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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题2 `' x- \6 N7 l& |
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
3 R& X2 R! f, \* WWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
; r a* u/ Q) B; F7 D5 r. W. P6 ^operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that ?$ U3 v# ?+ l, o2 P g; U- B3 v
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"* [% N0 W r# E4 u
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.; c" I( C, ?5 V7 R/ N+ P" ~) Y" U9 Z
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential0 l: v/ q7 w2 C1 H! Z% u6 R+ D+ i
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.- ~0 `( n0 B2 D. I( t
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
) l5 d2 E C/ nacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
/ N9 @% m. A$ Q) A& E$ ltrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
+ X' Q6 N8 c4 i/ b9 Vmats and sticking accelerator pedals./ z+ N& e9 r( P, M
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal, ~2 b0 I! f* t1 F0 v
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp/ H0 J! Y9 X: j0 G* K
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
{! Y- }6 R, i: Jfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could2 |* A" @( W# C X
not stop her runaway Lexus.6 ]4 A& s+ W) J. g+ l2 h
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
! Y. h4 H8 ]( @" d# L4 j1 R& PTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
: a" I. }- ]( a8 b! J& _"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
+ c- z7 o) b3 m) d p8 h' MTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues5 h$ l$ X+ z1 D7 a5 Y2 {3 n" T+ W
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
) y2 _; C# E7 g3 ^) `) r1 x"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has4 O- Q; j& H* D
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
8 A$ t/ G6 h# i+ }( E5 Q+ qthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's7 V* I+ i. O6 a+ K/ N2 T- d
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."0 }& Q+ b7 E- @+ n5 @( f
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an! {' ~! M8 X6 h
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
8 Q" e3 Y* p* g; ?$ _$ ]+ {& g* \the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a2 T0 A8 X* w! t$ ~
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he8 s! i& [2 N: r* N
said.2 z# E b' d" n. v" }0 ^3 I
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
3 B! e' I5 f; \happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
: H" ]4 y# {8 a4 v7 S3 R @about driving our products," Lentz said.- O+ T, A- m9 B
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
0 _( w9 J3 D7 M) D7 Sproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has: E0 Q$ I" U# E* v5 c" f0 l
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
8 z; w6 v" m+ n6 I `/ ~million in the United States -- since last fall because of4 ?3 o: B$ M' U0 P0 S- s% f
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
, i* o$ G' k) K- {* tissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
/ r) H' l3 c8 ^$ R9 mconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
1 ~& d. _6 P ]& \* q- gtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow6 R, i4 g- Z( @' ?. R O8 B; \, L
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
, l# Z6 z1 J$ M# @received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration+ T1 ^$ d, k; ~* ]
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
! ?8 Y/ j2 p. o7 o0 GLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own/ i- k: v$ O" G3 o% R
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he) L% j% l: E, r
understood the pain.
3 D- X' b2 q' c' B"I know what those families go through," he said.
. c5 x. Q5 Y; H" G) M7 J) `Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's0 g" d k. S+ f- c6 B0 W4 u
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
$ C/ I7 m8 w: i& R* M/ f8 k; Y7 fBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
, S, e; C* G# a4 ~Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
7 {2 b" o g1 r; X8 F1 c8 u# b1 ]in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,' [: ^) c% L& k- Q" [0 _9 G" O
Lentz replied: "Not totally."# H) ~% R j+ ]) |
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were! o% D+ Z9 ~ v4 j! i; R
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
1 e6 C& Q. n2 Q/ eToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas- Q5 E8 d5 c/ u4 X9 l, X/ A' `
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
9 O7 [0 y; |. B$ b) x. |vehicles already on the road. \" w* ?% H1 t
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
: `3 G3 @% i* A, Nbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full% H( e9 M) _3 Y+ c: |3 M/ j
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
0 J. a; m! M- a# ^# }2 _4 loffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
7 w+ x# M" X2 k( skilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.( h n( ]) e( B9 j7 G2 V5 D9 x S, `4 x
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
5 k! E7 B; X d; O) Jtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
" x0 A& j. N% v8 K. K1 d: Ifor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight: c; B: |- q" ?+ h3 a6 u) ?
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
( y, k) T, a1 l+ }5 g) Y+ tcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
; s& s9 K( P0 @2 | Q6 n% Urestore the trust of our customers."& o3 U5 j. F$ P B$ ~ f
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from% t4 D! l Y: J3 x( a n
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
) X9 i- C5 u9 Q5 q( gzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --+ D& U/ X# ? Y6 v1 v
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
6 n4 F6 J6 K1 e* Chitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
' \- \( V& w/ a; lthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
! P7 g& X; w5 A! cturn off the engine., T/ P- P$ v; c# w$ m
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of) o, d u8 s {0 H
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."+ t! `+ X3 k5 T: @3 W0 {
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she1 I8 z+ t, z% H/ ~
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond) C* ]5 B; y4 m/ l
to her complaints.. T# Y; _: U% G$ _$ I: @0 p, f0 i
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
4 D+ d8 w/ M! L. Q1 U& |7 wreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic' X- ~7 R/ c" R
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars. X/ }8 ^* i! Q- _# u/ {
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric4 v$ D' _8 s0 Q9 D
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited8 u5 m0 i8 R o
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut! E5 G* J6 w$ z' @9 ~
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."9 e" l# c& E* g/ y/ @' \ Z: a
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in7 g' s' G6 C M' Z' }, b8 @
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
1 T4 s. P& ~8 C: e; m* M/ x# N/ Pbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls* _ f1 R' A7 N4 l: Y" J
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
8 I6 M! m7 N) y+ w0 ^0 Hevery question."
8 G! T% ]8 Q+ @Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
; v* n; O. s$ S0 ^. d& telectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
7 r9 t g8 H$ v, D) n/ [firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But5 f. p' m* I( W
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
3 q: [: C& D$ ?number of vehicles
/ J t! T* w2 hTracking down an electrical problem can be far more' [, _( T7 M5 H8 _
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
/ i$ E3 U2 a b) w7 j" W8 Tmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one1 Y; L) g: @4 [7 {# v0 C
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
2 u; u* e8 p4 eMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
K) [4 C: `! G) E! V) Bwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
1 Y8 B; r, O- X, ?5 C( S/ [trace at all.
6 \ G$ n1 l2 t# r/ XHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
9 v7 [. Q: z: z- ?database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
8 |( n; U3 m4 Y [" q" Qacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the! X6 b$ H/ ~ w' E+ t
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
) v8 C- x: i; i" |( p; _* `Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,4 A4 f: u* m* e0 K
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and0 M; i3 O% n6 o9 ?) y
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
* L/ p. s3 m( r* q* x. Ielectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
, x1 G6 J5 s' @1 Ycause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only: B; w( z1 Y% B+ M. |
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained+ Z/ }5 t7 C7 b+ y5 ~ y0 ^
by Toyota's lawyers."
5 }3 a3 C5 _3 l" {Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of+ |9 ]- [8 Y4 ?0 B$ }
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our7 x2 y6 A- f; Y S$ U. U
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he( c& t! p3 m1 @% \/ L( B; Q
said.+ T) C/ T+ Q8 ~$ b5 c3 O
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
, k3 ~; p6 p$ y5 p- t( F; o) c; q) \a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our7 W6 O, P, ?+ Z2 V- c6 L
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating5 S' B( z7 J3 Y0 i p
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
% n4 W7 ^% y: ]$ D0 i' a, N9 bSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
( w! w" ^, Q0 o+ L( N \members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
" i0 j% J: C$ Grancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the2 E! e1 K! M# f( Z
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
& u1 \8 \5 h6 H' Vinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
5 X- K" G( x4 z* ~( j# LChrysler.
0 e5 N6 \! X- F"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax$ M) G4 f$ p2 Z2 e9 L& p6 }/ U
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a' Z8 r( u% ^: u7 c' G2 h
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also: U% q. y8 V! d0 c8 L8 k
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
# U& Y5 o+ e& W* U# r' I# [with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty0 q9 K5 K( K0 b/ }8 Z" h2 a/ [& l& L
tough."$ Y' @* Z+ _6 O4 h' z4 V1 j; z$ ~
---* b& m( l4 \& \! b3 d
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom" M1 C0 b9 d7 O h! P: H
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
. Q. ?* \8 ^8 Gthis story.
& d! B1 d1 m \0 C( q: B8 f0 }- b. _* ]) N* u0 |, V: f
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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