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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题9 P0 X$ J3 u" O/ p
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS" e @# i; T- X$ F8 u" b* M: z
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
+ Q' n4 B; }. R( T7 goperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
/ S6 S5 V- L; X( l- n/ [8 R& zthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
9 l: U, }. F: z* r2 w3 _: Psolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.$ D% o9 \* R1 k8 @7 r% |( j
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
) X4 U1 a* p5 U; y2 I) Wcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.1 |& c1 A9 ?4 Y O" P' J0 T
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
& V5 h X a- m2 c/ bacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
# C6 L. F- c! s9 t+ e0 X' k+ }% r1 @trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
6 J* O* O( S6 @' L" Hmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
) Y; B$ u, }* ^He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal% R, ~, m7 S1 |. I
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp5 N, D f! r; E: E ?' |, N
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
E6 v. B& t- T2 W9 x( I0 f% ]/ }6 f% Pfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could( H1 Y% J \% |& U1 k
not stop her runaway Lexus.
+ g4 L# G- R/ L \7 M; N4 ~"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,) C- a8 h* U! ] B4 r m {! a8 \ J
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
% N5 }9 O; M9 K, k"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.( g7 R3 h" g& |$ ]: E
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues: E# q3 ?; Z6 C5 V
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
6 y7 J- S3 W3 Y"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
$ c9 r/ b: o+ S2 ^ u; g+ F# M3 Rdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
) k) B; O: z- v- P# z" Y: w( g+ {through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
, p% `. L4 G9 B5 Q$ K5 n, V. Dinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
' _$ B: Q) h: }/ M* X8 t2 r ULentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
5 \0 ~/ n6 V# [electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of% A7 z; u2 N* D
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a. x. g- J4 a, u4 p
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
: M/ w8 d2 D- L7 H! ^2 j' `said., j5 p2 s9 v0 m/ U4 B; J- N: I
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
' X3 x8 l/ h2 ~9 N' Thappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe- e' v) g, A" F0 q" ~+ S; k! y
about driving our products," Lentz said.+ c3 h+ Q" e, Z9 @" m& Z+ X
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's& v/ {1 C- q& y3 B1 g- R
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has; z1 W: G) `6 A! `6 r3 \9 t T) Z& @' y+ [
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
: h& J. Q+ x. n0 K# b. Pmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
# ?% G' e0 N0 s, z! W6 X, C6 Funintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking, B6 W1 u' d9 q+ T9 W
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
5 o; p C H3 |concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
$ `: j: A }0 x# ]" t, H/ s4 S4 itheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
/ s) i5 M4 s6 F* F4 t" vdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
9 _" K+ r9 V& [% g6 ` |, Areceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration1 Z- R) z2 [0 B3 O
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.* k, E' e9 l) m* L2 z+ _
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own5 S+ }* N8 S2 K# i( U# S* _/ e
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
% g j# _* n. o( V* D. tunderstood the pain.' V( w3 _8 P/ R9 E
"I know what those families go through," he said.
! C/ x6 E f% x$ x. t& PLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's1 O5 x" S% u9 m! [7 \0 d( B
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.; R2 m# W! [" w7 w+ A" ]% T
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman$ G( f0 E0 g* C4 Q2 L1 M/ `
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put! J' g/ Y7 G9 {( F7 D4 J3 z
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
- r" g0 n. V( j' fLentz replied: "Not totally."; G" q9 c: M4 C% }$ S: @
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were1 e7 M8 f3 Y% l1 R1 n
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
* i( C# w3 D2 s IToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas S3 m& Q& ~ g, }$ y3 h5 h. A
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its' q& ^+ n' Q! [6 M5 E
vehicles already on the road.
g8 B& ?' x, M- q9 [0 l' b7 ~Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
+ E2 u* k! N% M, D# n, `% `before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
1 g2 D. o" Z3 }& K3 L1 @( ~" U- c( Fresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
" q; f7 u2 y! ~7 Soffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were/ w, P4 [+ T @( I3 q4 `$ F
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
9 k& y+ s! N7 X6 M) g2 Z7 c"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a( ^' K7 A6 @+ o$ V" {& p
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony( F3 H/ t; r" }9 C7 q* D
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight1 w, b& {2 f, |( B
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal$ Q. d) T% |( K# U$ H6 h# r
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to( Y+ @, X ?. Y e0 X; k4 @: I
restore the trust of our customers."
$ C6 v2 {' g+ t* |) Q# C9 jLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from& q K3 @7 E4 ], [ G9 b
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly2 e- z P. S4 C. h* D+ y5 C$ o( f
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
% [' U& g. v, f: A8 Z9 {shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
; j' @+ I: m8 @! K0 ]" k1 w( @hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough" i5 M3 B% p- w
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
' ^: c q8 O+ _. @; Pturn off the engine.0 \1 Z6 t8 I. Z
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
* \# m7 l2 [3 S# [* ^October 2006, calling it "a near death experience.": W1 I' P5 R+ k! Q
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she2 g- k( e. a' k6 @; r' Q
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
* L ]+ Z) r6 W0 p9 _6 r( D7 f5 gto her complaints.
- E t" z, a# U1 K+ G+ }0 cIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
$ K; {. N" l& C/ F _% F9 ^returned again and again to the question of whether electronic# s) W! H. ]5 R
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.% X& a& w4 u$ ?
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
0 {# I+ l) x& cthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
3 b+ i# v+ T: |. R"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut& T$ ~( Y4 T* I7 g# E
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure.") ~7 o) i" [0 R: i$ H( }
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in( N" ]! q# H3 e/ E7 Q. Z
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were4 i' _" M/ R' I$ u
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
; Q& t8 R1 k3 z/ `9 h9 z" H0 H% b. uwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
4 x" V0 F3 p# R" m& Mevery question."
9 m9 m( ~; E6 A B. j6 V; F dToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether8 ]* {0 W, z0 N6 e
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
6 V# Z ]% E" V7 Wfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But4 |* ?; F6 j; c3 W' ]# Z
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small; q- `1 b1 J: ^+ D# f7 y& G2 o
number of vehicles: S/ {; b7 r4 c8 o. Y$ U
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
2 E" i) [ r3 j2 Y5 `: ndifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
6 f+ [* Q6 U# b- w6 Q, ~2 L' V$ ~9 rmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one& w3 H2 }! g9 _! P1 F
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
* X; k0 x: B1 \% F( c# |4 q9 CMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,0 c: u% v* K4 k+ P5 G+ i+ z
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
, X% C- f( P. u# c8 _" Z# X5 Dtrace at all.! q4 b7 w" l' r- ~8 U! f
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call' U, s* Y+ Q( o2 ]
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden, \5 G9 x+ V( I+ g
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the2 Z0 m% K5 R. \ d
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
& J3 P8 r7 O5 V( ZRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
! c2 n1 I: c% n6 ^said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and* ?* X# `* v8 J
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the+ A5 o5 ^! w+ A/ _, g
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible" e# z3 T' x. U
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only N/ m# ^$ C% Q# s/ d0 M- T. Y" k' ]
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
n! l, P0 b* c8 u- Z( R0 yby Toyota's lawyers."
" k5 w4 H* z/ s. _0 hLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
3 ^' d6 i/ L I: _! t6 F: d) ]1 T" Jproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
1 @6 L* a8 b* [2 b2 r5 l' Xcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
8 @2 X% A1 j. m \, x% Psaid.& _: Z, I, @) o* f
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with- Q# y" x7 O5 a& x
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our8 l$ }+ ^. h4 O: I6 l9 R2 P4 y9 {
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
2 R8 k1 j9 G5 O1 e" cofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
% X& v9 P# E# ^- R8 S, }& _Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying! V1 [7 R& w d2 M$ S
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread5 l7 j- q$ w# @, G& S
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
; b: n# w- R; I: d$ Uautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
* [% |8 T; o+ Z4 Dinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and% i- I! N2 Q7 K* q+ g7 q
Chrysler.* p" ^2 A# Q& s8 c6 D& W
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
+ W. s5 a* E+ i+ B: r) Gdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
) \) s$ `' N7 C9 HHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
! q; f! h F( u* Y; e6 Xserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
0 l& |# `: z) z8 a$ x, ywith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
& \* Q( ]5 J6 Y2 Ntough."
, D p2 _. i3 s: j$ c* I---. M. ^$ U8 }) Q0 j" l! K2 H( \
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
; Q4 g- _$ ~# ^' Q. LRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to! y; M$ S7 a* v1 B* m: E% l6 L
this story." s& d7 P4 G) @' j. G! [% m$ c7 C' @# {
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