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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题5 h7 A" |- t7 P& u* a
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
' b5 C0 ]9 j: QWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S., r z( R. g+ v9 k/ R- p
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
- u) t! t3 e8 a8 f6 zthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"1 p- W: Q# \: g6 l/ w: B
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
: {( R* P) _5 o9 J"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential5 h( v0 {! \% l& D
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.: z! t9 \" Y6 W0 p$ n. \' s
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected) F0 Y; ~& n6 ~; g: ~8 A
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and8 r8 \1 ~ _$ P' c& ^
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor1 I- k3 ^$ V/ @% u, i$ A
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.+ p8 {- f' C& ] u3 ~/ Y
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
7 [' U& o* ]5 \! i' M5 gand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
/ S7 l6 a* `! h4 Lcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
2 D& O0 e" X5 L" j2 ^0 Sfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could; D5 q# q6 K7 G& q1 @& Y4 h
not stop her runaway Lexus.) g8 v: Q ~( C( ~: L3 d4 `
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
0 L5 O, U( j" DTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second8 H8 {" a& H: }; \- u
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
9 k8 Q/ p8 f% H) @Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues3 Z/ ]- e! d a5 `# O6 _. ~
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said! L2 O1 ]: o/ T/ I6 W/ T( v1 k
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has: t$ Z* ?/ d, z, a' ]
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway# j+ @: e: n( U
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's- v" K' j4 u; n9 x( q; @ X$ R) G
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
) B0 i2 H: l5 d8 N2 n4 @( k+ N. o% xLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an) w' B" s' E5 V3 T' [/ \1 s
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
) s4 L' Y3 l# ^/ A1 T# zthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
9 i) @+ p6 T3 h6 h3 rmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he$ N7 U9 ]) i; [4 `% X( s% u
said.
* r! o3 Z; i' k6 k8 o" uAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what- a5 |7 U, i0 }. W
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
1 k) E9 X9 Q* Kabout driving our products," Lentz said.
( U& T1 }' e- r) O8 |# \8 r& W, GThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's* J; y2 `9 \% f- @7 y+ q- L% x
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
/ I# t$ f ?/ `6 Zrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
, I, T6 j p1 V- K [- V( Y hmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of' d" H7 f/ u9 b( O3 V% R7 T
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
( Q% a) s# O/ G- B% S" P' Pissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering2 q# M9 y) ?% S9 z' \9 S X
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
6 a8 P6 b$ M7 P/ U- stheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
7 @* M# J" o+ d7 c& f- |( z+ v0 L4 _9 ydown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
; d w6 ^+ `+ Y6 h8 Rreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration* ^; I' _& {& [4 ]5 x( x) r
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.7 z1 o/ N" o% a, k' G6 v6 l
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own) M6 s( A8 H/ l, w0 h5 r4 ^
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
& h! _5 I- X6 V8 r# N" Kunderstood the pain.1 w9 S; X+ L, v0 n
"I know what those families go through," he said.
7 E: C( ^& B' O3 H1 n. _- TLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's1 Z) U) E( s% u4 Y c
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.+ ^0 @% d, z: Y* f1 P Y: Z1 K
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
6 T2 X# e( S3 T: S+ `$ ]Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put M7 \: H k( _& y# y5 i6 q- z
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,9 k) P: Z0 B3 e% u) e: H/ x1 I
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
/ t' |" r+ ^# A. O4 s0 bStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were3 Q. s) X- b* L) @4 D2 C
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said2 {" E4 H/ A. f/ E% E; ^
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas9 p' e$ I) y" l8 N
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its7 Y' H, v; X6 k! R
vehicles already on the road.
! x2 h& q7 D6 `" hMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
- D' L9 v g" }* Gbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
) q% ~/ ~8 v% H4 \0 y- K+ c) zresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and8 c" |# U" X2 v2 f
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were% n2 J" R3 E% l R9 k: [1 W
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.0 N2 R4 q+ ?; {$ x" ^9 S8 U
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
1 k9 l1 M+ [- @tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony& H Y: Z' X6 F+ e+ T1 |
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight% A6 F$ _/ ~, M% z; N
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal. _+ E$ w1 n. U3 w4 D$ o
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
0 x; ], t* \9 Prestore the trust of our customers."
! X8 e8 ~( r% f; Y/ LLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from0 e' J) F7 H3 W1 v8 [) F
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
) J7 o8 `: L! H4 Ezoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
8 u3 {' \1 x, x4 r& t* ?/ @shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
- d* |1 W6 J& `+ W: v, i1 ehitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough+ l/ J0 u' g6 j+ f7 Y$ c/ Y
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and- x, _5 c: O) V7 I( h( g( b
turn off the engine.
/ ^+ s5 x- v( g( Y* O xFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of; z+ a# I# }! a# P6 k
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."* X. g/ z$ Z6 D9 A
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
% r7 R% i9 K% F. ~! ~said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
. k7 r6 s' [8 m7 Fto her complaints.5 t* Q. R' z) N+ T; ]8 g
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
: Y8 k J% m4 A, rreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
2 j' c' g2 @# h& \7 Z. lmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.; [2 A) l& R' C' D; o6 M% A
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric# r; y' I5 w/ ?. @4 b! m
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited7 X8 I/ `0 a: T8 w
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut. \& L0 d4 y0 D2 ]# c( P+ }
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."; J) P$ K" B. M- e% p* _5 L6 V
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in2 F* Z7 X4 U# f( q
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were4 E3 j% w/ _+ S$ A* E9 \* b: j
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls9 J) e V, z/ x& _- F9 N* B) K
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer5 x6 m* q. d+ E: N- n6 v
every question."$ _; l- P% j" [9 X7 d7 D: q+ f
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
1 L6 w, c4 t$ e1 q3 F+ ielectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The9 d5 B0 L0 Z# N% \
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But! W' f6 R; }* ]* U. j$ g* [2 L
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
; X' b3 `* D, k8 P4 \4 x8 jnumber of vehicles
. |) d, G5 A; o5 z7 U: Q: dTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
* v7 T) M& R# Z6 _# K, @difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a' v2 S9 F6 f. a$ m1 h- w# a
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
# o3 Y8 M r9 D; b4 Lsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
2 @# Q3 a- }5 mMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
9 T% l- J; p; v& F7 m. ewhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
& m6 q, l7 P9 f- r! P$ G% strace at all.( [5 y: D1 p4 b1 L: R
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
# H% c7 l+ I4 Y# P- U+ Hdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
9 y6 j4 e& Y2 f# ?( Lacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the4 l* Y6 _- s* O _" T+ T3 o
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
) p6 x. i" B( }+ zRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
# Z8 Z- c7 p A, a- ?( D3 t$ T" I$ Rsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
( y0 P* p. N+ O% l/ R f8 @, hother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
) z( c3 \* C; J% {0 k; jelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
/ l4 F# ]+ Z6 H6 n2 x5 Ocause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only' k, N6 C3 }/ v v8 r
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained, L$ N5 f( ^' V; H. b8 X; V5 {
by Toyota's lawyers."' E8 f D* H) i
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of2 Z6 \% O5 N) F
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
+ v% P: W- N( h! [ fcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he% K$ R9 Z/ O' D- \) X4 c0 M2 p
said.! [# W: ?' u' i& N1 g
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
: @0 L+ U/ G7 m* {( @/ z9 x" ta rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our& }9 A( s: Y& R. T o) T0 j
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
- Q" P1 k% Z9 Z: |) L1 \officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.- Y3 W2 Y$ f; q5 g6 c( N! D
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying4 g e+ r t" g( o* q/ u
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread# [, o8 X7 }* W9 k X
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
+ n7 O- g* U2 f! E, J7 }: h# Qautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
, L- j; j2 p. H7 g/ ^! I! einvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and2 Q4 P7 `' e2 s2 v
Chrysler.
; Z+ q) P, e1 Z+ E"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
) h* a1 {9 |8 U9 ]dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a M* W! P( \/ z; z. Q- K
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also$ Q9 N5 c. K1 w0 l6 w# Y4 P
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
* W9 t2 r5 V# a4 v$ ?with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
/ A$ }5 ?! n) x( q& V) @tough."6 V6 Y! v8 \, Q8 v
---
4 ? A/ Y: L4 y; HAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
: g s, t$ n! d+ PRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to4 Y% Q$ o/ t+ j0 T
this story.4 M( `7 P. Y- n; R) |" s: C
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-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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