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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
! P5 f8 n! Z2 l$ F& v, i. ?By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
8 v- h! Q$ R, C/ z; {* t, O/ vWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
5 r0 T+ V- |+ {4 H5 i5 aoperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that4 J) l E# S# P: `7 p
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"' O( k; C- Z1 v- ?1 e9 U2 {$ _/ w+ C
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.: w# V1 e0 y+ R* i8 y
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
: _ E% D; Q2 \- P3 qcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
% n: e+ ]: E# R0 Q% L! ~: w3 GHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected7 L7 d4 b: G7 i. k
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and2 k7 c) r( @! a
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor' W' e) r3 M' e
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.2 R" m% k: R7 @- R
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
- L7 ?- v1 Y" Rand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp+ ^0 A" m2 _ K0 f# D" p; R
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be/ \) o& x7 q7 x! {( P2 B8 F
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could5 M0 G# @9 X8 f+ x; n
not stop her runaway Lexus.
1 v; L7 h! Z8 B"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
4 c) V; o7 d ^3 }- ?! ?Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second: n6 j. F% G: a5 D2 b6 ?" ]
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.9 ]1 o2 }$ U( @/ F& t
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues% o0 G" H2 [ F7 F: X$ R
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
$ [! k9 O$ f: W- a( J) P"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
6 G( X. ^# Y: U7 |5 Mdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
+ a- F1 r4 j9 B8 Q+ T' j0 n) athrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's, u# ~. r6 W3 g d
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."- _3 T. x( L5 @5 q' F5 N1 V
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
0 e3 ^3 X3 B7 y/ p- X+ i Felectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
! y& R$ |! D% F) l' ~the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a" X$ a4 ^& [' Y# p
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
2 Y, \1 S! K. H. `said.& t4 w2 g7 [7 X* [0 x
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
% p/ O/ S" L/ q7 t' q" ]3 nhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
" H* ?$ [$ i/ A/ w: fabout driving our products," Lentz said.$ ]4 R/ D5 F8 ?; F! t9 T
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's* C2 [1 g: e- d* M, a5 X3 |
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has# d8 \: Q) S8 Y" s7 v
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
1 a# A6 |3 j" E4 \/ k; V1 g0 D. Tmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of# n. e P/ W! r6 B( w0 W- u
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
' ?* ~. ^) X9 u/ M, jissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
; N$ d) i `2 R5 E$ I2 o* nconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
. m, Q8 m; P6 x( q* Ctheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
6 d! v- j/ W% m# M; bdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has! e* ?: Q4 i5 x4 h* z
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
9 o! i8 k$ e0 i* s* b- Nof Toyota vehicles since 2000.8 q% E. {5 p4 I, A8 K
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own8 u# J; V- Y9 m' V
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
: w8 X, O; q* x8 b( J) runderstood the pain.
1 X6 o8 `- D! D7 g% I"I know what those families go through," he said.: G$ n! Y! z1 x; u. |- L
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
* U1 {# @/ W, B+ \fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
7 o; }" ]; V6 l7 }But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
) N: R: V! [, l- UHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
G2 ~/ Y) _6 G, l4 L) |% \in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,5 K8 ]* X$ [+ E. k; r
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
3 v; ~2 o& B- h; q- q3 eStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
, Q6 y! y/ }4 y3 Y$ M9 h1 K"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
+ u' z$ P. x5 N& m& [Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
' r8 [9 t% s. N8 S; F: d9 Opedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its$ Q+ O& K1 Z$ S0 m
vehicles already on the road.
! C' _% T% ~0 s# ^3 T8 y7 qMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify- x# n% O* q6 y u' h" G3 S# u5 H9 t0 U% n
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full! M0 t8 b( N J* \+ T
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
1 v M( _( B2 X; doffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were1 s3 k' C) M& y; ]3 \0 i
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.+ j# \ m0 u: f9 H5 l1 i, X. P, v/ a
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a5 P3 y/ s9 k( S! T" q/ q
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony* ?/ \1 I/ B* H. e
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
1 |5 G. n4 D7 \8 V- y3 H; [Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal' Q$ Z5 l+ i9 Q( X j7 w# v3 B
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
- x7 c) o+ W8 m0 K) B. ^( Krestore the trust of our customers."1 D' A$ [2 J: Y" J* ^: C
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
' ]2 i* ? W! q" _# |7 _& KSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly. { a, J, S' {1 B* `1 j
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
! [1 z% h4 C3 S" v4 tshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
5 ` _" m- \5 k. }% nhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough4 h/ n3 X$ f% j, O7 m
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
7 i3 X& k6 O1 B/ _. eturn off the engine.
0 N! K: P$ n$ {! Z+ n) F6 d, ?Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
' U- x0 u8 j* M2 d/ H3 m3 P" ?6 c" fOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience.", H; Y) C' `6 \7 K- P) w; B+ n
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she, b/ X$ \3 E" P
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond |1 f4 e5 {9 h& C0 W2 E
to her complaints.
9 D4 p$ }" d1 n, W" n1 BIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
8 `4 K2 l2 |% n' k+ ereturned again and again to the question of whether electronic( B7 O" _ Q: p+ C+ E
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.3 M1 n' [$ o8 ? ?% L
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
8 g2 l8 H) ~9 d/ Q! K' m) nthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited6 [' b7 e5 {$ Z9 U) b4 ^9 A
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut. l* ]* A2 Q& {8 Y% Y4 |
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
4 H$ l9 F5 M3 q QTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in2 @8 G- m- P; q( h v
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were( {' U' w! m' s o7 n
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls9 V) S; X' [ K: e# a5 q( t+ S
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer2 I; {3 y! d( P. ~, E& O/ c
every question."' ~ O2 G, M9 M& Y8 P( L
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether' Q7 _7 [2 z( S: S9 \! {
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
) {) l% c- ~0 Q2 N0 }3 dfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But6 ]1 v2 t1 p f7 p
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
- s+ M v" l6 y2 e- A- T$ n: }% mnumber of vehicles' D) w& f+ z& y C' b$ @
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
$ f# m; J2 I$ h' }- gdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a0 z' d( Q# W4 N$ @! `
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
/ |, M1 l5 E1 ~' R1 v$ Isource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.% V8 D+ f( h) X8 j0 E; @
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
- ^+ Z" W5 K6 V7 Zwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no8 G6 d7 Y4 n- T* t6 X
trace at all.
$ w/ s7 n1 u* c+ [& S( k1 R; i$ \House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
' |7 a+ z2 `# X- _' D0 F0 _- Ddatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden* z4 K$ w1 d; e, W6 T$ i
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the, X7 J$ {' Y+ n
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
" J3 N5 Y- R' b6 D) GRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
% r( x1 o: f- h$ c7 c8 K" t$ usaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
- _ D- t0 ~% g# C* Mother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
) v3 G2 D% N4 M! `# z4 }3 O% I1 ?( oelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible( M" N5 U9 t1 Z+ V
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
0 Q) W# O- n$ @& dsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
. T5 V# K9 a- lby Toyota's lawyers."' M# Z3 `' J. n) e8 q$ J
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of/ V( \! C' Y6 Y: ^6 n
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our6 \; e8 ]; l9 k- C8 E+ @
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he1 `& p% Y& F6 \4 E) B
said.
" M+ {2 M9 |0 M% c- u9 a"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with% t3 k6 s' p9 }# \* O3 @* P
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our. e7 i0 u" _7 S
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating% N7 x6 W& W ?$ D6 \
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
- x. ^ o7 {8 O$ r5 e% W. eSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying1 f# m0 j& X' j/ X
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread! m; g# u& M$ Z* X, y; ~) F
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the& Y0 _5 X3 \4 D# b+ W, x7 @: H' k
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
% J' {( L% M1 |2 ninvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
# p$ A3 v2 s: f, M/ h; _* \: CChrysler.
, q" M$ |# q8 h, k# x"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax4 q6 [) k9 i. f A3 M' D
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
- p. A( y( |8 `1 OHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
9 ~! z& t( j% C8 p, Lserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
- E. Q, U3 V; _3 iwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty% ^! \/ R. s0 q1 P. b+ l
tough.") x# W; J6 e" B, i! t- c
---
+ s8 p' X8 V) CAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
3 a1 a# g- V2 [8 @* jRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
8 Y4 i/ N, S) L" U3 Nthis story.
7 |2 T2 d8 |% J' T/ T9 I) G& r0 N/ A0 B, A1 q: A
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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