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By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS' L3 c5 }* a9 U5 J. L( k, D
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S., Y4 B% I6 K% p7 Q V7 |
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that2 ~+ r. L. j5 S W/ P6 ^
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"3 B# A6 k" V- N) [8 T3 e' h, a: ?
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.( E9 h/ V O- Z5 J/ v8 a8 }
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential$ ]0 Q' D/ U% U9 A' B5 `) c
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
7 W/ p+ z |/ Z" w; q0 RHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
. \- U& [7 r( i! M; vacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and* w- ^- {; O; Z2 N, f2 n
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
4 R4 \+ [ t7 p4 \, p7 rmats and sticking accelerator pedals.1 E# E( g0 N+ ^7 c; a: h
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
2 q1 l3 H* ]* Dand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp6 I, h7 s0 i- ]; Z
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
- L2 \. Y* r! }+ F1 t) Efurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
$ `5 A, x! V! j0 @) nnot stop her runaway Lexus.
& D/ g- Z+ p; |"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
+ h% Z/ n! v9 q8 ]- c9 ITenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second2 p0 _) u' e, P
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.9 b" H$ @# c" T+ d2 o1 z
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues0 j- _0 O7 Z9 {8 \' Z1 y3 a
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said) Y' Q) m! u# x0 F# g
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
% c/ Y. n+ B5 N; X& B& Ldone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway( Q3 N2 p3 H( N
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
- Q+ U! F" s1 }4 ]+ X! N4 i1 Winvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
( K8 L/ e1 ]( ]; p) yLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an; r6 I7 K6 V8 H7 k
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of2 V/ v0 g3 S* O' ~
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a$ e) t6 j9 h' B# `2 b: R- {( Y
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
& o. ?2 c( E0 S! e( d7 A/ O; I1 Bsaid.9 |8 ]6 S1 x* \+ ?$ W0 V! S: s
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
0 y* @1 m% u7 b1 ~' N6 }6 ?happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe& ?0 M% o% d1 B. F
about driving our products," Lentz said.
( O: ^6 P& n% b/ k! X2 ~7 G) F3 `% zThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's( r3 T7 B3 s4 m9 A5 R0 l0 J" e
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has& \( }7 V2 Q- t2 {0 y" \8 `7 p1 h
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6. V( M8 o) R m3 y4 U6 P
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
9 D* O) d% X% k4 X$ w0 [# Bunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
v+ U$ ^; g4 N# w0 missues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering9 E6 [. L+ r$ R
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of& d5 m+ }3 K: e% m* I
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
) `. Z4 |1 v+ B/ ~/ i! ^" cdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has, k; G: d* k3 b
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration8 p7 P0 K. Q3 i c
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
/ { G8 q" ]3 F7 f) ELentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own; W, R+ ^- z- W3 b& k: x
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he- A: D6 c8 q3 `) D) ^
understood the pain.
2 h, }, |. C5 o0 @. M"I know what those families go through," he said.
6 u" t! R! T3 z0 o9 {Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's7 ~' k( R5 N: L& O9 {' l; v
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
; g, ~1 j {6 v. Y$ SBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
, R1 f# M$ h& H U- XHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
8 {3 f8 R) D$ G8 B; _+ ]& m1 ?in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,$ f- v+ B3 T, L) I1 f
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
8 j2 }* D% ?2 bStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
5 E! k0 n [; @9 @! k1 t) z"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said [) e% {% ^. n1 z! Y
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas/ X* W. T3 K8 q& k! {2 L2 b/ Z
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
% N& m- h8 t6 f" E1 [6 k2 cvehicles already on the road.
7 f- I2 G4 p$ g/ b+ M) ]Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
+ w2 P# U6 q0 [+ Ibefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full' E) ]0 \9 X- W+ B1 q& V
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
" R `6 ? f5 f5 ]5 O4 Doffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were# S+ Y3 T- J F9 N/ P; @
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
' ^) ^6 K/ C/ c) Q"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a/ C: |: J& ~! s/ u! Q/ Z0 T
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
! L# }; I0 d' \- q3 e( Efor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight6 W* s/ m6 k8 _" m
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal5 s- p; n; a0 j( j
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
& F7 ^2 S$ w, o! x8 w+ Jrestore the trust of our customers."1 x$ @' |' n j1 ^/ |" t+ _" }
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
7 b( s* s/ H8 I0 [& L0 pSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
@' \, m/ ?5 dzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
( ~# Y. R! a; H: ^; dshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
) y. k. @9 s2 A* f4 j# Khitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough2 z* I5 X2 n8 F+ W" d1 a* u
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
& g( U+ s8 f% Y; V" D- e/ S% Lturn off the engine.
7 Q( L3 F9 ]% C6 k$ j2 p5 C# \, |Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
: ^5 z4 O: H$ A' gOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
N# Z/ c, E1 k8 h"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
8 R8 `+ b9 ]/ h# a7 v* \said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond$ b4 r. Z' D3 h) k$ @
to her complaints.
5 c- R A6 y1 D2 Z ]8 b( WIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers/ R, |* A5 \# C K. f! C* X
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
& l4 S% r0 X6 o8 f cmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.+ V" O# [4 J' Z- Z
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
1 o" v. d( r5 @( S! Athrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited- [( U1 U0 ^& H
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut1 r7 x3 X+ r6 Z: [% E
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."% r, a1 @; m7 ]4 L) [1 Z
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
7 g; E: T+ n; j4 J! tprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
0 Z% ]- a' S( q, w9 c$ |being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
5 h. v3 D; k: F- N' B; |# `& awere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
- W: H! G' h3 @! C* Cevery question.". M% I$ p; v7 ]" u! D' U* F
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether O' X; i6 E0 o1 l
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The& T# r$ E0 y, B i0 b
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
( o& Q' j2 b2 [* m1 `committee investigators said the testing studied only a small+ U# V% R; S0 C* h l" g2 j, k/ k; v
number of vehicles
' t; U9 v' K2 i9 X; h: eTracking down an electrical problem can be far more! n- W3 u* w( I$ q
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a: X, \3 Z$ w5 o, @0 e! ~* N
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
6 h L- F% ` L( @; Y; W7 R( usource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
$ a4 w; [. ~( }0 c% M" V. w9 yMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,+ }8 \3 I/ S! j# v9 k
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no& d/ a B6 x5 ?' N) | y; N& {
trace at all.
# R' {2 X8 ^; g, h! V+ uHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
- _! p1 r; x7 B; c! }database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
\7 i# h: G* L _/ jacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
( [- y# \7 J& Nrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.& s; W4 b S6 [9 @8 R+ B! d7 w
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
; t# f) c( L: e$ Q: u+ b2 m0 Wsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
0 G, L2 c: ^* e) x) ^* s0 Iother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the" M3 E* n e- A! U; l
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
2 @' C- {9 ]4 ncause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
5 O5 i. C' V- a9 \8 L* Ysuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained2 s8 Z. N) w0 S9 s& Y& `
by Toyota's lawyers."
$ f: X- b% Q/ C7 Z. aLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of/ l/ z, W# A" _. ^6 E# b
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our8 b) W1 s/ F0 W4 B' k
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he( ~2 L/ h) @& ]
said.- Z* l p0 n2 Y J. h" c
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with. A, t( K4 Q8 @
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our% S, ^) T8 O) V" x
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating/ `! U3 l$ ^% {
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc./ D D L! `& h, F* S4 e
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
# c' b2 m" Q. I- ~ v1 s6 ^members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
2 z3 I* w9 n" n7 R, @rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
' b$ e2 ^2 M7 pautomaker, at least in part because of the government's2 x! k3 H( Y8 X' u4 o3 \3 t
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
" m; m1 `9 S6 d9 k6 RChrysler.* Y8 N8 P. a& C; k
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax- ?, {$ y6 c" d! s
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a# Y! R z. B. I9 x
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
, w# [. n) F( I2 xserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete8 e* x: X$ U) p" F2 t( j8 [
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty) k m7 }8 V) f0 \# v+ }# P- D' J
tough.", Y P- Q9 _/ s |* m
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5 R9 G4 p1 C9 i& A+ v- [! uAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
) |& L; T- i6 D- ^; ZRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
- {# X. e$ @+ I3 ithis story.& b& ?+ N5 x: {/ y0 A
7 t1 b; q! X7 @; B# w9 I& W( K-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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