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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
% ^" W4 H: w+ ]8 c l& h3 eBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
% t) H1 \8 a/ r& \/ h. lWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.1 A7 Z: r( k4 }$ I0 \9 g2 g% b& f
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
) x' r- V& F8 h/ ~8 ~8 Q) p$ Pthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
/ M1 f& w" K! i- ?: csolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
5 d# w* S3 z% g+ B8 W"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential$ Y8 I+ [4 @* v8 a) @
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel./ W8 m9 |! w; m' m, X4 O N
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
" A" @3 C& S* a# @6 C% ` macceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and4 h1 C& F. Y/ \0 }5 l
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor/ v, H: H% @, S8 N' K6 H
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
- w/ V$ j" A gHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal) L/ \4 V! b; q! N8 I. q
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp" T/ v9 x# Q& T" Q6 \5 `
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be% }; j2 F# A( k8 r1 y0 i' N7 X- n
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
* c% d/ ^6 L( z5 }: y0 Ynot stop her runaway Lexus.
- F8 a% u; R! X9 A% N"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,. P2 @+ V2 g9 i+ |# ]4 u. d( v
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
. G* q F$ `/ x# _( E"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.2 u8 }9 {+ C* n! g f
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
& c$ x M1 W5 d7 d) jearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
5 `+ {9 z/ h" |9 P2 c1 |"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has+ Q4 q. |8 D u0 L3 J* N
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
# \9 T" ?/ |! K* othrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's. B3 E, e4 v" ^. t2 d- x
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
. N' P3 P& o6 I/ u6 NLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an* L1 F0 t E3 o' ~
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of- H4 W/ x4 D" \
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
( N ]* z! [) [; @8 k5 pmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
; T5 |; F( c" _4 ~7 F4 ]4 e6 X1 Ysaid.: n9 O. A9 m$ v; z \+ M4 F( @) [
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
* Y! X/ U! l& W, {happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
7 t: i( Q" Q. H$ Z6 cabout driving our products," Lentz said.* }! d5 L* z' R" n6 G
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's6 ^; A" I& t% ^7 C4 V! {
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
5 L0 U5 [. q, C+ R2 x" rrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
2 n7 ^1 `2 e, U1 {; B, ]$ Umillion in the United States -- since last fall because of# n/ I& I. Z6 T1 _4 K
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking' ^- P! ]6 J6 t- I
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering7 u8 K# y) X. I7 x. y( D
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of$ ^1 D! f" |. M* R4 X) y6 y* l
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
9 [0 x- Q& S9 d# fdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has; ~& }6 A1 g; r
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
# w! Z% {& H/ V% e& h( T bof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
4 z3 F4 k1 Z% L: j# A# J! O: ~Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
) M5 V* @! j5 d" o: cbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
+ v0 p7 f( r# W7 t% Yunderstood the pain.
8 t0 `7 h2 o2 T' z9 l- Q2 [" g/ Y- k"I know what those families go through," he said.
. U9 i( p4 n C2 }! mLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's3 W- d$ K5 v7 v1 c" l, l I
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.2 y0 E2 ]5 f# d1 Z8 l% T( @
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman1 o6 Y) l( @9 P1 y6 e# s
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put% h U( X6 N& R( r' k% L7 J
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,( v l5 u6 j! g0 s* \ F! S+ v' s
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
( h4 m, i/ F1 ?: y wStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were9 }& t3 u5 H4 U" F2 B- F% |
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
% L/ W" O! S G) p" L% z* H( |Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas4 P t* L# F4 U% ~! a& E
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its/ M* B, Q5 p' V* |9 ?! j. ^
vehicles already on the road.& B9 p( o3 h( C+ e6 ]% X+ K* j! n
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify9 t6 f8 Y! F n
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
9 ?. e" f; y o, z! y, {responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
# K V& a0 j# I: i9 Uoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were, Y( \0 m9 s! L: z+ B! h
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
- ?) V- g9 I2 J$ a"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a: x3 Q' ]2 q+ G+ j$ S7 q9 u
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony3 t" ]5 H/ w# }) ~
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight F. Z8 n! C& w' M: R
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal. Z5 f- R/ i" k6 V( Y
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
8 }- C/ A* C" crestore the trust of our customers."( _$ k2 ]9 \) r. J7 q; ?
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from) `1 c/ Y9 H9 H! I" i9 [
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly; S2 f3 U# X. ]! j
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --/ A0 ?4 y Q5 t: b3 w, S4 E
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
w; e3 v+ p# U9 a" e- c' ~hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough8 b. B$ i2 z5 _/ k+ I' }$ z3 T
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and; Y- i1 B9 Z; P) a( K
turn off the engine.
' A2 w5 j% C- ?: ^ X: DFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of- ]' K1 d5 Y6 n& d
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
0 i9 y/ u# J: U2 \& P"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
, w$ q$ t3 u; T% `8 H' [said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
K9 G$ J. M# X1 x3 {2 P9 ato her complaints.4 Y. e& I L% [6 E# P1 ^
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
% o" \3 r' @, x3 {returned again and again to the question of whether electronic' P- A# D8 i* u
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
: M9 @3 t6 o5 P. D"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric% C$ b* J5 z3 B- c$ p( \6 m
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
8 }5 f, I- y5 ` f, X1 w"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
& x$ ?0 T# I% Y1 j0 aoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
& E4 W( P: `+ r3 W: H/ A9 g& XTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
& m4 N" e- f$ k- ?2 |) _prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were' N5 p/ C _, y" i
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
4 h% [* u; {3 ?/ lwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer# p6 w9 l& s! S# \. J3 P
every question."
) m& \2 R5 `! d0 b1 m* b. gToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
- i: V2 p) R9 _! }7 C' Qelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
; q3 u: K! O* d+ |0 T6 P4 J; cfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But) h, a4 _) z/ d$ C0 f$ l! i
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
K/ d, }$ |: d. O. Unumber of vehicles
( B$ y5 V- A) }' B! jTracking down an electrical problem can be far more6 @, u/ d; R( x
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
# H0 s* z, c a* S3 G Kmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one0 n* ~& Q7 K. m( e7 P
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
5 ~4 K# m: s- h1 Y) uMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
& ~5 q6 U( l j0 R; U D( awhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
4 i0 ?) r, @. U) R/ I& z% r' xtrace at all.
/ i' O8 J1 t1 P' `. ?House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call4 P2 o. X8 R) I$ ]
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
4 @+ d( T: l1 O9 ^' U1 \" Uacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the" e0 w% |' A$ f
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.# i# M* a' M* d+ R3 U: d i' g
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,' w8 r0 `! ~' h& }2 f& ]9 ^
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and- l5 O; b4 k. L2 F# Y3 q
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the5 v) E; k2 b0 t% ~2 a
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
. I6 s& E8 r3 @ C& ^cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only4 h: X; t1 V4 z$ J5 r' ^
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
1 z) w% |% v5 t4 ^+ \' A# H) g- gby Toyota's lawyers."
5 b/ k- U7 ]4 mLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
* Q% b5 a& h* q Yproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our7 |$ e) o" B: r6 @4 W
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
1 q+ g! {! Q" s& u8 y q% k2 z4 v& Gsaid.! D3 z: ?: D" m# K. S
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with6 D9 K o" v2 \" O
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
. r* d! t0 \7 B w4 Wgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
) A! `$ a5 q* p' U% Jofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.4 g1 i$ M% v5 ]; D6 d c
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying# j( S/ g4 a4 ~8 Y/ A
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
9 d& C, L4 @% s( `rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the' h/ i: A! o' j
automaker, at least in part because of the government's: J L6 ]% S. r1 v$ f
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
( R _0 \5 b; AChrysler.
$ u0 n' C' M/ |& W+ M"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax- N' v$ X! i" p1 g
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
( n. Q2 f1 F3 z, P- _' h& O1 T: mHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also9 W7 X) E4 B% b: R
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete6 F* ?* C1 n8 e
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
: k/ B6 q$ F( |" t# X- u8 o3 U4 @tough."0 d" b4 ~) ]! \( ^9 [
---, J( S: H# ^/ a2 u
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom6 o- t7 K2 l; N- k ]/ Z
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to% f. o5 j0 e! W
this story.
" |0 i% f9 V! W% F4 n% E$ I" @3 A% V, j3 e" z, B
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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