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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题( t J% @9 |6 V
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
+ B1 Z" b8 c! z% z4 E9 _9 WWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
) {9 G( z. e/ _( w, A1 V* F# noperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
. ?/ h& y. E$ v7 Z4 J6 L7 Qthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"/ S. c8 y& D F8 L/ P
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration. X9 q+ C! ?8 U( q/ W% y* Y
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential4 z9 Y9 E+ e+ m6 A' f
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.4 ^7 `$ j. V* E( I; e. v0 ^
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
) o1 S9 e3 [; R m0 l6 wacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and4 x9 \4 z7 n+ g8 q5 X+ G9 F: |
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor Y4 q5 _$ U5 c9 c' t. K' @. D1 P% b
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.- v2 P, B9 Q5 e7 D0 r& T8 O
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
' |3 G R6 |1 \. v* l3 i2 oand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp& r7 Q. a2 Q3 i8 ^/ M, O, `
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be& N% I# F+ {2 p3 l% Q% k! s
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
6 G# k3 n' a# l5 Hnot stop her runaway Lexus., l( J( a$ f( I( j3 [9 X& D3 u
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,0 ?* S$ R9 r2 q' P2 N
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second0 b5 x. R8 J2 d- l% a, `
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.# H; g8 Q2 S! {8 t8 R
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues% T3 q9 \0 K* C" u L" |9 H- n1 l
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said; P, G$ t5 Z: b0 G. _
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has. U9 c4 t* p& O6 Z6 m( i; S
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway+ f! `. p8 q' U5 s8 B( ?' H( D
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's1 y* d. }3 ^, n4 L
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
! u; k- [- f. J+ KLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an) G2 [8 g7 i* R* N. V/ Y) Q
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
( Y7 r; l* u6 q" f5 Y ^$ \5 J7 Z- u. Dthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a& k2 q6 {2 y8 {: Y1 H
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
; f8 O8 y# o3 D* o) L! R" ?said.& o1 z) P: P! G7 ]) Q/ G7 d
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
0 D* Z- y% }% c; \+ _5 yhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe1 o6 L" L N5 Y' v1 F, t0 g+ ^
about driving our products," Lentz said.
( e6 x; e' m! YThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
$ F0 L. ]6 t* K+ B6 m" F1 jproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has j+ {/ V. W2 W* t9 ^, t
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
* x* D. v" i _( z% M0 S+ Lmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of8 h. f( d# Z( a/ Z3 ~/ l
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
. o3 u$ P0 H2 R9 n0 L, |issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
9 z9 \/ f+ W* L( x2 @concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of9 i. r1 k' P6 C* W4 k8 Z
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
6 z4 Z% M2 l! i; |down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has# S! O! ~6 q! b: q
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration. U4 W4 e$ G! U
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
. u% T+ H& ^4 t5 {- YLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own4 K1 g5 w* o3 K6 u4 ~% v0 u
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he( ~/ z$ x6 L, X$ e. J
understood the pain.
) s* }4 v# M1 z' z# a"I know what those families go through," he said.
- F% {8 y! r6 n, L7 C9 S$ sLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's9 m! V! f) [# S6 ]
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
. a2 C' \: E r$ |But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
' g" Q. }; D* L! a8 [+ ]' {! b8 RHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put6 Y! S6 D4 I3 C# f8 U- D8 h" K8 \+ h
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,5 L/ i1 _* v5 G V- Y
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
" a9 b. k" M. D( Z8 C" |1 ^Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were" \ H1 s" [4 _- W5 ~ N9 R: b
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
) `/ x- W$ R+ C: ]' e, sToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas" Z9 \. ?5 U: V/ n: Y( e; I
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its4 Y% ^. n0 {3 {; e/ N& j
vehicles already on the road.
6 f' Z! j) V$ g7 ~Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify: v1 j9 U! [! k% K X
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full9 g6 `1 W# u5 b, k# i, f
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and! s$ u# L5 Z1 g* m( i' J. ~0 x- P; p
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
; F! ~$ j7 Y8 K. h3 N# l1 b, mkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.3 f' R6 h9 t1 {" i2 c" ?
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
2 x* w( x1 x3 U8 z* v4 _/ ktragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony5 ?5 k* B: l- j- T7 H2 G
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
: |# l2 ?$ W0 n; S( n+ ECommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
' c" g6 B; [' Dcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to1 T4 K/ K" l+ l1 J# K' e
restore the trust of our customers."
: Z& Z3 m* F. n3 v8 j$ H# rLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from/ [+ ~( G3 I3 O! i2 }" {" N
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly: G0 K! \. A. S5 _( {, u
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
0 g) F% a; E' O5 k1 Ushifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
( C4 P( b0 Z/ ]9 H+ D2 f% c5 v) F0 Y, `hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
! o# L9 s# Z2 |$ O. C9 wthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
0 E* n+ [' [- g- @6 X0 K+ Wturn off the engine.. K4 P0 v6 i' b: B7 i" T
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
$ z8 @( a2 ~5 V( F9 uOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
+ E( e2 m7 E5 L/ s6 K7 Z"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she, x4 @+ h& g& t% y# M, W# W
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond, E J. _% ?* ?5 t3 c& m
to her complaints.! B, h* x. o- z* D f5 I1 E' Q
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers; \2 s1 w% | M% W
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
8 y" o* e7 o: v: J9 T) g0 Fmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.6 R: s7 N1 }2 E
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric2 S" T( r) z$ G5 w
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
- M8 _2 {3 S% Q! s/ H9 W1 h# A"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
& q+ q+ M" b. G' `off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
/ ?- `6 |, v( A" i; ~8 VTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
1 [* d- h' t* `2 ~prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
9 S8 Y; n6 i4 n6 Xbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls6 R2 `+ U. ~+ ]9 s7 G2 B A
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer% A9 L4 o) v& e( x) n$ `" T
every question."+ L) R$ O* _1 E" C' V: U8 _6 k8 p; j
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether% X6 X6 H& s4 U0 ^# M3 c) Y) G
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The# C- G- [4 O6 v2 r( g
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
& s7 u) Y+ M& e/ Vcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
% p# i4 ]) n1 unumber of vehicles. F% `& G) w9 C& V: ]. c; Q4 U: f( _0 ? t
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more9 j- Y4 \+ ~4 f3 H9 c! {1 D2 T7 M
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a; o$ [; V- I; b3 s; b: p; [
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one1 D% O! t" r0 `% P* t4 {
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
6 m( \3 O: `. v7 L- ?& e, cMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
$ i( p/ r9 D' z2 uwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
7 ?, |) n* M. Q! O* G/ y" ytrace at all.; X6 ^$ c# F" b: g% e: Y2 @
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
& U* l7 r ?+ I# q4 A4 [3 A) Xdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
8 G( {' Y; ~ oacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the( e+ T( |/ z3 M' |. a7 Z# r( c: E
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
/ _1 e1 R4 u/ f3 qRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
" O( E* X5 i7 y: l! `4 T9 ksaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and+ d1 E5 m0 C/ C; Z) \2 D
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the5 N; Z" U' o' P
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
6 h; S" I$ h% z, {, r+ Z2 H, Xcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only* G% w9 @& w( T$ |) i6 |
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
! C. f# z* Z$ l+ H: S2 O7 ]by Toyota's lawyers."
8 N# `! S3 R$ o! MLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of8 _ P% s# u$ j0 P, |+ B
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our5 W; B! Q; f# E y0 y$ a
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
; l0 j) t7 h" ^- Hsaid.( z1 E0 F8 u/ l: z- B# m
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
$ d! ` a/ v6 w( G9 E. Na rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our8 Z1 b9 ]+ F8 ?" ?! W$ @8 _5 N
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
6 ^; Z8 ?; w* C7 |officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.0 {7 @4 G5 q5 {5 K5 f1 i
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
4 u8 l4 r, q E* P q8 S O1 s' E3 r$ pmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread3 E$ r0 j' O$ Q, N
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
) V* c- E ~; S% a+ |automaker, at least in part because of the government's
5 Y9 H. y4 f i" Y1 ?investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
+ `; Q5 U% w9 C( c# H1 N4 eChrysler.9 |9 ^: T$ \$ j3 y* ?' E
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
- x! Q6 _5 @9 C- Z) y9 Zdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a' | g/ |/ H: O$ e% F! K3 w
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
- I+ l }5 @# r5 iserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete* I" P; G9 c' O# R/ a/ u" N5 K0 G
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
0 M R" z" l; I+ z+ ], gtough."
% e& \: L* v$ i- p8 E/ H5 s+ b---# q7 S4 W) ^: _ k; ?. d
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
( E h( y1 s# J, _2 m- mRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to, s" u( S' J1 Y+ F- n" c
this story.
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