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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题' {2 e! m y& t
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS) E; B& f% \' S% t/ s
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.! Z$ v! H. S1 e6 M
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that- k! W( V4 h$ L) X4 P
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally", R. ~' q {3 ]
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.% H+ x1 q7 `2 E- a$ f, y. c% P
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
7 Q9 E: X2 _, k$ p" y0 _$ y! Jcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.! F7 {0 W: K2 b9 ]6 I' A
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected. w7 r6 Q6 N" f8 I- A. L8 j
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and$ Z+ w! x1 i; l( Y$ J% @! y, w$ ?( l" s
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor R9 o8 t7 y* y! h8 d% f( t) `! E6 y
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
8 D: g5 k. X% j, S$ M; k* A0 Z" EHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal' R2 l" ~$ D& ^
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
" x u0 v K7 V' Ucriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
- f: k+ H3 G2 v8 sfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could$ \: a5 X) u; }# m
not stop her runaway Lexus.
% k9 ?' C6 h3 A"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,- w' y* n Z# m
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second# p9 j1 j3 A/ W
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
2 c# m% U' ]" ~ u- u; xTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues- G+ N6 ~# C$ G$ X% H2 |) H
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
& |* G/ k2 h% ^2 Y# V `"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
5 R. ~7 |* B, C4 D5 ]done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
* k0 u+ Q, M& I0 I$ M) y. Y# R z# O! y* Fthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
8 z/ v9 t6 X+ o) r6 I @investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham.", Q# K! Q# z$ t4 l- N4 h4 y2 \
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an: P a# N/ V4 W1 s
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of" ]5 q9 }% O g' }( H
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a! h# V/ f Y/ L8 s4 w6 U
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
% x9 l9 m: Q1 y8 J8 ?5 x9 Wsaid.7 _8 [9 L8 `# C. `- L1 o: }
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
A& {0 X# N0 t5 shappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe8 e$ }9 a5 Z3 B* {, s$ l
about driving our products," Lentz said.
# Q0 }3 W3 m HThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's$ p0 {/ Y( ?5 c1 z, |0 v3 Y, q4 B1 u7 S+ E
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
9 P3 s/ ]# v" \4 b+ u) V Mrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6: c+ T9 j* ?4 k3 q- f- }9 a
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
7 u0 I) Y/ N3 N/ s& T# s* Bunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
# y# X. G7 @" v# ^issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering+ _9 P v; M# b0 h3 \# |9 Y2 u& t4 K
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of# c# ^7 Z, c0 a' v
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow: m/ p& `, t/ O9 x4 W; _
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has1 h/ ]) ^0 ]% ]! M, e- s
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
. ]7 C+ N$ ^ ]" Bof Toyota vehicles since 2000., @4 D- ~, x/ P# u/ V8 Z7 I
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
# Z. _4 l! l* C/ c- d, B: f9 [brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
* y( A3 f7 i: g/ ~understood the pain.7 E3 [. J8 D7 R7 l
"I know what those families go through," he said.9 I8 O* g1 d8 F. e g3 i7 V/ ?
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's' b/ Z& n% [' J! ]. {6 ^. B0 D' ?
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
2 s e6 y' E( U) a! NBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
5 a- y" ~! g& Z3 Q; Y# q' w+ LHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put# v8 f; {% v* F! p
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,6 V8 b3 N) E0 V# R% M
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
$ Z/ m9 X ^/ k, ~8 R/ S7 d: IStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were. @. _$ Z/ R/ A) R4 g
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
: Y- V% `4 \1 F+ p' qToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
" I$ V3 B" V& p4 j* A+ h/ Xpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
5 U* c6 R& I6 i* F) L+ O) _: ^vehicles already on the road.
+ m) ]' [1 ]" e9 Q& z; Y: ]- bMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify' p" v/ {4 a9 s. n/ B
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full$ q( `! ~1 o& B3 `. u7 K% Y
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
' Q' ~( e1 P' `; {2 H. qoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
. i/ | N& C9 c, F3 B) w9 a, Ckilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
+ o- \6 D' u2 k/ |" ?' Y; x( \. P1 \1 W"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
J& g q8 w! {6 z% y- Wtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony% ?$ l% F' }" P( b' W9 g. N- g
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight$ d3 e* C" ]' N
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal! E# p* Z5 g' n% i
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to# M) o( e. V8 t- b& z
restore the trust of our customers."$ V Z i+ ]) D" C
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
: l5 W/ t) }4 rSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
9 m! x% Z# z3 |/ V/ [5 mzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --! T- T. h- `/ ^# O
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and+ \5 s) U0 H4 E% r" u* n
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough; [- T* O% q0 w/ ^
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
: V6 r! X, k1 v0 B g0 kturn off the engine.
$ W7 H. U0 V m1 S6 r) o/ `" \Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
' C0 H5 N; b9 A+ S+ NOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."5 n6 }: T# G% E
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she( O7 F" `! u) U8 Q V" B
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond6 G3 y' c( d. o+ G9 ^8 @$ B) t
to her complaints.
7 i5 ]) Q3 {5 ^. H7 Z2 a9 h0 HIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers2 |& t8 G: o) v2 t8 |( b0 i
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic/ N2 M: X$ C. g, e
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
4 o8 }* B3 e' [+ U"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric0 f1 V3 d$ M* L
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
3 a7 ^. c2 l x }( r"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
' Q8 L' o5 H9 S( goff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
9 f; j: d5 y$ ~0 OTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in* S/ |! S% Y3 r3 c" A/ R
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were4 j; N. A) q( Z( q$ u; K
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
) D9 C; {* n! Y) |% Ywere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer1 A0 X( i! n9 }% E
every question."0 r3 e& e+ A% B2 d4 ~' I
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether% u% b4 @$ b0 i, U' H# S
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
7 S& ?( ^* O- `$ x- }firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But6 h7 J' H z; O6 _+ h
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small9 d7 b K8 j1 a* {
number of vehicles
& T1 B5 |, O4 K% jTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
! @2 f" |- ?( r' f" E0 T) Hdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a) x" _! _+ b4 r, z
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
7 y, ~; E( [% Q3 j# m9 s4 {5 p9 Gsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
3 H9 t8 X6 v/ N* [, J }9 ~, TMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
8 [" u2 Z5 H& P; \: V, E3 A- M dwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
# Q# y2 u7 a y2 N5 D& ttrace at all.
- M' Z1 E6 u: f2 S1 F$ L2 qHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call* z# `8 C$ L6 ~4 J
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden% `" V( u5 q: A8 B; Q+ H
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
! a, X$ Y# F5 \1 A# c& Erecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
, u8 v: J# q- nRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
* _' u$ ]$ E' nsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
% @: V: _' U3 e, j$ Z: M7 ~other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
+ _4 q# N; ]' ]" nelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible( ^1 p9 t. Y1 A7 L' ?2 Y
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
$ }1 ]- P. i2 e1 msuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
; p$ o- K- d) T+ c, X8 {4 _by Toyota's lawyers."
% J6 h9 n/ y; |+ l- FLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of& n$ B5 Z: D! j3 a4 x( b) w w% S1 \
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our+ Q1 r2 D: k7 y) u# E5 N
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he8 X2 W- L9 _7 E) Q: e7 h5 K9 D
said.
% a* K2 s; A* d/ `; C, M) B @"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
( _: e* u! Y+ a4 `& _5 x( o1 s% M, ea rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
t' F" q7 Q7 M' e' Mgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
; k: }3 x' j" qofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
& [% F" }; p4 i3 xSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
6 M! G7 s# D" t7 m( G7 N# @members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
- F- `7 G& R+ zrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the5 k/ X. W/ y6 T( O
automaker, at least in part because of the government's; ]. w; w0 m: I& q9 o' W
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and2 U2 D0 p+ k* K$ c) k! S9 A
Chrysler.
5 F7 m1 G. z; L5 s& a"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax- b" x9 ^# T9 B( L: k
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
$ J6 W% t3 o @/ {" L: y8 n! |3 yHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
; ~7 G. V/ X: z pserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete/ ]; M. ^2 ]5 G1 z7 u: x6 R
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty% m" n2 f, X( Q1 S# k' {# \: s
tough."
# Y+ P6 v3 q3 N4 M, n0 @' ]---* |$ _0 Q' Q9 C' ^; w. I, {/ D
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom& x) q+ Q7 r5 H y" b" n2 C
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to1 N) r! S1 L6 N/ ?" Q
this story.
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