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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题/ A2 |0 Q8 U: j2 L; m* Z! D
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS0 p6 b0 V3 [9 T+ j
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
- N; u4 Y- L% Moperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
- Z1 t+ |# B6 e( w! P' ethe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
0 F# B& s/ h1 Y8 U" s. zsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
/ f. b4 c8 C% b2 y* s"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
3 H4 d1 _ ^' Y& [causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.. X2 I( [6 f( k4 S: s
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
+ k' ] Q3 A) _1 t: pacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and' [6 q! ?2 m; h1 b- ]
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
6 Q- B W* y1 ?# w/ q1 T- p) kmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
( e$ n: p6 V9 l* @. tHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal; f4 N0 l: ?2 k8 Y- O2 |. F, M4 V) _
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
! [- I! u* U0 b3 P6 ]3 w Ucriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
! ], P# M) B' Z4 G+ W2 q, p& u* Afurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could- }* x5 r3 E- T
not stop her runaway Lexus.
2 ~, w' n* |; }( Q! T3 w: \. o"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
k5 h& t' _0 X' ]( gTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
8 T: P, j0 @7 F. d"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
: O7 G- Z7 d R) `3 Q) L- m% I% o1 ?Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues, x, `) S0 g& y
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
9 x; U" t4 H% w% B4 K$ f5 [. o"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
U! v: S) C5 }0 D% gdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
" V1 ~0 E: V( Lthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's/ J3 @, a% i% t: {6 L
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."! q- s( n% ]# D! P, x" J [
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an; n8 W8 L: U/ S6 j: F
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of4 R# [) }6 e" ^! ?6 e# ]
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
- v& j( P* D4 b6 _! ], Smalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
6 `. T* n2 q. s0 i4 V2 m% ]1 vsaid.
8 W; g% Q/ P8 q! y7 k: N* L2 {As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
$ J7 [8 D. T1 }9 C* _" r, ehappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe9 w6 x! ~) E, b( Q X
about driving our products," Lentz said., y' t2 n2 b! @+ L) _
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
1 U% K0 k7 Z4 R- _; X& xproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has, h3 N2 O* r, t. _$ H. w# d; H3 y5 G
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
G* o7 F" x0 U# U3 B/ |9 m- ^million in the United States -- since last fall because of$ Z7 ?. v5 y$ M+ C
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
) i* D+ p4 E" c! r$ ^6 Aissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering- j7 W7 K. X H
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of1 F( j6 q- s$ Z! k1 ^ }3 I
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
% T0 z) N8 I: {! K9 w) p- ~7 Ndown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has0 N8 e, r3 i5 _8 o$ Y
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
$ u6 F6 {$ ^* C; p/ N/ G2 Wof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
5 K- p5 z1 l7 ?4 K. F( A+ ^Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
+ b+ R8 o4 U. Z# d# X! Y& b$ v8 tbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
6 p) ?5 l, y9 K+ S# P2 u* qunderstood the pain.
; q A: _, M! m) A2 |1 K& a0 ?"I know what those families go through," he said.
6 {8 b3 S5 J9 ~4 g. ~! M5 S9 `' SLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's7 e7 t4 q4 j' _- q* |. J% U
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
0 c* S" N9 K- D- D3 F, y" [' B# oBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman' {9 _. x0 N6 \) G- }8 K+ r" [
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put5 }/ i/ W6 f5 u# F: b0 Y5 j
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it," _; S- M5 m1 K8 F
Lentz replied: "Not totally."2 k, g; g: a, G; {2 i6 T( V5 \) j
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
0 z. u: S' t& y: Z* B"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
. n, r% e3 W9 B! eToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas3 |1 i7 h. C9 \; x$ j! C& v
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
3 o/ n: B- D, M. W+ }vehicles already on the road. v( I/ z; `9 g0 h# \( F8 [9 A
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify q0 M2 U, D5 Y. p4 ?! @, S
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
4 ~) t- l: M. c1 t9 m; ^responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
3 W6 y. v8 \! B+ z, C& N zoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
o3 b. f* V2 `% Wkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
$ Y4 e8 T" s5 H% }2 r"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
, g: l: x5 U6 M+ etragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony# E3 r% @; F9 [- g. `: q. J3 |
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight; B" a$ P/ S, ^
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
9 L& Z+ [' z" @2 b3 p& S- X) W) tcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
4 ~, Z) D0 d V4 b0 f2 {% O$ Drestore the trust of our customers."$ @) [4 `% E9 d. ^# _
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from( g1 ~5 |/ b9 r9 r' Y' H6 U' e# o" U5 p
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly+ F; L" Z9 x2 d
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
7 f5 E) G, n4 [2 J1 ishifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and# t$ R" Q1 Z. Q
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
. `! T7 d) ~: J* a0 x: K( ethat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
; p K8 X& ` v8 e4 oturn off the engine.
6 J7 ]3 L }6 {# O) Q4 p3 p2 qFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of! Z" U5 @+ h% Z9 J3 w
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
$ e6 D5 C* |- r- ^+ L$ G8 K"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
. g4 C; l1 n6 v3 Z+ ^said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond7 d" S2 X! F1 C8 X* J, B
to her complaints./ f4 {2 Z* C& y9 M
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers( Y7 D0 Z3 o! @
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic$ e8 I V2 }* ?3 K4 E
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
5 A5 g3 t6 \# N4 ?"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric# `9 B9 d3 F3 V; ~
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
) g9 [8 ~0 h- \1 h; y6 t, b8 }5 G"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut8 t/ {/ p+ t& i6 i! L
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."7 f! T( I" ~9 f6 V+ S: t9 v( {6 r: v% {
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in0 G7 q4 R. j* c. v8 | K |( E2 e
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were, E3 v1 j9 X: x9 b5 ?% R; t T: L
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls4 O! Y" c) B) n n8 I5 H2 o% E a% r
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer) P) k5 s6 e% m% J
every question."6 W8 z; f. G+ ]. W; Z! c% g
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
5 x) B9 Q. o' A& N0 zelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The2 l- x; N j# j) c! `
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But. T2 }# X3 ?' L) o' `* F4 B% O4 [
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
. o$ Q/ C# k/ S6 a) P! C4 J0 M7 Nnumber of vehicles4 P. `5 ]$ R* \7 v, n s
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more5 e: r) w% \6 z U
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a. m. r- B, G9 r
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one+ h2 X$ K* c3 I/ L
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.( E, `( x- b# `- _! h9 |
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,$ A( d9 ]( Y% a6 A
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no& m+ |1 k: \! ^/ S F0 y: I( ~
trace at all.
" t$ o! Y) m7 W# jHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call5 p# |1 t8 G/ V- d+ N. V1 o
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden" G. ~" h0 q3 W* s/ T$ ^3 W
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the, e) ]6 I5 R! t6 p8 c6 ?8 ^
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
- H1 [/ x: u7 [9 X1 p0 p' ARep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
5 ?3 ^ X1 h4 S2 Z/ a3 ?said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
: r1 L7 k" z d- |% ^* Rother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the0 }3 _5 |% `4 Y
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
# O1 a$ v- Z6 s |cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
. w- h4 D1 \2 H+ R6 Asuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
2 T1 ^6 I. i0 G5 K- C. fby Toyota's lawyers."4 A$ P9 R* v* ~6 e& | P
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of+ D( J4 x5 F, t$ E C6 g9 a6 W
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our& f6 `9 c! f/ m+ a- l+ |0 ]$ i
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he k$ O8 j2 K8 O$ g+ Z
said.# V; [$ S/ b- n+ M
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with4 e9 `1 }, M! k8 v# S" T
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
" ]( ?2 Z( z- q: O+ V7 Ygood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
: Q1 x4 b- Z r+ g7 \officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
" z, W- O$ a; _0 J5 _7 FSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying# G0 h/ w) t) X& ?* w1 P( ~
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
: S0 a; @9 ^5 lrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
$ h$ M4 z' V6 Q; y& |automaker, at least in part because of the government's! d1 `/ g. r# L
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and8 i1 w2 n& F7 F) g; }* c1 q% f
Chrysler.
" I/ \( l, Y" C9 R2 e"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax1 o% y i: r, F9 i$ y8 I
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a3 J2 Z/ Q; G8 q, m0 G$ G; E
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also% B7 j c' k' X U4 Z" [# |; n
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
6 b/ g5 _& e# G1 t$ p( awith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty Y5 b, u' t. n1 u5 g3 q! t
tough."
' k' I8 R8 w5 Z9 L/ @9 h---7 h- e; Q" C4 V( f. g
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom* F" f& S C$ J/ N
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to: I, H% c% r* W5 G2 k( s
this story.& }% C8 Z M! o) |! V6 k
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