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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题+ ~) J. H# e" G0 O# X+ m
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS8 z; h% ^9 V+ Y0 O7 P7 s- T/ B
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.& V8 ~$ v: D' T( Y, t
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that, h3 E6 i! ?* c) H; i
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"$ l8 p2 s$ M6 }& I9 }, v
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.4 J3 ?3 V0 O! U% I* O% I
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential5 y8 [$ n5 v% v# I4 e/ |
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
) r9 D& v5 o7 p& U1 FHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected& }! G9 M" k" B. W$ p' u; S
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and7 m0 a2 }3 f1 e! H
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
" D$ t' L6 U; @9 U2 D K- ?1 s! q+ Lmats and sticking accelerator pedals.4 ^2 ?* i6 ?1 j1 V1 t- W
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal$ a7 A) A& ^5 {8 r6 e
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp: {2 O% }/ }* s+ i' ]; }: r* _
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
* @9 C! e2 d/ N3 O8 I" `; _further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
' }8 O; [% w2 \) R6 T; w2 ynot stop her runaway Lexus.
8 [- i& c1 F) [& ~"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
, w. U+ m) g; ETenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
/ {7 g% Z4 g+ @. G7 G5 G- K6 a6 ^/ ~3 F8 h"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
& L5 o. ^! C' d+ f. N7 OTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues" @! @7 X" t8 K) p; S
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
8 h$ ?- C' i, h" Z a7 z- u( U"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has- Q: E- }8 {$ |, `1 f+ k8 D2 M
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway0 D5 O' R( K5 }" h' [
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's0 m9 [$ j* o% N, x) ^9 o6 ^* g
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."& \/ h" o( G/ R6 p+ \
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
. ?4 v) w6 r! q' W1 P4 d, `electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of. t+ S* ~9 U$ t7 ?4 V4 B, @8 q- f
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a4 x. y5 E( h6 h/ L( g- G( l
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
1 ?" H- N7 a; psaid.' o! T2 T0 B3 C- m$ q) _: \1 ?
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
) l1 ^+ _% x$ b$ L& ehappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe5 w7 q7 P% z+ b$ {! X% m [
about driving our products," Lentz said.6 _& Y! p; Z! ~& q6 ]% i
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's9 V# C6 i. ]+ F1 d9 T& O8 m8 q. x
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has4 F/ S) [3 B6 R' l3 l0 D* O! Z
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6) D0 v9 b K- S, I. i3 v
million in the United States -- since last fall because of9 ? P; |/ [3 V g0 ^
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking7 G5 ~7 ^9 A V
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
1 e: c% {- X8 _+ u+ E0 Kconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of8 h* y4 |* \" x* _6 C( k0 ?
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
- C# ]' [/ ?' l+ P$ Idown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has" k" M" A0 t; M
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration$ q& {* ~. [) B* O
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
' B6 [8 `/ |2 E; `& H1 ^+ GLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
% `6 j4 q9 H3 q: h( O. Dbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he; F9 @! H h `" S
understood the pain.
' e5 f7 @+ h) _. O" V"I know what those families go through," he said.
! X$ k- a( _, i) `" t- K1 iLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
B$ r- Q: K+ e0 b0 n$ `fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.4 }+ b5 Z4 \7 X D f6 V1 U! u* R
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman( O9 E# L6 ~, e9 F: I" ^7 o
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put& N1 W0 A+ t) R& r9 g, ]' g
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
& W' z/ u# W0 z6 W1 HLentz replied: "Not totally."
' {+ x$ a. {1 N rStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
9 M1 c6 T! A; D4 e0 K% ["very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
( a: T+ b: L* C4 k; MToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas: V* q4 j& q( x% ~" Q
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its5 Z7 ]' e7 j0 X! K! L
vehicles already on the road.$ L% b1 g0 w6 m
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
1 G7 C3 z) H) G& z- J7 |! Ibefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full: m7 J% R7 o/ H% w
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
) |; t) v+ m ]$ @- D' w3 ^offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were+ r" ]" p, a* @. L- p
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
# |* U. |2 y* K"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
- _' f$ T5 C2 g( D- y& Ntragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony) e/ F7 ^3 F: d4 D4 V/ H/ `) C( q
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight9 a' W0 @3 ]% W; h
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
: E, r8 z( b* f8 C1 L& I$ |commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
6 c. X; y$ r* i9 e0 d8 l! Mrestore the trust of our customers."7 x+ @& ?- R$ J0 j2 c
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
% w( I/ D: ]; s ~4 S) w2 F: L( ~; DSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly; s& V, t" |6 U2 d" I+ c
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
# n [: Z3 s; `shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and& n" ~5 T$ v$ G
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough( D9 _, P+ Q& L: x
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and2 }" B+ R O5 R" x5 V u+ d% Y
turn off the engine.
' @# C, D1 u# u, Z! |! W9 k$ AFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of7 K, h9 @) P/ N5 A
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
1 O9 b S; a9 V! |: e% V9 e"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she* V( }+ i, v& c7 D+ |% D: o/ [* r0 f
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond; r( G$ i7 b$ [ T( d
to her complaints.
9 A4 u9 f( }6 U, e8 |In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers5 ?$ r* ?$ r# @- ?( @9 `* L8 J- \
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
4 Q/ p+ `! y1 W0 E. |malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.) u1 X+ o$ V" t: R; B6 f
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric, f: O6 m \9 S X' o
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited1 k: F$ N7 |( d; j a# f L
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut5 J1 ~+ {) s* n! K* X' u
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."2 q7 F' q& }! Y2 P) _" @
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
! o" C) T% E. @7 j: Dprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were5 j0 C4 A/ n, _$ s' x1 N x
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
- X5 m* Q) J5 Uwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
! e# Q! N# F6 E2 u# _every question."
4 n! \& D5 w1 sToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether- f+ b% e" Q% P2 c" D) g8 g: E
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The- C D* h( ?% I* y( V3 N( [; e( Y" O+ e
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
' m5 q; i$ T, B. I) f- r P* {" icommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
5 ?, D4 b9 b% Inumber of vehicles
+ Q9 L% m! x/ g3 q9 J, K( HTracking down an electrical problem can be far more! n( |" i' k( ]! D5 q
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
8 f- ^# Q" E6 e6 \mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
9 T5 f% R+ c) a/ V+ X3 x8 W4 \source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
! N' w4 M; `! J& s/ jMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,6 j) E% b$ v# O0 C$ }' _1 w
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
8 `% ]( d1 N) w0 F6 Vtrace at all.: D C6 s: x' Y* k9 [. Z
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call2 G" D; e1 T! Q6 i+ ^# z
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
4 V4 _/ O; ^) q0 r5 c6 L( Cacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the* V$ q1 ~. Z$ p7 S# N, y2 R
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
6 {# X* }2 }( U9 V* eRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
7 O# T y# i Q6 Vsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
6 d1 n$ N- z& j2 g7 W3 kother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the! w V5 U- c+ |' ^+ R
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
4 }( \" `/ N5 t% g, Tcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
: A7 Q& M5 J) M" isuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained4 u5 ~! H! m+ D3 T
by Toyota's lawyers."
9 P6 @7 s/ u$ T2 P# D2 F) lLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of& _7 q0 i G) z" b' n4 J( _5 h
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our" j' L% I4 a0 p% V; D" Z/ O$ [
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
0 B" s) ^* L- L" |9 ]8 \! @said.
) h7 w* {5 H' [1 J+ f1 x"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
j3 V2 Z* {+ v6 @3 Q+ g: ka rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our. P# e- M6 S6 v5 a a
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating* D g G% |$ I8 Y+ @
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.- I" P9 G4 ?* D& r' I
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying) h7 \. w) F2 m$ N
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread ?; J. X, U0 T' {/ |. I
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the, G6 J& \' A+ R1 G& u
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
" m3 }+ }# \6 @9 E% }investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and# ~: K4 b% N6 q! |; |8 K6 R2 C% C% r, v# J
Chrysler.
( t+ `0 {2 a8 l/ o5 O"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
# b. ^; y, D* g7 K7 Rdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a3 c0 g. Y) z! K( q' f9 \+ B
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
1 E" Q! U0 {3 Y- pserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete+ X4 j$ Y& T% C0 V+ y
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty9 K0 {7 B2 r/ A2 G
tough."
" h2 l* Z' I6 L' c" z---
) p0 F5 F, r( J2 `; T* W9 TAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom2 f7 B/ B I' b% g* y" o2 B m
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
8 A$ |7 C4 _' nthis story.5 N3 B3 a& ^. P' \; q
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