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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题) V( P6 Z0 E. g; k3 b
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS' s1 J& E" l1 d9 ~- o
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.4 G# Q; Q8 L0 u- W- e
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that; v- X$ G: q0 k+ }
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"9 D4 { j. B* h( D- p1 Q6 L) ], P
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
* P4 j4 ]* S3 l$ d' J5 _"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential' L3 \7 t9 L; m+ [
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
6 L: O: N* W4 J# W1 `! yHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
. O1 X+ R' l* v# Tacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and! n7 L4 [* T$ A5 m2 t1 [. D, m
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
h3 B2 v `( C0 M( f& v: umats and sticking accelerator pedals.% @" y# T- ]% |" f4 t C
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
; ~6 j/ l& [% x1 f# g. I hand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
8 w- |8 J/ {( Q, y5 k( r) Dcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be% r3 g5 e, y& A0 P: t) P
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could# m/ V6 I5 N* d
not stop her runaway Lexus. H$ r. i9 E5 B1 F7 x! l7 K
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
; U( o8 A2 V7 L7 \; |Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
$ j6 n' e6 F1 M2 F$ ^! j"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
h2 m" X5 g8 `* I# i8 @) oTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues1 Y: c: D! E x
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
: D, o$ H, d7 R2 _: T" E; M0 L! Z"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
# A& x$ {2 C z) b4 C& T. Vdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway# Q% P9 B e" j6 q2 K7 r
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
S: y( M6 a+ {! Q5 o4 cinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."4 w2 T; m+ ? r. c
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
O* x D+ T3 \9 Eelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of4 }5 Y9 ]* g* n# Y+ P9 j4 D' z* O: C# F
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
' G' n# Q# u6 `, ?malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he5 G) o2 i. A8 P- e0 J* L
said.# j G1 w$ Y# L; d: v- B/ r1 A
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what1 P4 O! s4 w3 b Y+ u( I$ D
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe( R5 d9 e8 N! S' A6 } y8 h% c
about driving our products," Lentz said.
/ e/ O* ?0 Z6 L% hThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
; X$ B6 O5 C8 y$ q# Rproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has& l0 D6 e" k }. `! T$ ~7 A
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
$ w2 }, Z& p6 H0 {million in the United States -- since last fall because of) d; j' S4 W9 x/ L5 @0 C, R. l: O% C
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
7 Q5 ^6 {+ n9 Kissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering9 k( O# O9 i- r2 i. r, \
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of5 T& |5 I9 r7 S/ {
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
! q2 k3 c. `5 d7 [down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has- O# T2 f% l M3 r
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
- Q5 q# N7 Q0 O- iof Toyota vehicles since 2000.5 R) s( U" ^- u7 q
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
; n% {% H4 E' nbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
; u y: }( s1 Ounderstood the pain.
/ U; V x2 G1 d9 |8 w3 K0 c"I know what those families go through," he said.- T' B$ h6 s. D
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
! U8 z1 b: {1 L/ {fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
! `4 l9 |) R# A$ T8 ~3 i$ ~8 TBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman$ ~1 q9 w- Y$ U9 |5 m' t
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
& y. j' l) @+ X4 l5 din place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
! z: R8 S* _$ x+ u8 W( s& nLentz replied: "Not totally."
0 s4 B/ B3 j8 \; g0 DStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
% N- W! y& |3 E8 R; L"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said# j7 N0 P5 O; o* |. A6 y
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
9 R. i2 Y( W1 ^$ O$ _0 T% J0 ipedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
" b: Y* d0 v1 W) Xvehicles already on the road.9 [; Q7 o. ~8 @: _. W! B
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify2 V+ _4 f# W6 L8 a1 ]
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full0 k- w& f- z) j2 t: R; b# c
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
5 ~" j4 u. _. D1 B) Xoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
# e7 i1 |- C& wkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
1 z D+ k' N# ~+ x. a( k"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a- J% s6 C d4 Y: t2 L& O/ ^9 I: Z. l
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony s+ N% C" y3 B- P8 F
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight) q) ]4 a& {' A% S, u( w' F
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
* L, I }0 e& l$ J; J/ |commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to1 k: v, R$ B J2 m
restore the trust of our customers."
0 s: R7 ]" \+ u7 w) ALawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
& ]7 n, U1 Z0 }8 q1 Z3 MSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
% m& X3 g& Q0 i9 V1 W) K* W! |zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
2 j+ Y9 j) Z6 N- O) Y9 sshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
0 w, ^" ~7 q0 u0 @0 @. Rhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
. ^0 u, }& @; m8 i( Xthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
+ g$ _# b8 h/ X2 u2 ?turn off the engine.
4 |$ G4 W, V' m8 @" G; e! HFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of' V# \7 a$ E3 W% E$ {) R
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
' a' G/ j# ]- b8 c; Q+ H) Z0 O"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
" u8 P, r; e. ^: Y. E0 h% Xsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond0 k" {% x8 m4 O$ }) P
to her complaints.) b+ i! g5 P6 K1 K. m
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
' S1 [; [3 I/ J+ wreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
$ l* i! z* ^! U, J \malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars., b( _5 ^: Z: s \: E4 e
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
( q! U* {: o+ u' Athrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
8 A- ]; `5 X3 O* V9 m) T"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
7 o0 m2 Z/ b" R2 L. Qoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."+ I! D: l# h+ L
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
8 X* _' _& e1 u/ P% ^- v, Z/ ?6 dprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
& G, j) A( g* O6 pbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls' e/ C6 ?2 X# _. o: I) S
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
( W' ^% v% E. T( Qevery question."- H9 \0 c9 R, }6 p: u- |1 o
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
/ w3 L! M z6 Gelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
/ h; K- i7 C/ e; Xfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
# R" b- X2 N' q0 j+ B9 Ucommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
0 I6 ~5 Y3 d& p tnumber of vehicles( K7 E/ C" n8 S _+ F
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more) n( {; S+ E( x. C }; }& D
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
* _1 Q1 @- ~9 V# Mmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
* A$ q8 B# t# @* wsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car., ~5 y( z2 m( @0 \( r/ C" a
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,$ w. X; b" C6 r/ t$ s
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no! a+ q r) b: B0 U7 d' m( i$ m
trace at all.
$ T: G3 v+ F& T( qHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call7 ^$ d& _. c5 b0 {. l* E
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden( S: r& ~+ I9 y6 f& @/ N
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
1 _5 X8 J9 i3 Lrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.! M) s5 O3 k. P ^) H' }5 ]
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
: l" X0 f4 R9 u5 psaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
# O5 s: {% L d% i- j3 V& gother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
~0 p7 [0 y2 r7 Belectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
7 N. q- Q% |+ h& C3 W: ccause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
6 G5 h3 e5 ]" p; psuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained) P K2 ]& c1 k5 I
by Toyota's lawyers."4 y" B0 l, [4 o2 w! s# Z
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of. X# Q, V# ~6 `& f) u
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our& N2 f4 U* D( b/ q" t2 |8 G: l- m
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
1 m; |( ]) C0 v1 G, w5 Usaid.* @' J: R! v; j+ `
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with% R# w2 k% ?7 D7 A1 E; [; r
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our7 w% v1 a; z- G/ H- R: l- F6 o
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
4 E) V% b% U/ s4 J2 Z( e( O, `officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
6 N$ O1 @0 }! _$ n# GSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying) y4 ^- S0 W: k: X$ v$ {, d- h( d
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread, \0 H" j4 U; T+ H6 t5 L; x1 E
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the- b- `. S" v b. W) j; y
automaker, at least in part because of the government's4 K) A) e& m% L3 L7 I- n" ^$ v
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
8 N7 ~4 n& {% d4 G4 s1 u2 X. JChrysler.
4 c# g9 @" O/ @$ L" V1 z! d"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
/ z& [4 ?" m. i6 `dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
# E. o9 F( K9 ^# [8 LHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
$ }+ f+ y( u1 q j1 i# B% Mserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete+ f- x: F9 V; W# }
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty, ], c% t# q6 x3 n, Q
tough."6 `$ z+ ^& @2 p$ A& e
---0 F# a8 o5 X9 B: f3 U
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
2 V z- ~* @0 C. `, }- [6 r5 ^Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to9 J( u3 }0 @ } k) o! ^0 a* w- J8 h
this story.0 M8 {: f2 m8 T- G
/ l7 [% F" ?8 c. }
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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