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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题8 z2 {: L# K8 \ J' S" y
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS D* e: v; e4 a& g1 h9 ?- ^6 W0 ]
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
* R9 x! F$ A* h& ^) soperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
# t" `* ~/ ^3 E; |' U$ e* |8 o+ X* \) Vthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
7 M' \* [# \4 \solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.' {3 M8 @' d. ?4 i6 I+ Q" q: H+ Y
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential! @+ g5 _/ e9 H' N+ l; \$ J
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
/ k: i" i9 w, y* v/ L) I" zHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
1 Q. l6 j8 b: M# qacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and4 K5 w. b4 s0 f! I1 `
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor% z# d7 y* l# y' _& d
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
3 C1 ?% [6 p2 h/ @. uHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal6 y& L" j7 Z5 E
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp4 ?0 f' T7 o$ h1 U
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
/ m2 V8 J3 d; R- Afurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
) M1 Q- e4 G" p- }not stop her runaway Lexus.
! B- g" \1 s# G; i. I* U% u' x3 a"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
; K4 ~( ~/ K) @& X' CTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
! |! G; C5 J% n9 M# ]) ~( E"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.8 h+ ^. R- J# Y
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues. O( X5 C5 h& {. D T q
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said: M) \1 y4 j3 C3 c4 p' L
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
! P& t8 u" K( [# h% i3 a, ]6 k3 rdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
1 o( p. d n% z) q) C; z5 ythrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's% t' y' f c* k1 M4 K, `
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."6 X" _9 O5 J' g& n5 `, V% E
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
: O* \/ W% L; L& x' q8 m) |, velectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
: Y; Y. _6 Z0 I5 ^the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
# t" ?4 n4 p! Jmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he- D2 z* u0 @0 g9 v: F% y
said.
0 |- h/ j% d1 U6 H0 J; V" wAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
) r8 \7 U j- R$ d9 ~happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
5 i' D8 }3 q# D% U/ c8 a$ Yabout driving our products," Lentz said.
j1 I/ f; f# n6 D$ K2 o- X' @+ j$ a2 ^Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's* S2 }2 z4 A% V8 f, T7 j
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has% r9 W7 G1 ?/ Q9 L; d: g R& ^+ T
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6/ P+ p8 P' i4 }! u' z9 W6 w
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
) d* j4 J0 n7 }( Aunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
8 y8 Z, ? X- A5 d" u. Bissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
2 a4 G2 D: L- ?% r8 v6 Fconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
4 b- N; v1 u& ^4 l8 E! F$ Btheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
% ]8 Y( l- C, P- i& F, Wdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has" U L5 j9 g T: K& w! B4 `
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration9 b" w4 z3 s% w
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.% K8 o4 J9 V {( h
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
1 s+ ^) D3 \# H8 d2 M" rbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
; l2 T3 O9 S! C7 ^understood the pain.
& o M: W C' a' r' G# |"I know what those families go through," he said.
8 a8 A6 |" x2 I) q4 ZLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
9 i" p- }) \+ t, V8 K( Rfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
% u# \3 G& A7 c: C) m2 hBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
D2 S' C: {: Z! iHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put3 |$ Y. i- O7 x( N
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
6 B7 c2 p/ G7 i5 wLentz replied: "Not totally.") u- ?. F( G5 r6 t8 E7 i
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
: o- I b4 y0 R& ]& ~9 `3 j4 f"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said, J7 V* B$ g! y+ P
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
( Y9 m: A, j* p; l! |' b' Mpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its2 Y* y ^5 E$ h+ L: C* ?
vehicles already on the road.
4 x" H6 y+ p2 T/ c5 `) o; }Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
, x; [* o3 c) A: N- i- ibefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full3 L) O/ E- w2 V9 f$ \, p
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
7 |: w- P+ [$ j* `: T# |offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
, u* s: W& R2 l( q/ m6 }killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.5 A; j. U3 X9 D3 _' v2 G! n% s
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
% e0 u3 {. m0 V3 y5 ktragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
6 i3 L' @) [% s, h& j6 tfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight2 Z8 V6 I ^7 c4 N
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
6 l; _7 `% c+ g v Lcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to8 z& G' M1 t1 P# Q: C* u$ T; `/ h
restore the trust of our customers.": q3 b" ]& t9 i
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
! g( ]! e2 ^7 A/ ~5 ~3 ?" bSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly& h* e# U; q: E% H$ k
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --8 [" d5 p5 \* D& O8 f! M
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and( x$ y4 }" O/ t
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
$ ~( y$ l7 E/ j- Zthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
) s& k+ i' L6 C/ Gturn off the engine.( ]) E4 Q: O7 U! G4 w
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of6 ^4 F) j$ F7 d/ Q, e# e- d! V
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
2 _5 k. |- a. ]8 d7 k9 F"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
- S r, s0 G" O3 Ksaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
' j0 f* t$ k k. j1 V1 F3 uto her complaints.2 i G3 h0 h4 [6 x% V1 @
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers& d, P( Q c9 |) Q. X- b
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
, \$ L! v! ]- W6 Pmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.4 j1 O- R+ l& B* t: P: x3 h, `( Y
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
$ M9 D. ~' v. T$ V( C. b1 G% cthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited/ k+ F/ H1 z$ b) I B+ k
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
, c! I$ l6 E9 j$ b( p& Boff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
9 n, q" l7 h. r: M1 |Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in/ G# V. I& ^7 {# Q, P6 C9 B. o4 ?6 S, Q
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were8 i& q# a7 I/ l) r. q
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls; e. d5 Q* d; {; A
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
) v/ C" l, A( X. q. @0 X$ qevery question."
. ]' i" V6 z7 M6 o$ A* Q E+ TToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
; b! S% W& k* ?1 V3 t* [+ delectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
: D9 V- e6 {2 Q" |/ Tfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
% n1 N* S5 M: _; f2 _& Tcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
6 p9 f4 m- K( anumber of vehicles
) G- N/ J" D/ B7 t- ?' b& g# u- h# eTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
; N G+ J* u0 U0 Vdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a( A" j$ p( P/ k) Q2 Q: O
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
) D+ O3 i% @& ^( o: a& U3 ], p$ dsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.. g( [* W0 O: ~- R6 _: X
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
- m( G2 m' z' L* c8 i# }8 U( o9 Qwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
: }1 O% M0 c# U% h- f: y: htrace at all.
2 g1 c: \6 ?) B) H! _6 u6 C) G. IHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
3 b0 c( w; e, A* }database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden, c1 M, O' k3 G6 v. Q9 J
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
2 a% h% |8 q% r# ?recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
8 z2 r: K/ [0 M% SRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,/ O. _( u5 Y0 Z2 [" j. ^
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and7 B. U, i1 ]$ c' x4 H- y
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
& O w3 R# y% q5 X4 V- L& velectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible# T" B5 N; Y1 \: l# x% K/ T( R( a8 j
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only+ `1 i7 V" \% k [+ H
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
& X9 I' C7 Y, [# ~& j1 tby Toyota's lawyers."5 ~3 Q+ ^" `( j4 O- F- _
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
$ l' f; ^: s" jproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our9 i) P- q6 d" Q' K7 S6 K
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
, y' M6 p3 `9 m i4 U/ A& wsaid.
% P1 }, q/ ~9 |* f' i"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with' p9 r: |7 M; ]( J5 p- h. H
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
7 A% ^ r {0 X/ dgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating5 z% A* D( ]' j( {
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
+ w' I# W$ |" T6 {# jSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
2 d3 s. {, a! x6 f! {& G+ E3 ~" Zmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread- a# P o( A7 K k8 p5 g0 z
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
6 S6 d) m: a$ ~4 V5 Kautomaker, at least in part because of the government's. Y& T! k- j% W+ o1 F+ Y/ I$ u
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
+ b# G# }/ ?, tChrysler.9 N' L3 g: P; C% x
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax' [/ |7 r1 d8 C4 u8 F
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a& E" Q$ A# B; h% [+ b# b; P* J
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also `2 q* M- I( Y3 j8 h3 a0 O
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
( I0 v t4 s8 p% |' jwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty1 N7 \6 ~0 y5 C. }/ m, Z
tough."* b3 _6 C1 q3 P$ {# t
---/ i( D# p0 m4 E; e* y6 }% b7 L7 T
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom9 U4 s7 D% s+ T. S
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
D2 b: V! K! lthis story.! ?2 [. u2 ^# X( i! k0 }0 h4 d
% s3 T5 u' O* v5 e+ q6 P
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