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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
) ?: K9 X ?: u. s2 k8 ^; u, tBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS( |8 D# n' y7 s3 J7 X) m0 }! U
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
8 k- w& R( p; {7 |' b* `; O. F- [operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that( z; n% V# U' M' U0 H
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
+ m; e2 R) ?+ }solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
# ` j8 j1 B* q$ N/ l4 K"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential. g9 [) Y8 X! R" K1 V" ?) F
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.$ C$ _" w4 ?- ?" ?, R+ g: X. V
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected/ d- d% h. A% v# j1 O
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
) a% ~. G' ?# o7 \% H; k: ^5 ]* ltrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
0 E1 l! t+ ^% M7 n" \* dmats and sticking accelerator pedals.6 e1 _3 ~& S8 n
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal" b8 X& B9 ?* U: F7 T
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
2 f K; `# v6 d1 Z3 }criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
. w+ S+ \* P q& w5 K: ufurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could( N; w5 t% z( k
not stop her runaway Lexus.
1 P- f7 G/ z0 o- }# B- N( y2 ]"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
/ F1 ]" v2 x: S# R2 h! ?Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
0 ^; i5 y) S; A- o5 ]. H8 v"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators." z; [! v8 P$ M6 _! @; z
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues* x( R- y4 u# \3 w4 ]+ S$ y
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
- F. [- O8 ~5 c3 S. x/ a* F"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
% t* q" E* Q# ^* mdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway5 ]+ G+ e! h6 j. R/ ^; ?
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
* R0 z' s ~3 g$ P5 t4 d3 [3 tinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
+ C K T. U+ r) K, RLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
& Q9 I% e5 e) Delectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of! }# h, W. ~, L/ ]
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a7 `) ^, u6 F8 a3 o" M6 i
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he2 L: a2 P; f9 H" u
said.! |" o R1 v) |$ }1 J
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
5 s4 O! o1 \# ahappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
: k X8 H$ I2 N" f( n) B: m/ cabout driving our products," Lentz said.
2 p, K( M6 t( I9 S: w; b: LThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's/ @% W: Y. B3 u, [
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
& Z0 R k+ T' \4 nrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6- f8 ?& T& \4 A$ v+ B3 i! ^
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
' f2 ]5 u% T- ~- ounintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
" r+ k) w- E( r4 s/ ^issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
; B/ M$ ~$ e) _% [ ]3 d9 ]6 Econcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of. t$ j [9 {( G
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow* @& H/ U6 Y n S/ ~0 t) @3 w. e7 V
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
e6 |/ R& B, i# L" y- k7 Q2 f6 Yreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
7 H, J: Q- b3 }of Toyota vehicles since 2000.( y: |% o7 m3 i9 Z
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
" ^ j% L4 i& b4 lbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
3 a$ O6 U! Z# l6 p v: W& z. u9 ~, ?understood the pain.
0 [" R/ B0 h& Y1 |4 ^% F( |"I know what those families go through," he said.
; s2 u0 U& Y" J' p# `Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's# g. X) }& \: V5 @
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
U' P5 x9 b: d) u8 B& [$ ]+ ]But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
1 @9 D7 W. Q; x. iHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put' M1 N6 g, a/ O; d& g4 w# }: z
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
7 V6 m. M3 c/ I9 A, u; \" LLentz replied: "Not totally."9 n2 y0 G1 v. y+ _
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were5 }$ ^( d% ]1 D
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said0 x3 f/ R2 K: P
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas& B9 v2 Y: G z; D4 Y% ?/ G2 k
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its! s% J! v+ m$ m; `) E' q
vehicles already on the road.
! E6 v$ f& v# M, T6 J+ A3 zMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify8 h7 d9 i" P& e2 c" t
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
6 D. \1 }6 g) u1 y3 gresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and X/ ~3 v0 g' P9 a% J1 K+ U* h! I
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were, D' D* U+ ~) V. O
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
9 m% M, k# P: x7 ]8 \3 V2 n0 m2 k ~"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a7 h1 S& E. F; x ^! a# }
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony, A) D3 I) L. W- h
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight6 |# h( r* I0 K& ^/ T$ w
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal5 Y [( i% o! `" ^
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
; i8 M* i/ O n" L' `8 erestore the trust of our customers."# s H( }9 N- m+ K! U9 f: Z
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
+ Z3 ^8 i- c' q- ?& iSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly8 U. s2 ?( N6 L
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --5 P9 G" D' Q" k& E
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
; {% s) m4 N& qhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough9 m O0 W( U9 z7 k
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and/ O) [, i) P C; c6 ]+ H! v
turn off the engine. ~+ Q t+ o8 ?; f+ {
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
) @0 x$ `9 L' {5 t1 ^ Y/ u( ]4 EOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience.": X3 D' [, y+ C
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she0 F2 T ]5 u R7 q' w* [4 b5 `
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
% U3 Q0 ]; r0 C3 ?0 S# Bto her complaints.
+ P6 A5 O+ U4 s: x$ V y w/ pIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
: m1 K/ a( |9 h. {& c( `0 S1 A$ B9 z1 ]returned again and again to the question of whether electronic# z- F( N- `2 a$ I! U3 Z4 ~
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.7 [* v& Q6 {$ J4 x e
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric/ S1 M) V$ p+ F
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited' Q" @' Z5 m) T! l o( L( p
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut/ E K7 O( p) P$ U0 w, z- w
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."4 T) E3 `1 ~2 G
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
# c/ }6 t- ` z8 kprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
9 o& P3 f( ^, q8 w& K3 vbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
5 D7 z3 g; ?, P, |; Z) w7 ?7 `were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
% Q- ~ K; d8 n7 i$ Fevery question."
0 Y" C; q2 O6 `5 K' l c, _' uToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether% r; o* m3 i* {) _ c" A7 }8 e. Z3 I
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The0 B/ Z+ J! p7 I/ k1 n/ E
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
& y1 O* J) d( u- s0 vcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
; i5 g! _2 G* `( fnumber of vehicles
' M; i# N8 ?4 cTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
% j1 u3 G2 u0 N( fdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a: Y/ X9 @1 _8 c9 k# Z0 q+ V
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one+ X9 x% u/ @2 v
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.0 ^! u) z6 r% W7 s9 y
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,: N! V2 t) u( |$ I# L! T
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no4 O& }9 _ U% e. y/ Q7 u7 N
trace at all.
0 g3 k' i% W/ M* ]House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call3 D" T. y5 z, r" i$ Q2 B
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden* U1 |# u5 b) p9 p: |7 C7 K# C
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
, G! ^7 @$ u8 O) u: z8 Irecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
1 X9 s8 O' h% t O, @# t+ ^ f4 @Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,% K; t9 E2 R1 U2 N% m
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
& O7 {! Y1 M; c" U. R, i4 h; g6 I% bother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the- t$ M1 N' N7 U( v
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
2 X& V9 E+ {7 G# `: dcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
, f9 u6 Q: ]/ r, J6 a! z& isuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained9 {- P# B3 l6 d! @
by Toyota's lawyers."8 w. o* ]$ T C# M ^
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
6 B6 ~( N) G* ~7 i; n% q5 X6 Pproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our2 Q5 E8 ]. H! A$ f/ [% p
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he3 X# \* y$ B1 V
said.: J. f% L* M' E) y5 C
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with; p. Y- x* n7 J4 \1 G2 P6 D2 S
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
( t) T# l" T- d9 y9 a, U% fgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating8 Z, u1 y0 n4 t; L3 }& o8 G
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
! M k, r% G+ I( hSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
' r H: `8 H1 S+ ~% ]' kmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread0 D9 ?& V# C. Z! P% v) ^
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
* w- m2 p- @% [8 j$ x! _+ mautomaker, at least in part because of the government's' G$ y) c& N! O; D! ~1 U5 t
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
+ ^) r! O* w1 l$ d' FChrysler.* t2 U) B! F) `! W% g
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax- ?6 h9 J% J0 b3 q
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
3 N& n, @9 n% VHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
) o$ }7 l. m4 Fserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
: ]: [6 R) t2 Awith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty9 L( A& S1 V4 S3 h
tough."# ?" M/ j2 M3 _2 Y4 K$ _
---
$ l; q0 t$ K" v- LAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom; s# @2 M) F" I; `" B: H
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
; t* B6 `8 \( W: p- athis story.. S2 U0 ~. m; g! W
& a+ ]4 a% \1 R$ \$ |+ [
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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