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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题4 f/ h( c; {6 a
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS2 F: Y8 Z5 K5 Q0 L( h2 V
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
# C6 |4 s- E* A# ^% v' L3 o' p/ [operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that" B* Z, N) f- c7 V& L
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally") e" S( U' C4 f; Z9 i. z2 M0 y L
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration. m1 O( H$ B% ]* d" }# c+ c
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential2 K8 Q. h, t! x$ A) J' l
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.: I% @* F9 A$ J3 [* `* _3 w) ~
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected5 e; {7 t8 c7 u) b
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
9 _* `# A' U1 @1 y$ @trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
: G- k/ R0 D: b+ ^) K0 nmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
' @3 d( Z# t1 CHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal+ v; s b P+ D
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
. @3 e8 d* m6 q* o8 I, Mcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be5 T' |7 P- }. w4 `9 k% V, ~% z! j
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
; H4 h `- G- e# `3 c; a% E$ _1 c2 Bnot stop her runaway Lexus.
1 k$ D# j+ p( E"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,5 l( S! I3 Q, _ q3 _5 Z
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second$ N1 u0 _. x+ R) R* B0 A
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators./ }4 K2 `" ^) _: Q. t
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues; q* S$ A; @5 p; c3 ^" |1 b3 t- G6 ~
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said \5 c/ K1 F/ p9 U1 b9 F' i
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
. a# J8 n/ \) l" R, }" Sdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway4 m4 E, i# K, G( H8 M' @# ^
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
3 D& }7 e5 |- y, c. Hinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
. R9 U( k# |8 W4 N8 Q8 kLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
$ |. A, f5 T2 B) Kelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
" E1 t7 h* t6 F$ V# V- p( Y6 R9 Dthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a0 T1 ?. ]% Y* O( j" h. F6 d' |7 s. X3 ^
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
3 }. C9 C5 M: L: K+ w9 Tsaid.! @6 `" @: o8 h2 ^0 a: |
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
; U5 F- G5 F) @; U! [1 |$ |happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe P% _- W( H& _' J1 j
about driving our products," Lentz said.
6 q5 @: R9 g# L$ t2 J- ^- P kThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
( Z3 p$ Z% E/ u X4 }8 T7 Z7 Wproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
\* k! x- _( I! E; g3 x* a- zrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
4 m. T5 D* }8 g+ Q% v+ Imillion in the United States -- since last fall because of: R$ K6 ^: T# D6 P, @
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
+ |% m" z$ c4 k: A( z- pissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering" S% r% H, m4 o5 R# H
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
8 Y1 n& N. w& U# o) Itheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
8 \8 m V; s! ~8 Edown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
9 {" y- L( N8 S! r" vreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration1 Y: B; T( M6 p; @9 N
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
% G; j; V2 i) m, ?) C1 xLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own0 X- k! j3 s: Q! x: V5 D! A, U
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
% _: D1 J. Y; ^& Z% C( eunderstood the pain.6 g6 m. K" e, R7 W2 C
"I know what those families go through," he said.
6 x, f% @6 _2 oLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
. j4 Y# `7 k2 {+ w1 v% zfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
+ b( d# }8 [& V X: R) N* w+ KBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman" v! j( u/ p9 {! @; { A) G$ m/ P
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
6 m7 r+ n3 u$ F+ h: w/ w4 oin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
) t8 }. i2 v" ELentz replied: "Not totally."& {9 X2 d0 a. l9 u
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
' ~; F6 V. k2 w+ ]$ t"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
' ]# M6 A; X. k! r# R3 IToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
1 l+ F4 y* Y6 Z# O) V& Rpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
- w' ^# b& [1 M% m) P( t4 h. Kvehicles already on the road.
% x! v; e3 p7 d; u3 @# |$ R& oMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify& |8 Q! y! ~7 k& w
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
" V, a; e& ^; L+ _* Q& w6 F+ ~responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
' I9 q4 }9 C7 J1 Doffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were% X9 y$ g3 A7 A, ?
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.9 Z; n4 I% J& F; f3 c! L0 `
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a8 \8 y8 H0 Z; |7 D1 G/ d3 q8 K
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony' S) B5 e+ a; q+ j
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
( \# W- [6 l7 R" P& LCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
- h2 ^. N* c6 b1 w/ S ycommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
) G9 C2 @3 u$ M2 mrestore the trust of our customers.") |5 o! T: p: k, o4 z3 z( j6 D
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from- L* l( Y% o- _
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
. a3 m. F% p( y% k" L( Szoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
% @: H8 i* L" y7 m4 S3 xshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
! ]' @) V, ~: A5 T+ Yhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
- l: r2 r; [+ t2 ]1 ithat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
9 ?0 b! U3 I& \/ z/ |* u. b" o) ?2 kturn off the engine.( z5 _% d' }: ^- M) a; T
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of) Q8 M% }6 n" t4 H1 n% ?
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
4 j( S9 s* k! r1 x! X2 g; T6 S" u9 v"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
! ^8 P. k5 f' Q6 F1 l7 u/ Y$ |! F$ vsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond" \& L, i0 c! H/ N! F3 Z
to her complaints.
6 S7 W j+ |* y0 VIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers: K. a, \7 L- g s
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
2 K/ Z6 Z2 G- Emalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.& N: A) w# U' H+ f" r
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
. k: c+ _$ m/ f! |throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited$ A% X, M8 M( q
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
- i: _( |3 q+ doff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure.": [' {* K F5 \4 f
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
8 T L+ A& ^6 ]6 ^' G& mprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were& ?5 I, b& K+ @) S7 h
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls7 U( C2 p0 v( O2 t) ?* {
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
: M. |6 S" u- L! ]9 I9 l( P" C! D/ Yevery question."
1 o; h2 y/ R, R* j% z4 e! `Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
$ A3 d% [0 Y& W) e6 t8 {' oelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
& [) d, l) } N3 q' u. _5 Hfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But, r2 q& s& u; |1 l0 [ V% f
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
1 u. Q0 ~6 L4 j: \2 }; @- t% qnumber of vehicles
+ D0 j+ B0 l6 Q; X) @/ oTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
2 x7 I5 ^' Z- M: t$ S, O9 D ^difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
. N/ F3 g& g+ c! gmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one* j9 v) }3 {$ r7 @2 b" Y( v% n% o( f
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.3 n5 ]' J }: u3 H+ x
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
# v; q- z1 L8 K5 `2 {where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no$ h4 r. j; `5 e: @' Z
trace at all.
* h9 ?! Z0 B# pHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
" a/ r% |, Y' m9 u& j! }$ o& B1 \database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden1 [, H& N& T4 Z; e- o
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the4 m( G' T3 z) G) Y7 m' k1 ]
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.; D0 s) d1 C; D, E8 A" E) m% y
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
: H+ C* v; a3 |3 Ssaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and3 ]5 n0 T; f$ E0 B7 h
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
' n+ J. v7 h8 ^; t, w7 W( qelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible% F7 K9 ~) J* b5 D) I
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
& r8 m# j' c# i: i0 L: Y7 L; S# Csuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
. u! e' H7 e9 i, ?+ Bby Toyota's lawyers."
* V. j4 O8 h9 u5 P( oLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of+ H/ b1 u, r+ w2 l' ~. {
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our" D# H: F' L' B0 T5 W7 h6 m
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he5 r( m# O$ w2 b3 }! Z
said.
- {" U- w6 q3 G% |4 z( U4 `! j"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
, Q4 ^ N/ D9 f+ P7 @) j: w) v1 qa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
5 v) ^4 e% u( s7 _4 M/ e: b* f9 Ugood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating5 { d# q2 }/ Y2 X; U. B
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.8 r& z7 k9 |+ O
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
3 ~1 L) p% N6 Z" G, Jmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread% O" z! V5 [. i" t
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
+ u) x q6 B. h/ {% Vautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
- O( v M9 n7 I! y. ]- cinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
6 |& H8 @5 Q% G& [! Z/ R- \* R" MChrysler.
( Z3 A; b$ r! @, u& B9 P2 z"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax# K: x* z, B; B* v# V: f
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
0 ^" v- @0 `5 b h& \7 gHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also8 T7 p: X7 [3 W; S2 u, ^
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete# a3 h- {& v0 s" C8 y4 P
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty) {# N, u, G) W- ?
tough."7 q, P* L. G U( L. x, V
---
1 L- l: h$ R) ~& P( R+ JAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
# }9 G3 o3 y' R* hRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
, T0 F( O0 c+ r2 b- b b% Hthis story.. ]/ s) R, E! Z1 _# v
4 ^7 P7 H; t5 \/ Y6 E) }
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