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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题$ x; B, c1 v- L( j
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
. E3 l4 d( [; A! H7 `Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
0 X6 a( ~) K2 ^1 Y* joperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that$ r) s* X: S/ k8 K' i7 v2 Y
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"& J9 k l/ l. x. i+ b4 l
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
- i P$ a/ H( x: C2 A( \! Y"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
( M* m* S5 ~& w g; q' [! [# Pcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.0 s2 k% {1 o$ D0 ?4 S# f
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
+ e S( Y5 S2 u: d6 Y) Z8 a6 Nacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and! N3 Z, B) N% q& Y& X5 j
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
' V0 i! y o: Z; ^* Pmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
0 p* h. W* B$ {* THe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal& W1 H6 H* \! J$ r+ V* P4 T
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp3 E, P. `& `, B
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be0 I( N, R; I# M+ k* m6 |& e4 R
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could8 c1 ?- w4 y: I* [! ?: A/ p b
not stop her runaway Lexus.
% y! @. r) k7 X$ {( {- [( R4 i/ l) G"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,( I1 E9 ~* ~0 B6 t5 |- l* d8 S
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second Z7 z' K- a3 m0 c
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.' @# I, Y! F3 B6 A5 w
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues/ W0 v" f7 s- c# ?- {
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
) u$ N- v0 G2 P! j"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has, W# L/ }6 x0 W6 \
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway6 X; ~4 X. ?: O% Q
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's3 W7 ? j E2 o: P1 _
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
* t1 Q$ K4 Q8 i! O. s4 M, XLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
3 ]$ s5 t, O3 q& y; Z' k, Velectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
4 M0 W. l2 \* T4 ithe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a0 _6 h9 t9 p) R4 P2 w! K$ P Z
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he {3 C8 j) q- G+ _* r
said.
0 s, S" A, P7 A- u9 tAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
# }& c- @0 y0 \. u* n+ @happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe7 o. D$ ]( W+ C o( B
about driving our products," Lentz said. b* R- I4 A5 Z: \' m# S
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's+ p4 t$ N% f- j
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
% u) t9 t8 j% K: Y" O7 u/ \, ^recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 67 ~2 `. P5 W( X7 L9 k' k
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
! a4 A; q9 I# O, o* bunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking+ g- B X$ ?& g& w, B5 k J
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
. q" _; L+ d2 p3 X, lconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
2 I; o2 g2 Z% i1 Z7 X% F0 Ytheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
% ^" |9 ?" `8 gdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has; }2 c1 |1 U' p& t" a$ B
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
2 y8 w. W% C! K' f4 Sof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
% @0 Z4 C" T% t, }( | yLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own4 f5 p, C6 h; v: i3 v5 P4 P0 y
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
) b6 _: X7 H" R6 ~' V0 `3 Hunderstood the pain.3 ]; K$ R7 ^' g7 L* ~3 L ^
"I know what those families go through," he said.: f' c: ?* I% H: O8 c) Z, E
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's# I; ` [. {' V) V+ b: r1 d
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.6 j- ?2 {8 i5 l7 L# l2 C+ y5 I
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman) q7 s' n% m& k1 n9 T
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put! Q& u" J0 u j }& G
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,, N5 y! R8 \- G) U& g4 i2 K- ^
Lentz replied: "Not totally."$ v! E! Q* L# l+ X: n: c. F! K: w
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were4 Z' X+ r, c& W
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
% \2 B# p+ n5 }( }& JToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
/ x, @# e- u* r5 g. xpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its6 ]% E7 X& N! _+ I
vehicles already on the road.
2 J& t9 N: o! ?Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
K, W- n. T% F& Kbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full" c! s3 d! e9 r/ w- k( o
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and: f) x# E6 R# `5 e$ s
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
: r! m$ W0 N/ {- @2 a( V+ tkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
; }& U. E' F# A* Y5 c0 {6 d"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
' Q" {9 N5 c! B$ L! M/ Itragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony# |+ [, x8 R6 L0 K' Y( M% M
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
6 s+ D/ u7 P* T7 k" b* @Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
% a! W! c: M' r B6 \commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
5 ?+ V, W9 U+ k1 h rrestore the trust of our customers."
3 o: N+ a% _7 }/ l1 w: |Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from, r: e" g( Q( e) y' v c
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
- \7 A& Z$ I4 V0 L) o9 `zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --* C* U( i+ \# D o2 j' f1 O( M9 D
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
a; h. Y& S2 T$ P9 t: C4 phitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough' x6 l4 n+ C8 X0 K
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
! i8 v$ q# M) Y8 D4 iturn off the engine.9 B1 C3 [* v& N% Z
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
% u; u1 [6 ]0 `( Y- x6 pOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience.": ^& P* p! T1 ]: Q* q
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
8 P$ y; u( z" ?" e f/ _: @& lsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond' Q" p! X9 T1 E1 _# Z% i
to her complaints.
/ }; r+ _6 A J: H4 [In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers, O( h- Q2 V: W/ N' w
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
% l$ h g4 y5 A6 M/ c/ e' |1 I- L7 nmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.4 X1 C6 ^2 V) W
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
, ]( \" y0 k# h; Mthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited) Q/ y+ H# @: m% A! _8 z
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
7 J- f( W* e6 N! H! X- d% ~$ ^, }off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."5 O2 q( H5 B0 x
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in0 f& j% x& I) s v
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
1 G" y' U" y/ @$ T# t" b- t/ Ybeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
8 _1 o% g! \, ~, ewere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
3 d7 _# m5 T7 p/ e$ R! T6 xevery question."& [- t2 H& }2 ~' t$ L" P
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether) {$ y# C. |; r
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The5 I" l: C- \; T4 ?
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
- Z& n2 _/ y9 B9 P rcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small, Z/ q# r8 i! A. n
number of vehicles5 E2 F; i: r4 P/ O3 w3 W: Q
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more2 G0 p: |; {1 J: A3 g6 Q6 d
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
7 `! [: B' y) z% j% B* Pmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one5 a; Y- P- y/ t( a, j% ~$ T7 i, l
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.# g2 r, \: ~( A0 G
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,# H- B5 ]+ \, y
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no8 W. y5 T+ W7 q* ?' ]
trace at all.
6 R- I+ l6 ~+ O( m/ ^House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call, |; p" ]% e" }+ w5 P
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden4 R1 O: H1 h) O7 w% O7 `% `
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
/ C; y% ~. x1 F0 R( a* [0 Irecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
, [1 R+ @' I& n) I" |Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,$ D A+ O0 _; |+ ~% _
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and" R2 y Y( ] |) }0 o5 S
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
- @/ d9 X7 S9 Y* d- \" _electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible! g3 f6 B. [- W0 i0 ^+ k- c: k( j/ A7 h
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
/ ^: g; I5 c% q- t9 msuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
1 w6 p/ z. D' e1 Z2 Z% V) aby Toyota's lawyers."% O; j' W- O7 z
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of2 e" ^9 ? s8 z% ?
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our( k$ I2 I' m! C' ~2 v
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he# D) f! W! \8 [$ h0 \1 X, T
said.. c- ?7 C/ n# p4 z0 o+ x
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with7 [& I6 n: a$ y2 `$ u
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
& G9 J) c" k% `2 B% R2 Fgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating# D+ n! t" r$ Y/ y3 q
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.6 c: R( N! V( k0 |' } M+ T
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying( ~ u3 F- D/ P* P) a( v
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
7 [1 }9 b3 l2 e+ c8 K8 Yrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
) N9 t5 P! q/ z h: Oautomaker, at least in part because of the government's) b4 `/ M2 Q% R. Q
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
) [ h% B6 B9 H* UChrysler.% e9 u5 m/ s; P, S6 @8 L8 c
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
( s$ S2 M. G M& f7 E5 j2 H5 i2 jdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a& [: x2 z& q5 O5 a. u% I" E
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
1 b9 y3 L7 s3 ^- O# x( jserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete5 G. ^# O; j( Q
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
! U: ]" N0 e: x0 G9 ~1 l' r* gtough."
" k* J5 x4 n! O---
" b4 F n, l d& aAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
! a: j3 A1 M4 U$ z8 Z CRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to2 V! k. ]9 W( M% Q4 C. Z. j" \
this story.
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