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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题) P5 v: }, z5 v# [8 n I1 k+ G
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
7 f4 }" @( ^. [/ d! W+ IWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
; L1 `- w6 r& Uoperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that) x( }0 H- u, _) I" J
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"5 p7 N' t: D: {# T% D! v
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.& n( R: t! R& W
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential& N* E. F7 k7 h3 n/ J4 S, D
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
1 Y% p' o. O; e' g. BHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
) ~, h! i& @! y' D; w% s; Hacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and% [0 x1 v( V: p8 ]+ w& c+ U8 r3 C! P
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
$ C% M- C2 Y5 M' y# W* kmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
# F' Z' t3 k+ R9 O ]# t0 z5 yHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal1 S1 D$ P- u# x5 s1 H; e
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp) e% U! {) k: N% D; K# ~
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
" N% Q: [2 ^5 P: L4 n$ Hfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could( R$ ]% C. Y* l7 q
not stop her runaway Lexus.- l- t: E4 ]9 o! g( \
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
; I" p, I! U& g# y, P8 ATenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second; r3 [1 t0 B+ Q. k
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.0 r; w& \% U/ F9 w, @
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues& t2 L' J! Y: N& m# E- l
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said$ T( |: h4 K; [/ z
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has( C+ d# B( M6 O3 \" h& @
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway( W+ g8 `+ i/ T2 a; {6 j/ g; u
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's0 ?8 t- @( t+ e# ^# M: M
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."1 e' k/ E$ P( J$ J; B
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an% N# r% q# j/ G2 f$ T* s
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of1 v) l0 {2 Q) H C- M# j3 M
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
+ G, Q% m+ \1 tmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
; F% ?- C/ _6 u: j5 \said.
$ x" D. H5 Y% z- A: m* T- \As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
. @, j0 S( Z5 P. Hhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
. Z$ @+ b" R: z0 Q, C9 N# u( tabout driving our products," Lentz said./ |" T/ s9 P2 n7 t3 L B/ }6 X7 u
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
" B) ^2 Z: u6 o+ c' S4 K0 p4 { k9 Uproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
' A2 w5 i. q! ^! V" C% M6 ]recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 61 b4 V( `9 d: d7 g' _
million in the United States -- since last fall because of' F0 Y8 t8 _7 ^8 J
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
5 _7 y' m/ l w, }issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
3 ]& p# N$ l+ ? k, z% ]6 kconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of% y# _# r3 m. q) f. ]( D, [
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow( U2 n2 K- k0 A. u% y
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
. x+ _" k5 Z q1 }7 I6 u/ K1 creceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
2 I& J1 a$ m: [9 K7 z6 mof Toyota vehicles since 2000." s7 T" U. g9 T; C3 C) d6 C* I
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
0 X) `- q9 B2 l: v O$ y- b3 v3 v8 r% D( Wbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he% z& G/ F. ^8 O, M
understood the pain.
8 d' I i! X3 q/ l"I know what those families go through," he said.1 r4 j. X- H+ G$ p
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
4 T# n( W$ z$ ]' n2 Gfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
0 |) F1 R+ ]8 jBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman7 i7 o! U' t5 ]+ k t
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
9 O, X; G% B, ?% ?% [in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,+ N! @& m& W/ K4 c: J- n. x8 `
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
6 K( z# L6 O9 _- Q6 h' YStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
2 S3 d5 |$ }. u; M0 F! p"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
" l& X* @: n, m4 \" U* M5 VToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
( P) ~8 V7 Z) b8 t1 Xpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its5 [2 x$ S/ |0 G+ [" ]
vehicles already on the road.# n4 F( z, j$ z
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify: E b t" G+ K) D# N
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
9 X7 ^1 z9 s- v; G) m: F" }responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
! W; c6 \/ l/ c- T! goffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
7 E; r9 T2 @+ g: k" rkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.$ ?1 \$ ?. q$ u
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
/ u$ L6 |; I/ A6 d: ]tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony9 g5 _& {& D- A' N$ u1 P( |7 n
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight: J9 u* F4 u9 P
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
$ N$ \, I4 U1 R( N1 o. Y/ ucommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
1 R" k6 K# T7 |: }restore the trust of our customers.", X6 r- A9 R9 C! V" t+ h
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from' ?- b- n9 W3 ]( y5 M& w
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
$ \4 Q+ N3 K0 S; T, M% m) ^8 Pzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
; z; {. z7 p2 B/ f/ I) x' f7 [* ashifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and( F7 p6 J5 Q2 a: L' S* L8 R; `3 r; t9 h
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
3 f3 u- ^% ^4 a; L% tthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
) Y+ H( G6 h. r4 H5 _8 W2 \; e% ~3 vturn off the engine.# j1 ^* d6 w% u
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of7 N# i, X" O' a) t4 F& |* n
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
( j% c! L% A& J+ G$ a# Y5 k"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she/ G9 U& K$ \, q2 N- D6 f
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond/ u3 k. Z7 P# V* [0 ~8 Q" F
to her complaints.6 Y# D5 w% q9 Q m3 e8 {
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers. ]& H0 n3 c$ ?- p
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic7 s9 c6 F/ F/ r& j8 U7 u. l
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars." I- j I+ ]) L" r) \6 H
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
" v$ K$ |, V2 C: L- t' O- t* _throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
7 m* `1 T n+ F; o" w"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut' i( I# D# f/ s" w" ` K6 X
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure.": a5 k. C1 F( A& W! c
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in( E9 o# n% Q% \: B: u/ \6 u9 K0 ~8 q
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were% I' P8 V6 D: h) K9 ?. B2 A
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
$ v! \0 e3 s0 H* h! G! d0 g Fwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
$ N) ^2 e0 X$ k2 E( mevery question.", o% @" O" x" @2 Z3 ?1 t: \3 y% |
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
# M$ A' a; g5 H, W) R }/ O( Telectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The" k* i- j1 o2 d8 l! }4 I' U
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
, i5 [ V( d, m$ b& M# Fcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small; k( u. F m2 m
number of vehicles
* l u- j. k& vTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
# I9 ?! q2 P% ^3 b! Mdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
. q+ O3 ~. I4 `# [* M- n- \mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one- H/ S3 K8 W: e; ^8 O
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
# z' n7 C* |; p2 ^- u( G3 ~Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,5 ~7 W5 o T4 [' a1 o
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
: z) W2 G K8 S' h7 otrace at all.
p) C) H+ M% `House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call7 |) I; l t$ D" V& d1 k9 I
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden' e- K; G, N+ m
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
2 g7 [, y) V- s. T* J) J; W6 Grecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.7 O6 B7 X) N# D2 B0 ?1 ]
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
" f5 o- Q$ x9 [% ]( R! |; X& S$ {% t$ nsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and4 s5 Q7 F( ]4 D7 d
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
. Y- [% E, Q. v* h* L' celectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible% q1 C9 a1 b0 z4 z3 J L) m* J
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
8 j9 i2 e7 o- }such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
5 I+ Q' J, ]2 t0 w4 F) Oby Toyota's lawyers."3 u; W! b4 Y" j' q0 R
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of" x: G% P: _* r) H. b' U
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
3 R x0 Z$ W: a' \1 {customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
) e* W) t5 h& H- N. v/ X/ Ysaid.
" r, y+ C$ R, c, e"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
A; J4 ]% R( n5 i6 Ma rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our/ Y+ o* V2 e( t9 @4 d, s6 T4 n" B) C5 M
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating/ B9 X! Y3 U+ J0 \' }3 _1 G; b
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
# c% {, Q% `2 L6 T1 mSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
8 |/ H, R" \' I* e7 a; umembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread$ u, ^* }" }; C/ q2 z* x- B6 W
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the( X" S% v* }1 l2 u8 j4 d: R1 z
automaker, at least in part because of the government's" y+ k X% e& ?: H
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
# U, w, W' I4 c4 F/ gChrysler.: n! i3 N8 L. E# S0 F. x1 t' s: ~
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax5 g7 M: ^+ \9 O& V/ G% A, C5 N# k2 B
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
% f( e- R. c. EHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
" }+ v3 c0 X/ }5 q# I* j4 nserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
2 g: ?: {) Y+ {, o p0 P* N" Fwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty- S1 a4 s+ n; X8 D! A D
tough.": @ w3 G2 f, G( q
---
6 E1 n( W5 p, j6 W$ n% v. N w# tAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom+ y0 m) f2 i) @# x
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
# s+ w2 N* V" b& O$ mthis story.0 H' F4 _8 r. c9 Q4 W9 J; o
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