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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题0 y% N( Q, \3 L) u( {, i
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
2 O6 _/ U) P4 oWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
: F4 Y, @' ~8 A7 E: M, o5 Voperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
" E: i0 ^/ R& T t2 Athe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
$ ^) X# f5 u+ G5 w+ L- ?# S. e4 bsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration." L ]* D) S6 D9 I# E
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
9 b" z9 V; u2 Ncauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
" L3 b E# Y7 _* X; }8 HHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected8 q( V4 M- f. X* O7 P8 N
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
" g0 e+ [; F4 K) ftrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
( b2 ?# b8 y( V6 R8 tmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
, |; M$ |; F( N5 ]: A) C; U E2 g6 JHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
) J# k) Y6 e* pand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
( i$ [$ S" K0 p/ }# _/ Ocriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be2 x d4 z* s( Y0 V$ o
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could) \6 X e5 P( E2 M1 e
not stop her runaway Lexus.6 |: g+ V3 M& o- G
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,) C! p2 t2 ?/ _% \
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
8 Z: ~5 i/ w+ T; k) \: ?"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.% l+ Z: z& q) c# _0 {7 }$ s3 x- R
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues5 J3 i9 P7 L5 }( b2 j
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
$ k% i$ z% e" u) Z0 b! m"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
/ I+ I0 G$ }6 _! }) Vdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway4 v1 D: u2 a: o0 H
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
5 ], y+ t7 [. L' ^# J$ ^. yinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."% F5 v) D6 A- o5 J2 D% j- D
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
; Y# }) Z* G" ^* C& O& Zelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of4 j7 \8 [5 ]' H* u) `$ E
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a, o0 L& c/ \# m; J u
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he5 x: _' ~8 }5 W) x y
said.
$ Z Y. q; N1 y' H5 WAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
* s" N2 {$ _- L* rhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe$ |4 l( X) }2 x9 e, G1 ^' B
about driving our products," Lentz said.
) l, a, t* U, q/ O( _Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's8 ]( a9 u5 q/ U( Q( K
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has' H: d8 @* x# ~4 S
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
' `+ c+ _4 `# @5 b0 ]million in the United States -- since last fall because of: f: W: C1 _1 Q: w
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking2 G2 ]7 |5 N. H
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering0 B* \8 X3 y; r; i7 \8 [; P: k
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of2 f! A/ H [4 u& t B6 A9 H
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
$ e4 p/ U+ z) m2 _5 L6 udown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has2 _+ C4 R" v# m* R% b
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration; q$ Q! C3 s" g' Z2 M
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.; B: W* }& c4 P* d
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
2 B3 d! Q$ Q$ V$ {; C) fbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
. l' A: E0 n) o& `. f( t5 nunderstood the pain.
1 U; b7 l/ q# R X4 I"I know what those families go through," he said.
, }3 X8 n- c4 c# ~0 iLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's1 e" j6 ~+ f6 Z( [) x9 o
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
/ |$ ]: {- w! L2 y ^ H5 r$ YBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
" I6 \, f; b# nHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
1 ~- ]* [0 `! }% L8 @" tin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
- `8 ~- K) F$ z6 ~Lentz replied: "Not totally."
9 a- _7 w" Z* e# k6 ~Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were1 K {7 U" C" r" z
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said1 G$ G& C% Y! ?' n
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
% g1 O* Z* P5 b5 Z/ mpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its) S3 w; r+ o* s; k0 j% m' Y
vehicles already on the road.
' A* D9 t3 _% K! W. A) LMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify) v6 Q( Q m8 |( V# G# W: k
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
5 I9 {$ \$ |0 x( V# g2 uresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
2 ^9 q2 S" J" z8 l6 {% ?" U9 O' voffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were) d) r; Z q5 [9 g1 M) ~% n
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
+ {, h+ G! X h1 ^7 \"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
$ E7 }" H! C) \, w: j `tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony) Y: P6 R* {# j6 J* ?/ r% P" W$ p" t
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight4 r3 r+ Y$ v6 U" ]$ }6 `% }; h
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal+ X* C" z- L" K) J1 Q
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to' z( ^' F- U: z- Z, m, v5 k; N
restore the trust of our customers."
! q6 f# M! z4 x3 y! b( [8 CLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
- ^! s- d/ m- `$ a8 ^9 I* h" pSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly5 `# A) d: i; y: {7 s' ^/ G; k
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
8 W6 ~7 Q1 M' R% Hshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and3 V/ d/ J* b7 n/ @. w
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
8 R) {% A, J& W# g1 C8 zthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
$ t3 z- D: h# q1 D: ~; @/ dturn off the engine.& F' T9 ^. y" I2 i# }
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
# G. |. S. Q2 ~6 I9 j4 J0 i1 HOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."! R$ r" s; @0 {2 q4 ]9 ]
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she A* T& s4 X- r! ~- n* `) E1 [
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond* a2 h0 o; M9 d7 j; s" K. b
to her complaints. c7 k% |- N S
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
) L/ _+ \, f7 H7 S3 x6 `! `returned again and again to the question of whether electronic; G5 ^$ S1 h0 K+ x: t8 g) i
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
# a) j+ _1 p5 m c" S"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
P$ S5 S. Z' I6 V; f& h' dthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
8 z! z; e+ h) y, J"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
4 H7 m4 c! q+ b/ A8 ^/ D1 b5 Aoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."# b5 k7 E* n/ m8 j0 x
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in& Y& J1 F: ]' {+ ?, r1 ^1 b# W
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
8 `6 Q8 R6 E9 {$ Nbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls* F+ x) ?! D3 w$ m' z! Y6 |# T- w" k
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
@+ h. o& p8 bevery question."
8 }9 ]% W9 v* a7 QToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
8 Q$ I6 W1 y: K" D% u* `% P1 W! `electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The3 t. R2 ~* C: D4 i l6 B
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But0 \% S3 a7 O5 J' C
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small' X e/ { O3 [5 {
number of vehicles1 }5 B( F4 d' D$ t k. S
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
" E. N/ |$ d8 ?& H( R; ~! vdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a. i# \1 g+ u& K0 d4 D
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one0 A. E/ c' w: @: X
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
' K4 u3 n1 f$ c" `Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
/ A/ D; c9 w2 w! C: P* nwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no/ P7 @% _7 \. r* G1 \( F& A
trace at all.
4 p5 j( \3 }1 s" N" O+ QHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call+ D0 t" t! }) b7 S
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden. |8 C Z" Q1 S' H0 b; U
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
( Z, W3 c1 C* N' I# Q" R- `recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
% K2 z# u* s+ q1 T6 I3 R1 ]Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
W5 i" s n7 qsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
1 p# k Y; c8 }( {( A6 Xother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the- L6 d8 Z( q& k6 W. ?
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible% t9 x! K6 L+ r* }3 A& Q
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
9 Q, F Q8 d% }5 b8 Isuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained* t3 r7 H; z% I9 y0 {* \
by Toyota's lawyers.") M+ _- a O+ j) C) R; X$ E
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
3 I c/ H7 a# Tproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
2 f. [: R$ W K/ H' Jcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
4 {3 x' i. }/ l( g2 C4 M: b( `said.- d7 E2 N. W9 c7 ]4 r. V9 s
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with6 a- O _. i* c R
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our+ R# ^' L" n+ B
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating4 ^8 c$ W% h5 M+ O! V1 a* U; s. u! w
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.7 m; ]( a2 x: [9 q
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying1 Q; N* c8 G% ^. ^+ |
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread; K- F( p5 G; P2 b- ^8 Z" c$ {
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the x5 l% V2 d5 c* X7 o. U( L4 W0 S
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
* e2 i% Y2 W6 K! z1 C6 N pinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and& G% h: }! I6 ]- e: X0 K3 P6 ^
Chrysler.! M# r4 o X! T9 p
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
: t& u0 z4 Y Q% b$ adollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
* k! S" T( R2 b# ?; f1 [Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
1 b9 a9 j& \6 j. Bserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete& m+ I* l+ j% P" m7 H3 g
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty' x& y0 \+ S8 v/ B. h; l
tough.", W, i/ K3 l- J0 a& D. S% c
---
2 x9 b/ \, Y- M# o0 l) tAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
5 ?+ i7 {4 t; J) ^! q- D1 F( JRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
/ T9 ^! |# U) W; S2 Bthis story.
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