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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题 g, ?& I) O$ K q) z8 s
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS ~- c' r S! ~! ~. [
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
* \* _( w6 ^8 noperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that! s% ?1 t% D3 A3 n1 T
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
' e" g- J& n: z: C9 c, g$ D: s$ w2 jsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
+ H) a5 k& D; h. Y"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
4 ?6 a$ `2 p' N3 W2 w2 ?: P; |causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
, _6 ~/ \' z. f( i/ k% p. {However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected) ~( A+ U$ e* v' X, j2 V$ M' w
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
! w% E' G% P3 v4 Gtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
# I0 o5 M( j* S0 Pmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
/ \: D+ ]& y1 J DHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
8 f" _7 c$ F, kand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp7 t1 j/ L# o1 l/ h. O1 c/ S8 P
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
& M. W4 b; N% \6 Tfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could# F3 l9 O2 l$ ~% z& ^7 m' Y
not stop her runaway Lexus.
/ V$ j% |7 J4 z% E( m"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,6 B( Z2 i- R$ i9 p' _$ Z
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
9 z- l) k% Y& O9 `0 F6 M- V+ \"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
2 \3 K7 \9 x! l% T+ s! Z, OTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
, v$ ]/ K7 ^& ~7 j1 \early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said0 y2 N1 |: L3 I9 x( [& ?
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has, Q& T9 P2 T* P8 F
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
0 f8 D4 j( g4 B; ?5 ]through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's1 N, P- ?1 Q8 X/ U) m: Y2 {; u
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
* l- k# I% J2 Y9 T+ I1 h5 V3 O% D, TLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an5 F; V o+ [% ?% o
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
. D$ }- P3 D! D' `; nthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a9 U# d" y! a3 l( F( {
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he3 k& [; ^2 l% w5 d; Q
said.% L5 r9 [, U i( D
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
1 s& L# k4 P5 p1 A; c+ x9 Jhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe7 {- w& u8 Y) ?/ o0 O# t# |
about driving our products," Lentz said.
: A: @& `" U! U9 D* a' EThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
; I' R: v$ M1 yproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
2 P2 x1 [% z# `recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
) z- [/ C& B. E% n$ {million in the United States -- since last fall because of% S) w+ ~# u0 s+ u
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking2 ~2 b' w4 {) J3 ^. k/ w+ v
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering, O6 z2 Q) T6 t& s
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of7 X6 a, |7 f& `( \2 F
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
! ?! z& i/ H' Z5 adown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has: @: I8 v4 l. f: v. u0 G
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
4 o$ ]2 J" ^0 F; A6 R+ Vof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
, G4 a( R+ h- c( Z0 Z, ?Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
2 k* Y' i) y5 @' h- n8 H0 zbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he! @7 h( w0 u$ h$ r& f# A
understood the pain.. a; w0 e3 b) L1 z2 K
"I know what those families go through," he said.) U, g; O- a* Q& W. J5 A% v
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's B V2 c% u: {2 P t
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.1 Z4 C8 g* t9 x5 l5 Q
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman9 l: Z m0 L i8 x2 c- L* R
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
7 ~0 E" M3 T7 `# n! _& Qin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
- Q, D" l0 a9 m8 ?, O! [Lentz replied: "Not totally."' r, I' P1 B N3 h4 q/ N5 [, `& N
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were# g) V7 T8 m# C! a( g% x6 Q+ L
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
9 @4 ~! L; p+ ? n: p; v8 JToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
( o2 M' ~4 _3 I1 n- v9 ?$ C1 _pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its1 }; t/ Q$ J5 S$ b/ s/ ?
vehicles already on the road.
+ B! M' a' \" r0 U8 X9 @' w1 fMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify' V ^$ d8 Y; ?+ p8 {7 P
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full3 b( }& y6 E7 U/ P7 C
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and# G& Y% Y1 K6 S5 p9 `
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were3 y8 z, d& U( [7 {/ O+ `' H
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.$ [% ?$ P0 a. o3 d3 @' V
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a2 y/ R4 z" W* P/ w( {
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony; Z) A& f9 g' F4 m7 @
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight7 u$ j- J' k! o, ~3 R
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
* m- f. k1 \& x) K1 x# N pcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to. }& g# Z7 } t
restore the trust of our customers.", r4 R }1 P5 u- y( K
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
( d% a, N* n y* ]Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
: F# p: y( `% F% U! g/ {zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --' i- x. K# E1 B& i. h8 `0 o; R
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
' l& d) v- f0 ^9 u' V$ p, nhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
/ y0 }' m! f! p/ R: E r4 fthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
x0 T r7 x D1 m# I2 }& ^6 qturn off the engine.
1 P* c/ Z' C2 FFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of5 M3 d A- C4 v3 T0 m
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
8 L) K) ]" y' _; a7 U Y; m"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she. G+ S7 E+ Z) F7 M f$ r
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond4 ?' l! V; g, j" J! [" L
to her complaints.
. J+ e* G/ j0 ]* zIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
3 U; B4 r6 J: M8 x+ Y) J+ R5 @; Y6 Dreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic. O1 N! J. c( J7 U5 T9 M! |9 a
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.! Q. u0 u; T7 y( B. M, p$ T
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
) J. [ W9 ?9 O! }% n) Tthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
6 y( @8 {* n3 {& S7 f& k% v"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut8 O. k: X4 _+ l) m2 q s X6 G( u: t
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
% \$ z" ?7 A3 a" h! }' oTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
( W7 [% ?% q3 a7 t% k9 E. i5 [prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were, L- d2 U+ F& \. d2 [3 o2 n
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
# H) \: [( Z& ewere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer, Z# g9 U4 M# b2 E8 o
every question."
" f! B+ t) D! w, L9 \" OToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether5 B. k# \$ ]5 T7 B; ?' _8 ?
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The% \& {& v# W k' \
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But8 s0 v$ X6 Q" T5 n
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
' S2 C% Y6 Y) g5 r( V& t3 d% r( }' Hnumber of vehicles
' m: ?' ]: w" GTracking down an electrical problem can be far more/ g! h' t. ?* P" ?& J0 O
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
4 O. e- t0 I/ }4 q( F% Q- \mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
' @/ d: m7 K6 ~4 I: U# csource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.6 {) L# j3 K; `6 F, b. D- ^2 O1 w
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
, z2 m' a+ l' m& n; ^where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no% } V9 o8 r$ C! _ I* W! @( X) o9 x
trace at all.
( w- ?. I$ |* ^9 w9 O% P, R" kHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
( z7 \+ ?4 N6 L7 tdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden9 g% p# o0 |4 M3 r, i- Z' T
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the( G. k! Q* D! p* A: Q
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.( R+ G8 q! e1 ]/ i* R+ q [! M
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,, a, W5 a5 @$ N( E# f+ o$ H
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
4 c6 B) w" r: Cother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the. Z# d- ~, r) l7 h) @
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible/ c: C; n: ~4 b$ I# N; p0 ^
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only/ y- M( Q7 d W
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained: \9 i8 }0 g0 Z& D3 A5 p. U
by Toyota's lawyers."4 z# Q8 k: w+ t
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of7 Q. {/ q, l; w5 h
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our8 v) p, B6 T0 x' b2 V' n. ^. D% o
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
7 i4 j# a- T) P6 U R4 E+ d) e$ `/ }said.$ w# {4 i5 Z/ L- u y
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with6 c7 J. ^" |3 [+ L) r# N. c. B; b
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our0 o, W4 y. g+ H2 t# \* U) U6 m
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
, y+ h) D% I, x" o) J& S+ K+ D; f7 \officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
q( j1 o: l* `$ ?) CSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying' T- _9 d6 E- w/ @
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread7 V) O% b$ }, b# W9 d$ M# F
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
: @' @; S/ P# j$ Y/ h0 y: aautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
2 k6 w. n" W9 H; _- `investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and+ w+ _% s. W1 x. C: t' N
Chrysler.
{9 R$ Q- S9 O t' N1 n1 V# `1 l"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax6 O4 ]# U0 l6 S6 y: Y4 Q) K7 W) f
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a7 i$ n' C) I" o
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
& l0 W9 X9 h. p, X6 r5 \- Gserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
5 O# k2 q$ u9 ewith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty1 [4 R+ s9 ~7 u4 q+ ]. ^ X) O
tough."8 y2 d! H7 w: @8 }
---$ H b$ v" Z* K( y' E
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
4 G9 }1 K9 T9 i6 C* GRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
3 t( ?- y7 @2 M# ^1 ?$ \this story.
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