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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题% o( ], L7 X. H2 H0 P+ n
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS' G* n( ^7 q$ j; e8 L
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.2 J% w; `# s& n! n
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
) U" G0 b( R- j+ Ythe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
) D3 e0 c$ J) }# msolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
1 k# Y% [6 B; s, P"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential1 W# k$ N. t$ H
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
; x# W. V ?' t3 o, M3 `9 AHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected9 j9 Z; A& T+ _
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
* k7 @+ a/ C3 Z2 ktrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
8 k* I- A2 \5 P9 o7 l% ^ Xmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
$ [1 H# b4 a( Z+ n; QHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal4 R$ X1 K& f& P Y, c- x M
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp6 y' \6 Q# _# m
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
5 ?9 a2 v4 G3 t5 N- k, gfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could4 _7 ^7 e8 g1 \8 Q- ^
not stop her runaway Lexus., R: E" j8 O. d6 y: c
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville, n- `+ L& Z- ]6 K6 L& ^
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second4 X2 Y2 [+ S$ E
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.5 L) K$ `% ^7 W: N& o
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
R% v, b# a Cearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
& e- U2 l5 w( G. A8 `"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
9 I1 x0 Y: w2 I$ V9 Xdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway) R4 A$ o0 g) e$ m* {0 |
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
1 c, d8 e" ~3 q t* l' pinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."7 W, u) N- X" n2 E
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an3 G8 E5 \" Y& s
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
2 M( p* Y/ x @ d% p" athe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
! |4 g+ y3 k* [6 Rmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
4 k2 \9 x- J* y1 v: {said.
/ W) T+ i# P+ h2 E6 |( pAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
7 f( t8 @' q! J" Khappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe4 V c% `3 z/ t5 G1 v
about driving our products," Lentz said.
. T- `; \- H# ^! f- o% [* w1 D+ VThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
% U0 X* U8 A% i8 o9 dproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
! k& W* _2 w5 f: @8 wrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6, C0 J# K: i- @8 D6 U" k" }. A' _9 x
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
$ z" }1 t2 h- J/ ]# e7 H6 ^3 d( aunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking& O/ G+ w+ S4 {, ~1 f ]0 @
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering3 k1 a! p- e* r& W T! n% c# F
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
# _& I1 ?2 _& atheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow7 Q% w7 _( y- F) b- [
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
/ }) a; c7 Q# i3 treceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
6 ^: _* x0 D# c. Oof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
4 u# I9 c) r% T% M: q; CLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own2 z/ d% x+ }+ ]
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
* _. a5 |$ F9 s3 O# ^understood the pain.: _, ~/ Q4 r4 Q3 `) _: E+ E
"I know what those families go through," he said.6 D# ~" k$ v8 e
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's0 r: R" m6 Q( C9 x, I
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
7 v9 u) S9 f" N& @But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
+ W' g/ {6 ]7 {6 n" s. }Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
% i0 D E6 I6 b3 ^* P9 R2 Kin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,+ O1 T& c/ _* n6 T: x/ d
Lentz replied: "Not totally."' [6 `8 M3 i- X. ~
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were+ s H" L* h5 s
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
* R; A, G X" L& G- D8 m' a# GToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
2 J9 O" v7 T# f7 Lpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its7 z2 c! f3 N8 W9 }
vehicles already on the road.+ b# r7 P6 V9 o
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify. l( Z' W& k; ] E
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
3 C" [; c+ ?8 Q7 H8 G; Jresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
: W! G6 W E# n( H) I* _. Aoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were- i% j( e4 {8 Z0 P
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.1 w& l9 }' ~1 D! N* x! n* y" |
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
" y! W' g( \0 B* |4 otragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony1 B4 b. \$ g4 ?
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
; `9 W! p! H0 pCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
/ ?7 G1 {7 x& x! _: N$ Y6 q7 g0 }7 @4 Zcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to# W* Z% W, O3 p3 V
restore the trust of our customers."
% E4 A+ I8 _$ n1 k$ G$ JLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from1 h" q3 v9 P+ c N3 M- k F, c
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
, H0 W- S; C4 r: S) ~zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
5 O7 J" {, I, S( ^4 i/ k4 _( ]$ v: T1 qshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
; s3 r$ b3 H5 [( O* o- ^hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
# L/ s8 k" K! B. c2 sthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
8 ]6 d. q0 x0 u+ w+ W; S1 ~* E) Uturn off the engine.( {( o( M. s) M* _& `0 x
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of. f9 C$ D# X" X
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
9 t8 u3 }- \5 q"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she2 }, E, T, p. v
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond3 D) z8 H( m2 Z5 x0 i u- D
to her complaints.
2 y) r2 K* {5 y5 X" _3 K5 f0 Z+ JIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers. L! p0 o1 d! K/ Q. t: v
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
, ~( Q( g" L' h; d) n" R6 Tmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
2 N! v5 |- z- V- U' t"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
8 ?2 D2 o' q% P. A* z X5 zthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited- Z y2 ], p( S8 `: p1 V: ?7 t
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut, e2 m* F& u$ l& M
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."3 ?& v. Y" ^2 Q/ q% q5 Z8 N9 ~( V
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in$ g4 A. O0 z% D+ v
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
9 i0 F T( Z; K% j6 ubeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls. \, u7 I2 Q+ C4 z8 g
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
% [. a/ S" I, }7 U. C( fevery question.", b* x o/ ^; Y9 j1 l
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
! @4 D9 F) l6 z0 Y# C% ]) q: Pelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The% @* j. r- k2 x5 N% O: G9 t
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But; k* ^# v- G- b3 b' z
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small, ?2 c B6 U5 f
number of vehicles
. p( g! b+ s( L) X. ^& U* DTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
1 l: A/ M1 c$ T/ @! w$ W7 Ydifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a$ E0 a( ]0 d; A/ C c5 |
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
2 x) U1 d9 N1 b2 n2 M& T) D1 t6 esource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
3 E9 G% e) o2 a9 B- }' iMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,9 Q" y2 R1 P% V3 D j
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no! V2 ]" u6 j3 e2 P' R
trace at all.' U% j ~) ]2 Y
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call: L0 v' K4 _9 g( u) W
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden# q, z `1 s; ^% q7 s2 Y3 A5 D
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
) D; D! i8 i6 A1 _recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
6 N' d! i4 a5 G1 pRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
$ z7 {( ~% `* `2 C, J1 Usaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and6 O M; O# e1 @: Q) x: o) N8 O
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
/ k2 f. m# f7 \$ belectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible/ N1 o* w- K+ J9 J
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only1 w; N5 b* `/ S N7 T
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
8 O7 O$ W& x9 n4 `0 Y/ lby Toyota's lawyers."' C- S2 ?) ^! E1 c6 F" R* ~4 V8 P2 g
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
( s3 ~5 c9 @/ L3 b1 Z7 \problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our# Z& {: ~. k1 E0 `0 u* B
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he0 b+ ]( T6 _5 z) o% r6 S
said.
5 y [. `8 m: C9 _3 [0 o5 C"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with: @) T: D4 t$ T8 t/ F* E) n0 P
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
$ r l, h, a) Z4 agood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating1 Q* D5 u9 W [, w6 q" @
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.6 k Q# ~' G" v/ X! F) H
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
9 c1 Z" p3 h; z6 o/ j$ Gmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread o* u7 S1 m ]: f6 h8 M U) M' m
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
( A2 R, v- B `' {/ ]+ ]2 w9 wautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
& }' \ Q- t: iinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
?- P6 `) O' h% O; yChrysler.8 j; Q D: ^% u( G. S7 M- B5 z
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
, N9 B$ f6 x: p6 I8 mdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
' v& g$ R$ C. a9 q5 k4 THouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also2 v4 x+ v. @% F4 N
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete+ w; \$ h u& e2 N
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty( x k$ `" }0 K& [
tough."
5 U2 A( P+ A* A$ k$ W: }5 H---
5 S) y5 k0 w) K N5 _7 t- Y8 bAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
! |$ U; \1 n' {% X1 gRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
6 K+ L7 N* H3 L2 Y# e! N3 Wthis story.
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6 d% [0 ?/ h9 P1 K-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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