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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题" v* A2 l7 n4 i* e$ R
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
# d: F/ q: c; TWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
8 u, _( D, ~- U: s7 d0 _operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
) j) W- P( U, |: M; _- othe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"4 ]: P$ s# a6 U- C& d8 p
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
* A2 K8 f& [1 \6 _6 m"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential$ E6 v# q% W5 p2 @9 j
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
% L9 t, l' `7 w% J& ~$ ~( HHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected+ p: [! ~5 k3 k! f( [! K2 \
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and" l$ R" m' [7 h5 V5 Q1 m( p* m
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
6 t8 K I. T: |8 Cmats and sticking accelerator pedals.0 _. A2 o1 N$ d0 z. X) F+ Y
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
* B+ I R" B* }: O7 Uand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp) O0 n: U* l$ w+ W
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
( [% {9 w3 m8 C) ~7 @4 ?5 e" pfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
) r: q4 I; i* y& w/ E5 w/ nnot stop her runaway Lexus.4 [+ t1 |: z% Q9 h, T* ?
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,3 S, h7 x6 }7 O R" S% K
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second& I; v$ |* @) ^, J( [; [+ J
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
& l5 S( p, o+ T( E/ P$ Z( LTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues4 ]" ^* q+ m0 k% ^$ N
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said7 g1 [! g2 P; x+ M" E
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has* \$ Y; r2 [, j
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
/ k1 S/ j. t: @( n( B8 ^5 J- V |through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
9 B6 H, d" h5 d) [investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
- z! Y3 j1 G: H* E; ~' KLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an" N% W D0 U2 ?
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of9 Y/ {% Y3 C: C0 D N
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
4 Y8 j, ?6 u1 V3 ~* Imalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he+ U! Y# {! C8 I4 N: l+ A
said.
0 c3 y6 m+ S6 m& P$ [8 DAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
/ C9 ]9 W' r$ Z8 A5 t ?* Uhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe1 O: p) j% ^0 G3 C! t$ o) L
about driving our products," Lentz said.
' m1 A' x, ?* cThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
* Z% _8 \- O5 A& [2 |" I2 y: mproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has3 e/ G, G9 _/ O( I+ p& Q& a* A: \
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
: F# i1 u( E, e$ R2 }million in the United States -- since last fall because of3 V9 m3 G. C F: ?, U' I
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking* e. B1 r1 i! x# h
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
$ ]5 I' S& k" N7 B! V# }, R4 X" gconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of3 g3 p2 K) _- L& O* n4 y2 A+ ?
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
7 n. R, [- C8 x% z# \down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
* y4 L$ y9 q# c+ j0 w9 rreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration j; E) b. V' u
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
% r" e" F+ X0 r# [+ G9 O$ j9 jLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own( V- u" u- T. _- J8 z* Q
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
9 [, j! t; U2 q* N5 {. j2 Qunderstood the pain.& C2 E, ^/ q' G' l7 ?- e
"I know what those families go through," he said.' N/ U7 @1 {; ^" W- s# Z; a
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
3 Q/ v- U, T: @: Sfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.( D* V. T% y: ^+ A; v6 j* ~8 _/ H
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman- j7 K+ ^* U' ~
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
- p: W2 `, U0 t1 n3 cin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,/ k3 o4 S4 Q4 m0 { @( k3 `
Lentz replied: "Not totally."4 K4 _4 F4 ?* d/ |
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
% `. {9 X9 N! Y) y3 p"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said5 p5 G( y; p" u4 b- U
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas% y7 s# G4 \$ K! E7 S
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
3 ?% [* b, f# p+ T# ^6 ]vehicles already on the road.
* V$ `: F m3 w* `. WMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
, R* ^9 i6 A# \ Zbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
! _" m8 D8 ^2 O" F7 w D9 Jresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and4 w7 U5 P: K) [5 m1 t
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were- s0 \1 Y2 s# I
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.) r- \& J* [+ w) X1 x2 a
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
& _6 y% b/ N+ r; `+ p4 h* t# rtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
( s# x: i" q8 x; ^* c4 C9 pfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight- R, a+ }, V% A1 D7 |9 w
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal. o9 {. z; ]- g0 j8 ^
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
v- W/ O* t" V0 |8 x# M ]restore the trust of our customers."
% o% a/ F* V' t' b; J& D' QLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from0 }# ?- b. o& P! F; Y* ]0 t0 E. }8 [3 I
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly) }# I0 D9 T6 D: @
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
& ]$ c# z) U1 p* ?shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
1 M9 j1 H; G, J) |hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough+ f+ w# s) Q" @/ I
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
% W4 l: `1 U |" {( B+ N- Kturn off the engine.
; q! `# Y# [' `, V) y6 L0 X6 _Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of. F- ]& g/ o2 D9 O H# s$ `0 \
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
0 O" g0 o1 t5 f' c+ q. M3 c"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she# E1 ]% X1 t8 s# X3 R$ ~
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
' h) ]6 d) G- i1 \to her complaints.* A0 c+ `4 a6 p5 B" R% k
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
0 n3 n, g$ s! n# F( S- u6 Vreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
2 y9 O, U3 }5 x/ Gmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.. L) a, I) Z6 _( }+ {6 q7 L. `
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
6 v- T" M2 T8 b/ i' V: uthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited4 I3 H" L+ X+ W4 O f- A
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
8 {2 K+ ^% d% \, V3 z5 e6 `+ toff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."' N6 @+ k3 K2 I9 d1 t! k
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
- v: x v4 v+ Cprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
# F! O) C* D9 d) `$ F+ h# kbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls8 d" N9 j2 K5 W9 q
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
+ N9 u& b/ r( O; x1 F4 |every question."' Z/ H. m$ p7 b: C' J* D
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
0 U' J! Z/ x6 p; [electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
2 C, M8 i$ Y, {1 Y1 V2 j- Gfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But: P( o- n) A% @" u- P( X( F8 q+ K
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
1 D7 Y7 T, H! a5 c& Z: inumber of vehicles
e% p) `; G2 FTracking down an electrical problem can be far more$ s' z5 A4 X0 a# h6 h" }: p% S5 }
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
; J4 V6 r) U* t7 |mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
' G8 F7 W O7 S/ x% Wsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car." u: \- F7 g3 s' q
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
8 V6 K. V( D& q- ^9 o# Ewhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
8 R, C5 W6 ]* \4 G9 Jtrace at all.& ^! ^3 Z4 V. V( i @
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call$ M0 \% \5 w* p, m' O: z z [) s
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden; X0 z! C1 f$ A( L) {$ M% }9 f
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
9 x6 [4 O! u4 \' Orecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
4 Q1 Z) [1 C, m7 O3 @Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,: z5 I& m2 n7 g9 |- u$ A9 ^5 _
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and" r ^4 i5 I$ ?# M& V! x
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
' J5 m1 Q7 n4 l( g. B7 t4 Velectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
5 I6 j% }' l6 t& n: D4 H {cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
# B/ H& g' E6 l6 S0 ?# Nsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained) |( M7 U$ w+ ?* h! N/ M
by Toyota's lawyers."2 H! D9 F0 p* T
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
& P/ u% d0 v8 K9 Z1 Gproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our4 a) R/ M" C0 W5 _
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
7 D ?( C, k- g& F9 dsaid.6 a5 J. ^( L# r' ]: b6 Z
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
, G9 b0 |7 E; \/ g* K# R. v- ga rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our' \, y2 e+ o( |# ~0 J3 n" J
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating2 L ?3 [4 H9 G5 T
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
6 w8 S, s1 }& `6 H! l7 dSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
4 x8 i+ w& a- Q% A( \members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread) N" m8 a" _( G* v# S
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the$ n! s* p& O7 X4 r# \+ E( z4 }, @
automaker, at least in part because of the government's# X5 k; s! u! y2 C- f2 j# x7 I
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
$ @- c4 k; ?4 f! e' w8 o4 X. y4 EChrysler.
( x3 h ^ N7 z. R) h6 f9 d"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
- s! t' X* z) v9 |1 Pdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a3 P; }& N1 _: _$ N# g6 {! j
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also3 C) A+ L, g- ]8 ?
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete# [) S! B6 r; w- O! a% F
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
* ` [( T: K9 I; ytough."/ n& j; N4 L4 g1 x* D$ _
---
; Z4 _, p* T, I* o! A) c6 G. qAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
" W i. a7 U" v: cRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
. ]3 Y# K5 g; ?9 ^5 J5 Ethis story.1 w4 l% L- Z! z* l7 C
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