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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题/ |5 z+ K% y0 M4 K/ X! T' {9 k
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS0 E. B2 L" I; l, F
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
S n( Q% j ^/ Eoperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
& J: ~* r" E4 ~8 Q' R: ]the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
! ^0 z3 s1 k- ?! [solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
9 {0 \& [8 {) B# m; h( i {9 o ?5 C"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
' d) f- I) U6 M; i# ?causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
( w* w M# j0 h" V0 ?* }; KHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
( q, v0 s; F- e/ V5 I/ m3 {acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and; M% B. v1 @% W( ?/ m6 V) K
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
8 b" x2 f* y7 \1 u( p3 w3 @mats and sticking accelerator pedals.( E" k& x% u: J( ^: j2 o
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
q9 S) k6 }) b0 d7 }% eand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
G+ c1 d* T" d3 R! Y* X! Lcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
1 ?, u, G3 a5 Yfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could1 g$ K# V6 o6 l! O6 w% j$ T% V
not stop her runaway Lexus.
2 \0 B( Y9 V8 l8 L3 D5 ]" C"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville," I. L0 X( l( P6 H. m
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second) z/ @# T4 D' V- \8 k( v
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
: w G# A( e4 ~6 [9 [* }Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
8 l8 } _3 {7 @early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said0 \# v& O! c7 Y9 o
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has. d6 ~/ F. r/ ?/ }: V- ]7 @4 n
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway# S. X! @! T- G% M5 e
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's! \2 }5 G$ f, o4 _' C$ ]7 U
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."5 a! `3 r% t2 ]) @7 `, A, j
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an5 O5 v( }( N0 x
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of0 D* `/ \: _1 b8 x7 J B, q# ?) g
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a& ~/ S7 P4 o! w( l+ Y( B9 s
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he' G. s( @! b; v2 o- m
said.
4 L, U; ~6 e1 ~As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what9 x" H- S, \4 X% t3 ]
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe8 O" e: v% `" c5 W0 e
about driving our products," Lentz said.$ D$ n: o. H; t. [$ N1 K, Q
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
7 B, o% a; G! ~1 G: t! qproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
; i3 \. f5 M, L& a! h$ wrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 61 P* o/ }3 p+ @- v _
million in the United States -- since last fall because of6 h! D! p- _8 B9 g/ n, y {( L
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
; \& z: M& s% fissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering8 H: e# H; f, j h! T1 h# e
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of6 L+ ^# p( J" b* | L P! Q' ?
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
7 b; f9 D) n/ m" g$ S2 P6 qdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
! S8 g2 V3 S$ q+ J9 o' U: jreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
8 A1 C3 N0 D9 q, Q q- o) j3 f* s; Gof Toyota vehicles since 2000.) }- e# m5 \2 S. d
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
% I" J, [# T2 H5 d/ B3 xbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
% T7 q$ v0 E/ P0 ^4 H) J' Aunderstood the pain.
5 t& N4 k: ]) q"I know what those families go through," he said.
0 p$ X5 b/ M% {2 a. q3 A6 RLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's \0 D) q- x6 I0 {; U
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems., ^6 y B! `, `& U( m
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
# ]( R$ I; r& i$ MHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put+ b2 x4 V+ T: x. B) Z
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,! I7 S) k" M" @7 I7 J
Lentz replied: "Not totally."3 s- n+ G$ z- I. q9 U3 ~, c
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
' H, Q& |) l% w"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said/ ?( k, [+ d8 C" H- P1 F: L0 c
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
' F7 a# y( p y I2 }& B1 Q1 opedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
7 o) R6 N1 A# r( ^4 u& Wvehicles already on the road.6 u/ Z# f% `1 ~2 c+ }5 `, ~9 R$ \
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
! }1 G. G$ ~7 Q% a( Pbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
6 ~) Z2 t1 R- X3 `7 hresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and9 u: F( U' i3 |0 M% a
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were- {9 ?5 r( Y: E2 V
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.8 J5 ~7 _% {7 m# ~* j
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a# I- N, P* ^8 g4 _/ N& c1 t
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony g+ Y5 k- q2 d6 R, q( j
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight! k7 ?8 g5 \7 b5 O
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
4 j. }7 r+ b( z% R. Gcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
$ f6 P" c+ P4 M6 F3 J& m8 E5 \! Z/ Frestore the trust of our customers."& l/ t3 i h0 v! p" ~1 @
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from4 b: s6 V/ g; J3 }, S+ b" O7 V
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
l" y! q, k/ n+ [zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop -- `+ @& ^& V! D& x
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
: t& x5 Y" N& i. M& n$ n7 ]hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough+ ^2 {' \6 i6 I; \5 r/ l4 a
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and4 g; g& J9 o3 @
turn off the engine.
2 x8 s: O: P: m) a7 _" @Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
& R3 d: V) q" P: ?October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
3 s! T! s1 o) o6 ["After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she- A& g1 f% \' G# j8 I
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
+ M6 s& V, K1 N- d! b3 vto her complaints." L5 G, N9 K( a2 b# ^' P* p
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
, w7 A4 U) O8 Lreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
* m7 A# P& n( X* h7 fmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars./ a: ^4 y( v$ Q+ q4 o( I W
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric: E4 P7 g. A+ G6 Z& L
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
( V& q7 W a2 F: O7 J( F" K"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut3 T- J# L6 Z+ u
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
" t8 O% F) X% R' qTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in7 C6 V7 R4 V# I$ l: ^+ J
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
+ [! W; W7 m3 D4 D5 X- V5 u# Tbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls: \" W) d$ N& _+ D
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
/ I! `$ a5 E7 i. z. eevery question."
( r, T6 U$ e0 ?0 A/ v$ lToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
9 D8 t; ~5 U; h" t/ |electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The2 v) s7 k( n& A8 ]2 e. t0 i1 l
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But4 |7 k' U z/ G C
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
3 ?8 n" t6 m( I2 \2 S- znumber of vehicles
' Q; B; @4 _( V7 }3 _) DTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
/ A- t$ C, e; `# {& gdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
5 ~( B6 C( q; ?; k$ x& }mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one6 x4 ]1 F2 a6 D5 \! f! q
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.5 S6 ~2 R1 o/ i: U6 v+ H
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,: ]8 g: H; z/ {7 h& p d0 g
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
( { m& m% a. |" {) ?trace at all.0 r" k2 [5 p" @' j+ o2 \
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
* P! @( i: w; C, ]( ?6 mdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden# I( O! e2 o3 S' K
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the, h v% i7 B R% t2 n
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.* O( S+ `& I* Z9 k& p, x5 }+ N
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee, v# O1 ]$ s; r: W+ s0 t& C" q
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
+ |- }5 P. U5 Y2 @& dother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the: G9 y: W$ J5 Z0 i: v
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible& Y/ S. w. W. Z/ W, l3 O& ?
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only$ |) N8 v' h! z! z
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
A$ z8 ]; \: G! y" d4 ~by Toyota's lawyers."
1 G9 ~+ L1 A; b G1 ULentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
( c! Y; H9 Q8 nproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
1 V( ?2 l/ a# E# y: N% Zcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he# h" Q- U, o6 B3 |7 u* `; b0 c
said." L' C j. i9 V/ F, D) @7 a5 ^
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
1 F, C( g& T! v9 ua rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our" }5 H' v1 @( a) x% `# E
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating. Y- r4 n( B0 A# E! G
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
# f( i/ f {& G( J, Z% ZSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
7 _- V. E0 K3 a: m: T7 D8 ?+ u' K) E$ Vmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread2 Z, R$ {" B& `
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the3 s! U8 d$ E! i3 z o- y$ W; I
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
: b2 S; m8 V6 v7 _investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
- A# Z. D4 |+ b6 y2 T" [) bChrysler.% A( v0 q( q1 n! F7 X2 F
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax' K/ M, q1 s; Z0 x" a3 L
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
# I e9 t7 C; @) }, _Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
. a9 W- }' {: z( @% Nserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete/ O5 J) e) r0 h* a( G
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty$ g E1 r5 Z; \+ r2 X- k, X( L# U
tough."
% B/ L1 G S. d6 @- P+ T( R" U---5 E& @ _, E6 d6 J% q. ]
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom" S. ?; _1 B& h
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
3 ]* Y/ j) Y1 I/ `! S% v: ethis story.1 i! w2 {* v7 n6 K* C4 L
2 D2 F0 Q5 @& g$ h-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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