Z; `7 z
said.
* O" L/ v& v9 T& T"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
5 D s& E0 M# i4 r5 Xa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our9 L J% C5 w! B3 w5 |
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating/ [) r9 A- t4 W. @# {
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
$ L$ q& t" R5 n) f% V% PSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying8 H* x# g: ]- u) z _
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread4 F, I. X7 O8 L1 z2 `
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the7 G( n5 j8 \! e q9 F
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
/ O6 u+ y; J6 Q% ]; e) n Dinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
" |" ?/ u: f8 T7 N9 GChrysler.' A/ v8 t+ `, K! G' ^
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
$ j0 F4 ]: w: _0 odollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
7 p) o; f; K( {9 [; T" }( O/ iHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
" r2 M8 R+ P0 r0 z j" |served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete6 H% ^: g4 P: w3 w; M& p& { V
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty3 s8 P9 y) U1 V; g9 m
tough."
# D5 ?- N5 [0 T9 P5 m---
1 a/ y+ e( I) t0 A9 TAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom- \ i7 O: K/ Y( t4 p
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to1 s5 r" v1 i0 n# ?9 C% I. T6 E! d: W
this story./ h- N6 Q; e4 p0 E) n
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