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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题9 O* p: s, y( |9 c' O
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS3 ~- M+ d4 d8 h% U& l+ t; C
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S., _( z" V" g0 z+ ^' J7 `4 t
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that' H' Q5 G: j4 c5 z" D
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"- B: ]% k! K, Y& f% q/ J
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration./ R4 V9 j" c& ?6 @9 G) j0 o& L4 ^ l
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential+ X: b; D1 h. Y8 D0 r& W
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.. y. k& i( Z I; S5 S
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected6 ^: W1 R( U; f) u% A
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
% u% m. \; o& U2 m/ ltrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor* n$ R. w) d x& A, p
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
x l* W7 ]7 Z4 k$ T; JHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
! p) j8 b) V: o8 oand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp! Q) d0 v, Q Z# p
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be8 O$ p h) B- a6 w8 Y
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could7 G/ }9 w: _# a9 t9 X
not stop her runaway Lexus.
* M6 L8 P; v! u3 O- f' {" J"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,# J3 w) r9 ~! N! M) L& w
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
, g- O6 z2 D6 G# g( v) e/ l"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
- s3 W- |" Q- x% m3 {4 pTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
: |9 R7 b: j1 Rearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
. Z' p+ w0 Y( A$ Z. Q. h"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
, Q1 ]) k$ J5 gdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
; V% t$ `4 s) S1 K( Gthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
/ v4 e5 w, d- u8 H L* Y6 S) u) winvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."! f+ p8 _% s3 ]* ` z0 I
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
5 R; |( P' |0 L9 _9 i; G/ N8 telectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of, R4 f1 l/ }$ o" o
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a5 d% K, O; F3 I" V) u
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
, X3 P+ w$ K6 i% [said.
( t, ]9 x+ V, m3 tAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
5 z; E1 r% Z1 C! Phappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
% W1 b; M9 L4 ~& H# I+ Cabout driving our products," Lentz said.+ v0 U- c, x4 ^$ ?
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
7 g/ x( O6 S5 {# c' c l8 ^/ \problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has. E( q/ w& e! C$ t: z# Z
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
5 B% q% D+ y8 S0 _6 b+ w. smillion in the United States -- since last fall because of" u/ \+ A- U9 U/ t2 Q3 }/ N- |
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
( W# X; F6 `- c ^issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
. \; \ y9 N+ f Uconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
- i" s+ }- L3 P( ]. ^- r1 Dtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow" W0 w, n N! |# F
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has( V% d/ q; c8 K: b( ]
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
$ H$ w: N9 [" M. Q& Aof Toyota vehicles since 2000.) b! L; K) ?5 F2 T) l
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own* V; ~: J) R) t. L2 D% a( y8 u: o' L9 R
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he$ X7 S* P4 R+ T+ P3 v
understood the pain.9 u4 o0 ?4 |0 a. y4 C9 E
"I know what those families go through," he said.
/ s/ i% E) t0 o7 g4 ?* OLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
; @4 P6 j" L4 Y: z6 K- {fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.5 X! i/ K5 @& H
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
' T* ^0 {0 g4 f2 HHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put+ m; B; m4 A# Y5 H& E3 w( J
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,$ b, M2 o4 @2 q: f) M0 Y- ^
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
4 \9 Q3 [" \8 Q0 d; y6 J8 }4 {+ S8 ]Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
8 k+ R0 h2 R8 I6 Y9 c9 l"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
( V5 z6 _: S D2 |. L0 }' b/ F* CToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
3 d( I' I; f- fpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
/ l; k' F1 B% _* w- {vehicles already on the road.
( D9 W' L3 A1 E+ cMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
7 S& [) ~ B$ V1 f9 Sbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full: F2 j" O# s3 {2 ^
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and1 `/ Z9 {% D8 y \4 r' D0 V9 A
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were9 i3 N% o& U% Z
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems. k+ H" e& Z. V; j
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
. ?0 `: F/ l7 \/ c' ztragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony( x" f5 B6 t* f4 c' I8 d6 ^
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
$ @9 Z% l( ~( ^$ n5 y& kCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal' w# e* q8 t* y! o( i ?' b) _
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to3 k d! l+ R/ n4 i, ~& @' o, S
restore the trust of our customers."
' l* ]) f) H" NLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from$ m6 F7 L9 r2 X) M
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
( ?4 O5 \5 D6 c( mzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --" I! n& Z8 Q$ S e9 h+ e
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
2 P+ n: \) B) Z! U8 M% _9 p) I: zhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough8 @ d; [! X! X1 o0 B: ^
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and# T. U/ N& F" N0 e7 G8 b2 U" s
turn off the engine.
- i( t# ~" m8 Z5 }Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
0 t$ J% z9 ~& G7 G: {October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."- h1 V) J. W/ |
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she; g) D& m- t. L2 J' T! q# b7 A
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
4 {! Q9 F& \4 E7 q! f- ?/ uto her complaints.' y( Y5 S9 Q* o7 i i
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers3 z5 n' W# |) y5 W; w; e/ @
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
2 j- H$ {5 B: @ v) {9 F7 h Mmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
0 k) I$ P: `4 D( P' E/ B! Z' ]"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric6 U2 \" E3 K* C9 ~5 }+ S
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited! W" K4 h' a* D/ c* E( L3 G
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
+ @5 {) S+ T% O+ ]2 l! coff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
7 }9 ^; c, _5 S1 A6 Y$ mTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in$ z( R- F7 @2 J+ p
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
7 i" l7 I, F! T4 q4 c1 R# |- Fbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
1 a0 K( i: q0 s( Iwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
, n; Y" ]% ^# P; k$ uevery question."
$ ~0 T4 L |6 k% \ t4 |Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
. {9 U0 o/ D, _! d' \2 ~electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The2 x6 Y# z, g. ?/ P( |5 ~
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
6 b) Z# P6 G4 G7 |. _- b! Qcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small2 y3 T/ e, R) M, a5 a2 R/ m
number of vehicles
/ ]8 ]% T. r4 H) {; dTracking down an electrical problem can be far more- |1 f1 U0 }+ Q) D4 g& a
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
+ x- C" j' C1 h0 F) U7 o- P* dmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
) o2 B& p. |5 V, j: u9 r/ csource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
* `/ U# V9 U2 n! uMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,5 `. p$ V+ U5 B: s* S% v
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no: c6 O7 M- J1 ]8 ^: T" ~* r/ G
trace at all. i0 [1 Z3 N* \: {
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call% n, ?# a( D- {
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden O3 r. D* t6 K- ^0 B3 O+ c- i
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the; Q4 L0 t+ l, [
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
- A* G& w: n" j: qRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,; R9 p- L, }9 L, P
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and3 d7 m# i+ [; O) C" N0 C6 {$ D5 ~* y
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the1 p9 l n' }: w) B2 u+ K
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible# t& ~' }( y. e r- t* M! `& S
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only/ S+ ]9 c" q3 C: s
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained& @; ?+ n2 ^. f7 S
by Toyota's lawyers."! F! o$ ]* V* P' U) Z. J7 N
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of9 p8 U2 n9 W7 i0 ^/ r9 n! M
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our* T4 |/ X" V. `5 F
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he3 L$ H; m$ @% A0 o+ W
said.2 N/ C e6 ~; |
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with1 {& g6 _6 i2 v1 M
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
2 w6 [# ?. p' x7 N8 [good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
1 r r5 R4 _: ^( ^# eofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
2 P9 Y( O" r' a# P/ aSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying& y0 i, g0 }' s- ]
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread. t1 f- o0 @* t k$ |& ~2 ^
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the1 r+ k' z- d0 b
automaker, at least in part because of the government's2 x% w0 c O7 [5 Z
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
& i! J) x' Y' f+ Q$ z% ?Chrysler.
. f* k: V1 K7 t* R# C9 I"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
; Z5 A+ l7 f& I" Tdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a* Z. J/ ]5 `: s; f) h4 ^4 k+ W
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
9 {, o* z! R s8 o; I+ s# Wserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete& |0 n; e: Q4 N0 D2 w n J7 ^
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
( x( |& u* h8 m; P; c4 Q* Q, otough."% g, j- f- Q% r$ R3 B
---
1 ^9 L2 R# ?# Q/ uAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom. D. o% U5 f |1 d( { u
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to) G& m- d9 y4 q4 Y/ O: S2 I
this story.
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