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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题2 F# K) s5 ^ j
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
: a0 L( C+ c& m# I, tWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
* r9 d. I& G& ~, |4 ]( `7 @operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
0 l4 A& I5 w+ Bthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"( y, f" c7 o5 }1 i% I8 L
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
$ g2 S# |- G) J6 C- ]8 C* l"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential) s/ }$ k5 W# B& r2 f
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel., A4 m* \4 u6 \' o( `6 q) g
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
) J: K7 C' s+ \8 yacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and/ v2 {3 F% T6 A) }. H
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
- h& f$ t, S8 E2 q2 E- Z, m8 U9 e( rmats and sticking accelerator pedals.8 b6 @* X. \9 c
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal+ l& ?9 w/ G4 o# t5 n
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp: k, e O0 y) m2 X' E! T J3 n
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
9 d! q) ~! z/ a+ s% I2 \4 ifurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
. E8 Z# ]. X8 Z C# znot stop her runaway Lexus.
' P% r W2 _4 |6 C1 [, y, D% N& w"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,7 S7 U9 f3 Z3 @( }( ]
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second1 N! d$ s3 ]0 S4 H
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
" x. b/ x9 `1 l' p0 ^+ XTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues! m( I0 @/ K; b" g* o+ I" T& W. W( @
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said- {# Q! k1 k! H# D# _
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has* R6 \& @7 A+ T k; I6 q
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
- z" K, L. o6 k$ P* z+ x9 H, x) e/ \through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
; v- s8 b2 ]" W5 o$ O$ Ninvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham.". \. g' u- z# [) A+ w- ]9 A
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an- w7 ~) U" p6 k! |* }: E
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of# U& z3 T7 J+ j* _7 q! ^" z
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
# G! H, d; r' G3 omalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he: g! S) R2 g) z* c* ]" w
said.4 {- }/ k9 |/ j- H+ y3 V0 d
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
3 k% ~1 w! o- H- d( O2 a0 mhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe) ~7 F+ F8 g0 n4 [2 k. y
about driving our products," Lentz said.
. }# H) `/ d' Q5 WThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
" M7 d0 @* ]5 y3 q; U* l& i5 Eproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has" F2 N5 X. i- k0 H4 s7 S" M
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 67 h U0 i& H/ P
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
$ v* k2 H4 N( W& g J# j% O( Qunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking( y, ~2 A0 N' n+ q
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
; f+ k, g d8 wconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
+ M4 c1 ~5 y/ ltheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
6 P0 y0 m! l* tdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has2 n+ C) a# e! K" f+ e
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
2 X5 T( _% v- C; V& |" e" u- }0 jof Toyota vehicles since 2000.* p1 m; M o8 h4 O- |) \
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
2 T& f9 r" S$ fbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he* u2 r, |) l0 ^; D4 [
understood the pain.0 E8 R+ T4 s. p, V& }7 z
"I know what those families go through," he said.( U) z. U/ m$ F
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's" D/ {* F- q$ \& e9 X6 C5 v
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
P! j9 w: R1 D1 A6 YBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman3 v i" k! r- v- c+ S# U8 D
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put+ g, L" {- [* a
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
, K3 _! a8 j2 C3 U; ?. W0 L. _5 k! @Lentz replied: "Not totally.": r- o! | y3 o# e3 A ~5 t
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were6 d( f2 z0 F. o3 d/ q
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
; I x% ]0 O7 O$ e: UToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas) U x b; f: @3 [8 E
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
; U1 k: _3 |8 g: e7 l' {0 x9 Rvehicles already on the road.
^4 @; I0 b% W# mMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify6 U9 k& d7 P! Z! C7 v n c, Y
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full- p. k! X Q5 f
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and* Z3 ~- L- R7 ^3 [
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were& r5 @1 {$ J+ R
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
]2 @# e! Y$ l0 d% Z5 a% ] ~ g"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
* d7 T! ^5 q; K8 t! n; A9 wtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
: j8 g7 |' z+ d, m- D) L$ Zfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight- n- w" H. C% n/ I* I5 X& y
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal! I2 z( X% m% w0 d+ S* r% ~ ]$ \/ m
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
- G. i2 }, }- n. g" Erestore the trust of our customers."' |0 Y6 U* S0 [+ ]
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from; x L9 Z3 |4 r* g- g* ?
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly1 D5 F( W8 ?& K2 E$ Z& r
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --. t* c \4 b6 C+ x* |
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
) E+ B: Y* a: C' l7 ?7 Q5 i& ]' L7 ^hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough4 R5 p% S. p! x' i [" A
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
% V& o8 Y: t$ w. {% A/ pturn off the engine.
# g+ S4 T H& Z" _5 K: CFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
8 n, y7 M3 W3 R9 m3 L2 z8 AOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."- b& |, E5 q. [: ? ?3 U( b, x% B5 q, a
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
4 K# L$ x# a) L5 D! z- [: f0 H6 `said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond3 j: l1 s* a |" L- z
to her complaints.8 u q$ P6 g7 p# _; x, n( r
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
! B1 [! u- P7 Areturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
7 i$ c# s6 }5 Lmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
3 o& z2 t8 t( O: l"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
- l" h5 }$ b# R1 t) L5 Qthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited/ U/ c7 p7 f5 x8 C! V8 v
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
& ^+ ]& d: E/ h' k7 s/ k3 Noff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."9 _6 B3 O/ U! i1 |- P* c
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in$ ^% A' W5 o6 }$ y* S2 d: L. U7 N
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were; Y w/ q$ R# ~! s
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
* [2 J" G0 p1 e8 \were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
5 U% ?0 ^% B, Y0 ]3 Wevery question."$ P) K& }$ U& W* R
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
1 v" ]3 q: v( a9 S3 Welectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The' \* |3 A& r( Y q
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But6 C6 F! W1 ^& j( r) C9 z* ?
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small4 J( `0 C$ S, o3 b8 @' V
number of vehicles- u- S& n" ^$ u, H! c
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
& q3 c+ P1 M/ {! {3 k, n. J$ sdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a" ?* t$ a+ W/ m% d5 C
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one6 b/ b' K& V" c0 B9 O; U
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
! ]2 L: I% Q6 KMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
$ D7 A, U6 g" L# ~" L8 Vwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
. m# e J( c! E- {/ ]0 o9 T# L, |7 ^trace at all.% A* ~2 _2 a8 K: l
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call. l, M* \/ D4 h. _0 q4 H& t
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden! |9 E4 @$ O. l8 v0 ]
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the: }+ f, c% T/ G9 ?
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals. Q" H! Z7 E7 Q" @6 p* t( p
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,0 o1 ~* R# g& |" S! }
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and2 A* Q+ @5 @! w- V' _& ~, }. O4 s
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
7 S O' P2 z3 Q* c: N+ v5 Pelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
p7 _4 o: N2 ?( j; Q2 X& K6 `, acause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only9 O) J" W9 l6 p2 y( Z% [, y9 R* W; s! W
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained3 ?$ T5 T+ |, A) J: N0 t v
by Toyota's lawyers."3 _4 i. S! s2 P, i& S
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of- d0 K& ?0 |% `7 t
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our0 ^( t6 _: \& h* \
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
5 |, |& }' q! m# p/ Ssaid.1 g [0 L% g- R" q1 S) o
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
3 {. g- C( ~- F% `) ?a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
# M: T% [% p: c/ Jgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
) G. m* z; x- H, L. T8 }1 l6 m a- ]officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
* Q( b I! U9 X% I% a1 w iSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying- _( }. D/ ]; s0 ^$ q! N# O
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread5 q$ z+ w V$ |* q+ ~$ ~# c8 [ c
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the! }; `0 U, R8 ?" i" e6 B
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
, [5 J: b5 B( A2 X7 d9 b% Finvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and* A0 \' l1 S+ B- E4 H7 W
Chrysler.
) w7 N( d& ^- p"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
* y, m3 L# b2 o5 }( O8 adollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a) R* { Z: u- m% U5 t# n
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
7 b/ K, \4 I" o& g2 E% [5 d7 Xserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
4 k# J- H& E- p. E' b0 p$ vwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty0 b, Y }2 ]2 u2 A
tough."& d" B" R+ E6 X0 [/ t
---
- [; K4 f; x& \Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
2 G# b* _* L% s( y. rRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to, z, |* b$ s3 L: ^1 y9 \
this story.% _4 q3 `9 G5 U6 R
4 h3 K( e! I3 `& `
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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