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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题 `( l7 s! B5 |
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
- K. @- a# ^5 t. O: lWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.- \# f2 w1 U) i! G. u0 O
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that3 k# P- F; o/ B' a
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"4 B- C: s8 T- K- t7 n3 u3 ^
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
$ E2 s7 e& `; L* W1 `2 W% Q1 @"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
6 s& ~& q9 x4 O3 [' A4 hcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.* N7 N6 P: S, f5 I" t( E
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
' c$ F0 [! C t" `acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and. R/ Z2 M: O6 }/ k) `( X% r
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor; ^& {1 ]/ {4 f1 i1 o! L
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.# w; W) G5 \# ^4 F: ?
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
/ z0 o& X0 n: I8 p3 \, X( qand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
Y8 j2 x6 m- A3 Pcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
* t# U* v# C' O; T3 g% ~further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
6 R A0 q; A3 ~9 J- S/ V6 F0 Pnot stop her runaway Lexus.5 B8 }! ?7 J: S7 p1 \' u: ^3 Z- A
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
4 S9 R$ Q r u4 G2 `; q# ^Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second' e+ t6 r% Y [$ g' ^% `" V2 e) b
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.1 h8 }0 |) l& C- U( n9 w
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
* f8 _+ x& v+ z. J' t5 X! searly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
/ Q/ t6 \( E# e' B"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has# ~( u1 G9 F6 h( X7 B- v
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
$ c& `% i. f2 V( M. B8 s$ tthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's0 l! N& r8 w9 n. K; F. z; Q3 V9 ^
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
4 z4 ?* A* E; E7 g0 dLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an# R2 k; N% w9 n9 S' M Y
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
, \5 ~$ w8 B( z9 Rthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a3 a1 ?- @& J" b' r8 k, Q# G
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
: P. E9 U6 p1 {9 [) v6 msaid.+ s, g& U! {' b( I
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
; B& Z9 h1 y% rhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe0 ]# U2 y; G$ M* k! f
about driving our products," Lentz said.; R9 e. C" s% S9 O0 x4 q0 N
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
* D. q* j9 f" ]' Z' n& Z. Q) r8 dproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
% K. Y& y/ f# h) u) Crecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6! h% O. F ^1 D8 |* `
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
$ c: o c7 N `" n' u% Gunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking) p8 v7 \ q" y! f" ~
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering' Q) f5 |$ x9 Z& [. P9 n5 r
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of/ c7 Z( T3 I' Q! h$ `# _
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
) o1 i( ]" M4 l6 s( adown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has ]% _9 {* F- X" J/ G
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration$ L: @3 v) u/ o+ b9 b1 S
of Toyota vehicles since 2000./ Y8 h0 r9 o3 ? |* d6 b! q
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
8 ~; o7 z% o+ S O, q1 x8 ubrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
6 [* z/ F y& s- ?% dunderstood the pain.0 _! `: }& [6 _* |( Y* o
"I know what those families go through," he said.
* W/ Q' \3 h+ A5 L) B5 m% xLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
9 H$ S: J% N$ C5 d- ~fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
/ p( T; t0 ?$ _" m6 T/ B& N# OBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman& J: c% `9 _1 q* |( A
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put" i1 V$ L, [/ x1 b
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,; f! X4 K6 p I+ H0 B# n3 i: z$ z
Lentz replied: "Not totally."4 l& R5 n& E+ j Y- t
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
, Z! i0 O* @" C5 f"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
" B+ ?1 [3 D. ^# ~ lToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
]2 n6 t3 A0 Y6 b O/ hpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its, H ], T9 V* J! ^" K0 n9 {. Y7 H9 k3 C
vehicles already on the road.
; p. {" l) i3 C/ }' OMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify* }% \$ T9 c3 `: n# k; `- v
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
; v5 M4 u* ~5 z( |& z$ i1 T _7 Yresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
7 V( k0 p+ M: g; u7 p3 _( ]' Z5 R5 Qoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were7 H7 h% [# y- z1 A1 L/ q
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.0 [$ E- R% w" Q/ f' K$ u
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
# G( h: @# T6 k! ?) @tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony% F6 x+ G! N, T: `
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight$ ^% W' F0 A# Y$ |) a$ ]
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
; E, E9 @3 D ^' C0 X; rcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to$ c: @3 C* z& k/ _! [
restore the trust of our customers."
& P% t4 i$ I( z# w9 K, y* a1 Q' Q; ?Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from3 w! L8 o& B3 H/ e2 W8 S
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
2 a) M9 _# S7 m# _" ~: [# u( bzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
: K' v# N q6 D0 R9 Ashifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and9 Z9 x/ D% @. H; A! L9 j
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough1 Z# l; D3 A: A8 C D* n
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and5 \" q+ a: a8 e$ g
turn off the engine.5 `7 E0 {0 L7 i" Y( v0 R
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
1 U$ J- a# _5 W* {( MOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."( I' ~6 [5 k1 G& C% f. L
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she( F/ B+ ^/ F8 `, Y Q L: K6 c
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond) M/ e, ?& p2 _ z6 I2 @
to her complaints.
& q, V$ k; b* N0 ?In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers$ S" b: [: _" k8 j/ U% G
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic, p a2 [* T6 x) d. i
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
( |8 g; H7 u7 { O7 q1 I$ V. L"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
& j) l% C& p m$ j5 Nthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
4 Z9 P! L7 W# X2 L" Y1 ]2 \"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
6 ]- \$ _) B; noff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
% C9 Z& D! ~1 f5 ^; x! D1 C9 \* XTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in8 W+ E* V+ t# r, B% @& X
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
( h6 `! x% c* o0 jbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls0 F# z. n- S4 f9 ~- o' [9 F
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
- H) v% V! z4 l/ j3 e9 Y' tevery question."& P. |$ u4 f7 o P7 _3 N7 h0 `
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
- F. |9 {9 S) n3 Xelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
* m, Z$ X5 l9 o e" L3 r. Afirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
, g* ?+ q8 f( I$ F2 O6 Gcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
0 N6 D2 d% r4 S: vnumber of vehicles+ ]6 T& H( I. [$ T1 N& ^, U
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
0 L9 C# Z V, K' D. s9 wdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
0 O$ q: b3 z( umechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
4 E+ n) p3 L. f; M7 Wsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
% c( t" q+ }( I" d6 L c0 u0 ]1 E8 cMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
/ z+ k) r0 S/ awhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no, w/ I5 Q- t; {2 s* f, j
trace at all.; C* i: O* O5 m5 K( d% X
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call7 o6 k4 {6 a; ]9 ^0 J' C
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
& R; f+ Z% Y7 H* j6 \6 ?acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the! U& A9 G3 r C' I5 s4 Y5 Z
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
. R2 ^9 M( v- `7 f5 J6 sRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,. N* Q7 r# m0 \+ V
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and" [0 ], k; N5 d6 C; j, M: |
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
- A# E' N5 G7 Yelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible1 v- H+ e+ C1 ]4 N6 c/ L* P; D9 g
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only5 h+ R/ Y6 E) `; r6 l; U2 W
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained. J( S' R+ _9 l; t% [# P
by Toyota's lawyers."
- E' k$ j) o+ Z9 \8 F2 h1 @# vLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of3 ]5 z. ?+ L. f2 _. {% p+ g, c
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
1 o$ Q! y! r0 b f0 o9 Scustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he5 `0 W% U7 R6 P4 A- A+ I4 r
said.! l% P2 ]# Q( Q
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with- i9 F5 ~. V. L+ K$ v4 H
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
5 T! f" O% f+ N) rgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating5 D1 {7 z; `+ s+ u
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.! n, {0 a0 g, ^
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
" M- Q$ H- v/ @( c' r: ^members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
- ^/ S8 x/ |1 ?3 rrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
* M# f; x3 p1 E Uautomaker, at least in part because of the government's( l* t$ o" O3 t2 v3 r- C/ b. v
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
& Q' {! H' M- e: g/ tChrysler.7 X1 T9 ?) @/ h/ j+ a) f
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax7 M$ |1 |; S7 h1 [
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a* w3 \ z8 U2 x& x: l% B! h
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
0 p3 P3 V T# R$ S4 m. `' \served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete6 e" n7 j/ i+ M8 F3 Q& h0 X
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty. x {& S+ F6 A: V; j
tough."/ p8 G8 e7 k5 t. i8 X1 o* g! U
---7 J8 D, ?" B6 g& z
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
. Z$ W4 Y( S& p' t' O WRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
0 A. C" K2 S* ?" l: L3 T% ?this story.6 \2 i ]2 V' ]
- ? w- }- A3 P, W7 g* s5 k' R-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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