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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
" m* f8 ?0 U8 y1 ~. uBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
0 X3 S# X& [0 X! n: V$ ^% i' kWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.% M% @ s1 s1 q- H5 R4 I1 I) V2 z
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that; w3 R5 s' z# b) J. P
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
% |3 V# G' x- q* t& p3 @solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
0 f6 B# H c' \( b$ f! Q"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
% T* D+ l3 Y9 E8 tcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.* m1 d# n: }2 n
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
; t5 c( O# R7 T8 U2 _$ h1 n) O; i; Vacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
; x; X% r8 F' p* ftrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor2 N3 C- c6 V& N: n8 J% h9 r
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
P+ e5 O4 S$ G* f* iHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal/ h {! ^4 r: [) I4 q* g
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp8 Z; Z8 b& j2 `1 d# t( p
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
9 H6 B9 m$ k0 m+ Y8 ifurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could; d& n1 \9 x: Q: `! U! B
not stop her runaway Lexus.
& r. ~* G& w" W$ p% I0 u"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
( Q* W. O1 S4 a7 k. p: OTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
+ Y0 U t5 R# J/ J' d2 }4 d& M"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.5 |9 z$ Y7 Y1 g$ u: v. w& a" s+ R
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues/ @, W0 f: g2 r" r E
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said6 Y# o9 g9 y- X
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
! S5 a% ?8 f) b# {) ]& ^done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway/ ?6 u( ]& y, u$ b. K
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
1 m) M+ k5 N) B. rinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
: t5 J- h$ j+ @7 m* q- H2 tLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an9 n/ V1 B" _+ E7 ^# t
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
# H5 N G! u0 ^$ T4 z' }the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
C# L. V& e4 T |malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
1 n: o( Z; E2 K( ? r1 F' Lsaid.
! P( C# g0 r4 r* |, DAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
& }& [3 m- @1 _% d7 zhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
, ?: w, q7 s+ a7 ^- M0 H5 L! Wabout driving our products," Lentz said.
7 M2 k6 V/ u# x& S8 PThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
$ Z: V8 o ]8 {, |) ]problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has$ o: O: I2 u* y: Y3 v& r% r4 F% A
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
6 Q: J7 j Y6 ^( jmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of. ^- o" y4 N d; Q) M' Q: w
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking# F# D' G2 _0 m% K& @4 W( D5 s
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
% a/ n4 b4 y* c( y. E5 n) dconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
8 f' n5 d4 t) B- J+ X" qtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow: e# k8 L8 B# B! T
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has" ^7 h7 ^5 }. I' `% j8 a3 M9 l
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
& o% \ M8 t1 C) Q6 Fof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
; N9 }7 O5 M; e+ h' J ZLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
; `2 C1 k* I2 Obrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
: e. u( ^( S: Y7 `4 U. L, _5 vunderstood the pain.+ ~+ e' d5 b* \" g0 Z `4 Z0 i$ [
"I know what those families go through," he said.
6 d0 h4 a# d, f* ^* Y5 ~' eLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's, J9 ~( U; v& g) M
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
/ V8 O* Q; s+ n/ T. CBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
4 {, N2 p3 m; q. d$ RHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put$ G$ h5 o4 H& B
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,4 B q8 L; s# g V/ X/ `& U6 O
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
" H, [' `4 }% p- u; a% {- J7 [Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were! D# }9 Q/ x& L% }, ?# m
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
2 F$ I( ?; I' J! Q* R% ~Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas: j2 M: P; I" z" n. _; z
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its" B* \, {5 L+ y0 G5 d$ z
vehicles already on the road.
: j7 L- I$ y( F. U4 l' f; Y. rMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
% {* M }+ ?% v, ^( r T2 @& tbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full/ p& i+ q$ Q4 w; J [
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
/ I9 o/ b. Y0 w/ O0 |* ]; _offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
7 c; w4 C4 c* G c" N: Ckilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
- `3 e& K1 u) W' Q6 M8 V# A+ H"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
, k5 b1 L" r1 ^7 atragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony2 H9 h' w: n% R6 T
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight, z; B+ J% F2 I& A/ o! u
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
7 A4 T6 y3 j- o8 }$ ycommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to: r- f, `: Y$ ?5 }9 M
restore the trust of our customers."; ]. _: l1 V- Q y% I# f
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from: i- _' o! [( l, l t. U
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly: ? L: \' _6 ^+ E
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --, G5 d/ ]( w6 r! `2 r; c% w+ t) R/ f- b
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and$ ]& ~% T# V" p" n" }' b
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
% C, t7 }6 @: X3 c9 qthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and. x0 r- u2 ?4 z3 R
turn off the engine.
; a5 }" u$ y/ c6 @4 ?& D5 }Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of5 S4 H! d) h# H2 z' }, w
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
: a) [# v/ k7 W/ B: b' r"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
& C/ \6 Q a! L' E! {6 [said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond1 U4 z# @) ^ A+ _# Y% ]
to her complaints.6 j9 K; R5 S; f
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers Q. N) s6 h. E( F7 G$ D& T
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
; c7 o9 ]1 w) ]- }3 x/ j7 R7 ymalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.& ?( ?) C# W' V% ]; z M c0 L
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
8 ? d# p* a. X1 |( zthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited5 ~" B! }2 G$ i5 {# [% W
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut. w, h% v& Q' B/ g6 k
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
/ V- [" { ~' lTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
; Y N) c x) B2 h8 C6 u0 Hprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
8 p, r$ W) A6 {( @9 a0 N5 [0 |being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls h/ t/ A9 l; f8 T
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
& |: p& Z* T* D; ~1 ]3 Xevery question."
) d1 M7 I ]: ~. c0 F1 WToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether; ?# ?% A- A: Z. J. |" w
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The& |0 {0 K/ X* F; {6 V$ G/ }; F% H
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But4 b7 j% O8 ~: H6 P
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small' S& |9 O5 ]0 Q8 s3 U
number of vehicles9 C d; [- _% _ D5 u0 G
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
- E8 n* a. M% a0 ~8 N9 D( Cdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a/ J- X; Z2 G% m! }9 z
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
3 U! K5 g1 P8 g% |9 b2 x' ?7 x" D) Lsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.* s; Y7 m/ U) `( j+ B
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
_/ [" g7 ?" I7 |! o/ dwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
6 e/ R; ?; g2 s1 s& J5 ktrace at all. V& ?6 e/ |+ r* \8 x2 v
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
4 A% |6 O8 S) d; W8 E. C8 ~7 Wdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
% c0 {- f" Y2 Eacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
# D( `" L# J. ]: M/ ]4 J1 Z" Q& [recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals./ }2 [- u* _7 E8 f# _7 x: y
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,# @$ l3 h; r% z9 j3 a, C0 Z7 I
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
* t+ }7 }8 |" _! |) U! \$ ]other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the( ^ t6 K) z& B3 j# i8 `6 V. }
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
$ S$ y" Z6 S3 K q9 \cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only* \: s3 | d2 z+ l6 |$ X. K
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
7 W$ N6 {5 g8 ~7 dby Toyota's lawyers."$ O P* A, R G# F. c8 T
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of8 U* a4 N. q' z9 J* [4 r% |
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
: c/ i# o% O, i' X9 [& pcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he$ A% f; o# i7 a" |7 v0 O
said.! U0 Y% K% O1 i. z- ~0 k
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with& M% M% y {% O- E) n
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our3 k5 l) `9 `! K9 X
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating0 L9 Y, n2 S% o8 h, H. {8 e
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
, r4 B! v* W" B9 ~1 cSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
Q6 i& J" g. b# J9 ~/ j: kmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread7 f5 h5 O9 L. Q9 A* x
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the- E, W+ P0 r c F" @) O) h! h8 T
automaker, at least in part because of the government's4 X# F4 ^6 I- J; A: I- ]
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and. u; d( M1 `8 n9 z& z3 n' d9 g
Chrysler.
9 x4 }& M* G# R7 g4 ~"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
# H+ B& U% [* Y, S, M p: ?. Zdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a) v) ?3 c7 ?1 Z& @( x& l
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also2 x+ U0 c% _ i( o; m
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete7 N5 D% Z$ y( U" a- r
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
# r: j- O( ^8 u, ?2 Mtough."
! y& ^/ N& K. l! x f---
) T0 @, s% K* _1 G: L( Z: D# `: \Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom: M, a6 n: L, e6 T
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
|9 y: Y; D/ k) C( Lthis story.4 G1 }* C# p) w8 {6 U5 ? Y
' v/ j3 }, G% y* Y# P9 p-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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