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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题1 N9 `# Y1 z1 `- a
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
; ]1 L K0 D" j5 c& x( J$ R" Z0 ?Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
. H# V/ c% X7 B7 ?1 l7 y ]2 ^operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
: d9 n+ {3 ?7 [1 S& |' k7 qthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
7 F( |) [+ H8 N; i4 A vsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.' {. ?/ G! i8 z: F+ Y$ l% ^& i
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
, B/ O* V I7 W: Q0 D% P; }* bcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.; B o1 N4 v3 R! n
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected4 |8 B; K! D0 i: q9 F
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
0 N' e' \2 ~8 u! j) }* W; o$ ctrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor9 ]* I$ t" ?6 `6 {) R! |0 L. q
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.9 P; B' r7 S: }
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal+ E' d& }. a G2 r% k/ z( S% C
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
9 \% f; A4 F0 ~( g$ tcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
0 G9 r6 Z; ]$ U( O( f6 hfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could5 u; K$ t; v C* W
not stop her runaway Lexus.
5 I6 R/ C% t0 c8 h. k' c, P! v"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,8 u2 P0 G4 ^2 i6 \8 `- k# X' V
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second- y3 U; m" v- h" k, R2 M
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators./ k, \: {, f+ i) G' Q7 C
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
; H! ?) u4 z d# d) _early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
+ X9 ?+ Q& G7 D/ D3 H: P"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has! \% G( B' V- J" d0 ?8 T
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway3 X& a5 j2 t3 o8 x' P; l- g
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
; |/ L. u" T# g) r) \investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."/ e+ V0 q. o9 m& a. c5 a; n2 U- y
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an9 b0 a. V- x, O& r: ^) U
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
7 R3 e# h* e% L8 V5 L- h; Jthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a- L+ Q# b( B6 y0 _
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
, _$ d& I9 s0 ^said.
# X& n3 p- l# r' M! O% {0 {& OAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what, B! @+ k1 G+ U
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe8 Z, m3 h* ]3 M. o) b
about driving our products," Lentz said.
O# d1 }' O, D! qThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's, C* H t% r/ F2 g q3 l+ Z! y
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
/ I. F* R8 H* R$ V: B0 f+ S8 Rrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6; _$ Q! n: b0 g" i, a
million in the United States -- since last fall because of) p2 f7 `# w0 g
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking" J% P5 W9 r9 S# c
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
9 l" I) q% ^ ]6 T8 g4 g: f" S! Lconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of/ E; G: L& F, H) K7 Q; q) L0 J
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
; k+ q9 e. J) Fdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has' {5 b v1 `/ g" g
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
0 j4 c; c; V/ sof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
$ h7 D3 b' Z) _) l/ ^: h# hLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own9 N4 L; z$ U: ~! o* |& N
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
. F9 J& }6 S2 Y! { ]/ ?% Junderstood the pain.
( z) z, l* N6 R% p+ D r/ D"I know what those families go through," he said.
5 {; z) I8 F1 V: WLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's# K& w: g- y7 C9 t l
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.+ Z$ p' {! V* j0 d o2 P/ U
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
9 J2 Z! s( v: P4 X* z& iHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
8 ^6 ]/ c$ t9 Y4 S+ `in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,- q+ V7 V% k) N2 T# G
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
$ c# T1 S+ [) ^) JStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
6 G6 j5 b' b* f7 S2 m"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
6 ]+ S# q- b& ~, \+ v( cToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas" r& x) R: N l8 b' ^
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its( |7 i9 u: K1 J5 S9 c
vehicles already on the road." w5 N+ }1 c! j
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
- g! X. m7 V, s( m& l3 Xbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full4 a( N5 }4 t# K# S
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and$ u. ], L0 \; N" T2 \$ O5 s1 ~; \
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
/ j; A+ I1 ]4 k% Okilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.* p+ i; l( |) T6 A; F
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a S$ B) \$ y. d$ O. E5 s
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony/ b; N) [, g' Y, @
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
; ]4 J1 {" ~' G8 G7 KCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal+ ^. L6 N) G% k5 p9 s3 T- s$ L N* q, g
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to3 @6 z+ v0 o2 e3 K y4 ~) U
restore the trust of our customers."
% i/ L7 |) W8 Y9 h8 O# \/ s) ?Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from7 f+ z9 L% H4 j$ Q) }; q H
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
Z1 F; ~1 e% O! d8 ^zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
0 n4 [* F8 I# I$ i+ q" ]shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and1 A; |9 H1 ^! A+ a# a
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough' }: z; S2 r. m
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
6 u1 t2 X \8 X2 G: j) J* Lturn off the engine.! i) |$ W" b( j; S9 M- g2 Y, I
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of6 d3 |5 q2 [+ @# g
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience.": q% P& E/ j" c+ m h, a6 p
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
; _1 _2 L; K) [' ~7 V( Csaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
" d# Y: a5 P4 S$ [0 q5 yto her complaints.8 }& J2 }6 _) E: f% o# J
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers+ V" r7 R9 _2 X" M% x' Y
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic0 i1 {0 G% B& }1 L
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
( w' V. N" H$ F"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
, Q5 h. j* V( x' {6 b) a' a. Othrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
& L' g# T0 r& R"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
: U1 T6 u: i2 h+ Zoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
) n/ ^- E& x( D, k3 o9 KTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in& I- Y8 u3 ]1 w- ]/ d4 f8 U
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were1 n% M9 D' P6 g
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
5 \, J) h: v j. d4 `$ f5 kwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
+ ]! w6 ?4 z8 _1 y4 bevery question."* V7 P8 S) T+ C$ q8 T
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether" L9 U9 }7 s. `/ m j
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The; E' Z! \ _- s, i9 M
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But/ H# y0 O" Q5 v* W+ X
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
3 ]# \! h; P3 r w3 Onumber of vehicles
/ N4 h3 |+ `8 p! { H5 J5 `4 l7 NTracking down an electrical problem can be far more8 L7 R" a7 L' b3 I& }
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a- M5 v) G# U0 s3 c$ ^+ N
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one: `+ W% b/ f5 V! \
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.* V E' x. ? F* {( t
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
" ?2 Z2 }* w. v: u# V& |* g+ {. r3 Dwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
7 o1 n/ s/ S: O8 o# Ntrace at all.
, Q: K& l6 H( f3 F4 \1 EHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call5 a. { K. R$ T! c" ]
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden& M- v' D! @ ^! Z
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
) |" c4 r7 v" B$ ^3 U, ]recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.# {% q. N" d/ T; k& ~" m! H
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee," x1 o" A6 u. m' T# v
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
6 C8 p" k0 M0 A/ ~$ H/ dother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the! e9 W+ H+ H% E; v
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
/ p$ g% K& u, M0 j7 J& x9 q6 g& lcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only: q* e. M- L. v1 h& ?6 ~
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained9 ~4 J& P, ]9 t! ^9 U
by Toyota's lawyers."4 G* ]5 ?; u7 P+ H. g
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of; d2 f) J9 w7 V; @1 }
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our0 d1 f( o* v2 O7 p3 t3 O
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
/ c( b4 Q; J" [: {& Nsaid.
& e+ @$ w$ \2 `$ r, R"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with1 {3 l" R, T) p
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
. x' S4 e& m9 kgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating" E) K2 x1 Z9 I' u. H: ~
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
7 i. j+ i0 n" f( q9 z) X/ SSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying! B0 F0 s( Z/ |% z$ \; s7 ~
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
) u3 X" B8 b2 ?9 r5 }' ~' }rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the# }& Y1 v9 m3 ]5 u8 m* A( b
automaker, at least in part because of the government's/ I# q0 J8 d' m. o1 h% v
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and3 ~" Y1 `, l) C2 j9 d
Chrysler.# q# |0 I9 c1 g6 r; O
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
: p+ ^2 S. Q6 |dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a- |7 G4 y$ E/ A
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also0 S, N4 {* l$ D1 _$ y c m
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
1 C- j/ F# r. Z; ^$ G% j& P6 Bwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty% j' I# Q' a3 r3 k& [( \8 i/ c0 m
tough."
7 Q2 {( {. B3 j& z---
' B& H" b/ \2 B# O& H( N, a. h1 WAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
& a6 h( s2 ^4 b' J$ ORaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
6 V5 e$ o5 [! I/ Z: nthis story.* I' U% e+ o- ~' i+ }, `" _4 F4 @& b9 M
) k( ^& g$ q5 {4 ?8 q" q7 `# {-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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