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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题; ~8 D- V3 A: u
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS; {/ W3 g1 y+ H$ {
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S./ T1 F! \2 C+ M$ b5 J
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that, ~" U3 o8 b2 A4 I
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
+ g H" I U9 l) v% |4 A& W. ssolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.& E; ~, M8 a5 Z* [, q/ D+ s; K; U
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential! ^: o* Q+ d% W% ]. B, L
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.8 S2 {3 Q) A9 u7 f# A: Z
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected9 p$ W3 [$ }: n; R
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
# y0 a* H7 _8 ~trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
: h) O2 t% i% v. x' }5 dmats and sticking accelerator pedals.. N! [" j; j; l1 m: e# U5 P: ?
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal; W4 F" Z# a2 @& }6 F. Z; v
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp4 w" e m/ R, C; m
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
8 O- Q$ F( N' F, Wfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could5 \& [4 U; n8 _
not stop her runaway Lexus., I& _8 H+ M" s) _
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,8 f0 Y$ V v) h0 c
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second% g9 q" a# E* p. w+ P
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.! v* H. Y. X0 L/ r4 [" I* q( [& }
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
, [) k8 w9 j, Vearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said5 l) |* h5 _. m& H- @5 Q
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has) v$ c( ~! E+ |
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway! f ~ N9 y4 R6 Z% c: R8 f* E* g
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's; M3 z9 \2 S$ L; L$ \- ~, v
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
+ A7 t1 m7 b# W$ PLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an \( I Z" v- l* W) V* T8 `; q
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
3 }7 ^% [+ Y6 m: j! H5 r& j/ ethe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
: M% u1 m9 V6 d n# g) \# n% R# [malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he4 i1 u5 W1 T- H, P& Q+ ]9 g
said.
0 }0 E s7 `8 C8 u- a; ~As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
2 ?& G; e1 [* ?1 O# Z& whappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
8 S8 Q* d% s+ L Nabout driving our products," Lentz said.; J8 ]* E* T& S7 |% d7 _
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's% ?+ ]$ p% }4 ^ C8 g" l
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has z; `/ K! O; q# i: c
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 69 j! S. K& _; i+ b
million in the United States -- since last fall because of* l( G: F1 { {1 C; J
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking" q& _ i! N8 G4 f* ?
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering' N6 y$ v. V! W/ \4 G
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of0 Z: i. |6 h2 i+ e3 S7 `
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
- C1 C# ~: R, m# \: w- odown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has$ [- x7 p2 ]0 ^# X; o. f8 Z
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration! c! h$ c3 P; l% ^5 I
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
' b6 a3 B% n: R9 p" MLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
; G* t* j& E( m) Gbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he8 g9 k" a* C& ~! S2 c4 I6 c$ P
understood the pain.( }: Z3 ]' q8 e& D* w+ y8 U6 L
"I know what those families go through," he said.
4 L/ M% U! |8 GLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's8 w. a1 a. X: g1 y3 l6 o+ q, I
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems. c0 ~* F8 w& ?9 w
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
4 C+ u; b; Y' [! B/ mHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put5 G" U. g! A( R3 l/ {
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,, G4 F1 \9 }2 r) J9 @
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
- H( s" y9 r0 x6 i4 \9 W+ bStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were* N0 w. [3 w1 g
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
0 w1 q& f8 t+ l1 |! T |. bToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas& m; ^( Z( [1 c! t" }
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
6 ?# M1 N8 J5 B( `2 s+ f# Evehicles already on the road.+ [; I5 V) b0 e$ F: C: u6 L6 s
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
1 n; {' j# J' |before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full/ x. y& M3 `3 i a
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
, O0 J% D6 Z& [- M7 _3 w: woffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
" g' d) Q" V- f( V$ I" [: ]3 ?killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.4 U: v9 v# n1 x1 [% U! K
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a6 G4 ^- r5 k/ A8 L7 Q0 `
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
9 b" _0 Q9 V/ Z7 S5 o4 U% r- ]for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
& _; `6 I2 u" @8 R$ ]Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
6 p+ f% d( ]/ c; N9 Icommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
" i5 u8 H8 {# _" v5 p% l" ?restore the trust of our customers."& o% E- ]5 a+ w( |" W- R. S/ E
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
$ n: c% c9 V4 U tSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
$ D# K# D( d) O4 Qzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --* L* z$ n5 v1 v6 S0 ~0 [
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and5 {9 H% V5 a* v# D% | A3 F
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
* t8 ~% F- o0 jthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and u0 R9 c! p, \: ~
turn off the engine.) k [* d$ Q3 G( N
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of( M9 t/ J+ H' D
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."0 e0 Q& N/ L5 ]5 F( j4 m
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she6 V& _" V" t5 c6 n" f* g
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond! {* T; r" o4 w
to her complaints.
! z M7 W0 H R4 N$ o. dIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
( g. v6 \% Y T$ x( [9 Hreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic# p" D K6 E/ \' n- T
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.2 A) r. w* `! s) j0 c3 \
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
" S$ u1 g. R7 E( f4 m7 athrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
6 v0 V2 U1 v& [+ h- Y"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
* C# c1 ]8 }# \- koff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
9 k8 q {8 t6 k& m# t6 g9 N: C8 |Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
7 ^0 b9 j8 h) q% T3 Gprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
5 [# I2 M3 O5 e. j: b; H5 ebeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls! c- n5 J, T; f. s
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
5 \7 z8 T0 i N P M( Pevery question."- F$ K+ r2 `$ E& H
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether/ R" ^4 t U& q1 K% T. g
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
% f" y. c. t0 t+ D' d7 W7 a4 efirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
) I, t' u- O6 Kcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
# C8 A' {9 y4 j1 W; Fnumber of vehicles8 [# U. S, u; s* e2 E/ n1 O) G1 a
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more. X+ }: n& o: B
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a" H' Y6 @4 O" ^. j. Y3 F
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one/ O6 t* ~4 W+ \6 @* F. ~/ ?1 w! {3 V
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.+ p; Q5 y3 Q% @* j6 e
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,; T3 ?2 {9 L; |; b t
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
7 o, {8 m3 g% k1 Q* htrace at all.. S8 d2 {9 r% y3 e: f
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
. b! n5 m' m3 ?# ndatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden; u+ t! D- C$ j! U- J1 q- x
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the4 K8 Z3 w6 X2 R, B
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.( w5 x# ?2 @- I' z
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
1 W. b$ l# A( Y) U1 nsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
& y$ n' R9 e1 D: W/ e( S" A# X% cother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the( }2 ?' o( ^* S C6 q# F
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible1 d7 \! C! j( A
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only. I. M* v/ G; f
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained1 S& }, d' z+ O% O; y+ Q8 F
by Toyota's lawyers."+ u" y8 ^! `+ L6 ]
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
0 R# c6 `! S1 uproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our1 k8 j: M3 K6 Z3 d) v$ Q) u
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
2 x7 W. h7 k% M% h ssaid.8 E2 J9 c1 h- w7 U
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with' Q1 Q8 [& U; i2 \" Z/ E
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our) D7 ~1 f3 f2 ~$ V( p2 T+ C) C
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
* e! u( l0 U7 W! pofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
' ?% a) U% t' @" h) H H+ @! R: PSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying% a# I; Z( S7 r: S6 j
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread# M8 p' o, S5 l! a1 o0 k
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
+ E2 y0 S) U) }- A$ H. Gautomaker, at least in part because of the government's |, m6 `' F7 U8 u8 g$ X, @
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
/ V2 J" [/ f% @$ eChrysler.$ M& Q, s3 _' |& B
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax. X2 X; ` a& I: W( E8 e6 p
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a {- g0 m- c$ N; H
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also2 n" T3 I# q" R
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete9 ^& m& Y' E/ m/ z: _$ O
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
* B7 c+ @9 D$ `: A3 r# r7 Otough.". X- `/ t/ {& a: Z0 Q2 L9 |
---
' p6 n* m0 k& D# {Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
: u$ ~% M+ X( G6 }7 WRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to3 \ Q5 N/ H7 F
this story.
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-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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