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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题! M" u! a3 C P
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
/ ~8 c$ X8 r) ~& y! i8 D0 XWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
2 m2 g6 m* a! _- aoperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
5 W2 I, d3 b% r4 a1 Q4 Z; ]2 Nthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"( u% N9 j! ~. q2 ~3 X( S* ^, N; u! ^
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.7 N+ N* @9 K, J( e7 H2 Z6 n
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
4 y& l6 N' w+ g4 ?! U' z. A0 Bcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.( f! o; Y1 I# }2 l; Q
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected# h) M& Y! w' t. P4 g2 b
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and- z6 E( @6 f7 `& R4 T8 A2 }2 e2 w
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
) j* N' O; Z9 @4 Qmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
+ ]7 o" L& d' g( _( H% y2 [, I" N3 q" UHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal' M- y( k. [' l0 d |
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
) c% E9 V! z0 x9 Acriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
' \" B2 [" y# M0 I7 @) {# U" kfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could8 d: |# o& ^# {% `
not stop her runaway Lexus.5 R: U! n( F' U# q0 S2 P) x) N1 i
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
. Q# o7 D3 ~8 b* yTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second& W" b+ r- J! @/ m: }0 y
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
9 H$ v( W& x" Q. S, UTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
/ I" z0 T/ K t) hearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said* d( A* ]+ z4 Z- Q/ b. H) `
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has S; K. W5 t, l s$ C& {
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway8 T5 i4 d- l" U' n
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's" }6 `6 C& o, Z4 l( `8 ]
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."3 R% Z; }# V# y U i8 x V2 e/ u
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
6 o6 ?6 g2 S$ Welectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
5 p. Y- d2 d" m" w- ythe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a8 Q$ [, c6 S1 C0 r9 E5 G5 A$ a
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he/ c. u" K% n1 E
said.( b% ]$ ~7 t# y# f
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
( m% U* g! r* J6 b5 ]happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
: C2 p* n; ^4 y. f! \about driving our products," Lentz said.* Z0 @' x/ R/ @5 w( l+ X; j
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
1 f; c% q% R% K: Q$ y/ B# Bproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has- m# P) C. R0 l) b0 l# L# ]( H
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 66 y- V& A* U+ O, ]" o
million in the United States -- since last fall because of# t7 ?! y% S. P7 D# k0 ^/ R
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking+ O: R; ^4 @* v) s5 i. J, X
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
. l( n% G9 M- D- o+ ^, h8 P, E$ f! X) Jconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of% o. a/ R- r. ]1 Z0 U! p) M3 _
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow) T5 E2 N; g! g2 S6 R1 v
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
' j; P7 b3 o/ @received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
$ `& ]" |0 t' E% xof Toyota vehicles since 2000.; f1 r; p( n7 s) J) `1 B& O& ?
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
0 u4 B6 s# ~& o1 l6 |brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he. F0 B i( k" l3 M6 y
understood the pain.2 {( Q/ E* h/ [8 [) V
"I know what those families go through," he said. G }! d+ `( B# H! j+ a0 @, [7 ^
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
+ Y( @' |* {0 O( b7 [fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.# \0 P$ F+ b) N; z5 |
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
4 n: n& A$ U! n: uHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
, W$ z z9 ^8 S2 r( M0 l8 p9 kin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
; N" Y) R3 v( dLentz replied: "Not totally."
4 Z# E3 p* P1 a5 |0 B! Q9 ]% yStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
! \; s3 }* M( c* P! d4 e. g: a: y"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
+ X R* V. W7 D% U/ K- J" @Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
* r8 H, l9 g( qpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
+ D7 E2 h/ U; x5 Lvehicles already on the road.
- t/ b- `7 [, n# W5 E' aMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify1 _5 i8 u- u1 O0 f& m# I5 S
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
2 L2 [' k* n& l. R' z8 ~: F/ {responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and( K/ `/ v: G- X
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were" J9 A" k& `7 R
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.+ } |3 i0 }0 J% G( n$ `
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a: |3 i) }1 q4 s- X( |0 L
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony; }* ~- K( K+ c! n f e
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
, s# h6 ^5 j" X; ACommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
7 E9 n) n) j/ F* j, y' _commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
# [* h$ b5 @( ~ S: O) ]( {7 ]+ xrestore the trust of our customers."
3 K- A! b* I9 V, A# g6 d+ P! a; qLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from7 E$ N, k+ y9 X' g I
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly% x0 V7 e3 a/ O1 z
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
; z9 O9 _/ k7 F% v. lshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and3 B$ a: N3 }0 F1 [% e3 X; l, |
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough( M _, g- _" @2 X; b- s+ b' O
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and9 L; R3 m+ p+ e' [1 z
turn off the engine.
0 u1 e" y' G+ E% \4 S* AFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of# U; P6 {& }, R# Z5 R
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
% a8 {) L! H# A"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
2 ~+ t6 K; o u4 I9 G( H qsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
4 O0 | J) y/ Y+ x5 P* M. O/ x4 qto her complaints.
& C4 u- T; Z5 Q" UIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers( @' X% p9 e% W+ u
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
& q5 H- i/ t8 D% J7 V tmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.6 g, u, B7 Q9 i% O
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric: V& e3 V" d- y( ^1 O/ h1 `( j
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited; `6 m& D9 j5 |
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
( _3 d) ]4 g' \" |8 Toff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
7 _% ] }3 v U) ITransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
5 V; E# j5 i7 A+ ?$ r0 O; T1 J/ yprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were, ?7 U% M2 V- M
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls5 l& N/ J+ e+ y! ]# g
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer9 c, H: r: u/ b( T4 m2 k" C
every question."% x z+ b1 S% {7 L% c/ @; P
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether# d$ e0 k X/ t) h( Y8 T
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
$ X3 F3 B. H# \; r# r) W+ ffirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But3 a% a/ L% d6 j) D
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
; Q; K! u9 X3 q* ^5 U' `number of vehicles! B2 V# s! c# |0 o0 {/ f
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
) B6 x' Y6 |+ E: Jdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a* I6 b7 G" d$ b
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one* [% |) A3 d+ E8 F6 b/ }* O' l
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.: s- U) A5 I% `0 L& X
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
; Q5 j' S# n3 x- M8 V' |where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
5 J( V, A6 x& b: ?% X- U; Dtrace at all.) H, [6 N! E3 `/ ^
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
0 B w% X( d+ K* t) sdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden B7 k: A5 {! `6 l# Y+ A( t0 a
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
4 _' u/ o( K3 B$ u# |& n! O( Krecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.. T; w7 P( V- ~, u( R: _! z: S! e
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,8 ?' u7 {3 l" x$ f# K2 {7 D
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and- M: u8 E& b- ?, N7 ^& }9 B
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
; r6 S. [% y% `) Helectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible3 g! A5 \3 n3 \& \+ S' O* l
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only, W6 u5 ]; i R% J N/ B4 f
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
- C5 X0 d$ R/ H* Y7 M* c0 G% d0 H6 X& J7 aby Toyota's lawyers."
% Z; I( B2 M, O0 KLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of7 T" @ U* f1 n$ m/ p7 h& A
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our, E d9 H, S$ q1 U4 y( [
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he9 C' T) M9 I4 }+ o2 @
said.
7 P* l6 N9 n/ E5 c, M"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
* c4 C: t0 w% W/ L* Ka rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our0 Y# P" w% ?# _7 @ |# \
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating7 l& C& u1 q: |+ I
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
3 J) o/ p- @) r& L2 ~! ASeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying+ q1 ^% O+ e6 e" p7 W4 d
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
5 B9 J. q0 }" {: k. C) q0 x5 hrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the5 m( |9 a/ L0 q: q
automaker, at least in part because of the government's- k& G" v) j, y% I5 t
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and* h. m& a& ^) _' j: Y9 A
Chrysler.
: W' g. n; ~& M"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax) Q( L( \& Z5 T$ h! g/ `
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
3 F7 E3 j. k, F6 THouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also/ [' S6 t$ i( U& _+ ^' q& a/ j
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete4 F: O$ {: h3 I
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty/ ^9 K/ P4 e& A5 S @$ V( Y% ]: K
tough.". e# R! I/ N. \
---" D% E3 q/ p, I% |' `
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
- i+ B' I+ Q8 Q% Z3 |Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to" K3 B) K- m: c3 v3 p. K
this story.
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