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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题( w% ~& _. y. [$ O- J6 M
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS x7 w. P% I2 D d/ ]
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
/ Z4 Z- a# l4 ~# J' u" Moperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
" |" i2 z3 a2 T1 J" H. }2 Sthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally", ^9 r! b- e& q C2 U' D$ O
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.; g) {, k# X& ~$ M# U
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
8 T+ b5 U7 c( i" {causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
! N1 u/ j: K8 X% W. P/ EHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
5 Z( |; d8 `2 R$ racceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
( H0 E- A& g+ E6 z) [trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
( a+ x B% ]& a4 \9 mmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
0 r& Q/ X2 |6 s6 b, pHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal2 `3 {! U+ m7 K
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
0 Q3 e: ?# y X y# Jcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be/ C( M- u& p: F+ w, M/ q+ |7 a; q
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could, x8 b: w9 c+ x9 i/ J8 Y
not stop her runaway Lexus.2 K/ P2 P2 ]7 M% c: ~( U p
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
2 c; w& [/ G @$ |) K: iTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
5 O5 ~, ], e' P( C) ]3 ~' m"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.) l8 k) X* o, z% R( S8 B
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
# q. m+ c. w8 G7 T0 oearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said, A: d' O% j k Y4 t
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
9 c1 t( W5 E6 |. V: b) @4 X8 odone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway0 y( q! v: r7 O2 S) W
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's/ D C/ Z% v {1 M7 C% k( r
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
4 T1 F; S( J2 r/ M9 ]+ `Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an: W" C0 z* A' |! q
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of$ C& L- x% H2 f9 u9 m" J$ @, _1 N
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a! W* g d& a. v/ R
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
& k( T: E% \, ]+ l* Tsaid.( S: l6 b& O/ I3 W
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
3 k4 j) F& u( j, ^happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe6 }9 E% Q- U6 o7 ^' P
about driving our products," Lentz said.! X" g' }7 @7 o; ^- p
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
- e; R1 W% q% i, b% bproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has7 C0 B4 }% H# L+ E- |0 B
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
$ c& S6 P2 e$ r n7 ^5 qmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
, A9 _7 G/ u) f. z, Bunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking2 D$ t+ F2 G- t- Q0 ~3 w1 Q4 y
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering x0 T, }, v/ C1 f! d
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of- X* t8 M/ J# {' [3 o
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow' i. W( U# [% k/ K* A
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has: y7 E& [1 m: f Q
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
0 Z8 S/ j y3 n B) Bof Toyota vehicles since 2000.1 O+ D" A4 k5 e1 @; a
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
: R2 q6 j; B4 H6 D) ]' v) Ebrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
\, [7 Z3 m, c( b3 }; yunderstood the pain.
9 w+ Q$ K) i# O* t"I know what those families go through," he said.
6 U- H. a% L, V. u' {# a. OLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's. P# ?: W' A( c9 n' [5 t8 [# Q
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
$ s. p+ c8 |) `But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman& p8 Z- S7 ^) b6 | K) ]* W
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
4 G% r D; d: k- ]) Q" @in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
% G2 n( c `. @- A( r: ]/ V# J- @Lentz replied: "Not totally."
* _1 G& o2 c8 JStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
& |; [/ G4 C/ S" Z% b0 Z& f"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
+ o: C1 n7 C B7 X( W. R% bToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
, f6 f$ R" u0 y7 w" j; Q6 C( Rpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
6 M5 l2 C' G, V+ R/ m/ z' u) Gvehicles already on the road.
0 n* t( z' T3 D. Y$ v N) n( M8 K' |Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify8 B5 l K% l7 `* C8 z7 W. e
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full* D t) y5 J9 d- {3 K+ g. L
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and! J% R6 h% r& a2 c) s
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were2 @7 |9 z+ }( C! o' l
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
; U2 w. Z3 ^* u% J; t"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
A# g! d$ l- D6 ^tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
, C3 b$ N0 }8 [/ }; u1 u5 p0 h6 Nfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight* s: C I) U, H l/ K. q# @1 y
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal0 ?, H7 C" s$ W$ G6 d/ J O
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to6 a8 `3 H+ y0 k% w/ A8 m- f( e
restore the trust of our customers."
( {, W. N5 s4 S5 s- c; @2 u7 R$ }Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
# S `+ q6 F/ f) ~! r1 `7 QSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
@ z" [1 l) A) H' f5 r. Szoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --( }2 ^+ B2 F+ |* E/ p) _
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and5 \8 J# V; v+ v5 a v+ x0 r. b
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
6 S7 D* @+ [1 o8 x: R" ^that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
4 n x& @9 B+ D3 aturn off the engine.
3 y) C5 |; E( b: l4 a$ Y! FFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
5 l$ S6 q8 F; fOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."1 A+ G/ k! x1 y
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she9 h7 i" g" ] _1 a2 D' H' z
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond: ]( G3 h. x# g2 K; B
to her complaints.
6 u( P/ R1 t/ f4 B8 U' dIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
0 U2 F( p( q9 S! e( _" Xreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic4 t; K. J7 l Q1 ~
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
( f! d: \" p% O8 Z" c, ^"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
7 v. E! Y7 z3 d3 Ythrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
* v' V8 D# H- x3 w/ U% d"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut/ J- o3 x4 E1 `: g W
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."9 h/ @% t# O) [- T6 o) m
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
% t, ]; i; S7 [. z# y2 I1 i: nprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
' W; r- F* C) @$ i; r% u( ubeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
4 x5 F6 o: o* D! p* A9 o0 }were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
$ a9 U6 x) s: Y& N) [every question."$ n) l7 d! h; w6 P/ O; |, Q
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether$ O" T5 u) ]0 ^& V
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The4 a# ~+ [+ k, e6 J) |
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
. f7 s5 I6 ^( w# W. ^( Ecommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
$ \1 M# w1 O- |. Lnumber of vehicles, _& X' t1 P% e% p: t
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more0 l8 E. I8 n X- x; E" K0 @) {
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a# L1 E. O! K8 {9 K% m( Z! F
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one/ S+ E& U& R" t
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car. c4 P& n# c$ e6 m7 j
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
$ z# W0 X+ o$ k( Q. }! M" Zwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no# Z2 @6 F$ Q# n
trace at all.
) J$ M5 f( I0 j; o: HHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
2 E5 U! \: v5 V: V9 Odatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
/ B& P( s0 g S, b& s7 h$ Q& uacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
: J9 u8 A: m* drecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.) N# ?& f& `# Y) P3 q( M
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
: b4 L! q/ S' E: u& J! bsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
8 k( p. R& f* ]7 qother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
|, n! Y/ _! B; N# @( e- `# helectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
/ K' y1 n& w% I9 |8 Zcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
. O& Q- ]" P; O) X! A& Esuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained: o. r2 R, [" b/ }
by Toyota's lawyers." W+ o9 I5 c4 V% y2 f& b$ d
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of$ A0 f9 O8 Q8 p" _( ]8 M3 `' K
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
, s; J: r+ e! J* e8 u7 y8 @customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he" P# N$ y3 {3 Q/ T4 Y9 T
said.7 Y- H/ R1 Q3 a2 Q; z4 O$ W5 E: r
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with# l# |5 ]* r) j- c$ C N$ H
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our$ W, o, W1 C! y; O2 b: F2 Y
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
" z, X* F) V) M- ^officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
0 H6 R$ T9 O( \6 T3 a4 L- rSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying6 z0 |7 G: h; h6 v
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread9 T0 k& j( L4 z0 k& a& }! ^3 t( P+ }
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the9 w" s; }: E0 Q
automaker, at least in part because of the government's. j( g7 l( w5 M5 h, W( p# P
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and) H! ^# p M7 q9 V: j
Chrysler.0 v, F1 o/ ?6 ^$ \; N
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax# t5 h) o# W0 `1 S& I
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a3 X) }" V9 ^' A1 {
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also7 ~8 G2 M0 [* ]6 Q( w* Q+ m
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
; ?" V8 a2 m7 N- g# v5 Lwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
7 ^% \" H& ~9 f$ Dtough."( U: t i! \9 W, D u
---
* c0 y7 {0 P7 w: xAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
D2 R- o- v5 t$ wRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to' Y3 V/ N7 k# @
this story.
$ i" H/ Q: v. {( ~& H7 ^0 X2 F4 E! _$ N- P7 }5 O; O& a& k
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