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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题1 i. I5 x- f% W! c3 o# _' P! I6 u7 `4 s
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
. x, k9 ], G8 f0 GWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.' }4 }; O ~1 O! m9 g3 E* x; y( C
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
" e* p P. x6 C" g2 pthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
) J0 D# X/ @0 d. z/ T/ z$ bsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.2 N) v! k$ {% c
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
4 E& H2 z$ Q$ Z" x, W" ycauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.# \+ W" P. T& E+ G; g5 G
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected9 l' m/ Q7 c$ x; G& U2 d
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and ^, R; m! V/ |: i( l8 ]
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor$ @7 ~6 o3 v6 Z) q0 v
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.4 l, x2 I8 z5 l; v9 W4 {, h/ [
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
8 _/ G; K" e% g6 Sand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp) i- S+ P g/ u ]- h5 g
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
8 D# J2 ~: W' A! F* a* Kfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could! L0 k6 x$ n- N: v, K0 g
not stop her runaway Lexus.
: G; Y9 \% k7 H9 J Z2 G3 X( o"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,, f( _, ^- f; O& L, [' ]6 W
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second9 H; ?. c9 v( S9 v3 h# r' R. \
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
+ q1 A2 I6 a4 j7 `: UTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
8 K4 x9 }& `" Uearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
0 g5 h; E( L4 h/ p' Y"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
+ { j# k0 @2 }2 I: B$ Q3 E; A9 N( R9 Jdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway9 U3 l; @% c' I O9 G6 B( n
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
9 ^4 @6 {! t4 a9 x5 ]; I6 f: qinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."" l8 c: k; r9 w( R' [) ?: T3 ]
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an$ B7 K+ p) u5 K
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
. n2 U3 T8 b% v6 S2 t/ othe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
: |2 }9 Z5 S' m0 bmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he( w" t' u4 f$ Z' X! ?
said.6 Y% C4 C$ x) m$ p3 s
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
+ E: [7 f' B" K6 [happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
0 l8 V- r, a u2 S4 w+ qabout driving our products," Lentz said.
" C1 L) Y8 U2 j% GThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's- X! y; C' b/ e5 @* v
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has. q1 r9 B; m) }- `
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6- M" I+ [1 a* J. z0 C4 B4 _3 }
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
+ j I7 f' H; ~" lunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
! N7 U& ?. I9 ^. z* ~, X8 M0 O% Xissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
8 h3 H6 b1 F% q, fconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
9 {1 L0 B" ?" N( q/ f, _their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
- H3 ^1 z# ~* G, m: ?* Pdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has. K6 i3 i% A$ b; Z1 c1 y. D+ @4 Y
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration4 W4 V9 _$ p: r; [# A4 U& B
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
! d# x9 |- |& W: I" Z; VLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
) |0 T" Y/ T* v4 p2 \/ m! ~' r8 N9 |brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he. |- Z3 e$ o1 ~6 a" k" l/ U
understood the pain.
* n; p- u$ r& \" J) B3 Z6 p"I know what those families go through," he said.
4 N4 e' X- ~" M" g! ?# bLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
; \/ J' l2 O: F4 P) ^fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
5 N" P" t. c% `8 ^! |3 ABut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman: z9 F9 \" q0 s0 N+ U% w: A9 f
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put8 m! d$ I/ v: K: t' P0 T
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,: F- _& Z. Q0 ^; M ^) c* u6 W( `! |
Lentz replied: "Not totally."% S" K+ J, B O
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were/ s2 z& A% J: Z E+ ]
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said8 J9 k ]8 Z& {
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
- a2 j$ l2 S1 j! @0 {1 kpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
7 U9 o' M, E5 o/ Dvehicles already on the road.
5 I( \# t' P: l9 Q7 g6 AMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
4 G8 w) G2 X7 |$ p: `, ^before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
- t6 d+ M& i3 x5 Q( \0 Cresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and8 O: T; W" t7 E0 S7 i9 q
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
# ?" F2 ~* Y& Z& bkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
* ]- b/ x0 W) N/ g0 N4 }3 z"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a8 H+ ^; Q: I/ K- \7 J5 o4 J. H# B
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony4 }& e) j) t7 N+ ~- E4 k
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
& S( \4 a$ w! h( W3 SCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
. O* R6 s/ X; I& n% Acommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to6 W/ i1 b* {/ L. y
restore the trust of our customers."( j& z1 R/ ^$ y# @/ h: h& G9 D( Q1 G
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from k) H) Z# [& m, r7 A
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
# b/ Q" ^8 k+ Z4 ?/ Tzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --% y3 F; g; S+ ^ i; ~% }& `1 r# A
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
0 V# z! ^2 W+ e2 n/ a/ w, z2 thitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
8 j3 } D# ]5 Y( s; vthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
5 H7 B: W7 N4 \! c- [# Y: Tturn off the engine.& A, I9 ~, N. \) ?9 u
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of8 t" r9 D. _; c9 n- D
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."$ e: D( D6 j* x ?( o
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
/ T, w4 G B$ `/ x, ^said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond% k( }5 X r2 e
to her complaints., u! H$ _. R- o' L, G- V
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers& o h4 B$ Q$ T; P$ `* x) W/ N
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
3 o1 x5 {4 H; @; H0 v! Smalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
: \6 E8 ^4 U5 |9 S"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
) I) O" |! Q- n7 c* P& _6 H0 Nthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
) U( ^+ a2 h' ]"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
+ [ j5 G8 P, Noff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."- \6 t. ` a% }
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
9 W0 d Z3 Y$ g% Aprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were3 L4 \4 c. B& N, L3 s* D8 p5 e
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls* g7 J8 U. {3 D5 z
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer e1 G( O7 Q, j: j
every question."
5 ^* s% |4 z6 B: r( k/ a9 ]Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
, T( K) k$ W, a. felectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The- ^) Y$ ~2 t: u( x2 w9 R' B
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But/ I' K1 j& Y; f$ A$ I0 h
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small% O' h1 h2 K) ^+ P, }% y
number of vehicles! T0 p F( W* q, N
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more7 c5 h+ H8 p1 C0 ^/ o9 K0 M6 T7 E5 U
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
" k O( V( H+ R+ j m1 c4 V3 _2 h4 emechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
# J3 D2 d( |2 f' f! e5 Esource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.. C5 b; f8 A- t
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,( v6 ^# u& v/ `
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
1 ^, \# J/ x& H9 I* b/ xtrace at all.1 F' L) ]3 v. T% ?
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
' o+ E8 h# t+ n+ r- [$ G5 V4 mdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden, B ?% G1 r$ V. v) M/ {
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the! r- Z& O% K# ?7 i6 I9 X+ B$ u
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.# G m' m3 Q6 _: V. c% a" W; o8 d( l
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,6 w" H8 I6 N: f8 _
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and* Y6 E. j1 C4 w9 n. X( i
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the1 O# G+ F4 Q# I8 m
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible& p0 B# F4 E) a: Z
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
" K8 B, [) T( k: \, qsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained2 ?+ t& w; N G
by Toyota's lawyers."6 e9 Z" J% T% k" Z! ~( u/ y% K
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
4 P1 Y7 E% A$ u; ?8 n$ \- Gproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our9 s7 t6 Y; N1 ^0 U, r% o9 s% p o4 o
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
) M0 w, r3 O+ D- l0 Isaid.
V! ]/ e a5 L( J" |! d7 Q: W"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with Q/ Z: f% G x4 @8 \, ^8 n
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
1 \2 d9 c. C0 H, T+ v9 ~good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating$ z. X! Z2 W& ?6 d0 I/ a5 A
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.( N8 {0 ]2 Y6 S! i' q7 }+ }: h$ F
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
! `* r q4 @- q0 N ^* [members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
( n: ~: ~/ r. F5 i; Nrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the& f! w7 g; S* F, u$ j' Q E
automaker, at least in part because of the government's/ u" q6 v6 l9 Z2 g$ G! }) [7 ^
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
! q* p; v; x7 AChrysler.
, q2 w7 ?0 j# u) o2 N& S" Z"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
& ^# a' B& {* z* _$ edollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a1 l% G, `- l- F6 b" v
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
- P- M( {# k8 f/ d' ^! \served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
8 J& a9 g: I1 m- r0 f, Fwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
' V9 L V! L) |4 Z8 C$ _# c' Ntough."
/ c5 Q1 [& J" z' L1 x3 {---
9 a0 M N( h: l+ e$ GAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom% I/ r4 S6 F( t+ ]! i
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
8 R9 ?4 c4 m1 F9 Sthis story.4 t( ]& t6 o S0 ?$ u2 O% z
* k, i8 x9 d _2 M- q T# @-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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