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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题, {- c% c, X- u$ e* k
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
, d9 z, A) l3 ~/ `* v7 |2 m' U- H; ?" zWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.9 g7 S: M* c! R% t1 U$ Q2 y) ~
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
4 b. U, x9 t+ _- j0 Q/ Fthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
% D/ Y) f0 e& F- N0 k! }! Zsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
I6 l0 L& G# N) _8 w"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
) R3 V' o8 i4 ]" h* u9 Ocauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
) k# s+ y0 j' S" _However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected# | y# _7 b) h; U$ k
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and, z, F- s: t o( |# ?
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor" ~* P. r! l* O: a
mats and sticking accelerator pedals." g! Y. x6 S1 j5 G
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal8 S. w. w, n! S. o
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp6 t: P# S, W7 h1 {' l* Z% J8 K: r
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be! V) V) ^% L0 X1 G$ t0 h
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could/ B& d4 v- N9 B0 s
not stop her runaway Lexus.8 O5 F+ O$ L/ t0 i! e
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,) ]% c8 d+ r5 T6 ^& R
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
. A2 Y; a }, I ?& @1 G"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.% a' b* b& s9 t2 r8 K# g. @
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
4 W; o2 p. j( e7 ]' E; o5 D5 b j) Aearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
, u! l) o# z& ?4 c( ~& n8 q: T"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has7 Y/ G* b# _* Z# {. N* G
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway- E3 e+ ?( A) B1 ~' I. q; j- k
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's# U2 l7 {( f* N2 z' H6 V1 S
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
( d4 A+ J }1 h) c; n, JLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
- H# `+ \- n# {# g' yelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of# f# [% G5 {( H: I' Y
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a% u7 s% |9 n/ w& i1 O5 v
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
: d; D/ Y" ?) T9 O7 Lsaid.5 N7 m6 f& N1 @
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
$ C( Q" z# U z4 t0 W- Rhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
* u/ ~4 W" W6 k: Y& q" ?about driving our products," Lentz said.
# D! m. A( D9 j& PThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
9 A5 l3 E5 r$ ?% x; Yproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has; X% u+ ?' P2 z" ^
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6+ \! Z3 g3 l$ r& K* R* a* f# T
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
! L: Q% r a" Lunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
( n% L+ t% @1 | n, V4 l) f% b5 Yissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
: f6 g5 [, B" g- W: e6 Iconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
& \3 W% O7 e$ i7 wtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow8 I& c; C& j2 g% Q9 e( K6 U
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
8 F" p8 C+ V' J% x8 V1 Treceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration; |+ [8 H N5 Z0 q- C/ B
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
- o. ]0 I2 ~: i# B4 U; vLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own) p/ _$ j% @' h4 e$ J0 e
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
! Y l2 ^2 @1 t! ~# b4 r) Dunderstood the pain.0 P: o7 _2 |. |0 h
"I know what those families go through," he said.0 O5 S1 q6 A+ p: c# E1 ]
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
0 ]' o3 p* R% L& _& {3 y" B7 T, pfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
$ C( `' W/ }2 [6 T: U( rBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
& P# Z2 G. }: A# qHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
+ _" N9 r) m( v6 X' hin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
# e- I, }( s: K# RLentz replied: "Not totally."9 X# Q6 e! w: k/ K9 g) w S
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
# H8 {0 i. Y% v- O"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
' D3 y2 X! p* E. I& B9 }Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas( G- z; A2 P$ K- l& G
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
$ S: l1 P- D# y9 h9 `+ yvehicles already on the road.
& H8 D C5 [5 I3 kMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
/ ~$ }' m# `% W0 {" ubefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full) {6 B9 `( B! D: j
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and6 S8 ]# D0 k* P# @2 p! q/ v1 y! O
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
p% w; s0 d Q' A& b% Nkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.0 G+ @) B2 |% c: {
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
6 u5 |9 r, h, T* m( Q* u9 a& ^9 e% Xtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
) w' f+ k0 L v9 `for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
) f, O ~ p6 q D7 r( \Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
/ R- y& m3 i! X$ q# |: q- Kcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
6 m& K/ R2 H# G# E6 k; Orestore the trust of our customers.": _9 c) m; k4 w4 d/ B% z
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from J/ W; l& \. p
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly" _+ g1 B* i3 c6 D4 x( v7 L
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
. U: V' c) i% l# A9 \3 [! H% B+ [+ wshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
3 p. ^+ x1 T$ m& L* shitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
% ]7 p9 k$ \4 C# J* ~, t; F; ^ Y$ {- |that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and3 M0 e% N* T2 }- D) B q% ^
turn off the engine. G. x x% _$ j
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
! w7 q7 u) I6 H. V' b! x7 gOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience." ]! d( H9 g. e: c! @
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
' Y; o0 \ q3 E. Xsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
4 |4 T0 O% o0 @( @- i% pto her complaints. R( @5 e/ x- n7 }! k3 P& Z
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers4 v# t. ]2 H& t1 I+ ?
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
* ?: |& a: S+ x @ nmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
) B& p* l, O- o h5 \6 I"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric' k1 y& n. ~( e8 i) v% Z
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited8 M9 q4 u7 P! T/ ?
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
9 y/ S4 c1 m2 r4 |3 xoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."- p$ O7 U- L6 h6 E8 \: T
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in4 w6 i1 {5 Q- o1 {+ Q6 f
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were+ J9 U8 e B5 _9 g9 c
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls2 v& m: Y% @7 H7 o$ _
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer; t9 h9 f* |" O! q3 O( }0 F7 q
every question."
2 B5 \9 r7 Z& e- N8 wToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
; J0 N3 E! n9 y/ D D1 [5 P7 relectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
( P9 O( a8 h- Q" ^firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But6 Y: n% f9 K" t
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
C* ?) x! w0 g; Ynumber of vehicles: W# H8 b4 ~! @8 F& j; ~' J3 f: h1 t
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more/ `. y7 w( F ~( @; o9 y
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a. s [4 n* g. G! v& m
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one2 R' A" D" S+ K2 Y0 r/ o
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
. k8 s a( M/ D1 ?2 s+ qMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
6 R8 J4 D) j- \where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no* W! K+ T& Z8 ^( z. M$ |
trace at all.
. U! N" _% V- [$ Y2 `9 mHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call& w/ B9 ?# |* L* m i
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
! [6 J$ S. w3 z; T$ n$ p" N) xacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the! ~/ I$ F q) x7 m! k9 D: ?- L7 A) @
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
, k4 k2 a* u# M' [! z5 lRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
+ o3 I3 f, c; @+ Q# P$ psaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
h: b! M# S/ Q7 y3 d- Uother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the% u3 g, |9 K8 ?& u, y; }
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible; P; S. N9 l% L1 d. }
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only% m: c! @8 d( ^$ U0 J) t4 }
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
! u2 z) C0 n( T% l6 ?by Toyota's lawyers.". X7 c& w( n8 R1 u2 J
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of: k8 m# d1 x k! o6 d
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our0 h6 F+ T' P) W+ n" A4 e. F
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
; D3 d x" B3 O0 L( p6 A2 S! z7 ksaid.) p% R" K" w, c# t- s' o
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with% @9 C d4 ~4 s0 r% p( L
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
* \, a6 C6 A: k! q Z8 D& o# L$ F4 b+ Agood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
4 U/ Y& E [" M* ^2 Kofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
0 s! X- ]; P/ x# C# }$ K' F- Q$ B. }Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying( f+ F3 q) d4 ?* D6 V
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread# {7 r8 S. K3 f7 C9 I
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the5 u$ L" U8 |" x/ R- R( _% G9 c
automaker, at least in part because of the government's% i% G- o+ E2 \
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and+ R% ~$ |9 z' v' Y# F5 [: l
Chrysler. B* a0 _ Y2 ]4 l+ u- O/ m4 s& x
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
3 g J" ]0 v6 W, _! P7 Udollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
( C3 K/ X# I3 h$ UHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also$ u2 S" m/ G/ T6 w$ t
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
( e* {2 o: V/ `7 a( e0 rwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty9 ~# F( g, y. \" D4 ?2 ]' Y- e _
tough."5 Q9 ]1 u5 G" C* Z* i6 c* K% P
---3 `$ H0 M$ Q: h0 X1 b
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
5 x4 V* z% Q* A# ?; V0 LRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
3 _, R- K* M0 N2 n: \9 F- Dthis story.) q! g/ r( V; {6 o- [
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