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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
7 l: t Z" u- B" r$ }By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
9 c* \1 {- W: O0 Y( bWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.) `# x* J& Y% A' N
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that! G; `9 v- o5 L8 D# O. d+ b
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"9 L; C8 D# K; q2 ~+ _
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
1 U" ~9 p( D# C% f$ c8 k"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential- t5 Q9 U3 |# A
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel." r8 c% |9 p/ m: B
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected- x+ ~; M4 _! [
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
# x8 u+ l5 q$ H0 ptrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
$ R7 _+ t1 V, M, z8 R& l# H1 u0 a) x% zmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
, g) N1 U4 \% O* RHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
3 H6 v8 }! C' O1 M6 \- Kand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp: i% |/ V' Q3 W7 L% ]
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be! [( L3 Q) z9 C0 M7 z4 h ?2 t2 D! p: [
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could6 j% `# p2 o/ K1 U
not stop her runaway Lexus. ^, ~; s/ E; {. F2 y6 E
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
: s+ s# t' i( i) PTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
; b$ Q d0 u$ x"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators." }0 [. V# B( Y, f% j# V8 `! O) m
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
" ~. {6 A+ {4 Vearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
4 g1 ] \4 c- H* r"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
, \$ x, @5 m- j' |; q2 z* b, Xdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
9 ?1 d5 v$ }; [+ Y! M; e- e3 L$ b7 w1 w* gthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's* W; |' U/ S, o/ B9 M/ [
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
$ L8 m9 N5 H6 t2 s1 V) D. O5 YLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
8 _: F6 v/ k/ J& @ o7 Aelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
- ]& V5 S: _* g" [2 k2 A( K2 g& dthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
1 E# {" L2 b6 omalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he3 k" F5 z I+ e& S0 Z
said.- w3 P! u" L, Z
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
- U# V" \/ k8 xhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
& h! ]+ k1 [( _about driving our products," Lentz said.6 p8 V6 W" q. @( T& t
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
0 {/ D% I- d& i# ~; `- P2 R$ @problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has% u1 G4 l- g0 B5 y! \( E0 t* {
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
$ b2 `9 Q+ J2 A9 N! j. t: Nmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of2 `: y3 ?8 {- D2 C
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
+ u' B& P" ]7 Hissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
8 _& n4 n$ B% v* n4 S7 \concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of# ?1 P0 ^, I5 m/ U( x" D/ {
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
# B8 w% O& U8 }# E Ydown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has6 S/ I" Z3 q* ^. W/ E, k9 w
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration$ ?" ~2 D% r& ~) P+ W5 f* c+ G; T
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.* ` n0 F3 e$ y! [
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
% U, [# w" L/ xbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
$ o& m2 Y' ^0 h# t. sunderstood the pain.- Y# F, j, N! `9 a
"I know what those families go through," he said.
6 j' c- T) x' c2 `+ E1 o0 CLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's, F7 i# F5 C O$ [4 ?3 V
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
. W" J* O5 r6 w$ s8 P8 HBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
1 p3 z* | n3 T/ ]: _( a$ W! rHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put1 S2 b+ y# ^/ n- D' i# P' L
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,: j5 T4 J3 `/ [
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
$ U/ ?8 F. R0 n, [6 O h X- OStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
5 B1 R% x4 x; t$ a1 ?4 L: m"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said3 o2 k2 `! C4 E9 j/ O$ T7 ~, F; T
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas8 h7 B9 X) v0 v2 }5 s! G
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
- D0 X0 {/ \* vvehicles already on the road.
7 b) q: `1 J+ w& {Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify2 v+ i! [" s& m5 b
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full8 r, s8 v7 F* x3 t
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and! F, h& @0 e# ?1 z
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
6 w- C# Z# y% U/ j0 qkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
j& V- M5 N; D F/ K5 v; b2 _+ j"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
7 K" W- b; ] x: W# Gtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony+ i+ P/ n8 O! c
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
, @* Y$ E: W6 C, qCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal& v% `# U4 @& i% ?) e4 a
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
6 f; c1 v, R4 E) |- J0 J5 erestore the trust of our customers.": u) c y4 e8 A: I
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from7 H! B, f( _* ~) {
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
8 A# B+ L/ h+ Bzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
+ b6 [2 Z+ ^) a5 k( ^6 kshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
4 w2 r& P7 p4 g% a" ]hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough! ?: w7 K3 J! N) W* M; ^+ s) l
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and/ ~& u7 W3 P% B0 S+ G4 \1 l8 v5 ^
turn off the engine.
3 D! e6 A6 y( B. f) `" tFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of* b) o/ ~9 J2 X8 G2 }
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience.". W% }! D' n" z- K9 m' T" a
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she1 x+ @6 r% s' o2 b) g+ A5 N
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
0 o0 y: Y5 j5 a$ Q2 X* c! ~1 z mto her complaints.
7 n+ h6 o0 I: y; o+ o5 {In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers$ b! v1 y+ i$ N! @% o1 ]; ~
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic( ?, E: N4 ]- C# x2 Q4 D
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
- @2 @4 S( v6 f! U3 J"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
. Y: U, U' L% Tthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited) c, G1 F! Z3 w' ?! h
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
" j" V( f: S7 ]2 p' \off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
) B) G9 P9 h0 D, pTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
+ h& h6 Q5 S" b$ D J& wprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
% ]0 \1 p3 V; Z4 A2 b' v- ibeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls2 o* f# ~' A* h8 o. \
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer4 U" E" v& Q3 Y: k9 ~; W
every question."
3 x7 _6 k3 L0 R' i6 uToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
, r; l, T! _2 yelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The v) q7 a x$ f9 y
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But0 v' c, \- W/ M' H9 g/ y1 l
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
1 U1 d0 F9 `1 V3 M1 Bnumber of vehicles
; s$ c: T7 U/ [$ j4 ~* g0 H4 i+ ]Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more4 H, ?' N+ `. ]9 ^ a4 A* }5 u, s
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a2 ^* a' p7 N2 @/ G1 B ?5 T! O
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
% l: M9 c; n3 n- ^. N0 o( \6 T- ?source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.- x9 E+ ~2 w' X7 g" w2 H
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,5 G3 s# V( G: w2 U+ z5 t* q# g) p
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
5 l. P1 i/ d; y" \) R& Atrace at all./ y+ V% v- g5 B$ x$ f+ S
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
1 r4 @8 w4 {$ M7 o D: Tdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden/ L# t( M U/ F G! h, ]" M- [. F
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
9 R1 s0 m1 _- k+ z7 Y: vrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
4 R# a' e" @1 Q+ x/ [" W$ `Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
1 Y! f: z/ L% I# t, i8 I1 ]said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
. L+ ]) A6 S0 _; N4 l% Dother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
% B- X( A7 T; j3 k1 delectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible: @! L+ y- I8 |1 Z1 X" ~ T; }- h
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
- |5 w7 H, [$ f) F4 y! p. zsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained& |3 V; i2 g& Z$ \
by Toyota's lawyers."( \& R! w; h: o
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of; M* v- d- l3 `( o% t' p6 m
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
( L2 B/ A# Q3 W. k/ Xcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he& F; X) P# X' ?
said.
+ A, i* c* W8 j% Q"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
+ v; o# X, e3 X* ^5 h! Ia rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
8 b( p$ R. _, Z. Wgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating( ^5 ]* O9 H4 {
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
2 E. m+ q& x# t( z3 h% a2 {( KSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying& H- R) [; V* C+ K" b4 z/ r
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
& [% O1 E6 T, ]2 h- f0 Drancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
1 ^) o% P1 T& z, X- o' z4 [automaker, at least in part because of the government's
( f* ~% ~9 L- k7 a% w7 Z' linvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
" Z7 x- E/ h% }; A7 YChrysler.+ {: {3 [# @- n' t* T5 S5 K
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
. I9 z% q& V% B* S7 Tdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a l1 X* U! T5 n
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
& ~. Y0 D1 f' V$ _& j; b, Mserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
$ @ Q' S) [: b7 u' L- D f) ^with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
' F, u8 p" e, p7 y) ?tough."
: R8 ]% o- b$ ?5 Z---
3 p9 I! d+ ~. Y r' l' iAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
( m( w7 h4 m* @9 l' W/ VRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to O+ P, w. P: f S- t- S
this story.$ l9 t# {; H, N5 O
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-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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