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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
+ s. y! i# }/ n5 KBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS+ `7 [ G3 p3 M. K
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.$ r7 k& H* j+ o2 H
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
2 [+ I' i# T" q& E; ^the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"' O6 P0 u) ~% Q0 R+ O8 A m2 r
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.% @2 G$ A+ N, [; q% R2 y' T
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
{7 Y1 k6 e. a# `$ l( icauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
- v* H. H+ j4 E5 v" }" PHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected/ ]) H5 c9 } f& r) k$ x! S
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
4 P& d$ O7 n: ?- f/ htrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
* t0 s4 r7 k$ z) e+ w8 umats and sticking accelerator pedals.
9 y! t2 w D7 g9 K: L( OHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal! h a4 X7 {* \+ l5 T& S- f
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp6 I, |+ |' W1 r- P) q3 B) j" Q
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be4 v# v+ r& V7 d2 o
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could8 V. p1 P% c/ j3 i2 \
not stop her runaway Lexus.
' M+ ]# Y% d: M4 h/ ?"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,! L% g# L- Z0 e; }' n8 g- ~
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second# a5 [: h; k. {* f' x& q
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators., N- Y/ o! ~% l/ C; u' m& N
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
3 r$ a/ [) {* K' V3 N7 tearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
$ G0 M! K; W& x$ I% H5 N5 P2 Z"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has' @3 w4 ]$ }/ w" T0 ]! V
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
& G! a8 Y8 o8 rthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's, W# F1 J9 _" T9 Q; o
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."+ @. f/ _( [- r T9 h$ K
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
6 I9 i5 m/ c+ x' L: x* e5 Ielectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of# i ^8 |2 M( C0 ?
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a; ]0 B! y7 v4 I
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he8 m1 e1 q' }! f3 j8 F. X3 f+ [
said.
4 t1 b" Z9 @: eAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what3 g! m9 n, t) e: l4 f
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
( D7 M$ M7 v" D: ^9 _- O6 u; fabout driving our products," Lentz said. c( \$ U" }7 A8 H% f
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's9 }. |" z" v5 A5 `( ~
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
* W2 o& V0 z; y2 Arecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
1 w) l7 ]" E; p8 i6 ~) hmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of- W% s( M) `7 g# X7 K
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
" `3 Z& k) ?/ c- Z& f* kissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering5 j. n/ |, T$ }. \. T
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
9 _; _# Q0 } ~their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow& J' f+ t6 @: t u& i. g
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
( |/ N) X* a/ b3 N; q( l$ Dreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration! a) q! g( I U" P
of Toyota vehicles since 2000./ Z3 ]' u- S! }# b) U
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own7 v! I& M% A: R+ \: D, a
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he' _/ f9 K( y" @1 E: H9 `
understood the pain.) n- v- A7 J _' a2 J0 n6 K
"I know what those families go through," he said.4 p2 g! S1 s3 z* y, A
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's) k3 f0 p& @$ r7 b
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
: o, I8 V ?/ I3 iBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman9 I; Z9 i" K0 T3 @/ @
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
& |" X6 x9 Q uin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,. g3 c# e* V2 d7 Q8 J E! N
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
' I: T* X3 \) @" RStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
2 ~) C( F8 X5 k- j"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
+ N4 n$ b7 N- B* O3 {3 `) ZToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas; r& _' }( f: O
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
. E2 W. N y7 jvehicles already on the road.; Z8 v5 Y6 d% M* A3 x. y
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify2 ~* q# o, D7 x
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
* Y. U' Q5 z; e. _responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and6 [& M9 m2 Y. x& L: J: b$ v
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were5 D5 \, c- N& F, [2 ]3 G
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.# V# J9 x% d+ `
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a" s% e3 P( _4 z" Z: v* N
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony& V3 j' ~5 [7 C
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
- w: C9 h) N/ R% f& i' @' ?Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
& y, Y S& _! H3 b1 n5 C1 }commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
7 i: e" f0 V" V, zrestore the trust of our customers."5 `& j3 S- d; I& V- p5 O" |
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
?* b. \ [0 Q. o1 lSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
9 t! [- U$ h+ D- P9 _2 pzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --8 H Q8 f! i8 T1 [
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and* l5 x# O' b/ F' U5 Y
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
$ z4 i. ^: o1 }7 e" Mthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and8 x9 F# N) C. t- m0 p3 |+ k' m# B2 B
turn off the engine.9 c$ d" F+ \3 ]5 ]2 r/ b, P
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
_$ Y1 i+ v$ _1 {: AOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
3 ?5 o* |" |1 ]& P8 u& J& _"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
$ S+ C# n J& O3 \/ Bsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
* s1 F4 g# m' \* [/ l5 a* Kto her complaints.
( _% N# N7 ?- \* m' r: bIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers. b$ V( a5 P- v& Z; u, D/ B5 e
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
- {; C% E* L0 c/ u/ R8 t1 Imalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.3 Q" B4 A! o* [ G4 g
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
' |2 c) e; q8 g' dthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
- h8 i5 I/ z" Q+ t) ^"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut' m& u4 I$ {1 z- F
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
' Q0 A$ _: t- k& M- x& |) STransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in! i9 c1 P# f3 k+ Y/ g
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were! w, A* A3 K0 F; k8 y. E# W$ h
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
6 N- @6 r' K/ |were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
5 ]: @ \0 Z% T# ]& x* nevery question."" A- i J' q) T4 b7 o1 c
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
8 j2 n& o8 z' yelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
2 a2 S/ f5 f( Nfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
; `; z& T5 n5 xcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
6 u& G% b* J! P8 [number of vehicles
6 M* q- l: \# A5 r6 A& FTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
" I9 H- t. P; J5 r3 I2 Ndifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
4 n7 W/ D+ H+ bmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
6 U: Z+ @( y9 W2 r$ a6 Zsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
* ?1 V' I5 ~: p/ oMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
& e2 i3 `1 l( l5 X2 b @. cwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no* ]5 d" `. i, L9 w/ ?
trace at all.
! |6 U/ e6 r$ @House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
" } ]- g0 }( F; h- D" k( [) f+ Adatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden5 W& l3 O5 z- B' `% h
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
! R0 Y* q% M; D4 U3 frecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
( L4 X" r& b/ K5 p5 l/ P9 v6 T4 CRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
1 M/ O. y, K j9 q* O0 hsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and, L& O0 @- q% v
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
' |3 Q8 F$ T3 Welectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
7 Y: v: @; f, @ Wcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only- a% @7 X$ @4 Y! Q/ g# `1 d
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained; ?* e: ~" M/ }+ D& l2 r
by Toyota's lawyers."
! r2 l7 x8 S/ b( y# nLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of! _4 w: m( x4 f6 H$ s# u
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our! V0 p5 g- k6 s- g$ r
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
0 J2 O& b% z. l/ r1 z7 h. |said.) z4 L: S/ G( M0 e! @
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with' [! n0 y/ V1 {. X$ H' a f
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our1 J7 P4 L" n8 ]8 C% E
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating2 `/ U" v6 m: e% V# A4 b
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.& _4 G- Q+ b, e1 C6 j+ K
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
# r, K7 V) K2 b; G* @" m8 r" ~members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread8 P: v+ x, D1 ]$ A2 D
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
% d7 ~$ }& |0 t' r7 jautomaker, at least in part because of the government's+ z4 i' w2 ?3 ]' _) t
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
! U& b, O! X' Q/ xChrysler.
4 Q! o# R& P/ l" G! Y"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax( L$ [# h$ G ?# s3 _- e
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a1 W: H/ q" W" T! H6 S
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
; k. t' \3 M2 _+ }served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete0 D4 J9 R, x8 o+ Z# C; X( \
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
: t- M4 g1 x) S- D+ Htough."; o5 x0 ]0 q7 P5 n3 y# v5 h
---
5 w" n9 J" m, h$ V$ {: kAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom; @# ?1 G. z7 s) E
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to/ I1 [: r8 G; b9 [" B
this story.& e& l& i# w' |1 f: E( F' Q( J# s
+ C) M8 O( e& ^# \" X( }3 h1 }! c-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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