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By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
+ t; i. A5 W: g/ Q7 x1 E. wWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
. v; `" M- q: n8 p; L: soperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that& v0 c% S' Y* S s* S7 y
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
8 ?3 f) b. C4 U3 ?$ O$ Nsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
' o6 `7 V7 l0 Q) } k, N"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential& f9 u) z& e+ j b9 V4 K5 v; @
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.* q l. V1 {- s: X; f
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
' x$ A+ F5 W5 Z2 @1 [6 oacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and# {* F( i+ y1 n- }7 t' j
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
2 Q0 C4 t; h3 b* u$ \mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
6 W/ [. i; }( \& PHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal0 B* e' a8 \# F5 g
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp; A1 o. j8 K6 i6 F, p
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be! R, k0 y" P1 |. Z3 \9 g/ y
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could$ A# J: g" l9 C8 J s/ F( \# i
not stop her runaway Lexus.1 ? Q0 ^- j' l
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,! j1 b- H3 f4 c$ e3 p$ l
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
m, U8 u1 M% Y% B3 @% o"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
- l8 p6 S5 `2 r" [Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
7 _! |/ i, [ B6 v; Hearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said: D! e% y8 r" ?# q; M
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has5 D _* e6 `8 M2 J1 y
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
2 Q1 `! a" T8 N8 S5 `through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's Y" r. f/ A! X
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham." M8 C, j& A" I- j9 I& v- X
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
/ H# E2 r. M' D, Xelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
N6 J; K4 ? c8 Q; V. Vthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a4 Y' V, @4 C+ m: B- \, { a
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he5 r# f" S# d0 b( y# e1 `
said.8 R7 w b" E! f& C$ G9 j/ p# ^, C7 {$ N
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what ?, ?5 X- j, G) b& o: @
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
6 p9 L' r2 k H% X3 u7 Wabout driving our products," Lentz said.$ j$ H, R2 c& P5 r2 o' }
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
* H9 I2 C5 ? v5 [3 q, M* T% Bproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
1 f1 v3 K7 u- T; R' ?0 X+ X; qrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
: O5 Q7 U/ @2 S+ B; ~million in the United States -- since last fall because of% K6 K% W4 Z `
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking8 M. ^0 p4 n: C9 k
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering; U' {4 Z& |7 ]+ b
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of1 W4 w" f2 W5 ^( N0 V& _) k
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
F$ A1 J; ^2 e \. v' Qdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
# e7 d8 O, I* a& ]received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration. W! ]% C, Y* R1 K1 l0 A
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
0 c. w0 K* w. e6 T3 M1 lLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own! k+ @0 g, b+ H& ]" l
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
/ o7 L& d/ u: C7 u% E1 D' Bunderstood the pain.
% x+ A9 I5 B9 d0 }: z"I know what those families go through," he said.
2 _2 I8 V& ~/ k8 g9 p7 o* GLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
/ b0 H) j0 b' ]0 kfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
2 _& ~0 }2 O$ Z9 N9 H( A& ?But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman+ z% J9 b7 C$ }8 E: i
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put* j1 e) ~. r1 ]3 B
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
5 `/ ]: I9 m/ s8 t; hLentz replied: "Not totally.", y. \# D( ^5 L+ b: U! T
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
7 E# Z6 o" t" S"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
2 m: L O- A: m; C; IToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
2 _1 F! Y0 U8 X8 W. [2 upedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
( b/ l& Z: v1 w6 e# y/ w9 x ^vehicles already on the road.
8 z. {5 k2 l% ZMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
) `. F! J6 G* V) c9 d1 `0 Ebefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
- ]& W7 B% J# ?4 R3 @responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and3 \' J. H! E9 C) [ p* ~. ]
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
% @5 k6 D t4 W0 c2 Ckilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
: A8 Q. j5 R8 C" `7 w"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a# | z. O) o2 \6 d
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
$ `, Z1 r0 k7 Vfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
) M& Q$ J/ G$ E5 gCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal) E% w, l( e* d f
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
) P, ?( a: M3 b/ Erestore the trust of our customers."/ F0 P$ h7 S& s- X: n! ` y- F: E
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from% P/ a6 _, a3 M+ C: E/ Y/ n
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly$ t$ ~6 {: h8 Y0 Q$ e
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --$ b' S( V" {; F. |: A' F' X
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
* Q* r) ~& \) f+ B' {hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
# Z! t1 \- Q$ j' p, |that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and6 H2 p ~5 a* ~. o
turn off the engine.$ e9 e6 p6 J% T9 E$ B6 S, y
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of1 M3 d7 M2 A2 i* h5 k
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
+ P: B: B+ O9 E"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she! E; k' z) l) G5 s# {2 P+ C& ~8 ~
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
( b8 J& T: H0 D$ [to her complaints.2 @1 \0 j9 X5 u3 e: X N
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers$ J. S/ A2 T( X9 E+ K+ b
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
5 V3 |' c, K: S7 W2 t5 lmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.$ j) C- D1 Y: T. B' o6 |
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric: {) f2 E$ A v2 _& q4 n. w# H# \
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited8 Q+ U2 Q4 Y8 h3 a
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut. a: c+ ?" y2 i$ E1 z7 B5 @
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."7 J- R, I4 C# G5 ^
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in) V' S: D& {. |, [ p
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were# v% t9 I% a6 b: |2 U
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
, r% x: a1 r% y! twere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer: o$ ]( g4 _; ~$ X8 |7 {
every question."
; G5 I1 N0 Y: t. i. O5 D+ w9 xToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
9 M8 {5 c4 L. yelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The+ O" w' H' d. H& A K6 J
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
h+ m! _$ N& m# K0 `& k; Ncommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
- v6 r+ |- w& e+ \5 W n; [! rnumber of vehicles8 }/ u( j& k) U& M& J# f5 ]
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
1 O4 H% C3 G; C9 O" b6 tdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
1 J4 g4 K1 |9 |0 I) @! K4 [mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
* S2 P3 b+ @6 p" F/ _source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
" N" p7 D- y2 u; J+ |3 |+ h1 ZMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,- l! A+ {" u' \" k. R+ F; e
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
$ Q/ U$ V; i% Q% Q5 btrace at all." J- L+ t, E2 s# u9 e: C% Q3 y
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call; v+ j7 t3 Y7 V9 V9 n4 ~
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
. ~, \; N' ?: q9 T: } r$ D! l& wacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the3 C# n0 N& ^* j. r6 l
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
6 s5 a F9 {) G' JRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,4 f% a1 t% K, A5 a
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
6 ^+ x# B5 N4 {9 h2 Kother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
% r3 a4 J/ Q+ z# H4 Q# A1 w# \electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible4 `% P4 s4 E. x) g$ O
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
" j: a( H* c. Hsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained* H. a( |! s! J' d% I3 n/ M" A
by Toyota's lawyers."
# R4 m0 s# \3 w. _* H1 ULentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of1 V: ]# e5 d3 |( g8 l
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our- F* \& j+ J$ C0 k1 E, B
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
( m- K. k% h% a! n$ r% x6 ?said.
5 l; u; |! @/ l2 v( ?5 M"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
Y0 C9 E; D6 u* I) j D' @$ Ra rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our/ m" t% g+ m' j
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating/ i7 R. O x0 G: {, _
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.1 e; B1 S! @$ u" Z9 J
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying" m5 H' e+ z: t! i8 `
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
: A" z* C; k, Zrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the" m3 F1 j) Y# d, O
automaker, at least in part because of the government's; [. H9 [& A' }, p0 S
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and d% T) K* F# ~( [* y5 |
Chrysler.3 l8 Z2 C* J5 [0 T" K
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax& E ? a% ?& I9 X! V8 W$ p
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a$ p. L( x9 q! m( G
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also) ?& x( j/ _7 S/ V( d( F* h- s! ^
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
0 _* o% g; u1 ^5 q5 y2 Fwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
. q$ ]& w1 J5 n. [( h9 O0 otough."8 i, p9 v: a. f$ c! d, X
---
7 B' P3 G* S5 T6 nAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom6 Z- [ F, d, V; l O
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to: p* t7 ?' I. ^$ S
this story.& b, k2 c, D7 Z$ f* v; R$ _
" e, n4 f; C8 `/ Y% D# K-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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