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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题: }, ^/ y( S+ {. O$ F- U3 m
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
6 f, }9 h4 f, t3 {Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
2 y. V! ]! S, w1 |operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
3 u; t4 e) s+ i% I3 Uthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"/ w1 H2 K8 S& Y$ N3 f
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
) f; O' i# m/ {3 J& E2 n ~! w"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
% z. F$ b) [- s# v3 ?3 _4 hcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.+ D1 r( Y; U1 r4 W
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
@5 u1 Q4 W2 _. h/ t. y4 [acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and; B/ t. D3 n( Y$ V) m& F
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor4 o3 O3 R5 `. o
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.. w, e+ J' a/ g. Z, F) C
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal1 ^6 {3 d. z3 {4 K# E
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp- N/ T* k* @3 X& @/ ^; a
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be1 m4 p4 I j" d3 E3 z2 A" m4 l
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
1 Z: h; F, y0 Anot stop her runaway Lexus.
5 |: G: H$ Z! A+ U4 n- B' s"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
4 y" b) x* G# K% VTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second$ U- } |6 I+ [
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.! V. j( E6 F& u' M" v
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues8 P1 u- m2 q- ]" k
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said* R% W* v, a; Y$ l- \
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
8 a; y" i5 j. B% ]/ r/ Mdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
& [5 v" p6 X! n4 s3 q7 zthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's s" q) {- o+ C9 P$ @! _ ~5 s
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."6 d( L4 W3 H7 _' x, O: ?! Z
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an( |0 i9 T) k" d" g2 p8 v
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of9 `) Z8 W* _3 O
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a" t/ R8 }1 s; P a4 N
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
$ E9 H2 Y2 d% }- jsaid.1 t% X- G3 D! Z- I5 L1 e* z
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what- u# K0 c) O3 u& ` H; |
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe5 V( A# P4 @8 i% \; u* j `- J1 ~3 k
about driving our products," Lentz said.# h6 x6 Z) p. [# _6 C
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's8 T# T! P# e7 B6 x, @0 L6 `2 f
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
. }$ \& a( x* t1 nrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6" U3 W3 ^( P" `3 Q3 a- e
million in the United States -- since last fall because of" c3 ~0 n9 G8 p7 X/ A4 `
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking% Y# z9 h4 H& s k3 V- e
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
$ x; I& Q, Y" }. Vconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of7 Q, D) S. i" C+ G9 ]6 B" w
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow# E& p S2 u. o2 }4 y9 X. E8 i
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has1 o3 |4 ~% q: @7 k1 ~9 j
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration; s) k( |& C, k. r; Z1 q
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.* D) y% ?% f9 V8 h. l3 L2 e
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
3 k$ v3 S- t4 L+ T* q [: Dbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he; ^- T _ M, L* v/ i& g! r
understood the pain.5 f% o* h4 a; `2 T8 x4 G5 Q: C
"I know what those families go through," he said.- s9 f6 E3 C! b/ o% j! H$ P! f
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
/ J* D% H6 X J# efixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
$ W- S- M+ `+ @1 Q$ i2 YBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
: e. h+ N& r2 [, A; t- d0 ?Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put& a7 I# }8 z+ F+ Q$ |
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
: z( V, e8 f% x! a7 YLentz replied: "Not totally."# K/ ^" B# Y) T1 y
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were3 I' G2 l& f: y
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
+ t5 x0 V: C$ d9 q- ] F- V, xToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
; z( I( q) J) V% ?% @2 ^. opedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
. y( v0 P3 i2 [ e; dvehicles already on the road.
6 K' \' R! \# F( U! [Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
, |' F# L6 ?" r: P7 Z' G3 rbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
6 q; C8 _) \( Y5 e2 \; I, bresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and2 ^, `; @3 \& r1 v9 r& @6 t* X
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
! I' `% {4 f5 `2 v' u2 vkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
" q# {! {+ J# p+ ] _; ~"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
% P" W/ J9 C* e# v$ A( otragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony i' `8 Y4 ]. k7 }9 M. T, e
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight2 v. C! y) o& E( M7 @/ l# L3 P$ m
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
. E! X0 d/ [ y% _5 f& c+ q) X' @' Acommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
) B0 y/ x' S. x% Y$ m" t9 jrestore the trust of our customers."
- _" w9 P+ v; f9 a9 L1 DLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from4 @( G% i8 ^! ~
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly9 M' T/ M X2 Z% H' a
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --1 h& q' J- g) v% ~
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
% E9 p E- A, B$ x, l- }. g( Dhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
+ S6 g1 B: ^3 D0 [% Fthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
( w3 q1 q) A. @0 cturn off the engine.
( l) f/ i) G1 P' \, [3 c5 GFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
) w5 T0 t. Z4 TOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."9 P& G# H7 Q7 y
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
7 I9 U% o+ `2 c8 A" _( s/ ^& p& I# ?said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
: V; D" _$ U4 G# o2 l9 `# |% z% nto her complaints.$ a* S5 j/ A: d* a; u0 ?
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
: Y5 X& C; C3 c, _returned again and again to the question of whether electronic/ U& p% G* h. f% c
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
2 O! I" R1 p/ x- s+ u' ["We are confident that no problems exist with the electric2 J/ T- t3 r3 p- w) g/ l6 @, Q: M
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited" j, I! ^, M& T" J! Q) q/ |& \
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut: H$ g4 x9 A6 m& c
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."6 [/ ?; k% G0 H0 N5 Z* W$ c% u
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
, L# {, H5 Y8 j$ w. v; zprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
, @8 v* h; M/ h0 U8 W6 sbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls; V) X( L0 J X+ r' `
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer& p E% i$ b/ M
every question."( K1 [! v0 ~2 {* w( X6 g* \( v5 Z3 I
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether, H" F" U; f# i* `. r. i! e9 Y
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The* b( ]6 R6 o. H6 x6 s6 Z* y
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But$ P, m* u' }* S+ z8 b R$ a/ x
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
" b' X/ p( I# z" {/ c8 L$ P- Ynumber of vehicles) w: [9 ~, W: Q' G+ w/ R! T' [
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more+ n3 N! |* B- k
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a O5 A* Q* J( P# T: k/ W% a9 `
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one Q0 R* o3 `2 z( b5 n, g) F5 `
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
/ j: m$ z) @, }2 y8 {# K5 QMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage," U. W( n2 P' x" e5 [6 j
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
$ Y8 i6 H5 ?3 B4 R/ T! O! b9 Etrace at all.
* C) P' f1 J' JHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call; ~7 k8 G- ]9 ^8 C
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
5 |% s0 i# v _% Q' C( F; Eacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
4 z% H& Q0 b$ [' B2 Hrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.2 ^- a* G" ]0 s# y/ o
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
$ D+ N5 N2 L. {/ {& a' ^1 _said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
$ E6 Q+ D* G" C' A7 u9 wother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
, E" c4 d: i4 y3 E! E ?5 [& gelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
( @4 h( ]/ h( M- \7 Y+ Pcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only! h2 E8 E" J* E3 q6 d$ |( S
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
% H- z( i9 f( oby Toyota's lawyers."
) P+ y; h% k x7 n u) sLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of% G4 B( r6 P: a3 N
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our9 @1 b1 P Z( ], t7 h/ k' t' v
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
2 _8 x& \4 l* usaid.
( }& d1 F* {# e3 e"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with( k" S2 k+ z! ]3 I3 b
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
* b! T4 K" a5 P, a0 [, K8 |2 Hgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating" c4 C+ q! k4 |4 |+ H
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.0 U3 f1 e! H) |
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying Y; Q+ u; v$ _( P' |1 {2 S% X
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
' n# ^1 d1 y) e& @: p: rrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the" |6 D+ U- S2 N7 G
automaker, at least in part because of the government's6 b; B: r: s0 v4 O! V6 N9 S. p) ]
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
% t5 j2 E) h; f# W6 {: n8 f7 CChrysler.
0 ^( G( F* o' B/ p- e$ W"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
! D$ P6 R& {: Y; r5 {dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
% U8 V, w' ^9 C* M' `3 ^Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also! N6 F4 e' h5 ]& L/ \0 C7 f
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
, t" Y6 i7 f( x& c1 ~9 |with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty& Z# w$ B) O, d% H5 R! @# v' P9 s
tough."
. a0 L0 e" ?9 ]; {8 v---) K/ _/ [) r8 i }3 L+ r
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
/ M6 g$ B6 u2 j1 ~8 V" Q4 t p1 mRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
" d& j- D* y: B; {0 Y; qthis story.
' y- A$ G1 g. W* j/ @" [' V" I6 e9 C# W- V9 g
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