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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题* W1 [8 v/ r. _7 k; [+ n0 B
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS' q! X) U. q* c! t" Z
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.# _" ~0 b8 X* q& i% ~4 p$ N
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that9 b: i; F3 l' g6 f( N# E8 H
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"0 x, }7 r c: Q) c
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.) x) q. h. s0 k) C9 I4 _
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential- V; V1 k3 U$ u. w" }& H. a; w+ v
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
9 y7 i' ~ ~8 q( R# C( KHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
h3 u4 i* Q+ `9 p9 l4 D# J# r2 Jacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and1 v4 t; v1 d0 g# o$ n
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor, ~* ?# ]& [# B: V% u
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
- b. O7 A# N; n* NHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
K" m4 {: y8 t6 R8 a/ D8 Jand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp3 X: L8 d& t' j: Z5 ?2 V5 Z
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be7 n+ z+ ?3 e% |1 H# I- O" K) Y* e# Z
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could, V, \' k* d" q
not stop her runaway Lexus.
& ?& a& D# ]7 k"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,! g, D) H9 b% n; Q. Q
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second7 o: d! M% c' q/ |
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.* ?0 Z& ~0 v' S4 i# F1 E, L- r( t
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues8 i; Q- \; I# p2 y8 c* p
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
; |' z, g3 d/ [* q"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has4 ^+ G; N) R# Q) O! n7 C: ]
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway: `9 W; S& r! u! T% L
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
; C; c+ m' N2 d% S1 b4 p- ?investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
8 D3 T. l) a; P0 ~; `Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
) ^% K2 \0 v6 J/ Y2 z. uelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
& h% Z$ f! S; Y& ], x) I' |the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a0 o' x) O+ s3 @+ c0 b! Y; B
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
) [) ^. D$ Z% h* F$ d. T5 A& ?said.) ?: q9 [, J; a, K
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what9 R8 z+ q/ ^2 ^1 Y8 A& ?6 g3 z
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe8 _* S( l& K4 G: r1 L/ \2 t
about driving our products," Lentz said.
, I; E' H7 a' a" [% D, P$ TThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
* ~# m O7 e0 U I7 [" I& p* \, gproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has3 p A+ i p0 `. ~
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 65 k! j. p+ r* ?# P. o
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
) X2 j8 r9 e( N; W7 [" V. nunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking2 z% Y2 s5 s. U w1 i" a
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
) ~& m1 W8 J" ]' |% l1 Gconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
& q) x* }# R6 Atheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
, q3 K% j" L1 Z& d8 b0 mdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
( H/ X: _) a- v2 B6 kreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
0 e! A. a0 c1 r! X5 P4 `7 T) U' W0 C' \6 Oof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
7 r9 y" A3 f$ f! }Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
* g7 E# r6 C' M* U- L9 dbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
" k: h# b; a6 _9 P/ z' qunderstood the pain.
+ x3 _! P2 z) F"I know what those families go through," he said.
7 u( o1 [% H6 W6 {! G4 K7 RLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's, a4 y3 k. m4 {$ `2 @% D
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.) e: g) M' K, Q& W
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman0 h3 S: R# s! Z$ L) o
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put2 X3 E, D4 K9 a9 \: Q: v
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
+ j7 f% K. j! [3 ~, [Lentz replied: "Not totally."+ e% u; A+ Q- ~ R2 U2 J3 G
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
/ w/ E; E* m/ N"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
# x, a, @0 \& ^6 H4 v( v% lToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
& d- _+ |/ v2 q9 `pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its% f6 q1 N5 f r7 n% E
vehicles already on the road.6 `* b6 F2 Q3 x- S& O7 c. H5 j
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
. [. E- a$ Y3 ?( ybefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full6 c3 Y- I& v0 I4 a8 ^
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and d; ~7 v/ p2 `! a1 t; j
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were' A0 t0 K% t" ^
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.: t2 N' ?9 P; A/ g( t( h" C* v
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
) B# l. `, L" C( etragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony: C1 E; t7 i% q) s' `* P
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight; k; u5 c5 R# Y
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal2 @! q% [( V5 J% J1 ^
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
: Y4 }4 {0 B$ J8 M: Xrestore the trust of our customers."
0 S! K/ e' y! c* P$ sLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
5 |9 l( `1 K$ D9 z* ~: q; }Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
: w" }* `$ L V5 Z3 g! b7 Dzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
; x; s8 ^5 @9 Nshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
4 ^0 d7 U8 W7 r! bhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough& j4 m9 ]& [8 S D1 q5 n
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and4 N, x# t* b+ H( m$ x' i; T8 M
turn off the engine.1 R, b+ Z0 q' w9 ~* |* V. H
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
: T2 e/ L7 R' r2 b8 _( h9 o# `October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
! S o- i2 g) J. ^; a* y& a5 O4 q O"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
( k. {( l- t. B0 A1 |, r. ]3 m! P# Msaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond$ ]/ z! i8 f% {6 p! o' I9 C, s! t
to her complaints.* z4 X1 T4 C6 d. e4 m2 Z: h2 i( ^
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers4 ^8 G" @8 e' b) N' T
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic. h* v" X* a8 d, N
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.4 x$ d G2 {* r: A3 A; T$ u/ n/ P
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
0 a7 D" w/ H0 X0 q% I# k( ethrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
9 `! p8 F: z/ b"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut! m+ V* d- i: a( S
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."$ N% k6 I: F* h1 {+ r
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in% ^: p6 o/ d e6 q
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
! c: y# v0 G# n& q+ o9 Hbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
: P( [4 F2 u$ x( }/ K( Vwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
8 [/ d3 @% B+ s* g2 devery question."
3 U. R: m/ a/ S! f7 \) v% WToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether3 [) H+ [5 O5 |$ V+ L3 p/ o
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
* u, A7 V+ G, s9 v. o+ \firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But7 [/ v/ l6 o& g3 @; S f1 ?
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small6 B4 q8 a6 T& m: `* B5 d
number of vehicles( z" e3 X; [" W9 G
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
3 n+ G. Z, F- ~# Ldifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a2 e7 c+ B: d7 n& Q
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
( a4 r. {/ H7 i+ L0 ^source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
9 H" S9 A0 s' O# u$ {. l/ CMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,6 @ e0 S( G: j* j' E6 F( M: K
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no$ v& \8 n* S B2 A1 F1 @$ u
trace at all.
6 K0 ~# H" X0 f+ R0 yHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call% k0 b5 o9 ~0 \" e- @
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
; V/ h i9 g" [1 uacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
; s- j; [$ U( ]" `9 ~ k( S( W7 irecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.* \0 C) X! ]# O6 k6 t
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee," |$ Y4 _4 T% H! ]3 E- ?! A) W
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and2 P8 o( l4 O3 \* E! S9 }
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
% H _# \/ Q5 Zelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible" E% _. n% o- I- n* {* Q
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only5 T; z2 a" p1 B8 W1 M$ w7 t9 y- q- ~
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
0 U* ^; X. \# H6 |$ ^3 iby Toyota's lawyers."
8 m* {" @( }- I7 H5 @+ Y0 E M. uLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of! i w: `4 g: C
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our) P4 D8 t* a3 ]5 E6 V
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he0 v3 R6 {0 K5 n/ n; d5 o, i
said.8 H4 A- w# F/ T5 s
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
# G+ o L6 F9 I! Fa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our+ K$ e2 ^& q0 _: q& J1 b t6 V
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating) g4 i$ j) M; w( K% g2 |4 e, f' u
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.. Q# Q9 L. y2 G/ _
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying& I! V% N) ~( s
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread6 A8 k# |; S$ L" i5 N% a8 Z& {
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the, G6 _; v3 r+ U
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
4 H. K0 \' W9 n0 C, d8 G' e' b+ Dinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
" g% @ R: N/ O0 oChrysler.* F( x8 d7 t+ u% O' z) e7 k1 A4 G q
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax# v$ J B" _3 ?
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a; O* ]3 Q9 s+ w; {: P! m
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also; g$ g, J% @( a5 V3 L. n
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete- K3 G/ f: }/ p3 g* d; f |, T
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty6 _! l& G0 A, l) n' ?) \
tough."9 ~! H. A. n8 Z: y1 Z
---3 Z. a3 A6 M" ~& d' Z! {" z1 i
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
9 h! s' s4 Z" z" {' x" U) R4 a; E8 SRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
& @* t2 m) ~# {; L5 y) S- ethis story.& w% x3 i ]" j/ U" x; L) [
' C" p" G0 U! r) \! V& S-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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