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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
, t: J2 z* D# Y4 v" vBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS. X v1 v: o9 H: r" X Q+ N& }
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.& v0 e% A" z* t o& z
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
( v" J4 ]1 e$ d/ I, k- othe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
6 V% L+ a4 m4 M+ N t8 ?solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.2 C# T. X0 W5 y& o! i( L. y/ r, P5 L
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential9 N I* T8 t2 C
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
6 A ]5 v# Y2 _3 u& Z1 zHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
9 \- D" }2 y1 U0 D. K/ macceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and% z# @+ V& ^( C+ Z3 O5 \) V
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
' {$ y0 \6 f3 Pmats and sticking accelerator pedals.# f" }$ }( m5 I3 U, {/ D) g' }
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal# c- f2 s/ |; T s
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp# D C/ u( b, Q
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be; d* r: b! U% I6 q6 ~
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could1 R6 g! `7 m2 B8 I$ u# s. s% C' g+ _
not stop her runaway Lexus.
2 q4 o+ g" Y/ E) F" }"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville," b- U5 k* t) \9 h) v
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
) c( g) ]. z+ R3 G+ W3 B"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.: N. g* H! `9 u
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
1 O/ Z- l0 ^6 h) J; a/ |. i( [$ cearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
+ O! C+ s8 h% E! @# Z3 S& l- X"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
1 X: `- V5 M/ g! r3 [done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway( o K) a+ `1 _9 `' g! e
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's( Q5 g4 l' d6 X1 x+ H; `# o
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
`: E6 F1 s# R9 ALentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
$ y2 ]' S# H3 X2 xelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
l, f; T* a# M3 e" t4 f1 j( H9 vthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
8 F. l! I" ]+ _5 d* S" U Wmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he S% a8 D5 ^9 t& G* H
said.4 O& ~/ h9 r, @3 `, m! c- s, Q% z
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what# z/ y, Q# T9 x+ Y$ _
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe$ A; X5 V0 A* Z! ]- v' ~
about driving our products," Lentz said.
8 \& q3 L* g4 O3 v' M; V! S/ ZThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
5 B# Z9 a) l/ L- _$ x K' H; E+ Qproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has/ ^, s, k3 m7 O5 V. s v0 a
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
9 b! @- N1 X$ k& B. b! d6 }million in the United States -- since last fall because of
6 ?/ ?0 @" W! D; o% ]unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking# E+ j5 p( T3 W- F( O
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering+ U+ {0 f, ^6 l; L6 l8 z- V
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of7 K, p" I$ g. B5 G& O8 b& h; `
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
3 G' p9 T" s4 K0 vdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
3 ^! i( F. t2 ~received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
% e( |' b6 O) `3 u% `/ ~( g7 U" Kof Toyota vehicles since 2000.6 N7 F+ X. F$ V8 j
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own9 S4 p2 @+ c' I& |6 g2 ~
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he- Q7 A# E3 u- w8 f4 l
understood the pain.
- p$ U; [) T* O- r% @ O% {% J: a4 k"I know what those families go through," he said.
* |! q, o: z! G0 N# hLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's% V+ P$ c! W# _) o/ u
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.& g$ {5 [/ u& \8 W' v" w
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman+ y4 O# o( Y- f3 B
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
$ t+ U5 q6 T( {- Win place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
6 d9 X$ g& |/ I) uLentz replied: "Not totally."
; k4 f4 x' V' ]% {Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were4 b- R Y* d7 X# M: s6 Q# ?
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said: {; I5 ^1 W% m/ Y7 n* L
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas$ @; \0 n- n- k1 }8 R
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
$ K* C8 R/ J- b# `% `7 K% mvehicles already on the road.
1 G+ N3 W0 N/ L" CMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
! x* ^" r, c5 O1 l9 Q- ^6 Bbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
f3 O- T8 o( K5 h. j" w: Jresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and, H/ D+ d- C. E) |* K, x
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were8 T. q/ [" i$ W) D7 N
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
& a: ]1 y* C0 c' T1 l"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
6 j! W, I" o- q" l) xtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
2 S" P# }9 N, E( P, E* X4 m2 pfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight: W2 W5 R6 D: @6 k/ O9 L% P
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal6 a: |- |& L" V2 p3 p
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
2 `5 G7 B7 I8 g7 B$ f; |( y: x$ arestore the trust of our customers."
6 A5 ?+ O: C/ A" j7 O0 O7 k& rLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
' V2 R1 b0 _! |Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
! S" N' d6 d4 }% `zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
* O' ?9 U) w9 M# x8 Z/ Kshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
8 |, e1 Q: ?8 f8 e. ~hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
; j7 M7 v; G( U1 Cthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and; {$ k" L& i9 t' O8 H
turn off the engine.! [* [; A5 [) q+ v0 R% q- q
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
8 h* J. M( F9 n) oOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."' H) M& Q* ^( L$ J& [! ^& c
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she* l. q6 g+ O6 v% O, g4 Y
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
0 P. E& z. G: V; E5 Mto her complaints.
/ m/ H8 s/ t8 F9 D' NIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers* Z2 A8 I, W4 f3 q
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic8 d& @5 X8 E! \9 |* y; L8 W0 `
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
8 I) q! k# k$ {' l3 h"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric9 C% b$ ^ r$ v( D( I
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
: S" O$ x2 f1 s9 i q"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
+ k3 W- [" T) _( _, X9 d4 v, |) voff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
( H& ~6 `! r& c' d- O. |- ]' lTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in# G4 g: p8 ] l2 \5 c: K- ~
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
% i2 V8 ~6 z k4 R& Xbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
. |4 J0 R6 n& _1 e" ~" Z: v" m3 Mwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer/ N/ u+ M5 q: k- H
every question."
# c# b/ q( R9 [0 k* B2 w: ?1 WToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
. Y% e, _! k% X3 Y. M( q3 m+ |. X" Gelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
$ Y) S, p+ T! M' c0 F! `firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But; u% S3 Z# y* N& K5 j' L
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
: S e( h1 r, Qnumber of vehicles
x; p6 U# `8 g$ S) `Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more+ C0 Z" B* |, V+ n; u( T/ v
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
* J* m7 ~8 o9 `mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one8 } ?* b" y8 H3 z0 R/ t
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.9 M' R ~; k4 \4 n) S& b
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,4 u' r; S: u# W+ a0 B' A1 I i
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no, P/ j+ C `$ h! C( K9 O" f
trace at all.
4 R6 S( i9 Q9 D/ N9 T1 A. @0 aHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
% c) S- M" W# M1 T2 f8 E3 z8 {database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden5 `( s p4 i' B- V0 J q e
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the6 K C! `6 {$ T9 F# \* g) n
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.. c$ \3 U, @3 {* G) w
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,0 M# F$ }5 [1 e( B: j
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and* b) j2 a0 g% b& J2 m) J) O
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
- [9 x l4 Z, G) J, Welectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible) O3 M) R( e3 b1 b5 m9 s; T; v2 Y
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only$ |7 h9 H( C+ W9 n8 y
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained1 W9 }' y$ ]6 o4 F2 U
by Toyota's lawyers."- J3 t) D9 K) {
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
. U. H H6 y p7 w* w4 ]problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
, z0 _0 _2 z+ Pcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
7 k3 e1 ~4 `# [/ ^1 O2 b3 w( Xsaid.
. t2 M: ]& j* _+ P. F. g"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
3 g, K( z) w2 }+ G" A' _4 J" C, y' ~1 va rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
- ?7 K, I9 f+ W1 s" m: u& U6 bgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating2 _# R$ { C. Z% g2 m
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
/ y: C# q9 N$ H3 l' {8 QSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying8 C& y- a; w( t! o/ v
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
+ a' K$ e) K( A& J8 Wrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the- B: V4 r8 ?8 T- x
automaker, at least in part because of the government's5 p; u j; Y1 H, O( P, A/ |( ?# b' ^
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and) Z7 J1 }( R9 S4 }9 ~
Chrysler.
; s, H) o5 { x, ?/ {"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
4 h. B/ I. O y9 E/ R: X- {dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a, q Z% u. Z) _! z3 l+ g* [$ ?
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
! l$ j K! Z( d2 A- Nserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete2 x% v. \8 w/ X+ s5 M
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
. n& e4 P7 j: G, C3 e+ N) g; Gtough."
7 k5 u9 \) [3 o! Q7 W/ X---4 E5 D. R, X, o0 [' O z
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
) H) d4 c, [/ y) R2 [3 vRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to' H2 }0 e; W3 [+ X9 j2 y2 |
this story.* X' I* @. g6 L) @8 X) D# ~( y0 N
% r+ F- x' m4 T+ ?5 R8 S; j-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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