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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题5 E a+ y* A: \
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
# B0 C+ K1 E, N5 V& SWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
; |9 A3 a2 Y! `$ r; s; e- }, ?operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
" Z L- ^5 U1 u/ H$ v* q8 P3 Athe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"* ]0 w7 ~ z/ R8 S3 ~
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration. z- {, A0 U4 |
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential' P, ~1 w( `' k9 U f& C4 Y" A
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
" b) T& ~/ s5 m# w8 g' b: wHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected& e4 E' M8 y+ c3 K1 P4 c
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and% |% v. L3 q1 b! d
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
, d9 T$ D5 t" @; smats and sticking accelerator pedals.$ V& ~2 T$ ]( s3 Y H
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
& l; M, N" C, ], t/ rand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp. a4 x- c7 `( ^" L( @
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be" y( ^. t! i# ^( P/ G
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
( z9 E) e$ g& b) [not stop her runaway Lexus.1 O% d7 Z# g/ O9 F9 i; X# ^
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
3 r& L. E) e4 \9 L1 {% Y; UTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
u. z/ d* T3 A0 V* ]" U"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
# Q7 z. |) R: CTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
]' w4 U# S$ I' |5 L: k. z8 cearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said$ E3 M5 q" X+ K) t% f4 M
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
- c% d4 d/ h' ^/ r3 \done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway% P5 b5 \, ?! ^( Q
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
9 X( @5 a1 X) w; Yinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
: g% I, b: S% |) ] v4 i) Y- K& cLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
9 J2 B. }5 C l+ Q) V/ ~! `& Celectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
3 S( ]+ `. u& u9 Dthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a4 x* x* _( P/ R
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he1 I+ J4 J+ s6 j |! r* |- W
said.
3 Y3 [- n9 T: RAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what3 l$ \2 `' C9 d
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
0 }8 o, u& Z$ ]: v' ?% `' mabout driving our products," Lentz said.
+ H7 _1 B4 G1 m+ q# f5 J+ ~Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's5 D( }" o( P. ]( [3 w
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has" ?& k* ~ _9 }5 F6 M7 ]9 ^, L
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
6 `; d; E9 `" l/ [: A% vmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of7 h! b' @: W% \) x! Q+ n
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking* Q, u) t4 q' e( z9 O
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering0 L7 ~( d1 N% D/ w" L8 n' A
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of( ]0 ^& Z' G9 y( j
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow4 H1 y' j% E5 d
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has( F0 Y8 _: e; Y$ E
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration Z" A% a4 v+ n+ e2 v# n: z f, r" B: Q
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
, Q( Y6 L: k+ g: y; t4 ?Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
/ P% F1 I2 E# M* W3 ]4 U- l, Mbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he- f8 B1 A! r: t; ~# z
understood the pain.
+ {) d5 N: m" c2 f9 N" m1 t"I know what those families go through," he said.: _, U' O% x& l
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
* ~# }! Q4 [+ z1 U, Efixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.- h# B8 K9 X6 W, D% V; b- Y$ S
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
* o2 Y9 M u, H" q% b/ n, QHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
1 ^+ k, k; n/ m% x& U1 x: S2 P `in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
1 f; ~+ ^1 u8 U2 ^ D" k1 G5 ]Lentz replied: "Not totally."
& q5 x1 S* ~, m& L$ l' H- GStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were6 h/ G; J1 g9 B4 [2 @. s. |& T" N
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said0 e' o6 n$ J: j
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas+ H: i* J! F. M" N
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its. Q+ l! i6 }$ N- s" `8 b- y
vehicles already on the road.0 l% }8 i: A5 g9 c/ E
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
* R4 z4 r; v, h5 dbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full0 X) m' L _5 ?9 t, L0 q8 e
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
8 r0 v+ v. t! l( D6 k6 Eoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were* U6 f3 |; o8 N0 l- y6 \1 q3 c
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
8 ?1 J0 B5 l' m& B7 V* F"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
1 f* P, l+ u( v9 M P" A! y: btragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony( k9 \- q: J. C1 E" F. N; N
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight* ~; P$ h6 F8 j, E) G! W" X! ~. G! o: [ Z
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
0 Z7 H, Z4 h, f' gcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
4 ]4 ?# M8 H v' Mrestore the trust of our customers."
+ D4 h0 E' ~# V2 S5 w1 S7 L. W' jLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
/ N' w: b. I) G7 R% W$ |* |. q5 H# JSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly ?4 X4 u5 A: c3 w+ X4 L6 x
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
2 G; O4 U, a0 w' b. a; gshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and1 M/ O) q+ O# q( S
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
/ Z" v' T+ ]/ `9 `) s5 Othat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and: `, a9 u4 w. H; ]8 e
turn off the engine.
) C$ l! C1 `6 B5 R+ g3 }- r' QFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of9 I: a* Y4 u9 d* V
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
6 l) V1 V8 b( F7 q% d% ~"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she# Y6 M9 v4 s* x) k6 q# K
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
! Y/ J8 O' F& j' ~to her complaints./ @) n" }# s1 S: ~ ] E+ ]% x$ j$ O
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers. r0 i6 L& o! T0 T5 \' O+ h. r
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic& `. b9 ~: f2 _; R/ C1 U
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
$ C9 g9 p5 \& }1 t. d$ ]"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
& o; A5 o( @" o" Ythrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited @( E5 B$ T: y6 M/ O2 p/ F8 E
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
9 W% D9 s4 u/ @off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."3 \9 Y) J8 E0 a5 X* a3 m7 x
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in, l9 V3 @+ \$ f2 \) ^2 ^
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
6 N a9 |( G( N% D" G% abeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
, s r9 ?0 _: @& [were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
7 ]. T% {9 p; i+ N8 L2 r- Cevery question."5 S, F; k" @# c. D6 \! i' a
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
! \# w$ P6 t0 J8 ]9 U. I; pelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
7 t$ @9 I8 _# \! d+ C0 Nfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But* w4 @. B2 J4 ?9 P
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small7 ?* Z+ M8 m- P3 \* i$ V
number of vehicles# |* \: d0 N7 D o; S1 W: U0 Y
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
0 W4 R, C' m8 _' V. @ B. j2 adifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
( h8 K; }' H1 I8 U4 g2 U$ Xmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one/ R3 K- X: A; I$ i! u$ D
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car., ^1 `( `% O6 k
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
6 {8 @: y/ U! `# R0 {where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
/ d5 H1 \4 a% I6 k/ A% xtrace at all.
8 _6 {2 ?3 f6 mHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call# C9 d2 E5 s% Z( l/ ?* L0 B/ K9 p
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden$ e* t! m+ f1 Q3 X
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
4 j$ ?8 B% [: t9 g) }- Y% b+ Brecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
% Q& J; N9 y7 o: R x/ `" K9 {Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,# ?' M# V1 Z; }( `/ H0 F! W6 ~7 ~
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and$ ^1 P X. b1 ]+ C: E f
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the9 J' e" @5 W8 c+ N) Y, {9 n1 Q$ N" s
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
, H3 }9 |. C6 Bcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
' b6 P% V2 g& Z' f( P, _such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
7 x, g4 H4 p" U1 ^+ ]6 zby Toyota's lawyers."- F8 t* p' w' x* k. i) W- N
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of9 E/ I) u5 M8 `5 |- U& q q
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our: \6 l6 g% u- _7 [; M
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
+ H/ Z5 j+ i5 B9 ?1 ~3 x2 `1 C/ Msaid." F& f# @* q9 R6 Z5 d/ O
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with. a. u* d: b$ j
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
+ i# l* q' i+ c! Ugood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
1 f4 J Z# v: U5 D0 e: |& Qofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.- f1 o1 a% F7 M( v
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
$ S% U x$ W1 [" ?+ i$ imembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
0 Y: A0 y: D) crancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
/ @/ D5 q& i5 D9 [: E3 D' cautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
" i G8 W o! |) m: Winvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and0 ^* y+ Z! n6 {6 U: d& E! _
Chrysler.
% i+ Q, ~) z( ^3 l" c"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax8 B7 y: X! u$ f# V# v
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
, L- D1 b+ ^% k) {( HHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also, X; V ^: Y; u3 ~* o+ O" g
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
, Y# G$ P- f, M$ A! Ywith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty5 `( P' g1 k# g7 P- z+ W& |9 t
tough.": k9 [5 C8 ^+ P: v5 o
---# n, b/ R( G( W* n6 Z: Z/ C' z
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom5 ~2 O# S) \! x( B
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
- X. R( N* @/ V$ }; C' w, f& Ithis story.
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