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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题0 Q0 [0 L, t% U; L( V% _
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS/ K, D9 F: W8 p. Q' e7 d# V
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S." ?7 y* W. q1 P& U# r
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
6 k1 b# h' |3 K; othe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally". N2 h, D$ ^% r: f" T* X U6 q
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
' _& m! K! l# y' k q" M"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential7 e" Z8 e3 p0 h& E6 C
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.' k" ^0 e4 w+ P* k7 D, S$ c! V" k
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected( b% \2 W; ?" [ [
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and3 C- L4 c) Y" t& o
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor& B1 }; X9 @, e8 s) s
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
: m+ ~* T! Y. A& j0 V* qHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
6 W7 p& Q5 E: _- ?6 }3 S/ N+ Oand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
2 }2 E9 R( {# I7 I* p7 i6 a; y* Qcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
& {8 `. U, M1 s2 t+ [further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
! E& x/ \' q3 Y& g: E5 [/ H% H, ^6 C- Xnot stop her runaway Lexus.! M q0 I* ?3 V3 o, a
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
% \, ^( V" q1 l x) YTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second+ k+ w7 c6 q- j% F% |
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
8 d( d# y3 G2 V6 a) e a3 x* o- PTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues+ _1 i& }- p( `- }& l
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
5 l. G1 C; f' L" o( P: d* ^: r3 z"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
L3 l+ V) n5 q) ^% Ndone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
) g* b( B# V! ~- ^3 A* b' Qthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
( T4 d8 Z" y! N. |investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."/ x0 j# H1 g3 ~6 S. g8 A
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an$ @6 k1 i% {) c; I
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of% S0 C: }: |2 h4 l8 y: w4 }
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
+ B* M0 ^: U: R$ t- H7 C7 K+ {malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he/ e9 x! s# Z r1 Y" D- o5 n
said.
; i5 ` E* q8 ]+ a- [" e6 aAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what1 ?& B- U/ a. Q* I. K( \+ T/ b ~
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe. w6 ^1 m+ s6 o, \
about driving our products," Lentz said.
' C( e: h/ f6 |, o" {3 Y2 U4 AThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's0 H* a* {4 k1 g: f6 x. I$ c
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has( l& t8 Q3 A1 w. N
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 69 Q! x! w3 o4 E: Z: y, M C9 F
million in the United States -- since last fall because of/ r$ m. @! _; a# P% L% L
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking0 u! V" q. f# Z2 a+ E, h5 Y
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
3 V v7 ^: B5 w1 o( jconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of* Y! D; b% U" s( N
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
) {1 y7 D3 `8 r2 S# ?+ |. Pdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
8 c- j( c& l+ k" dreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
' G# w* S, X( O3 G4 pof Toyota vehicles since 2000.; A! A, ^1 X. ^! o
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
# w" C K0 r9 u) Cbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he* b! c7 s4 Z4 r
understood the pain.5 C: w3 V9 z: o1 W
"I know what those families go through," he said.
8 A6 A: j: r$ q6 L/ [Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
; \8 F. Z) o: g* ~. E9 ?fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.5 {6 u) e8 f! [+ E( \2 o, Y
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
; D" V; O5 Y$ eHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put! ~/ o2 m+ A. n# }
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
7 z$ h* Q. D- A* ]& `+ @8 kLentz replied: "Not totally."
' r/ u' F/ v, M5 E1 A5 a# \Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
+ O0 P' Z( V9 ?( |; f- f"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said( I @* A/ s$ Y* b1 V
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas0 X1 h( d) [& @+ u& @- X
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
2 t+ } ^; |$ T9 m# \* [: u, fvehicles already on the road.& s5 {1 q4 X3 K1 c: Y
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify2 j1 P* e; Z$ `
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full6 Z5 I4 K' s5 t7 ?* H
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
+ z$ k8 R" V! y* m& O$ d+ S! g, Doffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
$ j+ J' o7 w; h2 g& [6 @5 [, O& Mkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems. O% V3 B( i# r
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
" M, R; P4 ~! N/ B3 U7 vtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony- x/ K( w9 b- }2 C
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight$ O8 j2 z9 @6 u0 n8 c Q; y8 j
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
+ I0 B2 N( [: i" n7 N% Fcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to7 I( w+ M3 [1 v$ a
restore the trust of our customers."0 E8 B$ A# U: q. b+ a2 o1 c
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from+ J' ?0 q- {: `0 @" |
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
, g# N) @: f# k# Y6 r" szoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --, x- v6 {/ I3 Y: G% U
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
7 ^1 c' E, n# _/ h& |7 Yhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
, E& E# X/ B* Othat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
- x# l8 x4 e9 w9 z1 z7 e# ^turn off the engine.
. R3 s! q# @6 a- KFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
8 x: s. K7 J0 f' s: KOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
( S% D! V' u0 ?8 Z3 O5 k0 U"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
7 x" i" p; z- {/ ]said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
' Q4 Q: r! z4 M F+ F1 b( Cto her complaints.4 }6 G8 G! j4 [
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
, \3 v; u$ o: _% yreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
0 O6 h8 Z" n, pmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
, o! b, @- U) y% S6 R z"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric2 E' e2 | B) K; b# D6 ?
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
# W( G( o6 I; \$ p"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut: l5 t. Y T5 W* z d' ?
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."9 e3 [3 H8 q6 f( ]
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
" x [' Z5 k6 M2 P3 O `prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
3 S0 |% ~' j1 O1 e N4 \being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls5 p$ F$ B2 |0 e( u4 U: v, j# ~
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
' T3 V, x `) T/ e: k1 R6 I+ Ievery question."
& e: e6 S1 Y" x$ J* e8 @9 \Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether4 F+ ]1 H) i6 s$ c) @( ~+ y
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The7 E3 e5 e$ c$ D+ a: O: J2 i5 u
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But" j4 _4 i$ K% g( i
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small6 a: V1 Q' r& K( c, y Z1 v% o
number of vehicles1 E" t: v* X; f
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more' B' b+ T4 n( c- D" g
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
3 X7 H( H) H. Xmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one! f+ Z) j! M: }2 g2 u$ H
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
( t9 N# U. ?0 E% v7 UMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
. ]: [. J+ z3 H! ~7 Ywhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no% e3 r! M5 X! }- x z; q$ C- O
trace at all.! f$ n6 p+ E" r( X8 h0 j4 W
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call5 M" w% O% }% y3 ^
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
( E: J* _! \$ }; ]9 w3 |8 B* s4 S: Facceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the! c* v: ~6 M v
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.6 R" D( ]( h4 p( R
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
( i J! j7 K/ N1 s* T1 B5 \. tsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
9 L* F& ^0 V% v9 k; |other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the4 t6 Z8 _0 Q! d& ~+ N
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible6 @* a3 r4 g: Y0 }5 t- N/ }
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only# H) u" V0 K9 D+ T% C$ ~
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
6 s( ~: g. N9 G% |: l+ s( Aby Toyota's lawyers."
9 g% M- q$ n4 i) rLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of/ J& m. O$ b. ?. s- V" U7 |( m# O
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our5 V1 T4 C1 U: I* b- ~) p) X
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he$ o* u; G* D, ], }3 I) o( Y
said.3 H; s, K1 [; a) K: A8 _3 Z% I+ `; {
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with$ N f3 d) ?* w$ y H
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
! o0 r$ _! e4 I( ~' Zgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
* o3 {/ r4 n- [$ B8 j7 y) F7 Z9 Xofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.' X/ W+ Q( y3 w6 R( h0 d8 [3 z
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying: G! U/ D; J( c& g' Q" \% R
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread7 C! m! a% _( F0 d6 i
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
) ^2 x0 q% f G$ }# N( y/ M3 Y% y+ tautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
3 [ A- J( j; U( z- C' q( J finvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
; i. v# W4 F+ ~7 G: RChrysler.7 N$ g C+ ^" p! Z( }
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
* y# N& A j* R3 m, _: udollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
' n( e7 W0 v/ ^" `Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also; ?% Y9 o4 s% i1 i
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete1 [: v( Q+ Z8 x
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
! v# g" Q) Q1 o$ E( F! Qtough."
% h9 l4 b& ^- o1 }+ r% [---3 r% f2 A* a6 {" R" W
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom+ v1 h5 b* R; p" ^; C1 q7 t
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to. I- T) G4 X% \: C H! S5 [+ O) m
this story.
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