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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题. w- X7 T; g% n3 p
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS/ O! F+ v& _4 `5 a) C; E6 F
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.8 n; G; s" B, D4 u! a0 E
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
. {% Y) U: l1 C) J( A+ Wthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"- l( u U' ]$ C
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.; z, I- l+ R: W0 N) v
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential X. i+ B7 r8 u( _* A
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.# f: m R7 \9 c) ~# C
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected3 r; k' U& F2 I% ~/ \
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and6 z3 x& t& E! [5 r: o* @- W
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
/ d; G! q, M6 e9 l2 Kmats and sticking accelerator pedals.7 m3 j) e+ D* O7 u( _3 Z% P
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal* D8 B+ q: P" o- X( j* |. R
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
7 ~* w& D4 S3 L$ s" u/ _criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be: h2 P: @: Y) D7 f5 }4 ]3 a
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could$ i( o7 f: u- q4 q0 }
not stop her runaway Lexus.9 B4 P5 T" }* r5 S- _# D
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
) h9 g* `: l6 u/ y$ f- k, q: dTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second' k" Z: K: y1 I3 W9 r: X- s+ S, Q
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.0 t9 N* y8 S. x4 a: v1 [ y+ @7 L- j/ |
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
6 J. T- C. R: z$ ]7 Bearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
" {6 m! T% i: f5 {6 D4 f4 V"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
) Y" b, N" m" V5 Qdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway$ |. M& \5 @/ t! f
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's4 W" V& q- M; ], X" r. N
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."$ L4 _5 U+ D+ A: [
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an& y' D7 a5 ]& l" q
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
2 V9 h0 ?$ Z5 ?1 }! i- x( Ithe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
& l( @4 U/ p, H7 ?# e3 i, ymalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
) J2 X9 O3 s& C1 _said.
C; p7 a4 G. P: _# O; R0 V' ^As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
+ G- a0 C/ n2 V* `happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe) Z& o8 X2 C: i
about driving our products," Lentz said.8 C' o6 v+ I7 X X( W
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
2 f2 B1 S4 t7 I/ w& R/ lproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has- `( m2 U# c0 e6 R* _- y
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 66 U6 b% C: w# l9 ]+ e/ F5 L/ D
million in the United States -- since last fall because of- w" s1 J1 c3 ?* z$ V* i! V
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
5 ^2 P- I: F, ]' r$ Fissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering J; U" ^5 f$ q& f; Q9 l
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of! `1 J7 W3 B- }
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow2 X9 R" N* q: q4 i& C
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
n! k, \, B: g" I Z% o& Wreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration3 | Z5 o6 @' C9 d3 w
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.9 U# t; m" h6 |& U- u# b! }: U0 p
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own& J/ r9 }" A9 q2 V h R6 [+ q
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
2 o5 K8 V& o, v) L! ]- f: Zunderstood the pain.1 Y8 ^/ j6 n9 |0 P- f# a
"I know what those families go through," he said.. f* u. r I; B6 M* m# B
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
" @9 E" s& Z: |" [fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.9 ]+ h$ C6 k" }: g3 x
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman0 `; T! I& ?% ^
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
- M2 |' \% T8 g& t1 qin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,3 i& X( ]) f/ z) l) ~
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
/ E B3 r: I4 { u. g! \Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
: B W7 B5 r( o9 M) t* t"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
& {1 X0 N& l: V9 Y v1 ~* N. FToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
6 ], h, e9 _/ G5 e$ C" Upedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its3 Y, T0 Q: g1 U3 }( s
vehicles already on the road.
J$ f; n9 f# T, s/ YMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify! _- |0 E& ^. z0 I
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
/ q* I/ b& d3 x2 ?6 \# }9 v( R! bresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and) W3 u( m$ e; W9 N# t& a. i T
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were4 G5 C, F' D2 p# M
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.* y: V1 x8 c/ ^' V
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
/ [: U7 z6 \) U' q, l! V* f) ^4 Atragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony: [. D. _9 ]9 o9 C' \$ t
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight/ s2 t, j- Q; ?# H) F. E" S# ]' }: T
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
0 g- y8 o2 c( \: Gcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
# L @: V( m* |2 q1 X" D c! x' Srestore the trust of our customers."
& Y3 f b1 `9 U" r4 pLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from! x- z. R, H5 f0 a3 Q+ p
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly- ^' S% }* `4 b# t6 B
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --0 Q' u2 w6 `( Q2 m, p; j. v' t
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and' V7 C r8 ]6 X9 v% U6 L b
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough$ v0 [3 O6 B, A3 O+ y
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and5 h5 ~2 X9 g0 I. S, L) W
turn off the engine.8 a1 z f" S# K) G4 I- @, ]2 @ x m
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of8 |; r" t1 {) y/ [7 r0 i0 A5 Z" G
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."$ b; ` @9 k2 X7 w1 |
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she$ L. k" m; B# s; `
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
' Q ?0 r9 @* F' D9 Hto her complaints.- p4 f6 R. O4 \$ j8 P( b7 b
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
/ u2 |* x- a6 `' E! |4 dreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
/ R K: B' H- _4 u' ]9 x3 ]) X6 emalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
" p. o3 R) `, ]- B, {"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric: |4 W1 G3 V1 p q+ C
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
F) [' t* q. W% c2 b4 P# s"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
- s& R# k6 j& \" q4 @, Eoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
! F9 ^9 S/ i, q1 t @. M0 FTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in- I2 H8 Z Z) h( O% }8 X- V. I B
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
) J6 |! c0 I7 ~4 |0 mbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls% E. E1 I% x" o2 q
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer2 Y, U0 o0 _5 P8 i: M2 E$ \# z
every question."
2 y! `, q7 ^& S; ?4 T7 {/ u9 R1 x4 wToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether5 _, p1 R3 k$ N( ^
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
- ^) Y- R" d; P1 [/ a* e6 a+ Y4 ^( ifirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
+ {/ K, d% T1 [% Z7 i1 r+ A. ucommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
4 q m, ~+ ~+ @# ynumber of vehicles* N/ |( {3 Z; X O2 J2 m* C
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
" e! @, q4 ~$ _4 n: X4 ~difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a- w1 P# L" k2 o- x4 {
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
4 P1 _2 U1 Z9 c4 i1 w9 Rsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.2 e# ^( _# e; g8 B
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
; b1 P4 A' t( `! Z6 Q, }3 Vwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no/ a. `7 i) `8 d4 V
trace at all.
7 r+ x( p2 X, a& f9 iHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call M4 S5 x5 y+ o: C5 j& c' ^
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
. P* Y* X. e8 y& G1 Vacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
* z# c! G' j) |) Frecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.* ] v. o2 @( J# o |$ w7 J5 l' E
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
- I( o/ ~) ?. y6 j3 B5 msaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
7 b) n* X3 a, e; K6 a' m" Bother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the' g4 Q _( h% s1 {$ _6 Q& ]
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
7 k p; c7 F( h+ p/ n: U2 x: Acause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only8 y, M* f' f' C# n, Y4 e% a
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
+ C6 }* w3 F2 k8 e1 A+ H1 Aby Toyota's lawyers."" ?* J$ J, L* R2 v8 T
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
+ _ ~% L. z7 d6 H/ wproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our+ `8 `4 v) q' D" P9 N
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he( t& @3 G9 C+ { d) F9 C
said.
) ?7 l+ z7 l, m. W3 X5 Q"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
! X0 D/ ]! M7 ]( j6 f qa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our7 f+ J# c" W# q, E7 Z+ b$ G c4 F( E
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating. S3 E9 F6 r$ N$ C4 R; ?
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
; z% A3 c9 w' X* n. [& E1 XSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying4 e+ T2 d$ g5 t% g
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
$ e4 b/ i P4 C" j# u, Francor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
/ e7 [' r" m) V: Tautomaker, at least in part because of the government's& i! V) r+ j0 B, |' F, A7 w
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and' H+ C/ t; K% f3 y+ z! X
Chrysler.
: n& c' j9 e; I" D, x; p' B"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax Q/ v2 J8 ~$ n0 O, ~* l
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
" x' e/ p* a. V$ e; i# }Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also4 ^0 f) s) r6 ], x5 i2 x- w4 z
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete- u# ^/ T1 ]3 L' K* r
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty. o$ G0 ~9 g& O2 [' d! l( j* x
tough."
* ^2 a# D- @8 W! A: \3 K6 `---& F; P1 |4 M9 i( W- Z
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom0 u" k! ~! G% i1 L5 T
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to, w8 @: x2 M. ]7 w
this story.- Q! o) V0 f8 `- T6 B) c1 ?
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