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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题5 @2 Z& D; ~% U: n+ k4 L# ] `
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
* P# r: e! i8 gWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S. ~ N" W) m! w3 j4 O# W
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
5 S' m5 p' z6 S8 l; Y3 j' Pthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
, H+ E) M1 n+ u/ x, hsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
" t' r1 o+ Y. F& N, y; m"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential+ Y. x& j; c+ r! v* T9 A
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
& D; l) R. [0 }: f( t8 XHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected* _4 t3 I: @ O- e* f
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and5 R; G3 M0 _3 A9 J; B
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor/ e) o" W0 k. w+ y+ x, @
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
: K5 |2 P* n" j3 HHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
: j5 k" o+ {- u& Y0 J3 aand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
: b* z5 h- }% U7 \6 K7 Zcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be8 {' u$ h& c0 d+ G- j4 D* u
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
, }! M& }8 d K9 b4 Xnot stop her runaway Lexus.- K) ]% p6 ^% h
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
8 M- ~( R9 X8 y: X5 B! k1 ]# \Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second- a/ L/ _( j& T/ R; i5 }; X
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
+ |1 r+ H6 K* \& J. m. r, ~Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues/ ?' E% I( L% `. F7 N
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said: S4 x, d7 p+ c, X# d6 O% t2 H
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has9 b* ~' e8 w( O2 _
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway7 O# q; ~. d5 A
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's; X. Z( G' z) O8 Q$ H) q& g) ]
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
2 h5 b3 \. U9 o; q: s% i/ iLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
0 t1 N& T1 M$ v; L# F: g" Zelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
5 h n. S' M2 M. K( `1 E1 y* Gthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a: y+ U( @4 d+ j# b+ U" D
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
- ]# G( b3 }) k6 O4 |/ {# k% xsaid.9 \/ ?! H8 x# G4 X0 Z* Q4 G" ~
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
2 I# U, b6 L) ^. ihappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
. q, Q1 {! I4 {0 dabout driving our products," Lentz said.
+ W4 W5 j6 s6 Z( {3 jThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's/ j- D1 h0 `3 @7 a {, L
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has1 U$ d7 ~9 `% m) Y2 ?5 k; J( y
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6! D+ X' V. Y2 Z& S v
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
8 F4 _; Q, t! G/ ] a, f( O2 R3 uunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking+ t% h" e+ V" _ m; Y
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
7 j7 L: D% C6 L% ^* K. }& lconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
# N9 n$ m0 Y/ atheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow) E/ H' d9 m) m, W `0 ^
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
5 Z4 o4 T3 R: f# d: \1 j breceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
& p6 J) X* I0 T7 f4 Tof Toyota vehicles since 2000.) k2 Y4 r' J7 Y6 c/ _* f: y' F
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
$ u! x; D1 {- H4 ]4 b/ Vbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he8 Q+ k' J. l$ O: U/ c2 v; o p
understood the pain. D( X$ Z/ J8 [) K
"I know what those families go through," he said.
; i2 l% C8 i0 z0 BLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's( K x7 x2 f; N! u
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
@+ }' j [& G6 |* u2 fBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman9 E- j+ O" ?* O0 |' ~
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put/ k1 U o" f5 H
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
1 t0 H! E" ]) T7 y& v; h& @Lentz replied: "Not totally."3 L% {3 F- w6 e# n6 L
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
- N1 M3 {0 L& ?0 s0 @/ V"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said- L; f& Y$ j8 z& w c' n9 X3 e
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
& J+ [1 d) H! d) `, G8 rpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its: i2 U z( D5 t, C4 z
vehicles already on the road.
- l2 O7 f. X0 \# sMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify, C% k' B" i8 \% X* g# d7 `
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
; b9 S$ D: [* F: [responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and3 j) [2 a. m O; x1 W( @5 Z+ f
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
2 j" L# J3 N6 h- a& K$ A) Ykilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.6 @8 _# Q2 ^( q+ Y3 h/ M$ B
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
! J6 |* i0 [* B$ Etragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
2 j" _$ W5 n0 d8 y2 rfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
8 Z, K4 x* [- D. O+ m# M. ?' ^Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
1 C% [4 r! [, |$ O6 x+ |0 Ncommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to4 p4 z1 S3 J* A. q6 n
restore the trust of our customers."4 t* B6 X3 c% B, |9 i0 T
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from( r. J2 ^: y: N0 R# t
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly8 f* D- O& ]4 [+ c
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --5 g [# h g! m: F
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and9 \, |8 ^. e u& }6 I( _
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
& c9 t6 g2 L) D) U2 `/ L3 zthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and2 n$ _4 f {; H& A/ }4 _) ~ e
turn off the engine./ Q) w) }' u! g9 z* c! o0 T2 u1 Q
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
. [' E. ?- r6 g2 t( I2 a- kOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
5 ]$ W) ~$ E7 x2 _"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she r, N3 t- |( l; q+ k; p8 B& s
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
1 q* q& k/ `4 |; G7 t; q) [to her complaints.
7 Z2 Q& Q# Y R, _; mIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers" X& R1 h9 x- W* `# d/ ]
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic$ G) }# \$ G. R, c- }) `
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.! \9 n" Z9 u! q( S, A
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
( i& j- e) h |throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
+ d6 y. `0 L! n9 A"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
; U5 x+ `- ~6 S3 ~6 `: B1 ?off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."7 C3 V" X! N! y$ Z
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
* f9 \1 t0 p k* Y N* i2 j7 ^prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
8 ^4 U, I# A+ r% w$ F* i" T" Y, wbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls0 v- ^% C4 Q+ M& P
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer5 z* z5 N7 F# Q# n1 ?: R2 Z
every question."
& ~/ E: E2 V( i% |" a8 {5 ?$ h4 l, hToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether- X& [, n/ e8 P9 e8 @% |
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
3 y$ F L" o O$ Ifirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But% z# `( s$ u1 m5 z& c
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small$ \( }( Y. c0 e: |3 P
number of vehicles* R: n. J4 `. }6 }; S7 n' c
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
4 u& T* M7 L* B% a6 o6 D! Fdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a0 x. _2 H% S2 n8 I5 l& l
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one* ?# U* ] s% F/ ^2 F- x
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
+ K# m. H% S/ t: |# DMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,! [- M7 R% ?0 \$ f. x' `
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
! U5 n# U% \8 p# u, h6 |. O& [trace at all.
k+ V' j5 g; gHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
/ \2 L+ S& w+ i+ s3 o' idatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
+ ]$ Q$ J, R4 T, L0 A6 ?4 {acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the% _6 }$ Q+ d6 `# H3 z$ p- @
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.: k0 C: L/ x# ?) w
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
# |6 r. m" v$ M1 ~2 m7 a( psaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and; P$ Q, q3 O( H) M1 j
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
+ z$ Q( T- i. s& Delectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
3 r3 E8 F$ h, }; K8 i# Lcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
9 j, @. W! x8 A9 V& h' H& F; {such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
) [6 W4 C+ a1 i2 o' D5 A4 Z& b0 Zby Toyota's lawyers.") p; n/ v L+ r( |
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
/ j Y/ f* c& Y0 Qproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
6 s0 _$ [! L( K7 `7 M0 C. Gcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he( q) V# O3 F; c9 k/ ~& V5 z" F4 }
said.
/ ~# y8 y/ N$ b' Q3 F, i* {' o"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
: ?) e1 V$ i: {6 xa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our( I- c4 x( s0 a J
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating/ I$ u! d2 c! @% Q" y
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.: H5 Q+ O: P% A7 A. [$ |; V) {
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
# P- }) g2 a# }* f- G3 |6 z* |members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
- U- R9 W; ~* K7 V! Q5 w) Q, H* G5 ?rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the& o! W/ l4 D Z3 Z
automaker, at least in part because of the government's9 j3 Y8 J3 Z. F. }3 p5 W
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and; K0 n9 w3 x! c; w0 h
Chrysler.- @9 m* Y* U. b* X+ _: T6 N0 x
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax+ b( q$ @: H# n; ?3 j7 f. P x* p/ ]
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a _% F- K/ V+ _8 v7 j5 E
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
8 p( u+ g6 D9 |% G; j% \" O% Mserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete5 T2 d3 |* q! \% }6 @) c
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty9 ^0 w8 E0 u; p9 h m
tough."! r. G e, B ~0 [
---
1 I: R" N; \$ r( kAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom& ?: i# v6 f. l/ @9 P/ ]' ?
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
9 @: V t+ b" b1 athis story.
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-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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