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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题: }. p9 I; G# t y! w
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
$ H! t. X/ H& X) ]Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.2 }5 N7 Q8 }) N
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
( `4 J, ^1 Y8 g5 S6 x1 fthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"& Z8 k9 G$ X% {1 K0 q/ v
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.: h; R B& _+ X3 ?
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential0 h: k( C! ]* f' r
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
3 i V) L0 A( \) ZHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
8 @. B! F; z! v, w7 K( T4 y! h+ Dacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
) t, k# r9 ]- ftrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor t Y; Q# j! a: s& b
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
& Z) x- Q8 Z3 ?6 N4 C; E0 i# SHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
9 ^( {, M) c) x8 H* ]3 Mand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp# R" C0 @( p8 L, ^* s' U+ N
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
2 G; R$ L4 U- y9 Y G2 [further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could; S" X; E& W1 }! B8 f" {) b
not stop her runaway Lexus.& W' U; y' [- n% `& l/ J" c
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville," o+ |5 i3 v9 l w
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second4 ]; J0 Q/ }) {
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
1 @& j4 V( c# F- ]0 ]+ u( WTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues( n; O. d/ y, T3 M, A/ H+ s. P7 E
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
9 N1 s& t8 Z6 ^8 o' ^"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
; E' l; f1 v9 s% Y# z/ h. ^" [done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
) q5 V; M$ _. A; _# F0 u/ Xthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
( G# W. t& G1 N3 yinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
' D9 s1 J: n# b5 n: o( h3 {8 X iLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
- k) D' U+ v( G7 {9 Relectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
1 P A/ o: R+ f1 e4 r& W" \9 f) ythe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a8 N% L1 I( q B5 H8 I3 X
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
" e4 z+ w% ~6 V. R1 ~. Y7 O8 _% lsaid.
" z# m0 T: f' j# u) u7 B0 yAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what! T# Z5 f% k; |8 K( {$ ^% ^% P7 E7 k
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
: c' F$ O+ L3 Rabout driving our products," Lentz said.
4 N8 |$ h+ i" L+ rThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
. R+ C& T- Y9 eproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has+ E d4 O+ |$ J& e
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6$ V8 D+ W- k, v% j( q
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
/ f4 Z0 S( J# w D- sunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
- `/ o0 n/ c% B8 ?6 L6 O% O" Qissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
4 a, L! D9 E/ \$ a2 U$ R- J8 x7 Lconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of% e* G& l0 b1 U. {+ |0 m/ t
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
$ J3 Q5 a! ^9 L2 q' h$ K- f' Udown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has+ w& J) b' U* p0 ` I. p
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration' b# ?5 w1 o/ B# f$ W
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
$ }! x1 q+ W! D; G4 yLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own- I( t( d5 S! h
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he4 P+ |" M5 s, f, Y# P
understood the pain.
) r* L& e7 O& z6 W! E"I know what those families go through," he said.' x8 {1 p9 ]+ |/ U6 w: @
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
1 e9 ]# i1 E: j6 i# @0 [# hfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
5 H; s! H0 z' k; c" _6 M2 @But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
7 Z- `- b1 l( v/ [1 U8 QHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put8 [+ T3 D0 S5 ~/ D& T# i$ o" w
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,! U' a) n: p+ W
Lentz replied: "Not totally."3 _& U; L7 i4 Z- M# C% |/ [" i
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were7 U, J$ t9 J2 I% m- a
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
" i; a; x {3 r, B* c! JToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
* O% E& u8 w, t* X+ spedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its0 j% C8 K7 y/ d* X2 f a$ C% S7 R
vehicles already on the road.' n' }) |" g6 t* V5 c) ~# @
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
, c0 Q4 }2 f) ~) E+ z7 Y6 Nbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full3 p& x2 Y8 i! r X1 D" q
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
7 Q U7 Y' j. h8 c( zoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
7 s% q. V6 S9 m" L6 H( c {7 Q' okilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.5 L! J) A. t* O
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
5 Z4 m n4 E( I6 J; s3 K' Etragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
- }$ u: P, W2 U, u Bfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
% c% W. ~6 l- ZCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal. e6 v! E. A ~- S, |( _
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
% e4 l8 c( B; ` K; Y0 erestore the trust of our customers."5 O8 G& X; x6 ?/ G
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from9 n5 J& w7 q" j, i& f+ X, }$ v
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
8 N C* K6 l8 M' Izoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --: ^ j3 ?( p% ^- x
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and& C! u. L' B( e/ ^* U; A! I2 X- w
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough- C( k9 f5 `3 r6 q% B( C0 \
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
7 y/ k2 ], l" e. tturn off the engine.
4 B6 g, a$ k& W) mFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
( Y$ }2 g* e1 }: R8 bOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
5 s7 _- {/ s0 g( p( J"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
* X: l1 c5 ~0 {2 v5 Q5 a3 H! H3 |) r; ksaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
0 b, a; d, E" Hto her complaints.
/ V: s$ c: T2 h) U0 `, Y$ Q, ]( WIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
9 {( ~ M% ^( o0 N1 q& ireturned again and again to the question of whether electronic& C8 Z: D* T9 D) S, E7 R
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
9 X3 Z3 m \* H2 i"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
5 c4 W4 g6 e, Y/ b# {throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited7 g9 K# V6 i5 H9 h* s( S7 E
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
6 ^9 o% @5 V, p4 `: \off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
5 z# [( p% _) P- ]8 YTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in! j0 b, Z d7 D3 p+ g
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were3 h W: J" g4 X$ s, }% C0 D
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls- L8 x4 g6 g% b6 k" i
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
. N# L( | L% Y: Q) m/ T0 yevery question."" r% Q% W2 m# z
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
8 w; e d% ?! a5 {7 }# c- V1 v1 uelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The7 W/ ^ s" T( K/ y- O# I
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But8 v# a- J9 x* s: S/ e5 C# X' K
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
/ F* w6 D% |: R7 u/ Ynumber of vehicles
. Z2 b( P) a/ R& \( WTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
' [! K+ d8 m9 E* f1 ^8 Z0 D hdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
: W3 h8 t5 s" ^6 J4 S0 O" H3 Cmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
* U! r7 W4 `0 K6 L9 R5 O% w: C$ k. bsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
1 P6 g0 \% [" q# q {+ B7 a- cMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,. m- W8 ?6 K7 x) U5 B
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no7 D7 z; q: U1 j8 W
trace at all.# z* N8 c+ @# s, h9 h
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
# ?& j8 K3 h) H* r) ndatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
4 t. v% t! \* Y& Iacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
- O5 |+ _# {1 _1 \ Wrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.+ [, q5 B" g! O* ^
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,$ u$ y$ a' K' _' f7 e3 Z6 \/ H' ?
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and. \; L/ x _0 H
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the7 P# t* G! |/ J5 V5 F
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
1 d% R" R! I) |7 t" l- M/ L3 mcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
. P( U8 S* ]4 W$ ~& `; m% [# isuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
4 |, I3 N- B' Qby Toyota's lawyers."
2 j" V' A* i: k0 n& a$ iLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
4 L/ p4 \! y7 S; lproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
4 A0 T$ i# s: ccustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he t, @) k4 W2 u
said.
9 U! K' `* y J1 o1 ~& t2 |"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with% p N; Q) f+ X0 T k5 T6 O. o
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our4 a5 ~! n# `: r1 z3 \- [( Q
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating- Z$ M5 M9 |6 f j
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.+ @; C1 k5 z" `7 a3 F
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying( a6 X: r+ f/ J$ l
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
; o( |( `) b* Q+ P; jrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the d `- Z2 b+ X9 S% Q: K+ @
automaker, at least in part because of the government's0 t C4 y3 o; M h/ D- e- d) F& W
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
, r( T5 s6 b8 \( n G5 \Chrysler.& ~3 t5 q. [2 Q* t$ H6 E6 i9 ]8 P
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
$ C' r. c+ t6 p! K! [dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a" V/ k' u# L( W! {6 `# S
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also9 o$ R! V0 U7 z% R# _2 l5 b
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete- V7 d& `" G+ k3 u8 I
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty5 b' E! @: e4 E; T5 k9 u
tough."4 q5 q$ T$ G) W8 o, V0 ^: Q; B
---( F7 V8 d y. y" e* d+ ?- L; n
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom; N/ M$ {3 E3 d& Y; K
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to0 {. V$ M; y J& W' y
this story.6 ^9 O! s' k& c
" y# N% B- V" G/ @, R0 p-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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