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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题2 {8 r9 g' b: w
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
/ w# S; n6 T0 A! YWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.. y' ^: g! G, @$ h; z6 [ Z
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that9 l5 w% Q( x; J* C$ n2 o' H1 u5 j! g8 j
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"4 L2 W/ B1 f- b4 H' \6 A! J- U
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.' v1 y a0 a' r' Q$ g. w3 P
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
/ N& s" A7 t: Kcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.4 ]6 h) p" @' S2 }/ |
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
! ^5 h: W% z7 H) B& i2 X) sacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
' F" ~# A9 B( Z9 |trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor, V$ B1 Y$ s1 l" `
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
! e3 \+ b; ~. vHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
3 {. @4 d/ ~; b/ I- r1 ~and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp' N: z' A: W% }" W
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be4 J9 Y: B; d& Y4 Q w
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could' D; |* a; y' V$ b" E
not stop her runaway Lexus. \) c) F- j- x. U H% r
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
. H% s" S+ o4 LTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second: S' I2 j4 r/ R% m
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.. P+ i) Q2 Q5 t
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues |; f7 Z( F" t: O7 ]7 {" t
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said1 b2 N: i1 S" h6 n2 y
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
9 `& e3 f1 {- j) {2 X" @done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
/ d8 M5 t8 u) Y9 M" C* |through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's p: K' r5 O* A# W9 |5 R$ m
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
) @8 }4 l/ k0 v' p% NLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an: o' Y' e! I" ~, r7 C
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of. E# X% i( }7 f. c
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
: Y. G3 R" V" I$ K7 nmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he3 N8 Y& ]6 m1 G
said.' ^& }& E1 x0 R$ D$ Z
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
1 o& t1 |: }$ _: Ehappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
: R/ S) |, J# e( T- V, R) X) Jabout driving our products," Lentz said.
& ~7 h: ]# v# L+ v. k4 _$ CThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's8 b, b r: t; Q9 P
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
1 ~) D: k, c3 krecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
) \$ f- v+ y! C0 I* Imillion in the United States -- since last fall because of% x+ d S4 M7 E) {' c
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking7 W, ]8 T. `+ C9 @' O
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
5 y6 K/ p% E! F( Zconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of( ^2 `3 J0 j* M1 o
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
; k- v7 p8 e" H, O0 ydown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
: N0 l/ |- K( U9 V( }received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration% D6 Z& {) C, {. P& Y! C- x4 C2 V
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.# u$ A5 F. m8 v q4 A( W# d
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
, l$ O; l& F; O6 c5 hbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he4 n9 l7 U5 `) @, z) x( q
understood the pain.) L; T; t; e+ Q
"I know what those families go through," he said.+ v0 L H; M4 j! }1 Z) H3 P
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
. }6 V# O9 p0 L* J! U) a: n6 T% bfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
8 T- r u& B- O, ?) W) i( fBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman m( u2 r8 [4 J5 T( ~& y! q. Y
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put; E; j: O8 x8 p3 J H
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
# q' p* C1 c* X# O2 ^Lentz replied: "Not totally.": e- h) @! y9 F" z3 e
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were7 j( O3 m* H. b& G& R k0 l& u
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said7 q: R" @; N. B8 t1 {, x
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas( ?/ ]/ P; m; @, Y( f$ Q
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
0 q: x7 i/ `1 ], i6 B) L5 `vehicles already on the road.
) @7 c0 T$ q1 ~( a+ n3 oMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify( f' s% H% Y8 D: [9 l
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
2 I5 |: u m/ gresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
: R+ Y+ I! V% ~9 ^ O5 Hoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
* h9 [/ _2 A( k' t* R# |killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
! l1 |) [' u! A* ^"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
- `5 U! O: R. n X9 G- [0 y- Q4 vtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
6 \$ s) x: I0 y) z' q9 Z7 tfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight1 k. ]. I. a; d @* C% b
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
" l* U4 Z/ K* d# Ocommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
. _: Q% o7 V& {( J3 m8 U+ ]restore the trust of our customers."
6 a& M/ P( e: |Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from. J8 [4 ~ q3 a+ m. Q
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly# p. z. c' \1 i1 Y ~2 H5 \
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
0 d) `; i8 D" }" i6 y9 ~) eshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
9 i& ~1 V7 T( a5 I' P6 }6 b1 x+ \hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough$ D1 b" @& \5 z* T5 h" c; H
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
B. B) i' @# L: Q e( G9 Hturn off the engine.
( O7 O4 N4 r- W! F* e2 W: mFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
: g* A( g9 G6 D- d3 g( w |October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
! `# B, H5 x6 C"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she/ t/ q$ D2 P- A4 S& d5 X
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond9 {9 r( k8 [' F2 I+ n, P( U
to her complaints.
+ L' ^. `" d+ |* @. R3 i" ~+ PIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
1 I# z6 Y; }$ Z2 x4 a/ W9 @returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
6 T+ C/ k, l) C6 A. G: g9 {malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
$ Z) S2 t# D9 `) o8 g"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
9 [7 a5 W2 a! P& ^throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
$ u" C$ ^2 b. r9 a9 o"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
0 ^7 ~ A. W6 ~+ D- }+ o+ goff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
8 t! N0 O# D% v: ITransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
( J$ J/ B1 x* {$ L ?prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were5 _2 l6 r0 d( d A2 A
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls* V/ I6 J. {* A- ~
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer, o8 z' y/ o* k( O+ Q% U
every question."
. F4 d0 N& W- x9 r+ p2 bToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether' n/ h& N+ Q4 V. ~9 Z6 g! Y
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
) T& M0 {4 C7 c# y; U9 Lfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But' \# g. r5 \6 G2 r# c
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small# E# r! Y) Z, \1 c! e' X4 U1 j1 C+ {
number of vehicles( D* b. `% _0 {6 t, S
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
& J4 u8 s* t/ I: A( I+ Gdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
; }9 ~( K6 l& d# ~ emechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one( }, }+ W. r: u0 G" q1 T: \& L
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.$ r6 h; Q) K9 k9 N+ m, q, \
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
' G" N- C# Y2 B5 _9 l. y v/ | _where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no4 C I3 }1 Z/ e% {& w3 W* ~8 }
trace at all.' S8 h! t& J9 I: F- N
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call8 z& M$ z* e* q! v! i q' X
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden& Z7 P4 z9 ]: k% P
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
) H! s4 c ~: p& `$ ?6 crecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.( T5 X1 |% t: x7 y3 L! W
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,- S; U! l% o( L( }9 ?" _& k2 Q
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
, K& J& u" t8 ? F6 ?5 o/ kother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
! }. x! w8 l% i! _# A: g3 zelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible! K& s) C* j& F7 S* W" F* b* q1 Q# a* O
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only/ x; Q; A& N2 g9 {
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
6 y6 m2 o) H c6 |2 }% {8 uby Toyota's lawyers."
5 O* f9 q$ a, x3 `# bLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of! l: U8 @# h" b. z+ a* S( ~3 M
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
( F$ B+ l& B6 w {- ]/ K+ C8 Ucustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he3 F. N" _' }3 f& d% o
said.
/ Z# h# T" T' v2 e0 Q+ N"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
4 p j: a7 {# X7 d8 \% ]4 ~% Ha rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
7 T- I2 \3 h. _& N4 u$ @8 ogood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
- ]/ e& p ?' hofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
/ N- U; {9 D' I/ \4 `$ qSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
% I. i) V0 B, `% X$ W/ smembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread7 |; B+ T1 a( }' m. {2 z
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
p5 _% J1 p& H8 A7 s- Pautomaker, at least in part because of the government's7 d! j: h# C0 l' q0 j3 L) f. U
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
8 ~: |# i7 q, gChrysler.
, n/ j. O! f6 N. o5 P+ d" O"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax @6 M) H& _. f; D* U; @0 U; @
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a) [% W6 t/ D' M( Z' s- |5 f& y
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
& Q4 Y# I [8 T( [- pserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
& L) }& |$ [* C# T3 X4 jwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
: u0 ?8 F+ j% D. U" G8 Dtough."
& x2 @ \. I5 q+ V---
9 ^$ F" [) D/ _! G9 EAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
% Y4 l; D0 H" h2 dRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to- G$ ]& F& m* W4 d& w+ `: m* n
this story.
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