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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
9 u; Z0 S8 Z; TBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS% X( H1 j( h/ K
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
8 N; \ a$ G, T! moperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
4 [* X' k& ^' H8 Wthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
# P: M) O. Z6 c' B8 S9 M& Jsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration./ T, [( A0 C' O9 n X- [ b! b
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential$ ]8 y# w7 T" K0 v; H1 H
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.9 Y7 j; L& @6 ]3 k
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected6 M e) I: j9 t7 }( d6 m- k% }
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
3 P6 n- E4 a) A& E& R! Ztrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
( \( u ~# c! B$ p; _mats and sticking accelerator pedals.9 ~" g# Q9 u: ~# Q5 \. {; P
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal$ _: v- b/ h1 I* o! C% {
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
) W& {: D! B* s3 Dcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be! b+ d: F2 p* E$ C& }
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
4 t2 ^$ w# ?# [0 X3 T3 i( onot stop her runaway Lexus.
) Z1 {8 x% P. T2 }1 h+ T! `0 m"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
5 _ k; Y( P B* E& p" @" jTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second) X$ S3 t7 O5 h8 j' K% C
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.* m' u9 v9 @$ N5 ~8 L
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues+ U- \0 I9 N& O2 Z+ M7 x
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said: p0 q8 _1 `3 t/ Y0 Z
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has g+ H2 M1 m/ j
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway. ^( M6 r* I- j$ x+ r9 Y1 A4 e, [
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
# ^# h6 _/ |, a+ W+ S% ainvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."2 C7 s- i5 l I5 b+ k- T
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
( h4 F* E2 o6 Q1 ielectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
5 h7 L/ i# y8 E% g# \ Qthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
) {$ [3 b$ |% x1 ]0 b" ]malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he$ a; }3 M9 d8 R* |- Z% b
said.0 k7 B- G! N/ j3 ? q! e+ t7 y
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
1 u, r3 m- u7 Q% F% O- j. Z2 dhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
# O4 g1 ]6 _: @& d3 p/ Gabout driving our products," Lentz said.
( Z7 X% `4 r2 `0 eThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's6 n$ [- T/ |: ]5 e9 X% c
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has3 W& m% A, X" D5 l( e
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
0 n% ?7 `, l8 ^million in the United States -- since last fall because of
l* S1 f- G" s1 M$ _, u0 G& x9 ?9 }unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking% \& K" [% p: b2 I ]7 f
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering, C7 {( k( Z; g. v A( C
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of ^! `" j- Z+ E0 ?4 x v
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow6 s Y$ K q: j5 Z) r7 `
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has6 p# |' K' ^% C/ e2 [+ W! p3 S
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration; F I' c; v* g' w+ w4 z6 V
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
) Z, O6 I$ Z) d8 u6 yLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
7 g$ k- |4 z! u( Q0 N- d5 H; Dbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he2 T- H1 L: ^6 |( m
understood the pain.
6 ?1 W5 r, {( |: x( d* `"I know what those families go through," he said.
, R. _ X( f) G" p3 F( pLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's2 \5 Y% X1 W" M6 |4 ?$ F2 z
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.$ t( \+ A- I. T2 N
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman( z y+ u8 D7 L" ]2 m& | A
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put9 d$ F8 X; Z; U9 ?9 t$ E' _: `
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
0 v9 [% v! _, @$ ~Lentz replied: "Not totally."
# Z, v( _1 ~+ n; ?! _Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
6 Q3 t7 w3 B' i"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said/ Q' G9 Z2 S4 ?2 Y. g, l3 ?4 U
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas0 [& H0 Q: y7 c5 @6 v$ S
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
# l2 W1 o+ F. P5 hvehicles already on the road.
5 G+ u- f$ K$ D1 S+ }1 ZMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify. ^, w6 U# c. k
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full( ?+ q6 o/ A9 m7 C
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and! A! j( S' J. U
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
7 J2 u, v3 z5 ckilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.0 T; _ i) v6 d0 T( W! ?
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
( b- y! A j" }tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
1 O+ W' q1 _5 m9 Lfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight: e, H; C+ m. Y/ q! t" w
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
@; W& N; b! {commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
; a+ u+ `. N% mrestore the trust of our customers.": S6 v6 f7 q* \% g5 f# y) |
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from, u! z- W) O3 G, |: Z
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
0 T9 I" g" g4 T0 t7 Q3 @zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
: q9 r3 m$ D4 X6 Fshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and' q, E. o- n% y% E s
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
7 f3 S8 E% E$ q. @9 B* B- m7 rthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and0 n% P5 `; B6 I1 d
turn off the engine.7 X% S9 H+ W3 c- g9 Z7 P( A
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of' O Y" u" d' t9 \8 b" k, u
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
& r( Z$ J1 A8 c, M"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
4 Q$ m1 U8 a7 p# Rsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond g9 W M8 Q7 M- L
to her complaints.1 b* N8 m/ [; E7 |& N7 h& j
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers# [/ E5 _8 K' a) h. Y
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
$ }$ ]% s9 m, x0 gmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
) ^; H1 `8 P" {% [" d! U$ i"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric" y, N2 @8 K+ \3 F8 @
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited5 W( o$ J+ j* }9 }9 t; U* j
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
) n1 Q f5 m7 U8 X: |9 ]4 E# k# Roff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
/ G! t: w+ G6 s4 Z8 p! rTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in- ~ U! `! G% @5 J( `0 ~
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
: Y* V) r/ N( F7 D0 L( Kbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls" w% Z& Q9 H7 g1 ?/ Y6 j8 }
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer/ {. h: t# m' D3 t# m
every question."
" B! O# j2 {* {Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
2 b' Y8 x4 j# l) kelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The8 Z! l# M; u$ C4 x# @
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
8 p! h* L9 {6 q3 Lcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
6 |4 c3 ^* c/ }* m! a! Enumber of vehicles3 N5 F3 ~8 J& X# J6 J
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
- ?/ ?1 d& ~8 r* W' Wdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a( y: d3 J- a- \; f
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one) F7 @$ d' N4 m4 q) b; V$ v: k
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
/ m5 S: v& I% o' f# g; lMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
* I$ h" \# o4 V; R! gwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no% ~4 Z% o5 X1 f" W5 o3 q" _
trace at all.
8 T$ d, F- Y; g$ v( FHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
( |0 W$ _' K/ w- L idatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden: i3 C$ Q8 ]! ?
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the. X ^: ~. j- y
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
' u( ~; T0 T |! _, l, mRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
! X, ]9 }9 C9 X9 o4 k! L. ksaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and3 e) Z' e9 S& a6 H
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
+ ?2 M4 S4 l" \/ B3 {# felectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible7 H9 c& `( }- f
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only) {: ]: M* l0 X
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained% u4 q/ w7 Y7 t0 F2 y% o3 j
by Toyota's lawyers."
# v4 x' a6 d; O, B ^! }Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of: O2 o* c! b2 F3 Y/ [" i6 ^' X; @
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
% p7 l' ~$ w/ s: a1 _/ G& Fcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he3 y7 j- _/ e8 [ H2 X
said. f' I) t- h9 i. a
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
a$ J6 h) |, {6 n3 [7 g3 w7 u) Ha rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
! ]( d8 c/ j, bgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
0 w: U, h$ L- G0 b+ Y( iofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.3 D E$ a( t/ G, P
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying/ `! f8 l# w2 N
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread# J' q2 ?5 Y! p2 H
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the) t" q3 Z9 ?' U8 z& t7 T- Q3 q
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
2 i; b$ ?! E2 x, Yinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and1 {% N; Y5 @& C( L# _
Chrysler.$ x: E, \) `& N9 E+ j
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax2 B! t5 y. O6 C$ Y* P) `
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
0 K9 Z K3 p w8 ^Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
) p; ^: `; ?7 f7 l! I( J. P3 m1 Yserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
6 j6 R' y3 w/ s. T0 ^1 [! N0 g4 swith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty3 Q. s) W! ?) ~, j
tough."
4 R0 H5 Z) V$ t6 s7 | q8 G1 W---3 s/ ]% e) k% E; N
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
# C/ I: B! A2 ?8 @* bRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
% `. c- l3 G3 ?, H Jthis story.
% e+ v0 r" x% @$ Z4 `0 F: z K0 I: t) h' h# k
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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