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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题 \5 C% m' [3 c6 `( v$ K' Z
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS: O/ Z" P) |# N% U
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.+ w8 G" Z6 _# R, V) ^
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that# k, i' Y6 q% G& f4 W7 i) k
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"5 U5 N6 b; I$ x6 e: f
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.: @1 d e5 k9 k9 N9 s
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential c; k; s, C0 J4 W5 j- _( E
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
; L: p# W0 P+ rHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
8 Q6 u8 M+ E( V- Xacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and- ?( u f' h- ]" q2 A
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
, ^8 }$ w+ K7 U# r8 T {; b; imats and sticking accelerator pedals.
, W" V8 ]; x6 F, x" iHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
; m2 e/ ]; o4 O0 Kand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp# f6 ^' L! |2 X, P9 b$ W! _+ X
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
+ V# D& W' [% U X; tfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could9 V9 H. _" K) x1 L* s, B \# M4 ~
not stop her runaway Lexus.
0 b/ ]+ D8 E$ E7 x. B! E"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
- e- h; ~# C3 X' M& uTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
8 K2 F% G; {/ ?; _% i2 T"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.1 P; H. p' P& f5 I4 \
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
- a, H- | {5 w, C1 H; w8 D- Z9 `early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
( V4 n5 q' C4 a6 ?3 l2 l% e"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
% n0 S& ]/ w# r& g8 D5 R6 Qdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
Q' y1 D# i9 X" ]4 q. U+ @through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's/ R: U- }% Z& e8 w
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
|4 S( A" B, n: B$ FLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
: Q: t# V7 U: T/ I2 c; Xelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
! w% D4 o5 H7 b3 Z. _# S- @the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a1 b8 k2 h$ I9 H
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
2 |9 i+ G9 }0 Q7 S) Dsaid./ r0 y0 t- t* K3 {& z9 ?7 q
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
- _$ _* C9 F- `& ^5 H" E" m% p5 C. ghappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
. l9 y0 Y, j" u ~8 Q4 M) \% B$ q" Eabout driving our products," Lentz said.
r+ q$ {2 ^* R: G$ {3 v: sThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
' r/ q6 i+ _3 u5 vproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
8 |% l- @5 ]% [, O: p6 \- t& srecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 65 m) \+ A8 q9 s- l2 V4 S* w
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
. b$ M' N. A6 K* N$ I, @2 y8 zunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking: ?5 v' c' x2 k
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering5 J) o2 r/ S2 I
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of7 ^+ J, m$ L) n# `# P* |
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
8 D+ X; |# a, \$ V5 `' i% }down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has& F% q3 }9 [+ H5 A( R) L% S" A
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
7 h; a8 R0 Q# a* cof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
6 A% w+ J5 g; rLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own1 Y* h# h3 r: ?& s2 Y s
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he) ]0 V2 b5 q9 W8 f- K' N( R
understood the pain.
5 ]* r) P7 W; x; b$ A* X/ Q"I know what those families go through," he said.
+ k: x" i, m+ C& gLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
2 `" ` D, M2 e. ?2 A( R# K1 Lfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.* r$ V* f4 `2 @: i
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
/ s. c0 D0 K" N' b6 EHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
0 n! Z/ E1 n! X& y8 I% z$ Pin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,0 s6 n/ \' z* [; k9 `4 D
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
0 p1 M ^* H2 ?! ]Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were( ]& m/ b( M; P# D: f3 m6 G
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
% M% J9 K/ p2 [) B# Z) gToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
6 x0 D0 b- Y4 \0 u% |% U/ Lpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its9 P( [! z; L# Z, ?, D4 c8 }3 d
vehicles already on the road.* R2 c3 `8 z1 O
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify& J( G2 l2 G. [1 _. D& L
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full- g& i3 t8 r& d. ?5 d/ @/ N
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
$ l' |8 P+ B e' j+ d; s9 L0 toffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
1 b/ z! |, W4 }/ m: }2 Lkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.! s7 |. W8 F f J3 j
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
) M, l# z2 h' V$ n& `$ K1 ttragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony& E. t+ h# a6 ~+ H" s
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
; Z2 f/ S K+ g' cCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal$ N B1 O9 Y S0 E) f+ w
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to* v# E. ]7 O5 F2 @+ \
restore the trust of our customers.") R0 i4 R {' T: S/ I% [
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from$ d% r/ @& y" m9 `( B3 l
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
4 I/ Z. B8 ]! V5 D" C5 V/ Bzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
+ [7 G9 z |* F+ j% r3 R, E) q9 fshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
& {: h6 F: \$ e5 ~hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough9 k" S" b% e% s k3 c( q0 C
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
4 y# S& O' e6 uturn off the engine.6 t- u) E3 Y* A H/ |
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of7 @/ _0 p) W( ]9 k* b$ W
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."+ h$ Q. m! T% I9 W z" P
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she) x. J+ T8 R F0 F# L& o
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
( I, T0 x+ I6 N1 R8 M j' I/ Tto her complaints.: d4 p% @, Q2 s3 m$ h
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers; q8 H" O4 f1 c# X: ]
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
- Q( z" b1 b9 fmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.% G6 x9 w1 e/ S) |! K3 ^9 o3 ?
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
5 \! A" ]6 H% _. y$ e0 T. x4 bthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited0 h6 r+ S. R! a
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut1 |/ U: t$ A' `* m
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
1 Q) B9 D9 L$ {; ?9 k& a. t' r/ MTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in* o7 I B: _ X
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were. i! _8 x8 P4 h. G
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
/ B: G9 h8 _$ g4 S" Bwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer( l$ F7 Y! s" U! F
every question."- Q/ n- k1 E3 z7 W
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
0 j5 H2 j* u8 Z: L" W5 S5 Kelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The5 y* n% B4 N8 b7 t, \
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
1 a5 ~& k" k0 t f- Lcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
; j1 M' V& `% ^4 Snumber of vehicles
5 Q0 ]$ q/ E P M. KTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
0 ?* V) E1 C/ Z6 W' ^. x$ m$ S. J6 Cdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a' y- b, J& y2 g
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
' k8 N L: S" r% O) f/ e4 ^source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.# N+ D7 n& A+ C2 W4 h0 ~" D+ h
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,3 Z( N+ l) ~, z+ A
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no+ {7 v3 _# V; W1 z
trace at all.0 V- K- u+ ~& _ }
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call* G5 N% @8 s, ^: l- w/ a9 j; Y/ i- U
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
9 ~( j: \, }) t- t; jacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the2 Q' H& w- w. U. O' T8 Q4 r, A
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.8 S1 f3 ^8 l% y3 [
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,/ d% ~: U( T+ _ g
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
7 o% ~7 {) D6 c' Hother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
/ j& q: U" [& ?/ q8 n9 F' z9 r. Lelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible$ z* n& R8 \% U# h
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
8 R7 N: G( o& X$ esuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
. p' S7 l) e+ ]+ Iby Toyota's lawyers." t1 C' M3 Q+ O H: C
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
& E/ |* q2 Q) }3 z2 o6 dproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
9 Q+ d) D; A% {& K& fcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he. N. [: h" L$ k4 E1 l" L% Z3 i/ J% `
said.1 Z4 M1 k# q3 W' _! |
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
$ s* ]- {; Z) c1 D& h+ o) g- ea rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
1 B& G/ c7 D0 J3 k& u) Ngood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating" m3 X: }. N: t0 d; a
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
1 Y( N4 \+ O) V: GSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying8 N. }$ u/ a( }6 `1 K' b I; u. s
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread) ?) V$ d, X6 ~- F a! ~- ^
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the7 E. J" w, h+ O! x2 {
automaker, at least in part because of the government's5 Q& J) I5 ^, o5 d: E
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and1 l, R, ~* B5 l5 N7 F9 J; r0 ?
Chrysler.! z- ?2 K- X( H/ H% a3 I2 f+ B* |- \
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax( t. o% z4 D6 _( a w6 _9 ~
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
2 m/ X5 P# Z; G- K9 uHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
# K; F( i @& Q% \served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
; K; p7 C: h8 G/ C- bwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty2 n8 \- v* U) v
tough.", Z3 p8 ]. X6 P8 g
---
) z/ T, O$ D- h$ }Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom1 ]& }, O6 r$ K: t
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
" f* I M7 O' ] h6 e6 Fthis story.( Y$ \9 b8 R+ k U1 T
) _+ [% x: g! M- g( g' W# D4 O; o-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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