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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
$ _4 N9 \! P& b% f0 X2 D' o6 A5 xBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
% ~ t% `% N/ `/ rWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.9 s/ T" V5 {, t0 T. W' n
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
4 [9 a! Z: D" B9 s8 @the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally" n [9 Z) u- Q
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
9 K c! L9 H n# {"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
4 r7 r0 I5 r# g; {5 u& V, k; Jcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
+ }# C5 J1 k; c- R6 u5 ^0 e" ~/ mHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected4 ~6 l9 v$ p: A6 w* s3 P' u9 j0 f/ U
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and7 G6 k! H. u* ]4 h0 N
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor5 i# C0 ^7 K, C# j% |0 x* `
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
/ h5 c2 w5 s+ q3 _$ z$ [He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal% t- B( R( z$ }
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
A5 u* [5 M1 J' dcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
9 Y5 l) s M6 B9 A( c* _$ Tfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
- A3 W- H9 M4 E1 r( tnot stop her runaway Lexus., X3 S) ~: [. s' G
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
9 m, ^; Z& _4 r: ~" s) V, ?Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
( x' i( K) \9 p! `0 ~"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.: y H. p( o- i0 Z
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues/ P. b, [$ j) U0 {
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said- H6 B; a0 C/ y* Q" M' E
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has7 a8 S& t8 B8 Y2 g" O5 G' {
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway- X1 c6 ~* m: G7 G5 H
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
; G/ P% w4 c; y, Einvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."6 S G2 `% }3 N8 B
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an' A, k: S7 S& }) G& x
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
3 q* x5 g# e9 |, k7 lthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
% _" T( N0 w( vmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
2 V8 u* C e* s% _ Hsaid.1 {9 I, x+ M- o( M: n
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
' C$ g7 C8 ]. A9 `6 ~7 Rhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe1 `5 ~2 J2 K4 g* s$ t4 N- B
about driving our products," Lentz said.8 i6 l+ L: H! I7 ?+ [4 k* @
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's7 K; t6 j3 f& f" B4 b
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has8 v5 N# i& u/ d8 R
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
" m" m# k$ z" C# u* cmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of% F" N: T. W, }8 M
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking* f* W. J; v2 K6 |$ b; N7 [
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
2 K9 E0 j+ e' h; [concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
3 O3 a4 w( T6 R( J/ q; W/ ntheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow H& ] O" |; h5 `7 D# @
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
- X# @( |* M% A S( Q; R+ W- jreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
6 F. e$ @2 R; h) r- ]of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
3 ~" c7 B1 y6 k9 v7 sLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
4 @) t9 M& u* m! E; |/ nbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
" L* B" F, L) V6 punderstood the pain.
) y! N' s, q% b6 g2 w. K# h2 J* h"I know what those families go through," he said.
4 k6 {, G8 r0 C6 l( ALentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
' M% j+ `' \0 n1 ?5 Gfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems./ v7 ^! J( w; O7 {) e9 H7 D# ^% Y0 c
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
4 P: G+ I! E8 AHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
: M5 n6 u( i& a. r- J% E0 ~+ Vin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,# a" Y4 z8 X. x+ g
Lentz replied: "Not totally."$ ^, T' o, V: Q7 w5 U
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
- @ L. l) q) H8 F7 T& J"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said" L" A: I$ ^% U* {- e) \
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
: }% a- f; O* Mpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
! [* a K+ `% { @$ ^2 \9 Dvehicles already on the road.. w6 ~5 f$ L; [5 t! \
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify3 k- r* v* k0 `' {! K4 E, x& y# D. u
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
: Q3 n* \9 a0 m, G* sresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and' l$ R2 U( s, R
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were! q0 l4 z6 b8 ~2 I2 ^1 h
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.7 ?9 o" ?( L$ O) Z
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
$ v. I9 i. R. gtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony, j' d% X3 g& {+ u! x
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight* s- G4 u$ U }/ N9 t# M+ A4 Q
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal% k2 G9 x% e' I6 M- O! I2 Z
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
3 n0 q3 n! l0 orestore the trust of our customers."
2 t/ Z% y& J: R. @% I! ^Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from) i$ v0 F" W+ r
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly' _2 ]# q: I) x
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
) T t% I2 Q4 Zshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
8 ^) E7 ]: R4 A6 j+ `hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
) _- B2 w- g3 J+ wthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
+ Q% [8 \- P( |6 u6 G7 w" nturn off the engine.9 o9 X) ?" W# }- t; |+ a) d& T
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of4 ~! O6 {2 n* y! y( }
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."! n! m _: U( T5 a3 |4 ^
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
* @+ Y: Y8 b O8 Z& ]7 B& W1 N; ~said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond# ~6 @! j1 C. w
to her complaints.& `% G9 V0 m! H# e% ]- @
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
m Y3 k! y2 ?9 \( j; breturned again and again to the question of whether electronic/ { \0 h# M+ t* i6 n
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars. r; s- y1 T* ]1 u0 c, L
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
+ h. @( f1 v3 b" _8 [ v8 Tthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited; }5 ]2 E' v4 t4 k" d6 w
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut! \+ e8 n1 a) C3 R2 Q
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
( b; J4 ]4 R) a; C: s" W" M+ c( U8 g' OTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
9 E( V9 ^* L/ B( Tprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were3 O/ E/ f/ I& B5 \8 Y' H z0 O, h2 Z
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
7 B/ L j# @+ T7 qwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer B7 \. H* w) G4 b' ]9 Y
every question."
2 v# K2 T8 b% e; ?3 x6 [Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether# d( a. A: @- H* G# J
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The/ i$ }3 J2 O" T F1 a# L- N" F- I: `
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
: ~( j2 g/ ~9 \" }5 ucommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small1 L! f8 r: t0 m$ Y% w) U/ V: G/ S
number of vehicles, V+ X. S4 P0 i" [6 s% \3 Z
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more& l2 L9 \$ K( g0 u0 ?
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a9 u% F- _) U" |. D8 p; a$ G8 v' W
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
( F) R( M, N, t# B- h ?( Qsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
7 @( J- @& D( e$ [! hMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,4 t& M) ?- s1 C, y
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no1 O& {1 P' P: ?2 n
trace at all.
) j6 C! L/ o( C3 J( k5 m1 \8 _House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
& y0 F/ ^+ w# Y& fdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden! C6 F7 E+ J5 e/ Z; _
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the- S* P3 O% G# H* B v" W
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.* T1 s9 R) b5 w# F3 A
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,1 y; e. s' ^0 j( g5 ?$ |6 b5 I
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and6 \$ H; L% O# F# K5 c1 ]% l9 M
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the! j/ ^& ]2 d% u$ w! T
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
4 p. n0 ~4 R$ Ccause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
/ c; t4 t- ]- w5 G2 x. c8 G0 D. ksuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
* @* [- ]7 Y/ ]2 }. }" L0 Tby Toyota's lawyers."
* ?% @) g) }- O- s/ d5 }/ j& O# kLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
0 @% X4 M/ |. `* |problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
: j) r5 P/ z! H ecustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he" t( q- i* U. @! d; u" a# G' c
said." L; G0 T! y( A
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with: E- w$ d9 W- n6 Z% H6 V5 p9 V) v
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
% S! _+ h& E3 m6 u0 pgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
( O" K, ]3 I6 i7 h- c: Cofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.6 f+ s6 G1 k9 B' U+ P+ }
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
( i9 A: E5 y+ w, j# m% J* D: Ymembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread: \, e; A. Q/ h7 J1 D3 p
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the# ^6 ]: J7 P7 S' W. w' B
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
) [- k6 }: _6 ]6 @& Ginvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and2 q0 ^9 S/ I( ?: p# l
Chrysler.
5 _% i( `8 v5 Q" O"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
, ]7 o( M8 R+ k' |& {+ f( edollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a# @6 }& r6 c& g; G$ t
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
% T4 ]6 d8 T9 L% pserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
! Z6 A/ T+ v/ J# }1 b. f4 ?with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty$ A, J) g5 U! a" F
tough."/ M5 h7 @7 q5 y0 x' j/ _
---
7 D6 y) b0 ^! U. }, n0 c3 S+ GAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom U( A' c, |1 T. c
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to& B4 ^8 U. P, u
this story.
8 Z1 `; _8 p8 d2 d" o: W4 l! c& X' m V7 M' l; v h# a- F' \
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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