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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
, ~1 J8 }4 T" c/ @By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS" ?) L& Z$ a. f/ g$ Q" O2 j# w
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
! w4 d% z r/ Z Yoperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that1 l$ S2 L; S( Y. E( e1 l& r, R
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
7 F. ^) i. J. e. B. W1 ]9 ]( Z7 B/ esolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.3 `/ L) l) [ }! x5 B0 e; Z
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
" z; {5 w9 q* y- }) h7 M& Zcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
6 S$ @. d+ v9 HHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected% o& A$ `* a# I) [" B5 c1 C, _# {
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and7 Y( Q( Y% S/ E: O- `/ a
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor2 Z! r0 w& x0 a! M& w
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.9 v# o' q# |; [
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
& W0 I' j% X H2 R5 R4 cand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp, R+ d7 q& q7 f) @
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be: J- d* S+ o1 y& t6 P1 k/ Z
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could6 V9 x2 E D& n4 S2 z& m
not stop her runaway Lexus.
; C/ U% y8 |" L"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,$ z* B4 p! s0 {0 Q: N+ }) g! O" _
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second1 ?0 k9 G0 m6 ?) I! o" S1 U
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators. c* ~* `/ |1 q5 z+ ~; c# W0 ?
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
3 L! P6 s. C! D) W8 k9 l; p& o* uearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said2 _: N7 l2 R- v% f$ `# w
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
6 X0 u0 z2 h" N$ h' n3 ]done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway) m$ u; d$ k+ O0 [
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's/ i! N4 o3 a! k
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
/ @0 h2 f( U0 s6 X5 w. ?Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
7 q! P, N$ o, A% b! @' [electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
2 D( G; J% y. y( h0 ~$ ` dthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a; j/ M/ _2 T% `( e; P
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he; |1 G6 C- G6 N$ n
said.
! {( B: ?# j, i+ c0 \. t- QAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
6 y$ u- ]' r2 W* P# y* d7 Ehappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
; }% e: `* _" }" |about driving our products," Lentz said.5 c% \, P1 R0 p6 V# E7 V; r
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
/ \9 r! o; K. vproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has: N- c+ }! @; s; _) W
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 67 k* u' x7 R" q! y. o( u- H9 @, A7 P
million in the United States -- since last fall because of: B* o2 H1 n- y. K
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
, ]+ B4 V& u6 ?' }- Oissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering# c3 ` C, s' M# {
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
1 f. D, L8 M% J6 b9 a3 H* Ltheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow' D9 h) T5 F/ A$ [# g; D/ ^
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has' q: v0 H/ W0 [0 c- d: w
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
4 t; N5 X' [$ g! Mof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
- ]& F9 |) `. P7 b0 y& G7 e/ hLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
7 J# b# L2 \5 I$ _4 v( e! lbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he( Q) ]# @( w/ U; W1 ~
understood the pain.
1 M0 Q) I: y Z8 E"I know what those families go through," he said.
2 Q( A% P, e* Z$ D$ HLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
$ q" j3 e3 A6 c9 Ifixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
# R8 h$ }5 l6 x; N- E. qBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman9 {2 k1 l7 | A8 r3 B9 h
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put- z2 g8 o2 t" n: G+ K
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,4 c, [, k& b' b" D" h1 s3 t
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
4 E6 M+ F/ n0 }: g7 zStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were3 h3 \1 J% r& p* o* M' ?! V/ l
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
7 b; ]: i9 ^2 m6 B3 aToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas7 B4 Z/ y7 D( q" n
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
* W0 B; n% X/ h' w# Q# h+ o) @/ kvehicles already on the road.! @% D% j% v8 z6 f' Z. y/ w& `
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
6 A: `3 X( s/ i% @before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
2 t5 W) v1 {1 m( S5 l+ Y8 Y. t% Kresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and4 D" \6 O: s' ~3 y# e( r* C
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
$ u' N* ~# c: ^5 H! i3 }4 L( _killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.( |" j- y8 h5 D8 O$ W
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
. V4 T6 z: X/ w' otragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
, l. D& d- Z4 mfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight, e) u" b1 v! A* k+ D/ \/ X$ b
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal! {; R- {/ K2 X: z. R8 n
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to2 A- A; I4 f; ]1 f# L
restore the trust of our customers." i& V, Q3 r8 s" \. ?( a% h
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
% J# ?9 H6 X# M& P6 l2 k) rSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
: j! n1 ~* K; g$ lzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
5 H+ p% u. O. V8 u/ Ashifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and2 o. o/ `) m8 ]0 y5 O! D2 F: j
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
% Y, V7 R2 |; `. \9 z1 h) Mthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and; ^) i" s" p- C, z. d& Z1 D$ [
turn off the engine.
8 d" I+ V. K3 ?) w1 _Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of% e2 z. Z! Y0 l5 j# @
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
; Q% \3 s( o9 @3 f"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
/ m5 s2 l3 R: {$ h9 C) ^( Wsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
, e- `- g( ]2 G3 H# Q. {- cto her complaints.
t S' d' X. g6 SIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
, l* z% i9 v. p" xreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
/ Y+ r$ ^! g m8 _8 \ O: {malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
' ~* i6 Y, Q+ A# y* H"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
( P6 [' T% B1 f3 T; z+ Y/ wthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
6 [$ m# `* Y1 E"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
) o5 t) }3 b9 S* ioff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
/ ~9 v- d; u; q" k7 `/ DTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in, ]) W' w! {3 ~
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were9 @8 _; ?% O* U% }& f9 K
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls5 f' l3 g0 c) f7 Q% \- B1 L% v9 C
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
0 l% R+ o9 i: d8 Uevery question."
8 ]8 r0 n0 |1 o1 [/ \Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether. p9 z% Z! q) Q* ~
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
% m) ]" Z. ?3 rfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But# k/ U- r8 O" Q4 h# Z4 @
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small' s8 E6 Z. X8 n& B7 S$ j
number of vehicles4 e. i- Q6 G/ k4 ^5 h6 g
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
& o0 O0 A$ l) G Tdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a0 \ e/ W/ q4 Y7 c. K$ B4 a
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one1 p1 J6 R5 Z5 {$ V4 {! o8 ]
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
% Q8 ~' I7 e- z: pMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,( c" d4 S5 n2 M+ a# C3 Z( h
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
1 K+ s# C) Z4 K9 gtrace at all.
5 t1 }6 \; @5 G: {' ], W/ }; _House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call2 ^" R6 j, c- D' r* m H# _; \
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
' E/ A4 D/ z) j$ Z/ ?acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
* n {- U3 o( Xrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.9 @& {, c9 m* B2 W! q2 b
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
J( @7 s- |/ t1 p1 K( vsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
6 r5 q+ q- Y; ~# @2 b4 I- Kother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
- W u& |8 e9 K8 S8 O+ U; Uelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
8 x i! B1 z, y' P9 y( Tcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
3 N) M1 |9 \- z" _3 m) E1 d- ksuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained; L: W; @) f3 P' m( U, {
by Toyota's lawyers."1 }+ O$ ~( i+ {; `- ]) O% g" m0 {
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of! p/ b7 X: K5 ?" x( h6 A+ ~6 J
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our/ r1 ]. K7 s) C9 Q* ^; \. w. n; w4 \* j
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he+ o( n' F% V( _% D' p5 e
said.
- [0 s0 ]9 |/ `* Y"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
1 W6 v8 K' G' Ua rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our6 q W' [: z# g) Z
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
7 V% ]% T5 N; Q( j( m* R+ _3 _& h) x1 Tofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc., y9 ] d' ~' f
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
# \7 X0 y# U. R' K8 o& L9 xmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
/ {5 |3 Y% u8 Qrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the3 x6 v. L/ T- C8 p& y1 o9 m+ z
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
, a0 _, G" C/ |' B: S% Zinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and5 l% G' h/ ~; N! N! k4 W) m1 g$ V
Chrysler.7 ?) O9 u; y# a) n
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax9 U5 O, d: N. E1 U/ O6 n7 N
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
" ^( ?3 j* l1 g# J% ?; CHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also+ X7 n7 W. E, ^% }3 b
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
/ k- {! i1 v6 Y" E, w. nwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
- y8 n4 g+ i1 }; l/ mtough."1 n) S% Q" r7 A+ R
---
9 i4 n# K2 @ w9 ]. i! |, dAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom& }5 ~) a0 V7 r6 d3 l/ P$ x( L A
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to0 x# ]) G2 L8 j3 O6 j: ]4 f A5 e
this story.
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+ n% R6 Z6 E& P9 G5 a9 ^2 s) K-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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