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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题& h. `( @ o. U x
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS0 s% H/ K% M) |6 i: G9 y' _
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.) i3 r# L8 u2 s) E% x* A9 @
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that [1 B, D/ r9 V2 L4 x
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
Z1 P' y6 }, Q0 r6 {" Usolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.; K6 f; G; o0 l8 C5 `
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential3 p7 M% b, j( a$ |* z, {+ @* `
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
' a% h* E" B; u" aHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
5 P4 `1 l( s* @$ q# \acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and/ M3 k" E9 N) F5 ^' {
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor+ z# U; w+ T0 ^$ a3 s6 M9 U
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.1 L& a Y) |0 z7 C- n( v) v/ e
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
# U" }7 S( D, m5 [, iand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp# `- t" x- H7 W) e2 N
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
/ h2 \" e( }( h+ \8 q% yfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could/ H `0 V3 C! f9 c
not stop her runaway Lexus.
" M9 N3 W5 V$ b, G6 w' e"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,4 f3 j' k i9 i/ w- x [9 i, x0 L
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second- G4 x# K, L6 R0 P* \
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
0 G' ^. ?0 L$ i+ D7 I" e: z: E' pTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues \% a# V# S2 h5 e4 x5 l- O
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
8 c0 F1 G1 o; o& N j"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has q7 j4 S) F- m6 R5 e
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
0 _- h" E6 ]* w8 jthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
& n: t$ x4 r, \1 M$ Y, tinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham.". P8 \$ W. H+ ]4 i( K* i
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an9 N5 A4 O6 I) A5 P7 \
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of& S9 ?2 M$ ^# g4 ~: w
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a& e- z0 s4 {& u. g) \3 q+ o
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
, Y5 g5 a0 x0 l" i* osaid./ J, l1 O: n4 _5 v7 w
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what! Z% B/ Y" v6 A: I) ` L- T
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
0 k$ r# Q" E0 Q+ [: sabout driving our products," Lentz said.
1 h1 u0 I; {; U2 pThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
& i. s$ j; c* h. p* vproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
: g: n' H2 {* Q4 {& z8 L. krecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6' C1 p6 s' o9 B. V' v; Q1 p+ P. g4 g4 ~
million in the United States -- since last fall because of/ |9 A, L2 M2 ]! L! d( Z3 a3 _
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
( ]% ]7 B& u0 }/ r, c6 missues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering4 O/ @6 }+ t$ D; \. g- Z+ j
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of$ H# o' f w/ S0 w' q
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow- B6 K, u+ w) ~; k# Y
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
: L2 R t' P% U4 greceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration5 W+ m6 ]- d% D& |. v" v) C8 E: n
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
. q* m. j& a! W+ z3 R+ S+ bLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own6 D# t2 Q' ^" D" i5 x% ^# Q1 }
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
6 ]2 M+ h5 y( c0 x3 E1 Hunderstood the pain.
! a5 ~' Y3 Q+ Z9 H j"I know what those families go through," he said.
* d0 q9 F, j' t) P& G% Y2 FLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
, H* U4 C- H( @: {fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
: w% s' w! \) X2 oBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
- }+ o( D" z4 ]1 UHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
0 Z! {( M& r! S* n% k4 C* ^in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,. a V" N3 b5 S* K
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
: A9 K# o: {& M! e1 HStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
9 ^" ]: r0 U% Z% x% q"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
: h/ G6 g8 `* v r5 [3 u7 NToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas# j- R! W, z' P
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its9 ^, A( i2 V4 F, A. p
vehicles already on the road.5 J( m2 p$ Q& y+ I/ |
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
, ]- i: J3 d3 ]% cbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
4 j, }' e4 |6 z9 n, ?) cresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
- ~+ R) @1 A% R& k3 h* k9 G! A7 x' @offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were+ q/ Q& c. z- n0 W+ ^
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
' u: @3 l' K1 {"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
6 p0 V2 O# R9 itragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
2 X# P# V8 G/ h! q7 Kfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight4 V9 O% ]( k/ d9 s, S) q# q0 v* C
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal. M+ N2 Q9 Z0 `; b3 L9 x C
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to! m7 t- g* q" g8 l/ D g& _4 D
restore the trust of our customers."
# w, L5 C) w: @Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from7 g& w3 i7 b: c" Y$ x% O; f2 `
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
3 ?: m% Q; L; Ezoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --9 F' |, \, U& d& R" r$ z
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
% K7 u% o; F% m6 x3 xhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough H! A: w8 V! K- h' D+ @
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
+ F/ R6 t9 t3 |/ r# D# Xturn off the engine., b9 C: F9 d! D
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
2 g1 s7 f8 j/ m; l0 oOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
% S# |1 C) X s* t"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she0 h% D* N6 W2 I+ R# p8 ?; M
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond: m$ r# o5 B1 s
to her complaints.
: J: d7 z) N6 k1 j I. D2 VIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
' V) [% r, N* greturned again and again to the question of whether electronic' c- v/ ~: \6 }. p& p2 h3 a' q
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
# H5 c0 \; b1 G. d"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric) T# [4 q- l: Z( e* M7 F
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
: [. D) Q0 K+ X* ^+ N2 B"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut8 l1 q7 N% U7 `7 A
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."; D' E* {# T0 w/ j: f- }# r/ ~8 g
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in( q& {& A6 f0 M( I$ I
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were+ e; T0 w0 Z8 E( L( v% D
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls9 F, ~# U+ }5 L. `. b- C
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
7 x9 M% Z5 C7 o7 _1 B, O+ Yevery question."% l% A |. T& T7 ^9 i9 i
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether5 b8 y5 D! W4 \' n& M
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
0 E2 S8 I+ [ \firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
; d: a1 E# q Y. Vcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small3 F0 t/ G; V+ C
number of vehicles
- B7 v' P1 _# F5 rTracking down an electrical problem can be far more+ Z1 y v- S6 h) {- p! ?/ C! A
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
, D1 P0 G1 p& @4 T9 @& Fmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
; w2 D" Z+ D3 i- M# asource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
7 e7 Z! I& v1 W4 @; W! e2 aMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,5 ] h* ^! E& r- `! C, T8 Q
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no9 S7 M) |' R, @5 R3 x
trace at all.
5 G1 n! Z ` _House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call; ]. x9 g6 F1 h; m$ o% G
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden# {9 a7 _7 l4 E
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the/ L3 i: }6 c9 R
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
4 _- A, x( K* `! NRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee, e4 t2 |) @6 M' x
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and1 T4 {9 l% C9 Z
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
2 q& G3 T7 e; }/ Welectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible8 X1 d5 @( R3 ?0 a w$ e5 F
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only2 U) w9 y$ E2 T5 z& b
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
, J- ]8 g6 F( Jby Toyota's lawyers.", h. {6 D: a% a( K* ?: [
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of% k0 R, ~$ d% A- S. }) k, B
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our$ r4 c5 Q- _' M/ W
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he1 F. W. N, z" a+ L7 i1 e
said.
# O+ R, P7 x; ]+ X5 s/ B4 a"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with0 _3 z- R# u1 K2 z
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our6 t+ w( V1 B& @! G
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
; s9 [: ^9 {& r: e0 b8 sofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.$ I! ]% F, }' q% x2 x' E5 l0 }8 [; o
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying @; S# v# i( I8 R5 M3 K' o
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread; Z* V# G5 @7 `
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the( ^5 {* T; l, x, h
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
) P+ w6 c4 h Y0 M1 {investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
! g, D& q" _5 k3 `Chrysler.: [9 \+ I, d/ z7 o( q; e% C
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax- f W+ S' m4 P
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
A- _. b3 k; e# x* L1 vHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
$ G4 X. _' ]4 bserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
: n1 H, W3 J# R$ c% m) qwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty; @, C- C I* R9 B0 O2 S2 j
tough."6 O8 a; \0 f( F/ X" N7 t# s
---% x/ O0 u o" A+ t" @+ p
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
- S6 Y: P) K( [) O2 f6 `' L* P ^Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
6 ~: X8 x: I9 }9 Gthis story.
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