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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题7 [( J) T) z) O9 r- z9 |
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS: Q2 n3 s0 q3 O0 e1 {
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.) V2 a1 L8 _& Y: \
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that+ E* l3 O) m# c9 U- X
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"/ Z% a8 X3 k5 c( I
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.) d4 g4 E: A" d8 g- g
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential+ [8 m' }' `7 Y$ }! n
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.5 ^/ c8 F3 ^3 P' p8 b
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
3 W& x8 c) D: r. `1 }# Y; K5 A6 |( hacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and4 l2 M3 E0 j2 n4 _* }+ {9 w, }' K
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
" ^ b! G7 Z0 a" Z& q7 {' L8 Qmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
% `4 ]3 g0 g; f, K/ wHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal* g7 K9 d/ q$ K4 Y7 P6 M; ]8 c
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
% f+ l8 g" V/ n' I1 scriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
: x) e2 D. ~" l {) r) N9 c; Dfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could& y l" e$ w% y
not stop her runaway Lexus.1 x* ~8 l# X5 U! K
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,2 j8 u" o; O6 e
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second# ]9 ^" ~# |4 |2 U$ m" H8 f4 m
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
6 }$ g2 _/ i! y, k* e- kTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
4 c! j ]3 ^6 _, M0 h1 J/ ]early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said3 Q3 W1 B4 B2 x; h6 A# B. a, P
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
& _3 C4 o7 d; ]- A+ c+ R, @done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway+ `6 ]+ ?9 S/ \
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's3 \ |6 h1 A; U4 c
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."! \! f1 j6 E/ U8 V: x: b j1 y( K" p
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an# l& ~ v8 I( [- y) T2 J- `: Y. `
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
. F) t7 z: Q4 U5 R; h% Zthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a9 V3 `. z+ y3 R. g3 |& R9 G, [
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he- H4 b" X9 ~3 ^: c7 R; w7 l
said.4 Z+ c0 T- q5 k# H+ s
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what7 W% ?' |7 Y" a& W O3 W
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
1 J4 c3 ^( N! e+ ^# {$ kabout driving our products," Lentz said.
. F; s' T0 r1 E; a5 y0 ~Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
. p8 N$ c8 R& f: S, @' F! Dproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
+ R0 L9 O7 B+ U; Yrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
6 K/ Z7 C k* k& C% E( `million in the United States -- since last fall because of) y' \) r4 f7 I* c
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking: T3 i' C4 \4 [5 Y
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
+ W! I$ G* c$ W m: M5 T7 Vconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
. R# O5 `- I7 Y& u! I4 ttheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
?1 \+ u# G: e" d4 E: kdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has5 B! ^; s5 G/ N0 ^/ r9 f
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
' k0 i% A: l+ [+ oof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
4 W$ L8 E. J% d) b" ILentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
; G9 z# I: J4 A3 Fbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
9 | ?* y; f3 Kunderstood the pain.
6 o% `1 B4 j4 W"I know what those families go through," he said.
6 ?6 l( L: r8 u& r; sLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's/ C% H, Q# l. R; C
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.: \3 Q0 _) O1 S6 b( Y
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman5 _4 s' t( a$ s5 |0 m8 K
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put1 R3 m$ r) t/ R% v3 R
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,; s3 I& B& M+ z6 ?3 N4 d+ W7 X8 e* Z
Lentz replied: "Not totally."% v U. W, u7 u9 A, r2 z7 x* k
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were8 u. C- z0 r3 ~1 P
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said. h ] X6 o% |$ R: i
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
' j$ R" L4 K+ ~3 M& zpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its$ H3 ^4 K# j" X9 }9 R
vehicles already on the road.& N' H, R& y) l, h' {
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
, A$ C: e! \0 S( dbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full' @' J: T8 ?, J2 D/ c
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and/ N4 I# k% @0 K4 T+ O
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were# V ~$ S- y6 a
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.! q( G5 I( V/ V# h% t9 P% Y2 I7 h
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a8 h% m, K; A4 W2 w6 \
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
- U3 K$ P- r* L6 s, M8 zfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
% F; d/ S, L5 O) uCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal8 T0 h6 W" o9 {7 X" O# \3 {7 `
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
3 c, t/ ` p% drestore the trust of our customers."
9 i7 `0 ~9 e+ zLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
: i% t! g. O! Z c, b- S1 O1 nSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
& |* [& S. O7 R: l9 {5 Izoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --6 B6 n0 B2 K. d' l
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
2 q, Z/ b' x) V# p$ @5 I9 Q3 mhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
) u9 D) ~7 `' l; ^that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and5 c: u# N1 J5 S9 i
turn off the engine.
- \5 t8 W7 d8 l! }; K# ?Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
3 s! z! m4 ^: K) VOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
& b% Y5 D' X$ P5 q" o8 K"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
- X& D0 `. l2 [, L- {; |said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
: X9 h1 j9 q2 H# \7 d7 ato her complaints.3 D! ?, a$ o, R, @) v! s
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
. A) T( z0 [- q6 F1 l! \2 }returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
* v% t8 y" v; K% kmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.$ b, V9 x3 t% z9 [4 h2 |
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
) H3 Q8 n7 N# R" f4 ^throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
1 ?2 O8 i! J! J; v! z `7 Y# X$ i"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut2 C5 u s$ j. |* u: T- \9 O
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."3 A A+ b" y4 w$ i: ^7 n3 b3 u6 l9 L
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in9 V: c% T6 V9 A% h6 w4 z- |/ P
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were8 _9 a8 [( e6 I! u) _
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
& w" I( X. b a9 Awere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
1 V0 Y% ^( p4 f* r4 h3 _every question."
" S, D' {% C3 A; `7 RToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether8 o/ U! K" r7 t: x/ f6 L
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The$ k- }& T& B' m# h- H& C! J" h
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
2 @% a6 u8 E# M4 acommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
7 a3 S) d# a* \- [7 E; \- [number of vehicles5 {- h% @5 k7 |8 Y n2 d: L* _; P
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more: w* I' K! G. H- ]
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a5 K( S6 g% F& U$ D. U
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one7 H; l: \! V) B% V& r5 C
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
% ]' }$ s: Y& D3 G4 `* F5 LMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
1 X1 ?% N+ \5 H: w/ Z5 f& awhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no% M$ Q, b6 W9 P
trace at all.
3 }2 ?8 i& G) F/ V4 }) sHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call6 G; d4 G) @. y: j% K) Q
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden& ^! g; g0 x$ S; x
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
' {+ z: P# Z) ?! c/ ] N5 Q4 K; Urecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.5 r2 h# c7 I, w9 p
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
+ a0 [: x3 h5 E5 a# {. g/ `9 Rsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and! X5 B+ K! I, G
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
1 w$ Y! R2 u/ t/ |electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
9 Q& i6 v7 r4 E$ D4 L' |cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
/ c' i' x4 a4 ]; g$ h+ C5 A' Dsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
9 E5 P6 S6 u. }2 dby Toyota's lawyers."1 T6 o+ X% _+ u# e2 N' u( ~
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
: i" T+ X1 N$ h! [7 vproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our" M. e, S5 a/ Y: W K" }4 ?
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
9 D' a; f6 m! x+ Q. psaid.0 |$ S! j+ x6 p
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
0 c$ a$ Y; } m, P R4 [4 ua rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our& v" W' [& J j+ r
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating9 H& V) D* _7 p5 c- S
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.3 k# R. ?7 n9 S6 d
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
: z. ~. a" {9 R" T; C; p6 |members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread" E+ ~! i* |- k" M3 l4 j+ C% R
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
3 v! o; `% ]! q% t+ Z, \2 f1 d( f" Rautomaker, at least in part because of the government's8 S5 r# u3 C" P
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and# \7 a; ]; b8 e6 X& E. V
Chrysler.
H' d; }1 J1 E"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
6 j3 l3 c9 k; l, ~$ \: I/ idollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a7 D! q c6 K5 J' A- U6 r W
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also3 r+ D* E. j" I
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
" k& E9 |- c+ mwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty8 u! S4 ]+ D, I3 x6 d! v1 Z2 ?: C0 p3 G
tough."; @, K! T( W) s6 j* v+ n# q, ^( K
---
" c& s# Q7 d) l( _$ A) M9 I9 dAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom( ?* \6 ]) o8 _7 v2 a' v
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
^! L( x- W# f) `" Gthis story.
+ u. J: D% P& u6 c" b5 Y/ F, B; K$ B+ o* i0 Z
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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