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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题* K7 m) H; W* Z( K( l: p- y
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
( c! V# R# J# ?7 P lWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
, R* G0 Z+ i! B8 R" z# S3 b8 p/ Loperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that6 A' A5 E% n- t0 m$ D
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally", e6 m7 U0 Q7 S
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
8 q# q6 b2 r- Y" |! I"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
* y' L: W' r" Xcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
( D0 N: y5 p7 ]6 Q d. ^However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected6 I' T5 Z+ P9 o! b& X
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
7 x0 u2 ~) ^$ w3 ^; ~2 Mtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor$ _ P8 J/ y6 t+ h+ V1 H
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.) _" c4 H# v9 x- Q- T0 S. e
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal: K0 D0 B( O$ Q' V
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp$ ]5 q8 c! \) R: ]
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
4 I$ ]( H4 L# t$ g! hfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could% M8 ?4 j6 Y4 Q3 w! ~
not stop her runaway Lexus.& a8 L% |1 k" H3 M. @! P, U
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,% t* u4 b3 @9 \% G5 W3 [; n" c
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second' r* I! H4 i# a$ P2 L$ b; X# x! d
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.1 c6 o2 m" P" B6 [
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues/ ~4 |3 N% @. s! s, s- @* s5 P1 y
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
. G$ W; j; Y8 B/ V& d+ {6 S3 c"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has5 V9 `) K% [& Q! u4 n6 c4 m
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
2 _+ o: V! M' A+ x1 p! m) n4 I0 gthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
6 B2 j, z5 l+ u: y0 k2 Dinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
/ s; }1 E1 b" @" ?Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
1 H( y0 U& |6 k' i. }6 welectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of1 _- E7 [! w6 `! I( U
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
1 k1 H0 l) ], h$ P$ t$ Imalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
4 f1 d! ^- H- J0 `0 y5 lsaid.
- c" M! W& ]* q& n0 O- Z# ZAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what$ x. D" H# i" j! x
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe4 h1 X V+ v9 ?; D( v, g
about driving our products," Lentz said.) S0 ~, F7 V8 ~3 ~0 l
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's* c- o& [* v, p$ a
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has* `* v* N; ~: i' L% r$ ~6 R* g
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6: p# |; d, O W5 H$ f$ i
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
8 ]" w8 ?/ I h6 w& zunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking+ k' o2 T; c6 h6 T$ z, v
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
: m' k5 g+ I( d& G1 Jconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
7 U2 c7 I* U& F2 ?. E0 \2 ctheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow1 z) ~) u1 {4 t( F. w3 d9 [
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has; {# X" Y+ R- N5 M( d% _% h% C Z8 q/ F
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration( m4 T0 B7 j/ G$ G& O& v7 k
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
" I h v2 A9 S; F+ WLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own% t% J2 J0 Z! S' l
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
& a# b7 m7 Y5 v* S% ~$ D7 tunderstood the pain.9 T& W$ Y: ]' ~ ~' J+ Y+ Z
"I know what those families go through," he said.
+ R0 V9 T$ Z' p& P4 S6 E; _+ ALentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's; l5 Z# n" x( j
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems. V9 N9 Y4 t: B) |% C# v M8 s2 Z
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
; n6 Y# I# Q4 j% e$ m2 YHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
: r5 @5 C* L' c. p* Gin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
7 p* U+ g$ d: b( g. I0 E8 ?Lentz replied: "Not totally."/ M1 \- I8 R% M& \$ ^+ z
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were$ I, B* h+ [3 M0 H- f4 f3 e
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said$ X( C" g+ a5 L9 m7 {! F
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas$ V; l9 u, u; W
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its7 x( r* w3 m/ N- l5 [* ]! Z
vehicles already on the road.
! T8 z" `! O8 ?5 g0 C" V3 mMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify4 L. F; J" w& w8 @/ L$ B
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full- r, M8 q' f7 I$ y9 E0 A, p* N& E& y
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
( {. Y( [3 k7 w, k1 J( D1 }5 ^offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were0 b- E+ o4 H6 D: Q
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
- E8 N2 }, w% v9 q" L6 e h8 J v"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
1 ~2 w" c+ y8 y' S' ttragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony! F. e7 h2 K2 N2 v
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
$ @3 t, j4 T2 ^% @) N4 e1 R' u' N1 WCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal: ~% i" Y8 B9 l. @
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to3 [( K! e9 p! x% w% C
restore the trust of our customers."# ^& [' F5 ~0 f
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from0 u" s. c9 J/ b+ I% _2 q1 U/ G
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
+ A- s$ M h* v! a3 zzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --" E' X; X$ J P6 {4 t
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and# ?' T2 x+ F# B0 B0 O* q
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough( y( D8 x8 A" S" t4 I! c& r
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and, O: q* I' \& m9 ^, ?# D
turn off the engine. r- k, \5 Q, T3 Y% V3 f8 L# |
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of- N; W8 G, H% [1 ^( {1 u. [
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."% ^ W5 V1 v. |) R, C
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
1 v3 p$ C) d9 k0 [$ s, c" K! ~said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond2 T7 h% e5 o7 [
to her complaints.$ V3 b0 r! s# ]. N
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers! ~5 ?8 p* s! D: q4 ?
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic b3 u, ^" I. j4 Q
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.7 v& Y: T5 y' V; s% g/ C
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric3 |1 Z5 }4 s4 ]- ?
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
. k2 L2 M& r3 Q2 r6 m- r8 e"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut+ p( _* j- h+ O/ u% ]
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure.". ^% E/ R) _6 [) P5 \: l+ P/ _
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
0 _ k# e* j7 S& T# i, o+ ?3 r2 lprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were8 K Y( B" v. S5 u+ z/ J
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls; P8 Z) {+ H! R6 S4 P' g
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
! r; l% ~( S3 e: ?/ qevery question."1 D6 E9 s4 L0 D6 Z+ {$ d
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
5 R- Q4 T* j5 s9 f: q9 d4 u5 ]: zelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The8 p5 d' h$ v- J8 E ?; j# E) J
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But3 Z% j; `& V: `3 {6 j# e
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
* r$ ^, O% K+ d( y/ Onumber of vehicles( r3 r. Y) t1 h: r% }" M( Q* }
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more t4 ~1 j- o8 Q& ]
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a8 N; m' L! O0 }* x& D& j; U2 D
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
! [/ e( v' L q- I& Vsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
# S( e1 L; x* v' g8 Q$ J5 [" |Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
, E& d" u ~3 J% C/ k) C( L2 xwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no8 p" \, V9 k' J
trace at all.. e. O& f4 V, C
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call; Y/ |7 c/ Q- l. H9 u/ l& f/ [
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
) r& c% Z3 U P4 ]acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
* `5 ^+ h; j: precalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.+ F, \+ `: a- N0 _9 q, y1 h
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,: q) R4 R5 c, J/ q2 x
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and! q+ E; M* \8 U/ d$ l' U
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the x, N& h% ]# v; o6 z
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
( p5 c1 e% ^1 o8 J9 U( M4 A2 z( Zcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
8 {& A0 S, j$ Usuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained1 \: b: o8 X. m- _
by Toyota's lawyers."
|1 a# H* S+ M) `# {Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of2 [5 V9 \ {& O! A
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our8 e! {/ S6 U7 ~ k# T: s8 R
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
N& s' u! ^0 y \$ }1 }said.5 \- c* W, M# d; |, q+ U
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
2 |* f0 B( J+ \. G$ A$ Na rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
( E& `. b, W+ H% j9 }$ Ggood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
" |, S+ `, Y v9 Uofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
2 S" D* C+ u+ s0 ?% t8 L3 CSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
8 s' N7 q, }7 Y0 p: q `% p0 Lmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
' A T: L0 Y. [rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the+ a# g4 _6 G. ?
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
8 v2 H( D; k" g r* [/ ninvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
; _1 a6 h$ ^1 FChrysler.2 R. k! g/ j1 Z
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax) W7 u3 n, h7 S/ f) b% j
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
- k6 J! ]$ H, h$ u) ~Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also# T2 t# i* n* `* G. c7 j& D
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete4 y) v( ?; Q% n7 w; _7 E8 [! w# \
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty8 _3 c$ \6 G8 W; e7 v
tough."6 j: ^ z' n% P( U/ s
---
/ O8 P8 J- C# S! F; z6 n- HAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom8 k( H2 ?5 ~; [0 {( ?4 d# \6 {
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
/ ?6 n9 _- D8 ^7 e6 H; `: Kthis story.
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