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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题1 J3 ]4 W- w5 }. `4 U
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS1 m. k- o' @) u' `+ O
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
0 _& m) P- j% Q- H: a: r) ^operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that% `( w# x) w* E- b7 H
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"1 z! [/ \% o" p. R. e1 l3 N
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
, S9 s$ j/ A/ A8 G c"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
$ X+ V I2 t+ E! \4 G' |+ \causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.; Q* t( ~1 c- H
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected' r7 U8 @% g" A6 `6 u( `0 p
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
) _$ T' l7 R. O$ u& Wtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor: @3 G w& }/ Q2 b
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
. K" P% ], r* M( X& O8 o1 ~! o6 l; U6 sHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
; {1 [$ o; _: K& _, \8 s7 h6 Vand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
6 }$ ?7 x9 e) h2 [* s2 Z2 \$ Pcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
: b$ @& f2 n% w; D6 e3 gfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could2 q% x* D O6 @# a
not stop her runaway Lexus.$ @8 b' M; G8 {5 n
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
+ ]( i1 V L+ k* UTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second3 _3 ^8 I, l. T: }6 n
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
! s7 h" V3 x8 @8 _5 }Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
$ H6 t% I" I( o$ D, p6 E1 g: E5 Wearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said4 m& ?4 D' @* v, H* N8 s9 `( b
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
. }$ A6 F1 J6 j8 Odone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
) C9 k+ [# D0 y8 w- {9 a1 Zthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
+ T0 a: |0 D; a$ Q7 z5 m) J* ]investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."" ~0 m. D3 u% G0 J9 [0 }) l5 g) N" k
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an+ _9 c0 F9 a" _4 h! x3 v5 [( S
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
% [- X: H7 X$ N3 s0 t1 E! dthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a: \# b5 s+ K* n+ r) w, i5 \0 w
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he. `% R, r6 I. X$ z5 Y. B
said., H& E. D7 ^3 C1 n+ Q
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
$ _5 V- _- k6 U. j# E' Qhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe$ P# ^5 t4 w9 m' W
about driving our products," Lentz said.
+ r# q+ }: b( eThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
* w# O0 R8 H) Z; j3 a" tproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
# i. b# ?# \% |! xrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 63 t& k) d2 i! u* V& g8 \) g
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
0 v" e' V3 R. E# Hunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking. {: {8 b2 z5 u& U5 q2 m5 Q
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering4 [. n* S' D/ K8 X7 `3 C$ ?5 w7 ?
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
' G. n4 Z4 E. @8 S$ d4 \their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
" l; t9 [$ F! J$ v, P5 X( Tdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
' T9 `! T2 R+ Oreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration$ L' N# ^, ~2 f& L; P( _
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
m' E" J* r0 \Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own2 S: t; D) ]( N4 M% c/ Z
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he& {# ~& u3 B- B6 \
understood the pain." J; g1 P) q5 Q& k0 @# A6 H
"I know what those families go through," he said.: [2 D U T8 H
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
# U4 b& A$ a8 x" |3 l! P* zfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.' W/ u3 n( E& c h. G7 C
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
/ C6 ~* M7 N+ o5 A. M3 Z; DHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
+ |4 ^4 g: X6 r3 c* c1 jin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
7 N3 Q$ k% D0 j% e pLentz replied: "Not totally."5 g; |' b S# \& V. Y! C
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
. s' L* Y' n& I7 s% k"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
$ s' T9 j: G' }8 P JToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
3 @, ?' g& G% T9 Z2 z. rpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
* J3 p) \0 _; e9 r) Q5 @vehicles already on the road.$ k5 X; y- b6 w9 g9 @) ^8 _3 ~$ Y! l
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify D4 Z! L9 V! c6 i# k4 c
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
1 A8 a! |4 p& s0 dresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and7 V) J* E5 \8 i' P9 p e
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were* K e) d' ?6 F$ Z5 }% V6 Y
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
3 Y$ R+ ^3 O; v' `5 |2 \/ D& f"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
/ I6 I% K3 m; R1 @tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
2 M. i+ N5 D% O9 V" `for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight/ n' q2 ^+ {: ?& s) M: x" e! }
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
9 x- |0 Y9 N' Z! B2 Z- Ecommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to' d% g! D. a6 m' c: C. v7 O
restore the trust of our customers."
7 l/ p+ c( ~2 A' A# k8 lLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
7 t1 a8 r% m, |- k' T j6 [Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly% U) `' B6 N; Y7 L2 o8 v0 g( R
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --' R0 Y9 _$ o. e
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and0 H( x. y' a, n. Q2 C( `- m
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
# x& E1 B- e0 ]. Qthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
7 \- z' ?9 ^/ u5 v3 g6 Q' {turn off the engine.
4 I A, a; S3 H% E: E1 [# w: mFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
" s* ?: }% a# E9 dOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
% Z; d! |7 p6 P" h8 s"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she. m0 U1 A, a$ C3 h
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond7 r3 N" F/ Y" h h5 E
to her complaints.6 |! S8 a# u6 I B2 S
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers- |; Z5 A9 h e y) g; F
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic( Q( V8 o4 w: O- L0 k
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.* A: Y% _7 K9 C. i$ h
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
M B4 e' C, k Tthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited0 v% v# I8 J" F/ b2 Z. x: x' A
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
" E% H' E# y6 Z" Woff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
: K" N, y& J$ V8 w0 GTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
/ Y, R( C. y; z3 U( \- H3 Sprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were7 K4 U+ B' K" B3 x
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
" y3 G2 ^3 T, T( _were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
. |( T8 x) U; T+ X6 ~every question.") I; t. w0 C2 h( h0 q. h
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
, y) j* M5 s# ~1 P- H6 B" L$ Melectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
' Q, m7 A3 ~7 \% t7 q6 Zfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But/ ~2 W1 t3 B7 A: A" |7 N+ j& v
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
6 Q- }: |% G5 `number of vehicles2 N8 E% I K, [$ Z! ~
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
4 ]. e7 x! G+ Z0 R7 N* G& vdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a* Q: [& d5 ]# j
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one$ B' L$ A9 D% W, i
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.4 i# {1 g0 {, |: v
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,9 Z0 w7 P6 A" H
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
) ~5 `. v3 R e( ?- ktrace at all.9 x1 n. j/ g& m5 q; N
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call# M4 c- C. z7 j8 ~
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden, d& t, b1 r# t2 J1 |5 N
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the9 e# l1 |0 ?; i1 J0 l1 S
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
% `: t. N" j1 A& w4 g1 NRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
' z2 r! s2 w- D% `* v/ d8 jsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
- H% Z, M; w9 s5 }% Wother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
4 [4 d1 P- @% p; d9 d- l. d" O! A& Helectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible# \( \+ y6 g& |$ Z7 {( p5 B
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only5 \. X% c9 N8 y% {: G2 d
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
0 ^# S# F( t6 L4 h5 I% ^& \( uby Toyota's lawyers."
) K& {4 a& w$ M: w; P# zLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
) n) Q" }9 y" w& h3 s1 f& `1 iproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
" A9 c7 m5 c3 J% Bcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he7 f" U( o/ `( Z% K
said.
0 E# ^' {6 x& ?4 t9 z"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
! b; d7 E+ a& p- \a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
" U2 q! O% Z$ M0 m, P9 {- n4 tgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating# O E, B; {0 ?, a$ Q Q
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.2 }: G6 T! e4 G2 A
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying/ q8 M: t- \8 D# B; E5 `, C" ~
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
1 o9 p9 X- X; l. Q; n2 C& Lrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the- ?8 a, ~! r; U
automaker, at least in part because of the government's: a) V/ f% d. ^# ?
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
% J6 K& r$ Z; [4 [0 u9 H) EChrysler.2 i4 s" }8 q0 [. Y
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
2 G% D' l) E4 @8 G* j3 G' wdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
% B& B- M9 N& F4 Z sHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also" G. J: Y% Y, Y( a1 R
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete9 u W9 Z5 `" c% G2 w9 ^
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty+ E3 y4 s5 H' F& K* `5 c
tough."3 ^! l" l; l" V8 B( D( o/ W4 z: d3 y
---
5 D; V9 U8 D& F. s! iAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom, O. P0 {+ e7 m
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
6 D: U; U# _6 e9 ?# _this story.
9 f6 R% q2 k) ^' S! y& L# O m! |0 |- {, r' M/ n
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