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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题% G6 W3 @ @% d- E2 U
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS% D7 q+ \+ }& y) y- P: H. F. j
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S., l6 X: U2 ~3 Y( m9 N1 M/ \
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
1 u0 z5 Y1 B( w1 _the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"3 \4 q6 S+ X' {
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
; Z* B M( c# y+ ^"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential/ U6 B" M7 G0 y" G( I: R' A
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
* F' [ f2 N& i% T3 oHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected7 D, L1 B- y/ P, T! U/ C# ~
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
. H& v: \" p" ?8 J; dtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
' O) O K; t# gmats and sticking accelerator pedals.+ b$ |7 w2 d6 h- D
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
1 @+ b5 Z! m. ]' b" m# `and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp# d( o6 Q- U! }8 h+ o* y
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
( t, f7 ^1 x) u( {) @+ X9 Lfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
0 S; [6 o2 ^) h5 D4 v" h+ |; nnot stop her runaway Lexus.
: g" K+ c m7 x, ^/ z) l"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
+ G4 e# ~: R6 ]. ]5 [: a) {7 z+ v( G+ Z$ ]Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
: V8 c7 O* V$ ?6 I' w) |# L+ c"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
. Y/ U0 s0 \+ K* h% V4 a, S2 }' ?Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues( }8 M& M, A1 s' G
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said" ~5 r% n. S5 b+ C% C8 Z, ^
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has6 \( U6 k- Z# X5 _3 B
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
$ h0 c( P" z. X* F2 G P1 s: n7 Vthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's1 P! a+ {+ r% h2 ]; i6 w! W* n
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."6 N, p2 j5 i. w9 q
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an- Y5 R: N, [' `8 c( R" ?
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
# R* R! s& f0 | Wthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
1 a) Z: \2 Y2 g9 Hmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he4 ~) C% ?: d9 U+ p
said.
; I$ _, Y! x1 u6 P/ L% K5 [As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
( N7 v0 E: }2 S7 n# \0 j7 xhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe1 _. }& y' F5 F% Y
about driving our products," Lentz said.
" {7 ?' V. i9 @2 pThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's1 Q4 x+ N5 J. Z" n( C% |% ~9 o
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
( [ B/ R& j. a: E: erecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
, v& y7 g- g( E6 R, j! l% ^' |million in the United States -- since last fall because of- ~1 W" O1 t6 d' L! P
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking% d% v; G/ F* z4 e
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering4 @* _ ^! m. _8 Q8 R- U3 O6 o
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
: u, a; H# C; w0 {" X% g3 btheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow9 X9 p, V- g! F2 B* b) t" c& o
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has2 d( r% u* v9 z s' {
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration: x& p9 h) z5 Y* J# a& O
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.5 J2 }4 @- `2 C( l p$ d- p
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
3 q' {# h+ A8 a cbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he+ P- V" O5 a* r7 b% U" G
understood the pain.
8 H$ N' {% u' e2 k0 l5 y"I know what those families go through," he said.4 ?) ~% N1 I) N. N
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
! f% Y: }5 n" O% | ?/ b3 V0 ifixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
, P7 `' F! p; j( D8 i2 _7 uBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman" g! H* c8 }, P7 D% b% [
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put. D' v/ L! K0 ?2 A8 ` F. W, z
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
0 _ z9 U1 O t, \& A- R8 l; b: OLentz replied: "Not totally."6 F! J% C |0 H9 [9 j$ l
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
5 K" |6 o9 O2 _" N7 I; T6 Z: Q"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said' _& {0 T) K& L5 C* Q( k* i. ]$ V3 f
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas9 F2 e0 ], }$ u; d \
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its" t* ~, F: x) M2 z* i/ _# q: }
vehicles already on the road.
# v* y2 |( L9 o- c- t1 X6 FMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
6 N& j) n7 c/ o; i, T9 @before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
) k1 }/ T: E: a6 q- V" fresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
5 \) i" } a1 q5 v- Y U' C `offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were% ^/ N' C9 B0 }: E& }" H
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
3 q6 X. h) p: ^3 T, \ j- j"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
6 J: d+ z5 a: p3 m" R8 otragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony5 X8 ~+ j6 g, v9 T# l3 A
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight' v7 r% N% S- J* P# J& `
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal* U! ?2 j3 s/ v8 N9 i; l
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
& E0 j8 l4 I; grestore the trust of our customers."
0 D% A; I9 y* ]( eLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from T# e" q* ^: Z# a. ~" I \6 y* x
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
2 h; d( N6 N( j$ W9 s% U( Xzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
; l4 Y# l8 }- }- Z. hshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
- B9 F* r; z/ k% a; u& }9 fhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
1 \8 D3 `- x6 j mthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and, u1 P$ [5 Z. q
turn off the engine.( b- `3 ^0 u% i- M
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
5 e) U5 x1 Z, G1 s: a# vOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."& s. y. C7 q/ A z: v& c, G
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she- R' k0 S" ^$ A
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
% c% o2 H: P6 tto her complaints.% e% u T7 ?: z% o
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers8 a) g; {3 Y% X/ ~6 o' t% T; \
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
* m) }! n& `, B3 Mmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.; D3 `1 i" r# t/ v. |
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric# v' X3 ]5 D% J- Z9 t, i
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
: m7 V0 R! R, `"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut. Q7 n7 x. [8 Y- j5 m: M
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
3 f0 a' E" r8 D7 lTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
* L/ r+ o' a# B) x, Jprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were ?: N) O( Z1 S7 s
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
& I8 Y$ {& \* b0 B( Wwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer- C/ ]. ~1 @$ h% U/ o
every question."
' z+ m' E' y0 g# G* {: bToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
: ^7 f9 x1 l" Welectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
x1 O- ^% |2 ^firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
( W( g4 z C f G7 Ocommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small% Q$ |- J1 Q1 T9 s) T
number of vehicles" s0 e& I& O( l4 u+ d0 X7 s) s
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
. B0 G3 c3 M' c4 adifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a0 h* f+ _& ?$ N3 n' _2 i
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one9 P! W' o! @: N& B
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.' C8 w4 n0 K0 y0 S
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,, J. D. C$ a8 L, N4 }! L
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no4 C5 i- W& w7 f+ b$ W8 v" q; I, p
trace at all.
* g- n; G. Z5 ]# T# A# Y" ^- P) N' _House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call" M& ^2 C. ~- D6 b3 r5 g* w
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden( z% _) i1 p1 f6 B! P$ V
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the; g9 C( S Q9 T' r/ o
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.$ {8 @# {$ M( C% }2 S
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
6 w+ n7 w; j+ ~said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
# K' X9 u3 y% Y3 aother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the: u; I- A7 J: I) Q- ~# l
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible+ e' F b5 t9 }) y k: w* o
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only; B. ~( a( z! U7 u$ W# S
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained' f8 w# @+ D( j) N5 R" T( E
by Toyota's lawyers."
/ O2 m0 h* P; I4 d! Q: CLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of4 D; Q. l" h, Y% N" R a7 y( u
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our8 ~7 Y _* [$ a. c
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he1 L/ v) |- g8 Z, s: B
said.+ i, `6 }& h/ G; }9 ? }% b) e
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
5 y1 P& Z1 I' [- Qa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
9 ~+ T0 k0 A. bgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
+ J3 h# @+ ?6 ]! B* p7 jofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
- w1 @6 ^% }- m! ~5 ?: q/ bSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
( V& ]- b% H) Vmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread) u- x! m4 `% V4 g+ Q
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
; V4 w: K5 {* g, k+ l6 q6 C7 Jautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
: x. y% C5 U" }6 g% e4 }) r3 pinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and0 @, J! B" T n: E
Chrysler.0 O. q! h1 l; }. O; j5 C
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax! \9 U; T+ E8 p. t5 K
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
; b3 J/ v; v; A+ F/ BHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
( D) p/ U; e4 y, Bserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete) C" f g2 |* g# h
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
& `" |$ C; B/ R/ c% `tough."
; `5 e) j- R) ~, Y+ U8 a7 b1 X---
2 p# U: r& G6 pAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
7 b6 _6 D, Z5 _ V- W7 GRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to0 I5 G+ d$ W" J3 l
this story.4 p4 v. H- G* D( r0 Z& \
C+ v& z' {/ }; C
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