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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题7 x+ w/ i4 H: l; u! c2 i' V
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
9 F9 \1 R+ ^9 E, N9 @Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.4 I. l( l R2 v, f6 n) t) f! _
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
: y& R9 y+ q9 Q/ M' [the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"7 v {4 Q, l( s$ j
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.! s0 A, h) f# r
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
* [4 M2 Z% S' \ Vcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
5 e% n8 u# C0 ^However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected) R: R0 e5 i# H# p# _5 O
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and) G4 G) L2 s6 Q+ _0 t' n, ^% K0 _
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor5 ]5 I5 J$ m1 y# ^5 G0 K) o# U
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
. k" \2 A) z) y& q0 IHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal9 ] v2 y* j5 ?2 B1 l' L k
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp# i3 i5 d0 t7 | d/ M3 s u1 F* `; X
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
! x8 ?# g6 e; g- Q% B; _' \) N+ }further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
( V' D3 _' |5 Z, R; Enot stop her runaway Lexus.
6 R8 }. p& ~0 \, X3 {$ x"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
$ X4 R: C1 }( e1 hTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
5 o. [3 d1 |7 Y# J6 F- T ]' _1 l"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
; k6 u0 y: a) l6 W7 e% Y* x* A* I! VTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues1 K; o2 P o/ I1 n
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said0 k4 p5 M: |, D' M
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
/ E. P0 q+ N& y# u, H9 wdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway) ]) ]6 `) }1 ]$ b
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's( n* x1 l7 z9 A, J( }! v; l
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."& x% q& T! Y2 I' Y, F( k
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
9 X D K- s1 d. h" b. o: H- Ielectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
9 y9 `% A I" a2 g! S# sthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a, Z# i1 o# I$ C4 B" a4 }- Q2 V' y
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
6 K0 m4 m5 w: O/ g3 |* lsaid.7 B9 k+ s) ]( s) I1 [, S' O3 _7 u
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
+ K1 p* o% D) ]4 D% `! F& N+ h, H1 T; ahappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
\) w7 y8 o2 @- Q# Qabout driving our products," Lentz said.
+ `) N: ?" }: t- r2 z$ vThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
0 Q w8 ^$ |' T8 h7 ]0 dproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has! d1 \, }% o& V9 E
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6! o$ {% ?% i" @0 q4 p3 l6 d5 p
million in the United States -- since last fall because of4 {2 G$ H3 a; Y1 x1 D
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking7 x# ~# o8 f3 M) V" ^5 \
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
' p% t8 X1 i# b/ M$ }! S P; mconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of& x& G# X7 T1 u6 U
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
4 }( |3 H0 C+ U; x4 X( c- a! Tdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
( ?. ^5 e7 ]0 ?( |2 D" F& rreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
" L3 ` y0 y* `! J) bof Toyota vehicles since 2000.9 N0 X- G9 }7 w4 B2 I3 O9 T
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
0 o- N$ B9 N+ L9 f/ Tbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
$ c" r$ Y7 ?& \2 \: J, ounderstood the pain.
0 j( z- E2 s% Z) ^% U8 t% S: f"I know what those families go through," he said.# B8 {. E+ r& n# t& i0 | }
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
, W' `6 G! C: @' a2 `9 ?) \fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.; ^! [. O. F9 L+ b! K. X
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
% M9 N# S$ W4 d2 }2 c" C- K+ u! @Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put* w. \0 p* P2 o& _
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
6 L1 v8 [4 C. }3 x2 i% B# X8 E! xLentz replied: "Not totally."
& p. _! g. e4 \9 Y/ BStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were- L. ^# X- p9 n. }- Q0 j. y! n6 ~
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
2 R, F& o; J. h* ?2 L5 VToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas1 p# y. T6 p( C1 h: O
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its6 L7 T( B% l5 x) I
vehicles already on the road.
8 }. L, ?) r, `; s$ NMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
. q4 ~) `2 @6 y' wbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full' K: [6 ?2 Z4 }, l
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
9 _3 o/ K1 d1 Doffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were* U% n& S5 P) S) [0 M, ]
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
" P5 c! X0 R1 r1 y$ u7 n"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
8 Z6 h9 r1 V& L/ Ltragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony- b( V8 L7 o. `! @
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
( \! Z/ X- S6 h) w7 y+ W; I8 ZCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal+ J" s4 @* E3 L+ Q7 z* u1 N0 b9 M
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
: y2 Y3 w0 _% H7 Brestore the trust of our customers."
% f) y2 X7 `5 `1 ?/ u& N+ ^Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from/ ^" t! K5 A/ j: b* h! j, J
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly8 R4 ]8 x7 M% T/ k' R
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --3 M3 x$ T- N" M( D6 J0 ?
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
; q8 I; C0 M* ^" P. e4 ehitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough+ Q: ` |$ V# j, V4 p c4 u! ]
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
: J m$ z+ G! f& j9 C9 K) U/ Zturn off the engine.
1 U* Q. {5 f! c- H' n9 KFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of& j2 F3 g7 g. P
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
$ B: d/ U4 B! q6 F& z" t"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she2 q5 P6 G# u9 M8 ], k w
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond! i' c5 {/ Z/ J
to her complaints.
8 J& d4 C7 t' |' Z! QIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
: x2 N4 `' b1 |: y4 p' b* Qreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic) Q( L: ]# R9 I" A8 s0 a& \
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
: a! T7 j9 V7 e" E7 I"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
' I% v$ m% A' T3 Q2 kthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
' O, f5 ~3 | o- A8 c"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
# R" x- L9 ~: r7 K& V: |2 ?& Z8 uoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."4 I7 W2 k$ S1 j; q
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
. \7 T) S/ g4 x% J% J( nprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
t1 r0 _( r+ C) R2 h/ Kbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
, w; R% e. Z m+ ywere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer* M% v9 u8 B6 d* L1 J
every question."2 u* i* ~& T0 Y
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
# B) a s% B1 b; [6 o7 Ielectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The( r+ ^. W5 ^9 V
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But# c# A1 r w- i* t+ x. x1 ^
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small" u4 r$ K& a$ z7 T/ e C ~, j
number of vehicles( G) b7 M2 G! {( _
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more; w3 [% }2 p" y6 ]; q3 G
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a/ s& y5 K6 W+ ]. Q/ N& P2 s
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one7 C. ~: e! x* M/ k# r
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.9 e0 Z, v) g1 j6 j% J+ w2 R
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
, l y1 b r* E* d2 J$ {9 W2 i. jwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no) B/ C+ ^' W5 {
trace at all.2 J5 Z6 F9 O( w2 n
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
' D0 F2 F/ [3 }' a+ f3 Ydatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
! e1 U" c5 A6 N- `* R0 c$ T+ ~$ Qacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the: ~% S1 h1 Q$ c! _1 r0 H& @
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.. D& ?6 a: x, I' x1 e3 z/ Z
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,- u5 m+ l- t1 Z; j4 w% m$ u/ F
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and/ D, \- _" }/ K+ B* t
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
$ E" i7 D3 i2 e3 E! kelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
) _# W9 t& ?7 H1 a+ ]; R4 E" G1 `5 j) J! Tcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only: z/ X4 r6 Y/ g! o8 L- s
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
! U% r' p9 j) q# dby Toyota's lawyers."
- o, h* Y+ |: o$ l/ cLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of" \2 [9 W9 y& d9 |' L
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
+ x( i8 B; B, ]5 k1 \, Icustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he, u( V K, l; ~& L' [
said.9 H7 ?/ Z# |. `( ^6 y
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with ^6 a @: n$ S: C! a, i6 p
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
! `* Q$ V5 g- S9 E( b# fgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
7 y' i0 x* w- i! H2 aofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.: ?: {' |/ a/ r+ k. P9 a1 r1 x
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
4 ?, b7 z" C) n% t2 j5 z/ t8 tmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
- G; c% Y- f9 @; `/ Brancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the9 s5 G$ X; O9 Q( v9 m% U
automaker, at least in part because of the government's" o+ D! h. g7 P- A
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and9 u* D- D4 j2 w; s4 ?$ `7 @
Chrysler.
' _7 J- N/ t+ a: Z% ^: P$ L8 i"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
$ a3 t( ]3 d9 \# f& T9 Mdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a6 R# g7 Q4 |- j/ R4 o
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also' t! d k) n. c1 z2 o+ h7 @
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
2 N% M' G/ F' y4 J* @# K2 Wwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty; C6 V- L+ k+ ~& E6 \
tough."4 ~" T' M$ r+ m: x! d
---
2 }8 C0 J1 W. J/ L3 }9 E% @9 NAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom. e! q0 Q1 z+ T$ H/ l5 X! K
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
! m$ s- s5 A$ F5 f, ]) z sthis story.
* I$ y& D& V2 L6 ~ n: s; I* k: @+ Y
3 O7 J/ ]2 r3 n: r, b-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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