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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
+ ^9 U- z' u0 C. h6 SBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
0 O$ v9 _! r" @" P, M4 X/ ?Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.5 m2 M/ `" e$ N
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that* p# }# y( I$ G9 M/ c
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"* U7 z. Y) h2 Y. X9 l
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.: i F9 K/ }' u2 A
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
: L, s% F% ^6 K3 W' h- r) S. ncauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
2 U/ E+ s, ~" s' q8 Y% J+ }However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected1 d0 L9 f! w7 ^
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and, _* q3 W* V7 n' O8 ?+ u+ s
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor( l' ~+ _0 {& U! G
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.! Z6 ?( m9 Y0 Q
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal5 y& }+ H! S3 k
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp" G' ]- @5 Q, H# L$ |( w
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
8 V1 T8 a0 f5 q/ q; v3 }' ~further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
2 e! A1 e9 K0 H& f+ W' x( r8 x9 Dnot stop her runaway Lexus.+ _! n, G" u4 b* o% v L7 e
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville," a9 m- m. P& K8 N y
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
2 l" q) f) \- q+ d3 a+ b/ Q# ~' j"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
. x+ u9 |, a- g1 RTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
3 @; a0 Y' T: o3 b$ ^early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
' n6 A' X6 `2 c& T' s/ K4 A"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has; ~! G& X, S1 n# c6 I$ _
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
* h+ g( S. c0 f1 j0 Zthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
" {( S7 b! {" N/ w( L& A: s; einvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."2 F, ?) h& [5 W
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
) v- {( Y, ^; ^; \6 o; E- S# Q3 Oelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of# Y+ h- o2 [, {- h Q% \
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a' u. A( O6 y$ k
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
3 f! ^5 {& J2 B) ]4 K. fsaid.
- s# R; J% E$ _( w( kAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what1 N) \) l) W% N R- F- \" ]
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe7 r) V: K0 ?$ ~8 Z# G
about driving our products," Lentz said.
% Y/ E. ?3 O3 { h) ZThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's6 H8 |/ p& m1 E8 _: U- _$ t
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has7 Z2 p+ [( T' p% G7 H0 J- V1 s: V" [
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 66 s/ q- N S, x- I7 a$ I: x% T
million in the United States -- since last fall because of( d+ _7 Q( `2 J% J( |
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
: y: ^4 ?9 O l8 {- D* f+ p9 J8 a5 Iissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering5 C6 T5 W6 c7 ~- q
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
! Q! }6 N L" z$ F/ c. Itheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow) P; ]# R' y; q& R* [
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has Z2 Y2 D8 C0 G& Q: H) l3 X W
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
! k& r Q1 ` ?3 X: cof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
* t& @; ~3 Q3 W( L+ `4 e5 m& ] O. ULentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
) J( Z) R1 p' _5 e' fbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
/ e7 v& c c: P3 u6 gunderstood the pain.( Y# }1 x5 m# ~; x
"I know what those families go through," he said.
/ ~! G5 `& ~5 x; X5 N+ y8 eLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
( \. p% N# v$ A3 S: m; }fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.9 H* A+ T1 L/ c8 e; o
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman0 W$ }7 f6 l5 d# n9 P+ `+ i- _3 P
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
8 L( R6 {" u4 U, }9 i) ]+ Yin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,/ F% q! n+ l$ @9 G3 o
Lentz replied: "Not totally.": Y. b9 ^' \2 k) m1 u6 k1 C7 Z5 N
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
. A" {/ Q9 }& H' l"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
7 [/ k2 n+ E+ A$ ~$ _: B9 @/ K7 M0 g/ ZToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
7 l6 i$ j- j& _8 L) B1 L# opedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
! W) I: c( X% _" Lvehicles already on the road.
; |# @9 c# H0 p) O& ?8 u7 QMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
g. @; g" Z1 t1 D; E4 C k( rbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full' l ]$ M+ c& s8 ~( B9 p; o
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and6 x8 m# i2 \- E2 ]- a3 R
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
( [. f6 q5 I% Y5 R6 E6 Fkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.4 T8 q7 i" P* y+ @8 T
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a2 G" b0 s! ~4 j# ^- |9 ~
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
- S, s( M9 M# z& S- M. jfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
0 ` z7 e4 k5 T3 o( R! `8 UCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal8 |% \; l! G- E/ Q/ w r
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
J; i0 O0 z9 h1 o, s5 X% srestore the trust of our customers."
o7 W( h& }- `4 `, }2 ?! uLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
! e5 T/ J, {/ ]0 \2 [Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
# A* H$ @' R2 E# U( @6 Qzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
6 M @( S P# B+ @1 v4 X+ C+ a* I2 Rshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and# q$ l/ R, F+ r- c. U
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
' F3 D- w) s9 a, T, S6 a$ Uthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
1 R4 b# ^" k5 L5 Uturn off the engine. W1 e% M( Q6 A. Z7 \, E6 C
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
! E+ O) E4 M% M' L7 ?5 MOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
$ q* U6 _4 p3 K6 r7 k$ x0 P"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
9 h7 t( L: r5 W8 E: k, Qsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond9 u( h, X$ s0 V3 p0 B3 M
to her complaints.! a! ?5 R* P- {3 P, j# F) n7 @
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers& l: t. y* q2 G) L3 t; m( ~0 B% [
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
3 u2 t( L2 t5 qmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
+ b" b9 Q2 X, o' l! w V"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric+ X u7 r( p# R5 J1 L# \0 X! g
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
2 b q8 d4 \- e"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
& c8 k9 x z3 D- roff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
, H! G! v6 y, d" C$ r. RTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in$ C1 ~! r8 E& j( Z0 E; G
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
1 d/ d! o) A* h" ?0 U3 U4 U/ V5 nbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
: `0 v$ D3 X2 E# O- qwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer( r+ i! y2 L# j, j. c ~
every question."1 R' R; \0 b- |% n: T: Q( K
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
4 b( s% \: `9 l: ^! lelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
8 e* K; p+ x0 c% z4 ~3 j. \! Rfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
" A0 f! L* F1 E2 F' \2 h9 `committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
J# e5 h' `+ w* unumber of vehicles' ~$ t' t5 F5 Q3 X: r) |. @/ ]
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more* i) p" |& n" f! p, Q& R
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
9 T) G! h% L7 ^: xmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one/ Z3 }1 _+ Q2 x0 s$ H9 c4 E) |3 `
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.& l3 y% u* A, Y1 B
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,3 }7 a7 |0 z- u( ]$ P. c0 c+ M
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no% g( H$ S T2 L% Z% F. i) Y( o
trace at all.
5 l: c9 R! D3 g! G8 z& P) [$ {& uHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call l! k* t& X9 l3 R3 m
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
# p1 \3 H6 ?- s5 E- W2 k; Iacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the6 X% ]- s0 U$ b, I. [" _% t$ J1 t( x
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
: ?( t: A% W9 FRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,6 d/ C% _; l7 R9 W! U4 @
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
: H- U" u: @, Y: {; zother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the3 q( G; s) t9 T) v
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible1 {1 ]1 ]# \! d: w6 l
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
5 w2 h9 P0 Q' Zsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained8 |8 B# v+ q4 y |4 q
by Toyota's lawyers."
6 Z8 c# A, R0 ] z9 g( YLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of: [' P9 }! l" y
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
& d6 c4 t: A- fcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
8 C; u4 o6 {* F9 b' }2 T; C5 p& lsaid.& S( U* T* x; K9 N" G
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
* g8 X9 p5 ~4 ?- F# S+ u# Ba rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our- R8 M9 C( Z& D- O
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating& W6 F7 l Z8 c& A5 u) v. ?. }( D2 f
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
! j2 P% W4 X' v6 ^% L! {& YSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying* R' _$ ]3 K6 l* E
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread/ `% u- I* {5 `
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
6 x9 u% M. B$ |9 ~; M, b7 a4 \; Gautomaker, at least in part because of the government's8 I$ }% n4 d7 E+ x/ k( i" h
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and( I% F& b6 ]3 I/ z* T4 d
Chrysler.
4 o0 ?9 L8 e! a3 Y6 M"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax& q4 c2 P7 }9 I% h: a
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a& ?+ S; E3 `, W% V& i
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also, V# n2 x7 V' Q- {' M; C# |
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete/ [1 H5 Y+ v. H, v* u
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
; k0 i5 c, q, ?6 u& }tough."
3 E# i5 S. w. j4 t---9 m8 x, P, C3 E7 y7 U5 ]
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom& ^9 h0 i) M1 W0 `+ P9 J3 B
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to% s6 o: N6 ]' u( K
this story.
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; ]9 ]# G# j1 ? C-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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