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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
+ ]" D7 `: u0 D% k% `By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
2 l9 ~% M) L3 W# r& a) ]Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.- R0 |' a4 b& v1 o1 P; h! T* Q
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that! V/ F3 x& b8 {& K3 P5 j
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
% W8 F( L# a9 y/ g! Rsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.9 ]; P0 Q C/ t4 i" C
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential! M# I9 {5 n/ D3 ~
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.% \/ h4 D" h9 x% s
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
$ \ ~7 B( x8 ?1 i, N8 [* z0 ~acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
; a8 a; V2 I- a( Ktrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor0 V, P5 b8 I- t5 T0 k$ Z6 G, ~
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
6 B E9 `& @# {: N& J |: W X* qHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
% O2 w5 G8 V U/ x; v" eand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
3 d6 P) c9 |. R! }# bcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be' B! d" k `% b' X4 H( y1 a% S) L
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
1 E8 V" X+ \# }/ bnot stop her runaway Lexus.3 M/ e% a, c/ Y! }/ M
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
; X* {' V A# K6 ~/ V7 c, [Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
. T* i0 Y, Z2 D+ ]; t"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.8 p* A7 z5 F6 E5 m C" C, t
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues1 L8 v( @2 R2 N7 h. t$ R
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said: f U: b2 Y. b! `& y
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has) Z q; E, A+ Z" k! |* R6 M# N
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
8 p2 P. m G4 U. kthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
4 J1 \2 T: p0 f' F: S: ~. Jinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."( i( X& W9 B0 T# g
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an; w/ a9 E7 I9 U" w" B) W) a
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
8 }& C. a5 \( G6 J' ?/ H' Hthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a! F& g2 Q+ M& o% k Z' a
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
) t3 y% U. M1 d8 H# psaid./ j) t% z( r, a( |! M, D* c
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
7 ]2 N& x% ?/ p' f4 z3 Vhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe- S5 `% }( P* X" A: l. w
about driving our products," Lentz said.
$ D# j, y" p+ }+ IThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
9 I/ b) W. o: s; @problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has' C7 `! E5 ? S* }; l9 E5 {
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6* T9 t! A! J4 w* S
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
( C* _* K$ H# x! \unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking- n0 ?& U$ Z1 f/ e1 c; `% ~
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
M" n! a3 w* W$ ]& v# B1 Gconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
7 w/ M8 Q0 |! V ^( o- ?1 gtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
( F7 t: x( V# z+ ~" U2 X1 k8 ydown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has+ q& C( P T* `3 r( M) e
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
8 t/ L, T( e3 F8 rof Toyota vehicles since 2000., h2 M k& |8 `6 o+ E' O2 B
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own( B W& ^4 S3 K& a0 C! x- _
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he6 Q4 U9 f6 z2 U' |5 _& R
understood the pain.- Y4 o8 f& g- A9 H
"I know what those families go through," he said.
- Z+ @& @6 w* V( j- lLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
- G' i. M3 R1 L9 y8 B" c+ D5 Gfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
4 {4 {$ F3 D- rBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman5 }' {" y+ l0 G& I$ T, z
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put; V) l1 m3 C0 C
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
7 P8 z2 x: \& i" n( i# M8 `0 ALentz replied: "Not totally."; {9 f; j+ u5 i! M
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were# @) b! e( x8 x
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
6 B, L7 v% z: {& \* qToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
; G+ m1 o5 C) f/ a. g. n% [* h6 fpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its( i# m# z1 t. j
vehicles already on the road.( u0 O! }, {3 _
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
) a+ {; g- S* Q4 A7 w4 ybefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full$ v& H. V" b) j1 K9 F
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
% p8 B' d( ?6 B+ a4 N3 J8 |offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were2 p$ W9 T7 N5 I. m8 ?+ _) ^2 @3 ?* G
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.# b' T' _2 f- C2 T: c
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a$ r6 Y2 k& }4 C9 ^0 t
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
+ z0 K9 n/ l. o0 z/ z0 P' M1 d2 zfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
" V. T0 U/ j! z# V# E5 `) g. XCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
P# Z0 ]0 G* I, i, c( o3 ]- xcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to; f( I% w; M8 [$ z& ?% @ X
restore the trust of our customers."1 M; E2 Y1 r5 m0 g! W
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from& i4 c3 V- x2 ?* U
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly, o0 }9 Q* n, y
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
( a a5 M6 q8 V( S: ~& v* W. Eshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and% |6 L' @+ Y, N5 K7 _
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough# Y6 n9 G9 [& k2 s0 n
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and+ |! ]- h% l3 C
turn off the engine.
0 j) b2 v: u6 p) G5 A; yFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
; g9 o6 ?3 Q' fOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience.": O, o2 h0 C0 T. i1 x# b8 d! j
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
5 w5 ~* Z) `- `9 r6 g1 z9 jsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond9 @ @. N$ ]' p# O9 s z. p
to her complaints.4 q1 h; Q8 ~$ D9 v0 y( k8 s5 B
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers5 K/ h4 B/ X2 V, e/ E
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
; I( M) G; y9 [4 @( e- B$ B, vmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
4 w: S- d4 p9 j8 x"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric- ~9 `: m% G3 A1 M5 T2 R# b
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
2 L8 I( f- q. T8 u"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut8 |6 T0 l+ C# h$ g8 S! |2 d
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure.") O5 z/ @, m; _! _% S2 X+ U1 P
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
2 f! T) c5 F9 t6 S% H# f8 _prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
' A9 M6 q0 Z! ]: \0 Nbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
% T8 H1 ]' {6 u& E8 ^* Rwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
* c) B4 S9 S4 \0 c" M7 Devery question."# S) X4 y* T$ \5 t r
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether N5 o& b4 @2 W; q9 X+ Y
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
' i- A8 M7 z: P8 U5 |8 h9 N% ^firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
+ E& n* A, G8 \, ]8 Z% N9 ~2 i t# Jcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small4 t$ H9 }% ]( }; T2 a3 G/ p) X- D
number of vehicles* h3 K) s2 q G" y# s" Q; l
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more3 H( e' T! Q0 w4 n4 z
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a2 j/ o' @: V) b
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one r5 F* [( |, }
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.( Y. K; E7 `& A( h
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,3 v3 ~, ^* Z: n% `& D( E
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
1 T1 X7 W& r& Q+ ?/ g; V Atrace at all.
* H) o. {6 ^2 F% S4 sHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
+ S- ?2 y5 M4 U @4 Rdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden- X0 \1 T4 O5 b4 N" z! j- E1 k. p* k
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
( P* w+ K2 R. N6 F# q Z* Jrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.$ f- e" d8 m5 O% x% t; C
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
- y5 b8 H& X1 lsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and/ d8 l! s# R; i3 T0 s2 h" [5 k
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the! ^6 [" N6 F2 z" l
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible4 S2 t# L6 @7 I J$ A
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only7 @3 D- z+ f' d) i8 f& u
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained3 _( @% Z' _- m- J; _. V
by Toyota's lawyers.") a, E% N. ~9 c& e! E
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
{% Q, ^8 j! @# J4 ^3 Rproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our5 o9 ^7 m) a Q( a, l ]
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he3 z% b0 S; c8 P2 V" T- P
said.6 J! N* {( o, x8 S1 {
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
) [4 N0 V- S" {a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our0 F' Q9 v" I$ \ @+ m+ c4 Z" s
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
. c# i# |4 n' J# w( rofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
3 |$ @2 u7 R) tSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
8 @. J5 @3 r5 W0 o! V/ |members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
" w/ ?# _; w; Francor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
" O H% c1 S \/ }" p9 g* iautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
( \2 X. f( e8 Q+ f8 Binvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
0 r7 u; m# B9 k; e$ i5 y7 x0 p+ MChrysler.0 _ J& H: |+ M$ W$ l% @/ q- T
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax( P5 E( R( C! b8 S
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
9 W( g3 a9 @7 O. ]9 y' G4 t4 GHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also% d. U- L+ g: o3 p4 u3 L
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
3 p* ~; r" z; B* ~3 pwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
6 _+ ?' z! r- C# z6 E+ b8 O0 htough."# @* o ~) { q% T2 H) P; g% M
---$ V0 N* W- `1 m8 e/ ^4 M, E: ? c
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
, }9 ]( |+ d4 G$ K! g- F3 TRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to4 h- p4 P0 R/ X2 {# k+ \$ ]. l
this story.0 d3 H5 L% Q5 l: }
9 m+ i. T4 Q: Y-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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