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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
6 M: r/ T. E# S$ G* S. gBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
6 ?$ z( j5 ] O* NWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
! T: l4 K7 @3 E9 c2 R4 _operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
9 c% @, v( h4 b" I, ?the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"4 Y2 j6 P/ v4 E6 P, z9 w8 T1 |# h/ k( m
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.- q) z3 p; F3 m: s: X# U
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential; t. }5 T0 L1 Y% _, z
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
" J% @$ r. W, h5 y+ T* ?7 BHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected0 i% B* I6 i& F& B9 r P/ c1 K) p; x
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and5 ` T7 O" k5 `' R/ q! O
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
. n+ |! z. M, Amats and sticking accelerator pedals.
2 ], M: ^- @' @& Z. R: `% e7 fHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
% T# `+ l4 V4 |* I# rand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp, e! X- I! X+ H/ }. P0 w' g
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
6 y. O' V' n& b7 `4 Yfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could& F4 i2 d4 L# V% d
not stop her runaway Lexus.
( F s. L4 X/ s) {' i"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,3 T( O0 d/ Q* ?2 Z3 ]' i
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
! a$ B2 Q* S1 C9 |9 j"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
$ J J% N7 i ~! t, rTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues" S- k, r3 X( O
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
$ M* s6 F. r( l8 p"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
- J& c6 ?% u1 [/ Odone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway( z1 |) ?1 z; {# H! ?+ P" }! v1 {
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's( d7 u5 V, z% R1 O2 W( a6 K
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."; k* r z& |9 s! A8 Q
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an# C1 C( P, n [# y. Q% e$ n
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
. y8 m3 q& b9 j5 ]/ w" s# qthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
) F5 z" {5 W: j; m5 omalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he7 y6 X4 O" E- G5 }8 J6 V4 }
said.& h/ {+ m: Q _, t& k5 s1 [
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
1 Q7 a6 y+ A8 N6 R) H3 v" Phappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
9 |4 c; v. _1 o. f. N. cabout driving our products," Lentz said.1 x- Q! I: X0 q+ F
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's1 O) `7 ?+ b: j# N" U7 V) p* K% ^
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
1 [! I* k( z( ]recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6. `; Z( u' v6 B1 ] y
million in the United States -- since last fall because of" k7 E2 x: S; S+ x8 E* [/ @& Y
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking0 \# R, Q3 B" f0 F) B# B8 ?
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering. U" H9 Y4 \/ j$ C" c; A2 C
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
, e( Z7 j, a- p$ xtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow: v( y7 u1 I; } b
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has0 ^# D; T$ \3 v6 f
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
! z: D: C$ T( bof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
4 [6 M/ S4 R7 f4 {" p7 K% X v" [, fLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own: x/ K3 T9 P$ W2 E0 s4 q) Q
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he# y" L; G1 l& d( p) m
understood the pain." M- e ]7 ?$ [9 [) G) k' ~9 e
"I know what those families go through," he said.& I3 i! T" k0 F. l2 l
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's, A2 I! e; h+ N, b8 G& ?/ H3 b
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
- b7 o+ R5 Q9 z6 G- KBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
* O. F/ C( M, F* eHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
) q; N( w' F& d8 f T" Ain place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
2 V( C1 N3 L- q7 `+ \* F! a+ J, TLentz replied: "Not totally."* p, p7 k/ P& l+ H$ k# N. C+ T
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were# F0 B8 B- D9 l6 e: C7 s
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
5 b& Y% l2 C" |8 J* fToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas A' h' K8 Y$ V" ?
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
* a W% p+ F7 I; |3 [9 X( {vehicles already on the road.$ o; C$ U" \& f& j! k6 U
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify% t, Q8 r. F& O+ {/ W" t5 P4 `
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full% }* g: f$ N) y) l" k/ n
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
6 d5 N. S& p6 Q [. Aoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were, @0 [/ G3 f: o3 q4 d5 a2 ?7 r
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
# B% U% _; U, h _5 p" b, U"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
& D0 m* w$ t" T5 ~7 C: Y, ]tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
# V5 ^7 n% h5 H% C: |for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight# ~9 f c, E. }- L
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
/ N0 {' }9 T" F, g: S8 N: c* Qcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to e! G' X' v8 g$ N% {6 e! r
restore the trust of our customers."
/ _2 M; f. Y0 ~+ [) `/ WLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
/ `5 j u; D& d' Q" |. {! \Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly; O& ^% p2 x. c" y' V- `
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --6 p* D1 m- Z2 m, P: j
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and# Q, q0 T4 G) o4 [& G" Y! r
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
( z9 G" }0 s/ ?8 H/ Rthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
: }& C: R1 S3 Y% J& K3 Sturn off the engine.% }; {0 _, n; n/ h( Y) I( L
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of4 u3 X: [- l( B8 }: ?! ~7 C' m5 v
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
, l: \3 N9 j4 @4 h& B"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
/ v- I5 Q: G r" L! _- Usaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond+ K# Y. W5 `; D% x
to her complaints.
" Z$ P; s' a* k9 {2 V5 ?0 ^In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers4 N2 X9 ?* J6 _) W$ L
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
& g& }+ h {# U7 gmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
3 c: f8 Q$ @# o2 o$ A" W"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric% |& m G' J* ]- s% u* m. E
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited7 |+ d# w4 T: v" T$ x
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut* M7 f6 u) c3 ?7 W, I# z8 k/ u0 g/ f
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."9 J# ?# W6 i3 a0 E1 I8 v: B
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in) m4 J7 {2 S; E( M5 ]) F* v& [3 Z
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
% H% V/ [" p- c8 U R! nbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls" O# t J! N2 d7 a4 q# X4 w, a
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
9 u, m9 a9 z) x% k) revery question." X9 v1 [+ b6 x/ I: I4 V
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
: `2 |9 m& K* x ?7 Celectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
- m" {) h4 t; P Z7 rfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
; x. F) Y r8 d, _3 Y: mcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
$ n5 ]- `( y5 ^ _number of vehicles
T+ m, E- N) Q( }6 L( LTracking down an electrical problem can be far more+ d+ d5 e6 B1 b2 P
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
6 \& _1 ^/ X* q3 Y+ bmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
$ ?7 f" j, l2 {8 j" b( msource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
6 X6 I Q# z# sMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
f8 C7 Y; l* @where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
) C0 b$ r7 e5 A6 }4 y* g( W% w* rtrace at all.
. a. P& ]( M& o6 A; _ \) VHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call# c7 J3 |: \! w- ~" C) [8 e' D
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden* e0 L e7 A* K& e- [& e
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the. w+ _, y) J. I4 f" L0 _3 G' {
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.' D6 y6 q# o, ~- X3 j; C
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,7 ]; Y$ ?0 g+ t) y( z- H
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
$ O e) u( f: sother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the$ _0 d; Q) Q+ S: @2 M
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible8 c n. D9 O2 \& t! L
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only# z) k0 x5 m l) C; V
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
$ ?; v# l9 V; C& q& ~by Toyota's lawyers."
$ O* t" s, D4 @$ d/ c5 ~& ]# w; gLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
$ L( \4 p0 t7 d0 O1 E* t" Wproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
, D2 s5 A% f$ u( F/ M2 t, Ycustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he- G6 v6 M0 \& d. x; _
said.6 o$ `% D$ v/ ^! `$ Q7 G% ]
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
5 f& l! Z; N8 r4 w& M$ B/ Ka rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
8 b: e/ _- V$ Z* W A0 N7 Ngood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
& }$ d- T. S+ b* {" L" mofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.+ e$ ?" ]* |0 i$ U; M9 f
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
5 m, i& ?7 b& B% gmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread' M ~% i( ^, u. G7 p7 N, P L4 d
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
, l6 u" d" \" S2 fautomaker, at least in part because of the government's& D- h B# K) L
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and: F% S c& \" ~! H2 r
Chrysler.5 h3 [( U! r4 U4 c5 k- `
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax! y1 b* e/ U, [0 ^( K( X8 e- y- e
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a) u8 y# _; s* |# D' x
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
* _8 I9 [0 y8 [2 ]" V7 Zserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
; J$ R7 z2 E$ O# \with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
$ f6 L, N9 H/ O; P! `# E3 _ l0 n! [tough."
% V: B) m" C( i! t4 I---
" H5 t! F' C4 y( R" n/ W }Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom4 \8 {6 b. ]4 n7 x2 `& E$ X" q
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to( D' C' ]" Q1 `2 d4 C+ t5 V3 b( p7 u
this story.( `+ g, T# W$ D
) V' Y$ t, l, B2 t( x2 p-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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