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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题% Z$ e, Z9 [; C0 t4 B- n; _
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
/ p7 g, y, A& a. s+ b1 TWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
% X5 Q, z7 F0 U0 [- uoperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
2 n' [: e1 F" O$ Q" ^6 G" e' `the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
/ @* Z4 h" W! s1 F. J% P; ysolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.) v" d- ]1 `1 b- r1 p0 e
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential$ F5 @3 j9 O0 i: z
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
1 ~- U% x" F8 z, r, }8 i0 vHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
' o0 o# T7 \4 oacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and8 ^/ w! M$ q0 e+ n, k
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor: e5 Y5 f9 n V# K
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.1 j% ~/ K# k% B3 C9 K
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
1 l: X5 F i) U& }4 G. V! tand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
1 u/ u. t; o. Z4 Q. ycriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be7 L; _! B/ ?* O& e% Q" i
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
2 Y( O' ^1 n! Z: Cnot stop her runaway Lexus./ x3 ] l! J8 y C' i6 Y# s3 G
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,. g4 r0 a5 G q; M. U) {, ?
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second+ o" }. N" y6 R' h5 F
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.7 X& c H1 H4 ^# c: }& m1 }) L4 a
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
7 r( O2 ]5 o j7 \& B( Q2 xearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
; Z6 ^0 p: t7 p% z7 B# }7 w* b# N4 o"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
: C9 J1 J% s! n) N) \done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway) W c- x# M$ y' n5 V; l
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
& [0 P; L% k' K( e% d9 K* z* minvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
+ O3 L. q9 L9 o! \$ J, T4 cLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an) A5 _+ d3 y: x$ o6 E. y/ p
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
, y$ x) ~" _: [: a# Qthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a/ Q4 S: c8 i F- y
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he1 Z) G R: o7 U3 P/ R/ ]) x
said./ g6 x; _% L7 n$ Y/ Z
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what2 U4 `: F# A% J: ^! h' r# d* X
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
5 }: L1 M C* kabout driving our products," Lentz said.& N, d) p4 M5 h, v. L
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's& k+ s9 ] O- p2 N' j" ?+ @6 ^2 T
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
; q2 Y$ _$ v @+ {, [) Yrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6; ~$ M- @' v) P& X* e B
million in the United States -- since last fall because of0 L# J% ^7 @' o0 ]
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking) p0 r: @# }9 G! o
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering1 X* K+ }& K( d5 H1 ~9 Z
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
* |" R# A3 d% r5 I1 d$ F# V2 dtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow5 Y, _- G9 S! y k: E% l$ Z
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has! H6 U( N; l, J. Z1 O" T( i
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration ^. z' `4 O# ~$ ^* \$ K" o. |
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.) V! `; I+ M& g$ C' G$ k+ w+ i
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
, c" G$ I. y1 H' h: f( ubrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he: N6 B" u" T, q
understood the pain.* {; b/ @0 z, I9 N% I0 J$ F
"I know what those families go through," he said.. K4 i2 ~0 X9 b
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's y9 p. L r' h2 F" [
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
$ D, ^. r) [$ c8 e/ I9 T" A$ e% OBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman. t; e/ D: H% c; N: I1 j( O8 Y
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put# K9 P% [/ c' h' j" L2 u" f
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
' k+ U: O+ j: F* [ WLentz replied: "Not totally."1 N( J ]" p; l3 i; p0 m
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
0 Y+ x, e8 I7 X% N2 g"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said- }0 n$ ]5 d% k& S2 W- A
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
/ Y) j) i, Z h( ?pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
% h) ^, o7 d6 T5 p* d2 pvehicles already on the road.
; ^( R7 q+ l7 v# G# a3 vMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify$ ?9 S+ d5 J) E/ r" V/ {3 P
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full7 ]* ]7 P, q* U1 r' z
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
8 c6 ?+ V" o" |) D5 K/ J8 uoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were3 M2 u* B: c8 V, t9 |, D
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
# r5 K- P% F1 l7 U& t" s& m"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a7 {4 @' p5 p- F |: w$ Q" N1 K
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony# e/ [) C" z; S- \* [4 S
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight" q1 X, O- D3 h$ U
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal" e" u& F) F1 H% C) v
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to$ y! x5 Q: A8 t; a9 {& D3 U/ _
restore the trust of our customers."
+ R. S: T2 S: c( J/ GLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from- W& L/ G; ~+ A6 G
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
* Z& f/ e) X" q/ q) Z# x( P2 q, ~zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
4 c/ v2 |' K5 C9 \shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
3 K' n" [9 u! e! i! a" Vhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
g; D, ?& c7 S' A8 z Y1 Pthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and+ ~% |0 n5 K3 p' C0 x! A9 o
turn off the engine.% {, S# M/ D8 f t
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
( Y# G$ {% K+ S1 h5 q/ wOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
: y6 R4 u, ^. p F u h* s"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
0 [; }0 p$ s& h8 P/ D# t& ~8 ?said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond" U5 c$ j8 s1 z. N6 b. O
to her complaints.
! c2 c0 P4 b; u* f9 m/ QIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers2 `6 R" O- [+ n( T; y# Y6 L1 C
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
% [" z' {: |7 g3 M! P: w# ~; [malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars. n- p: U( U0 Z/ Z# a/ h
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
1 ]) { |- O$ A0 q& jthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
6 p, F8 I& {0 P \"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut+ C0 l+ Q% J. O. u# K+ }4 s2 J7 l$ O
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."7 n' l3 Z8 I3 x4 O1 S5 D
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in! @* ^3 j7 @8 s- t: [9 H5 t
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
! B& j4 H0 ^( y5 v% ^; Y4 l2 {being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
1 y7 q4 q0 ^8 hwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer1 W# A, J. { |0 w8 I6 p+ [9 y& Q
every question."6 j" T8 ^ r( k& B- t! \# U
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
* P# K: F1 U& y" z: |electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The/ r9 [5 U) d+ }7 R: t# A) h' G
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But! O* Z1 j# J* R$ {7 o! R) l
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small! k) _, Z$ Q, q5 `; X# P
number of vehicles
( Q$ `5 F. U5 N7 c6 m4 pTracking down an electrical problem can be far more; P3 t+ t& h5 D8 D$ l
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
3 D! w, V! j4 S) }" q7 C6 f3 o+ Mmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
- h: h6 e% r" u7 c U$ g7 n/ hsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
9 S% c* `3 }6 G5 q- DMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
3 U1 l- i2 z* ]0 A0 F6 b! Mwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
' a! M/ D7 [; w& l% @trace at all.& V% R, W( [. e1 m
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call) g( h. f: C, l0 `; q' P8 d
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden* k. A- Q1 `# ~4 {6 J
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the6 ~1 K+ I4 F X, ^- S
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
2 @ n; c% w- X/ C i$ `Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
, y6 V1 R# C. {0 V. Bsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
) I3 x2 |9 \9 @; zother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
8 @ I+ d! ^* `+ r2 Selectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
! j" p9 ^2 i, Ccause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
( a3 o+ ] e& e6 e5 M* vsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
3 P! n( W0 P ?; v, q) Bby Toyota's lawyers."! @" g6 q. c V& w
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of( }2 z/ X `' f$ Z( a
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
3 p( M/ S# u5 e$ F/ Ncustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he( J7 s; J' g: k4 q
said.* t1 R! ?! Z; ^2 H H* N/ J+ ^
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
+ i0 G# n" c, K0 J* c+ ra rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our/ W6 \9 b% U0 G* {- n
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
) g) }( b$ j8 h+ ?) F& Z3 |0 v/ Xofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.; M4 M% L! c' y. B/ O
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
+ |' b0 P c* V+ N" ]* ~members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread7 ?, ?3 A9 x2 J7 X3 E3 P
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the+ T8 e' p; C8 n, D m) P5 J
automaker, at least in part because of the government's4 h' J' \: X; m- [" y1 c
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
6 I u) U$ D) L* X) [/ c# vChrysler.
' X; m' I- E8 r"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
5 y- }" O5 B. i5 A+ x6 }. L2 @; xdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
; |7 ]' m) U( tHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also! N8 k# M; k6 z; R0 S
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete4 t7 [4 H Y" r0 Q7 i: s% t0 @* P5 |
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty& p1 i+ [( z- y, B; { z
tough."
& R. S7 Z6 n$ J" m" K---
- `2 I: a, S5 k9 f7 p, C8 dAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
2 ]9 A' Q4 F ?; ]Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
$ m1 G3 s% a5 S5 _ G. A6 _this story.
( m( F* M/ a8 Z; a$ p0 k( R8 a3 @9 V. A: w" W k" q5 i/ t/ |' w. s7 b
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