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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题. |- m8 E5 H5 I: D$ n
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
8 a. r. S8 u0 m& X8 n# @" P3 w! xWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.* B& K2 [/ z& `3 `1 v! p( m9 s
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that) r/ L* N& d/ \0 U% T& n5 L
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"4 J: u) r, ]8 N |. Q/ y* y
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
; Y7 ]; H$ i1 x' H: k+ w! X8 s. P"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential- ^7 T8 U3 t: ~: [" q
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
! _/ x2 ?" w7 S6 J8 D5 ^* @However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
' z* K$ h9 D- ]- l4 G: u. |acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
. y% C" ?; i0 C/ } Rtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor* W2 A% y. X5 i6 U( C
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.% [# y) G% r, R+ \
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
3 Z/ i. _" M7 J6 a& A1 S; {and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
, `. d- x% g, X, C, w( A; {; Gcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
+ V: {/ {) S% t; i4 W. {/ Nfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could' S8 N8 y# n. l. g2 ^ n% C0 S. ]
not stop her runaway Lexus.* t2 G; v1 `! J3 O8 ?! W
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
) T9 R) Y% V7 T8 j% ATenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
! A+ L \. Q* X, f t( V"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.2 }* t* @5 g2 N
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues; O, b% S) p- B. V9 U
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
0 a& L! `, [# v6 B"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has; C, X/ I3 ~6 P2 g* C
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
% Z! A4 k, V$ Xthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
! L$ H0 z1 l6 [! z* {investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
' F8 e6 n0 l. T6 M* ?; V3 NLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
) A& e" ^ C/ J0 ^% G5 X' e6 h: velectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of9 x5 k# g- P1 f9 L! x4 T$ H
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
- s) B( Q6 B3 g! L' fmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
* X0 g$ M! B" Y0 n6 w; ssaid.
7 f: i, a2 B$ b: \As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what1 K1 w3 ~- ]( V2 m" w
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe( B B: y" P/ E- ]/ f3 ]* M
about driving our products," Lentz said.& S1 Q) A$ k; o: Q/ R
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
/ R% R+ {0 F% y$ D9 S3 @problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
Y9 B1 z z3 X' s7 Qrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6+ [5 ?2 s* ~" X& l7 z3 x0 d
million in the United States -- since last fall because of& ]7 o: j& n# n$ r6 `
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking. F& m, @$ l$ Y. L4 i7 c& p& j9 [
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering5 s3 r6 Q5 {2 @0 m, Z; K
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of( v& }+ E0 m" T( X" k9 \' O
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
' y& d0 m1 m4 x8 g* F" }5 Qdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has' E& F: g5 a4 Q' T9 y! y) J5 @
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
2 A; h/ i d3 K4 D; iof Toyota vehicles since 2000.) d3 G' X6 p8 ^( S6 v" k$ a) l k2 n5 Z
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
' i. d0 n! N. |. U* Qbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
- b( C: C5 z4 _' Cunderstood the pain.
4 Z. \) [8 _, m4 d* Z8 S. ]5 f"I know what those families go through," he said.4 ~& C* O1 |( Q v: o. O0 {) i
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's5 F& f- A% H |% O5 Y$ ]
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.. i& \* w$ X2 }5 Q$ H% y( S
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman6 t* d8 m, w' D
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put3 E9 K/ h4 F! y Z5 _! O' `! Z
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
( S( o; {. {. ?Lentz replied: "Not totally."
# n) Q3 W8 `+ V5 o5 Y2 W7 |Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
+ i+ l9 W1 Y& M"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said. ~; e5 P7 P( p; g
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
9 e7 d* u" E5 q6 ypedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
n. k9 @1 Z" V: {- d0 @3 Jvehicles already on the road.; l* s/ i: Q$ J, g. J
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify- `8 x9 ~4 v& V$ A* ^
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
) l4 a$ B1 Q# Z/ {responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and; O g" y e/ h* i
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were; `1 w& e0 @1 K8 H- c9 \& T
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.' Q' S4 L6 B# O; x% a% z+ W2 i( U
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
: v1 p3 }) C7 S; ]tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony1 t% j6 Y$ r; m A# j1 V7 I/ `7 [
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
; S% ~- w: i6 E" x2 K: y! ]Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
' X+ k6 L6 p9 s4 ^; w: ucommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to# S' B _5 `" ~
restore the trust of our customers."- Z" u' N# G9 [5 m6 _
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
$ s; o S i5 Q8 d4 r! p( n9 FSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
) j+ @5 m8 c3 T/ }zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --3 X. l9 z9 n5 X# P) M& A
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
* w! d1 i- \ @" bhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
0 |! d/ T' ~% Ythat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and- H1 y+ V ^" Y
turn off the engine.
r9 E' v- o; \* T2 z4 x3 E2 ]Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of9 M8 T3 J% |' j/ K: t x0 X
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."$ @* c3 E" f1 b% U, Z$ {2 r- z
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
# U$ c* Z+ x7 S% c1 ssaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond. J+ j" S. a8 h& H. w9 P1 b
to her complaints.9 e7 e0 l+ ^2 ]2 F) E$ b
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
7 _3 {# @4 T$ a# ]returned again and again to the question of whether electronic9 q F+ `2 J% `* Y6 @. S: z
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
1 _$ q' J* [! a* c! K. _+ o"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
: B |) Y4 I/ J4 _- l/ m6 _throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited" {3 a' }6 h. E7 L, H, t- F
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut; Y d5 x( i, x4 K# f
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
5 _; s. s5 ], UTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
& w: P' D8 I y- i- [) \9 ]0 g& Kprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were# |- z" p: `6 u+ f) W+ k" v7 l
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls1 F- e* n5 l% z& Q C( u, p0 e
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
2 H9 V$ p! c: P* ~' U7 f- D; I4 A$ xevery question."7 p W2 b. ^" f6 W, n p
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether9 R8 _" \# H g
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
1 r2 ^ h7 b9 V5 O0 G' T/ Mfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
" d1 Y$ K5 a$ ?1 @: L9 A- Acommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
$ j+ M5 J a, r4 j: P, q Z, q8 lnumber of vehicles; _1 Z t8 Y( ^6 x, O
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more* K' l) i; b; b2 x3 s" t U- v
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a/ S3 S* Q' y L: i
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one1 W0 `6 t2 T2 Q% D& L2 ~
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.: E8 C# p" K7 x4 Q6 I
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,- t% ?' q/ M4 g. ?6 j% f" @
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no/ b' c# Z K- g
trace at all.
0 o$ D j% v+ t, ?( |1 ^2 tHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call9 i! w, ?4 V. q) W8 V
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
8 m3 ^9 {, L! H, A/ h, D# Hacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
- e8 {! O( A; S: n# {recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
* _( v. T5 \+ H6 yRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
. E' c0 i q& d0 {said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and7 l2 k- v, V0 D& F0 X4 O
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the; ^$ s# |$ G) z6 x3 A
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible9 Q( {! Z+ I; {5 p2 ]6 L) V
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only( \( A2 l/ v9 C
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained% T4 z5 i8 d& l$ I6 S9 j
by Toyota's lawyers."
% {& ~) {# p! DLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of7 J& p `' Y) V X
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our C0 K& c! O5 ?" H& ]
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
7 P. \, q! n6 A; [3 h/ ~8 P2 {said.$ }& ^; v: b4 ~
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
' |( h% H" A0 G9 T# {' xa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our, ] M' V1 |/ }, v- P" `" Z/ N% h
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
4 z% }; D& p; jofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.5 B, D( P+ Z5 h/ L, q
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
# F+ [$ T! g' xmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
% ^; m4 f3 z1 g) e5 Arancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
7 f1 l7 y! L8 H5 b1 I6 Rautomaker, at least in part because of the government's o) k! B& a8 r" t
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and3 N8 N! _2 m% a Y' O v; |5 D7 V
Chrysler.
$ T1 P) ^* J- \, {"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
( O. X4 e# P! b, P. h- Ndollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
2 z- n. r" {6 G/ K6 R) F- THouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
1 b5 @; Y+ s( O( s) q: k; G& Mserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete- C" b- t8 K; a7 h- m
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty. Y" b1 R/ I9 n1 [# |& W' M9 B
tough."
/ i0 O2 n7 \" z: j$ N. O1 U---
. }& {$ c2 B% e1 W: [2 L, F. ~$ s. TAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
1 l* E V6 N1 l! H: MRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to; G; _- K' l" E+ p4 z. t, d
this story.
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-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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