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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题8 x9 ] t$ z! w0 g6 i
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
# k8 D8 H9 I( k! q; }6 P' v6 [Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.) u" b7 ^+ D2 |. @! D% F
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
/ Z5 j9 q F5 H5 sthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"% w: M; R' h" A/ a7 _8 E
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.- L9 J& M& q! D1 y
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
4 @# _8 g; @4 q3 `5 u/ [- A! _" ]causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.' z% g ?5 `; D) D# ]/ m
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected& C; d: S8 |: z C, ]8 s+ I
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
" G8 l6 n1 e( ~9 btrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor% v* p7 M& I( l2 T$ q) o. D
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.) U" }. V0 q$ B
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal" N/ U4 F' W& Z9 M1 F
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp/ \1 M' K# S- [- N( ^
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
' Y2 J4 F. s. a& x. e7 p0 Dfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could( |( ^8 d) v8 d y' m q* ~( w
not stop her runaway Lexus.
- I/ Z# R- }! M0 _6 q- Y"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,6 w2 C5 m* f# G ?/ \- V: d
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
& A0 a0 j* S, m o- k"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
+ E1 U3 v/ A4 a. G# ^7 y" R dTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues! {5 v/ g& k( W3 J1 Q- v6 o
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
0 N! p M4 t7 ?( T! J) p( g"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
9 m* ]; x) B2 _done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway0 h. ~1 h4 z* H7 h4 }, x
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's0 Z( T% k2 R' ?# {' ~
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
: L$ ]/ P. M }" LLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an4 T0 c" i+ p2 U& l: M$ i' K
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of. l+ \/ y+ Q6 G/ W5 x1 ?" q
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a. B. u% L5 N$ `+ U% r0 A
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he. A1 m6 }- R1 j$ R7 _
said.# v& G3 ^- F3 @2 I0 Y1 h- F$ f
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what% s u" L2 D( |0 c; K* o
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe4 _* g7 @' i" W7 t) H* ]
about driving our products," Lentz said.
) X% ?* U+ `0 m# K1 G! z, v/ W! OThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's& [6 p5 {5 O8 z: l% x) |0 z/ [2 z5 g
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
/ d) X4 f, W, R+ {8 a W3 Arecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
4 d+ R. z, b9 smillion in the United States -- since last fall because of9 Q9 c4 C# _7 d/ j% H
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
5 @3 O( g) c& A+ U6 D9 q3 X6 Wissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering. h" t+ G6 ? \2 i
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of/ u: M5 Y# l" X9 B; i
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
+ |8 ?, ?5 U- e$ Bdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
8 U% l. ^7 M- O' C5 m5 vreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
* }% Y |* J# F: O5 I! o/ ]) A# ]3 D( bof Toyota vehicles since 2000.7 R9 i6 f$ N0 W, p+ N4 c
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
3 B) `% _; F5 y& Sbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
/ B9 n9 b; D: Z, B x! Cunderstood the pain.
0 s# y3 C/ q5 `"I know what those families go through," he said.
& x- c6 H1 x1 aLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's$ n% a( x- C J- n' G; \
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.' s5 z% V) O# y3 c- m0 r D
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
- f# |0 E) b8 A% y0 p& ]& D$ NHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put8 ]+ R0 r1 k* q: w* {- a0 U
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,; F4 b4 ` l, V+ x/ n% I+ A
Lentz replied: "Not totally."; k( ?; C3 q4 r. b
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were/ m* a6 X' ^7 X1 _
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
y& T& b" v. y5 YToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
' v) q$ Z2 | ]% d/ e0 u& Dpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its2 k4 P; }, l7 d3 p
vehicles already on the road.& l+ e5 X; p% ^
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify5 J _2 [0 R' N7 S
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
# o5 J7 u, N' ^6 X7 ?0 Kresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and" m, K* q# N5 i* X5 l% V6 |
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were1 n' i5 b" T, E+ J1 w" b! Y
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
" S8 |, I& O" }9 ~"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a# y) T$ G7 }7 z3 i
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony9 O) B- T$ F9 R# Z1 z& z" h; |
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight3 V( P# \" o: L# ?
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
5 `+ v( {( T4 v8 E/ qcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to1 {0 W" \/ f: w: y$ t" ?
restore the trust of our customers."- V S0 y- \: {
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from# W5 R8 e8 ^3 s. j' v) x; z+ _
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
5 N$ M2 m$ u! r" P" T {zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --5 v! W) N/ T4 O$ L o
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
, o% G5 c O1 K/ p$ `# U4 s! @hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough( ^) N; f$ `0 d9 h. V$ k
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and5 ^" `" \9 B/ V6 u, E8 \1 v/ @
turn off the engine.
8 Z. Y8 p8 `3 O, ^Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of- H! |7 l# C: Q: p
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."; }: s% ?5 |0 t7 t/ V" T
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she( c1 K& ?$ f% R! X( N' F
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond. Q8 `. d6 w0 y7 e8 n
to her complaints.9 D' d6 V3 h" V. N8 h$ p: A# v
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
1 W5 ?# }) |" ]* C4 P8 r, a, P5 freturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
, d3 G# \: X3 p s# e8 Mmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.9 }0 {) A6 t* u- S/ @/ w
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
7 j0 \+ {/ T: xthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited) \% t1 I# g- p" I( M7 m
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut+ V3 y4 \* r Z$ Q6 g4 k
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."3 m% j) c. j5 z4 n M
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in3 k; D; ^, [' S7 y2 }. G
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were/ H) z) {# I6 c
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls2 K# A; ~8 k- ?( L
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer/ x3 B# `) L+ M/ e- _) m: K
every question."2 I% N: K n' o$ @0 {
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether. v( M& j" a% e* t/ Z( j( B
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
" l' ^/ R) I! {6 {. K. ofirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
% r, r5 W" ]8 Z6 E1 U1 a' u! s# Scommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small& D' X! V, i/ E% [8 J9 W* V
number of vehicles
+ i( K1 l; [2 ^( U" |3 v. \) fTracking down an electrical problem can be far more' b4 Y3 [0 Y7 X0 n1 b& u6 M
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
5 K/ z, O- G/ \5 J% mmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
: m0 C* N, v4 Fsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.. U7 N0 R( F( |
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
1 R( `$ l6 v1 c, d$ Cwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no6 F2 _7 }- U- |. t4 |
trace at all.
/ t3 [. _0 R7 p! [' K: THouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
2 k0 p$ b) A6 x2 idatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
/ x$ z& |: u6 ]* {acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
6 l$ p, I; \3 M4 O) L; arecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals. q/ V8 f1 V, \
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
$ b7 n* H u! h7 j T$ L$ R# |said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
. k# }/ C: h1 r8 qother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the& W+ q6 a9 b5 J! p
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
! ]- O5 g* c3 d; R$ {cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
7 P. s, Z' Y; M1 Q+ t" f) x4 `such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained. ^; u: f, {. x. \7 T) {
by Toyota's lawyers."
: g( d" ]) w# h7 JLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
+ `3 r2 t0 ~5 {$ x' c. Oproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
$ E* y. w+ k! a7 N7 u. M% d- hcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
! ?5 K: R- _0 [- Asaid.5 y/ P$ T6 m5 s9 |
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
2 q; P! Y+ l- b2 |$ H6 `' |& L% ra rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our0 ^2 L, M2 d5 {/ m& k* n" J" {
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
& c$ ^5 {% D" C) @* yofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
/ A7 c" n' f& a( eSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying$ j" h5 i6 f; H
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
. v g) x+ A6 F( e% J7 q( {! [; ^rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
+ {5 R# `/ ?- i: x% p$ a! Mautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
7 `+ V9 @/ m3 Cinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
; y1 U! m! s5 B& y5 o( gChrysler.
* P* t0 O c0 D, C) a0 d) \3 Y( ?"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax8 g ]9 H( r1 C- _( {. g' e
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a0 B% k' J( X0 M: }/ r) n
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
- l, V0 i# a' M' T9 Tserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
' ^: m: f; A" i* Iwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
# q4 k# }" l) j0 l+ N4 [# itough."
" J" z( m. B; M5 l4 L# ]---4 l! y) P5 E' D, h6 o
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom! i l! f F1 Z' S; V/ z
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
3 W% G3 o" u7 U6 ]& l6 Ethis story.
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