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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题; f% B- n' _6 G% d& Q
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS3 e: R5 p, ], l: v' S6 Z
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
- G% q4 E5 m& y% ioperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
* ^' p5 T' ?) r( Q$ M, Dthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"2 w6 ^# L" Q' j# h% x% w N
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.2 e) t) c& Z/ e, b
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
" |) l3 Z7 G- m& m% s5 l0 E0 mcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
: z+ x7 t2 s: THowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
; a. F1 A1 w1 l; W' b) pacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and; R: Y7 ?* v1 S! Y3 V. b# v8 G* ~
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
, m3 P2 K: t, L/ L9 _8 Z+ rmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
/ a- w2 H; t9 F& W) QHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
0 l3 [1 n: E( _2 i- Aand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp8 A+ @( Q3 X" [& a O' [7 ~
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be3 c. A+ ^; ]3 k+ u
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
' _, y1 R) v9 F. e- fnot stop her runaway Lexus.* K5 P' h' J% M
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
9 z$ y7 s; ?/ o' o* N7 L! p& {Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
! D# [* ~9 K7 y; U! C4 K M" D8 K"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.1 p0 Z9 b" z- f9 N, ]3 E$ y$ O8 y
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
: r. ?* n; |2 }1 w1 ], uearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
! p8 d% `( z' ?) c1 v+ H% K8 w"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
4 ^) G& M) x! \$ [" |1 Fdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway( S$ |) C$ S6 J" F: i
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
+ S! q; S2 ^1 o* `+ J8 vinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."! I7 m6 y$ z" F' `
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an" y$ _+ ?; O' f1 b4 _; W r
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
" U% V3 \6 H0 M# \, Jthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a* o; Q/ o' S( _
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
$ U9 m, W6 n3 B3 V# S- bsaid.- \1 U8 G8 `5 ?/ o
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what1 c9 F1 h4 l! w) {
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe" V9 b. ~# n6 Q* W' V- t: j9 M
about driving our products," Lentz said.
4 G- D4 {; D* N6 v8 iThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's8 @3 B2 c9 k+ y7 G5 h$ `- @& J
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has( t6 W# f1 @, z' V2 A- R9 [! f3 u
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
- R2 d( p) q {2 k5 }$ ^. vmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
% Q7 d9 O$ z$ e4 F( ]5 N* Zunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking0 G# f1 c7 n6 @
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering9 ^+ S+ A' e. k% D2 p6 H
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of8 a1 [% \' ?# F# Y1 k7 B
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow9 K3 P/ S$ U( @" P3 T5 y6 s2 c
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has6 h( u' s8 A Q! R8 c, s" P/ U
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
1 [7 o1 y. S' ]4 a Y3 yof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
- j+ @( {$ ?! h6 y5 H1 HLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
# Z& z9 ^! R6 ^' w$ v0 D6 Sbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
9 l, c; t7 N7 i2 l* Zunderstood the pain.
' d6 p ]3 M7 p& Y$ t! q+ w"I know what those families go through," he said.. U3 S5 }( @" j9 \; t0 W
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
! w. J, { C! @. m9 l. L/ N( Jfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems. K' }& e7 s7 n/ ? N
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman7 v+ P4 q7 t* g6 N
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
. {" K; v4 A: P$ v4 Ein place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
6 k$ T/ r% l ?# _Lentz replied: "Not totally."
3 |) L8 V8 R$ K- ~, [# B/ R4 {Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
% p. z. c4 x) r2 q9 [ e"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said( h! o# J5 P$ C$ j
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas+ P7 X1 `* W0 ?! j, W; n- ~7 G
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
1 q0 H* \* \( J* z2 Lvehicles already on the road.7 |- u0 G* u9 R& N; ?
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
; l& J3 t+ n2 l1 J. a# sbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
[: J* i2 @1 j1 b3 Uresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and+ N: k3 S1 W: I* p- Y
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were- M8 z6 D' \4 N( L
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.& H0 Z+ H2 `$ g: w+ s' C$ N% R$ x
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
7 A$ d+ E1 r" n: V- v* ptragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony8 f+ r) d6 c, r! I2 J
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
4 q' a) p5 J! J1 ]# w( [Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal- Q) V2 `4 @# h1 p B. w+ s
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to4 S a4 z( Q9 f9 q
restore the trust of our customers."; ]1 O2 w4 h3 d/ G# P( j
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from4 |; I9 j( o1 q L1 V& T. x- ?2 Q1 H
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
# y3 n" _$ D; v% V) {+ Z7 wzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --; P% m* r9 @/ M1 }2 G
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
. B/ i5 Q% ^) x6 U' V, k; U0 Ohitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
) X; j0 F! B+ j, pthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and2 M* x( @' M2 g+ ^& F# y
turn off the engine.+ a/ O% G/ y$ t' N' K
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of o: _2 i7 [, H4 t" K9 h
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
W' P9 `8 V; G- Z8 M+ j"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she* u0 P6 t" |& c2 j2 D, n: ?% E
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
+ g, p/ H1 M: E0 Uto her complaints.- l5 o3 e1 l# w* F+ p- d( k
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
( h3 I% c+ X" _$ C6 Z, Oreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic3 W; R) e- F. c4 R
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.' x1 S0 E9 V3 R0 V- r$ B, F$ r
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
* C. E$ e9 t! q* j' G- Fthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited' y, l) E! c- |( c- U
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
0 J4 s3 H4 M6 p* poff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
! m) ~$ J- Z7 K" v; \Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in! _% K/ @. A, R# p+ H
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
0 ^) q; l% o7 t2 E2 R6 Hbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls% p' K- D! {: s d6 ?
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer0 q! d Y" k! H8 w% y s: h' p
every question."+ j0 m& a. N2 ]
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether: S5 p+ [: ^& w1 e2 F. {+ q" P" K) |
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The/ m4 H; e e9 j: Z, s
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But: \1 N7 U6 V: B, v4 n
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
& i: d7 ^( C$ Tnumber of vehicles6 D B% Z4 _% P# ]
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more' I$ w& v& U" j
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a3 O! f9 P& a" X/ B; l0 x) y- b& x- Q
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
# U" u% h/ T- m) B+ Ssource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
$ y. F9 A* e e9 d" R6 n2 y# x) vMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
+ @$ P# n7 j8 Q$ m/ Iwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
6 `* {# R5 d3 P5 K9 ztrace at all.7 h; M) j2 R) M. y& P5 Z
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call+ J1 j' u9 ~% g1 Z) X# r
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
/ D7 Z1 z5 K. E; r3 a' F8 Bacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
# p( D; \7 a3 k8 Arecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals." ]/ \: p3 k+ D
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,+ ]* m m) h. ~* _- R5 @
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and/ i; S3 s0 R9 B& h. l# H- S
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
# i: ?: {9 j5 a- K' j' l; `- Uelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
- i) N6 C4 G' q; K& B1 m! C& Z5 Wcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only N0 ?6 P. Q" L" h; N
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
" {- ~- z0 P& H1 uby Toyota's lawyers."5 J; ]4 w$ ~! L: X
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of5 y% X& [3 i' ?
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
: e+ M/ C+ T$ {* U, y0 wcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he/ J5 c6 w6 q; @" a8 f, x
said.8 V" v2 E7 D9 p5 K% F7 j, W2 ^ b
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with& X; N) E! w; }' m* y2 v
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
& d @, |& @; H( S& qgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
& F8 R% V7 x! R; @% J0 Vofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
$ b4 N# A/ i( R, O2 p6 p, q. TSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying, V; b! n$ X. D/ [0 x9 @! U2 s0 P t4 h
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
; V/ Q$ K! e. t Z3 k$ `$ m9 drancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
( F- _( ?0 r/ B% A: }2 gautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
% P! ?3 l9 U2 |- Jinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and0 H: O# d1 m" ^2 Z( Q+ P
Chrysler.
( }. w# k9 d" z9 r( t"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
8 T* Q5 C5 P- L* |7 J1 n# y5 ydollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a7 E) w! }* ~) k D, J3 i
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also2 x& N4 i3 ^9 t- I- k1 B
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete5 e; M( d- ~" K+ q1 e, O/ A: ]
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
5 [" E* }) \0 w3 A9 k5 Qtough.". W. {& J+ T% i# S A' |+ V
---- H8 Z9 z5 [3 S) W$ @
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom4 f5 t9 j' K# a) E1 a+ e5 A8 [
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
- m1 ~, T* I) g* {1 ?* Sthis story.- E- C$ t( E# C7 ?. P
' w% V8 k" ?: D! x+ a-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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