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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题' W* v2 q5 C" O/ N9 h) I# `
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS8 d# z* B6 S; Z+ Q2 R
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
6 A: l2 n9 C% R+ h& J# Poperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
( X& s. |4 p' T) D& Y# Q6 O. wthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
8 D/ h" C6 Z1 S- L' Ksolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
" b" W+ w& D. G- P8 v, R"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
: R& v. |4 A) ^- ]/ _. ~7 ccauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.) n D. M, l7 Z8 q# F
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected9 F+ g& I$ [6 p) \' C
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
& Q% }( ] T5 l" m X! F. L9 `trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor) N4 s9 p( q1 m8 G! j9 ^
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.5 ]( h9 f: F$ M1 C
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
: Z- Z/ P, q" V0 x3 wand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp: U5 J( [4 l( L- v9 x
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
0 H4 l1 Q* S5 q ~- B# w5 U0 ^further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could! J# P7 C4 O S$ w/ B5 }. s
not stop her runaway Lexus.
+ b# e3 ?# d9 J"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,2 [8 B. a) I t* P2 }7 H
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second6 \" S z7 S2 L6 ^* \+ l
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.- Q+ w# Z7 V8 t/ H [% N3 _
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues' N8 T4 G- t3 Q9 E3 ?/ L* C
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said; o% q" c" p7 _6 Y. ~; x* V7 {. g! A
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has4 `# t: P# b2 r9 Q6 T
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
. E; b! X5 t1 O f+ ?3 f2 Q+ gthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
6 P6 M! Y+ k+ I3 v9 z' n: hinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."( U; c0 Z$ C" z! H: ~4 V
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an- y9 Z5 A! E' _5 p5 j
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
" I( D) g- D5 K4 }" V2 B* y9 V2 u |the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a" t% f6 X2 c( Z- d5 _% c
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he( [& Z/ C5 k0 ~& M2 W; f3 b
said.8 w3 K' N% K& y, S, I
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what3 q, r% i- F8 W( r1 C$ e2 H! I
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
) N! z1 {2 I( ~# i+ i4 dabout driving our products," Lentz said.& j' H( j6 ]1 H
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's! I% `2 O" \8 t4 u4 C5 A8 n2 v
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
4 b# \* p5 {. a0 h# Hrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
5 V& Z/ C# i8 u P5 Q( mmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
* F8 k* o" o( O2 g* Bunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking) a( c& D9 |% {$ A6 q+ L7 _4 }
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
0 L6 v, h4 A9 N9 E/ Q5 ]2 cconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of; {' a7 L! z/ ?6 W/ d2 ~
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow. b& T/ W2 {' w; ?4 @
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
" Y( i* t- B J c8 a: Vreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
- V: e `3 r9 ^5 V/ F+ g- Xof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
% t7 k K3 Y, P* z* p" h0 f' \Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
3 x6 Z7 A$ D& o& z1 l* N3 p \+ vbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
5 b7 l: Y( f- v: Munderstood the pain." E% `, R, O9 @* c9 P$ d
"I know what those families go through," he said.
4 K' \0 m. s5 E! sLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
; b C5 o" _* Q) |, Afixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
$ _/ t- E3 f; i: u2 u. H5 jBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
- h$ W8 [+ d+ \6 L: L) GHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put6 Q8 T! D5 N; F0 k
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
% ?2 H6 C+ {+ K8 A5 ULentz replied: "Not totally."5 M6 y% @3 L) q
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
" F$ o D/ { x. a% l# r/ t"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said* ~7 u& u% {+ C4 J" j, f
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas2 x7 \ n" Z N3 E6 L. m9 u
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
: ~' Y }$ d8 h2 j+ y2 nvehicles already on the road. N. s/ @; d: Z' U) J( x6 X
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
0 H) h! Q3 ~) G' E- ^2 |& Ubefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full' X3 W3 z# r! k/ M* J
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
2 Y$ \; b1 g) l# I" T7 loffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were: K/ e! R! h. v9 U2 R0 c6 t* X
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.5 Z( G- v; |& y: k' r
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
1 |+ b, ^1 ]4 G5 R4 a! Ztragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
0 A Q! R( d1 Afor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight( K1 L( E9 \0 ` }# F0 {+ z
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
3 b4 Q9 R0 a& P( z0 N; `4 [commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to* ^4 @ ^* _% t, e8 W
restore the trust of our customers." z/ F5 v5 P0 v# B
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
6 X+ c0 d ?" f5 ySmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
# F0 h: l* u: |& V4 h: j5 hzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --9 Q) S% { n; |8 P5 f
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and0 c0 Y6 I8 k t% L
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough0 ?( g2 m- Z$ v4 G
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
# R$ [3 T3 H4 S/ r( Lturn off the engine.
/ e6 H- Q) M2 z' r n& FFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
& f/ e/ B; w" x. U2 {0 z4 fOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."% l! x' ~& u+ n5 p, T
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she8 d u! k: d5 k6 D/ ~7 W6 v
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
" f: _4 s% R. ~, A! @& W. Gto her complaints.
: S, a9 Y8 Z O# tIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
) p) }: G2 v$ X7 Mreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic& n8 d4 b" \* r4 g. R( _1 `) |. M3 l
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
0 }5 E$ n$ T7 a) t. C. `"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric7 s5 @4 W% {: ]- ~4 k
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited3 o/ a( t1 K& D( l M4 V4 d
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut- q ]2 @2 O; _) N1 W& O
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure.") a; z; n' ^* b0 U: `' D6 B+ L, E
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
! K8 N) P4 Y4 A5 A xprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
% Y6 e) Q1 O' m3 ^! i- Ibeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls6 {8 R0 z) `2 S) w# b
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer; H0 o' w8 _: F0 W( c+ X& u* h$ S$ K
every question." z+ j% Q0 ?- U4 E; v3 ~& X8 f3 k/ |
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
7 |; g2 k$ c7 yelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
" p2 a* U2 s( Y9 M! u* a! dfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But4 c: T. V1 K' `" g6 y6 }" E8 L
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small7 l0 ?# G7 f9 a; g% c/ J, X4 b7 M+ J3 R
number of vehicles
' o8 R" U2 ]4 U* P9 fTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
0 q5 g' I6 ]9 ^' U6 Fdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a; Y4 E1 d# x2 g, r- y, n* D
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one, {" G4 l% `) b1 v* i
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
W( T3 C9 v" E" L9 n! q! L/ VMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,# Y+ c/ A$ b/ U2 s; o
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
9 x8 h) E! N! i0 ]4 } Xtrace at all.1 u1 a" G& Y8 Z' w. r9 {0 s Y1 N
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call6 L$ r$ h* n' W5 P4 r6 q
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden& i! y( Y; ~$ S6 B$ U* a& \0 ]
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the# M& k+ A8 o6 j+ k% Q$ w, n/ z# n
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.1 S8 M1 d- l! X% F% c
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,! y7 ]! i" L% V
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
9 g/ ?# Q6 U7 U/ {! x# _other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
1 ^8 Q6 `& g5 s. h' J6 welectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
$ r6 C/ T1 t2 b- z7 q* k0 Jcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
. S- g% H- a. S& S+ T) Msuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
7 n ?0 {6 `: v$ f0 R3 X9 Vby Toyota's lawyers."3 { o' k0 U) B( @" [, f, Y
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of' L1 b0 E0 t" ]
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our/ o5 }8 z+ J' ]1 `* b& v9 j4 y
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he, M9 x$ ^% f X- r( t9 @
said.
) Z0 F9 ?7 d" @6 Y% k' f9 ~# B"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
- I# X) u4 G% W* R# z3 B6 S ta rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
5 A, R* V% h# R# C5 c( v% h5 q2 Kgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
% c& V) x, q4 l- Z8 U- iofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.# P' |4 |( a. y7 T) c/ M5 r& M& u2 f
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
( W1 C4 W$ [3 p) z9 S; D# U9 vmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread" B! }2 L. p: H6 x/ C0 N* S- Z4 K
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
' d& O, Q8 B8 s. p" U( R% ?automaker, at least in part because of the government's0 e8 z( M1 _) A9 X3 y$ g: G
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
) Z& l* _/ O8 p g2 ]& }3 kChrysler.
# f. i" l F0 e3 ]"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
* \ a% h& [; mdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
; _* d2 O& O& O: p- Y6 g5 [Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
. l0 f3 L! @7 m3 dserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
1 `* n9 U8 E8 ?3 t+ }with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
6 s& W3 J* y3 x0 Ctough."
( i: O, B' F0 Y6 @---
, ~. o7 E3 K+ _, l: l7 d- PAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom- F# j4 a, g! C- F( c! h* l% M; k
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to2 V! S7 u# ^6 f* O
this story.
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* A% }. I$ X1 R1 n0 p* i7 c-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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