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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题; j" h; p# p/ ~2 `
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS3 ~8 Y1 |& G9 g; c7 Z) L
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.# b/ T- ~1 I1 | _- E, R
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that7 F/ t* ~% [: T
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally": m' N' |- i4 W, x
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.2 H$ g& N5 `8 M* V2 [8 W% `) u
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential" L& f0 z! @5 U. t; M4 V. k
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
* Q* I: w- b$ j- f+ \However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
6 A7 O" p9 ?3 }! kacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and( S# u7 V6 d* w# j1 H$ [
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor- @5 ? a4 x, G2 ?, m- C0 B' y
mats and sticking accelerator pedals." H1 L4 {9 D; Q# I, ]* M
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal6 }, z6 h5 j+ Y6 ^/ ^* ?
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp) G' \! o+ H$ c3 d) a& `% B" h
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
' |6 B+ N, y( F" Y0 @further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
! w7 o) C" g$ \; X7 znot stop her runaway Lexus.1 K/ r+ l8 ], k% `& O
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,5 L# l2 e9 V3 k4 L( h# W
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
4 J; g5 X' l. ^& x6 Z"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
7 v* |% c! {! i; q* R2 T: e4 STexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
% d3 W% d4 b0 ~% c4 w# h# vearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
d" B( R1 B( q* N"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
; i7 O8 A( x$ f" N. Sdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway1 ~6 l8 F) s$ X& r" M
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's+ B: Z# f3 s2 {/ U- n4 F
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
; ^* u& K# m! v+ u' \/ c* `Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an* \+ k+ C \$ L
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
8 @# P9 U# w' N$ ^2 X, qthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
3 F5 A1 V1 B$ B- Cmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he& D) ]1 a2 i/ t7 f+ j
said., `; r. s4 f% Y2 M/ q
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
6 n( A9 O/ z1 h0 { ?* a8 C- V# i. lhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe1 z2 c& O* Y. L
about driving our products," Lentz said.
5 B. }# r. \' b! r XThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's" c& U- l) x2 w
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has% Y- J% J! D! S* ~( ^9 E) n; A* @
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6$ x0 u! p% b( E2 v
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
& X$ z4 I) g9 N# C2 u9 B3 a. `& y4 |unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking; h3 q& F' h- Z) Q' k
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering9 \& t% O# E( l8 X# B
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of& U% Z* _5 B/ [5 H+ Z9 E! z
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
9 ~- Z, d# c7 T0 J& _9 F, H ydown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
: Q& f8 o# u, d0 a. ?received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
9 T) e# ~- Y( X* dof Toyota vehicles since 2000./ l) D# l. w8 r& V( o
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
* v- M: ~ Q9 [3 V. ^7 u2 }4 Kbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he3 I7 G5 { t) C; C8 K# @
understood the pain.: e3 X- }" X8 e* s, h" H5 A
"I know what those families go through," he said.8 Q3 r( m: y P+ L7 U0 S$ M
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
, g- [6 Q9 t. z+ cfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
. v! K9 C1 m/ S2 h* S( _) L2 V0 iBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman' I8 [" \. s' `6 r4 @3 u( t8 a/ D
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put; p/ k9 ^/ _ }3 v8 U/ F% D" J
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
* X1 w' d( _" [: i/ z1 S1 p- gLentz replied: "Not totally."+ d5 V9 g. B2 _
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
- O6 u( g1 C; M% P4 M: Y' v"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said% j4 n: g5 f$ q9 g. l5 {+ j. R# l4 @1 ], T
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas! _' p. P1 S7 L/ k( U/ {
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
! {' Y2 V* S3 [6 Fvehicles already on the road.
7 T7 f4 B1 V T0 O/ L6 O5 A! lMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
8 [, p5 Z( i. G6 h3 L, @before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
% O6 |, T5 C. K! L# c+ A' lresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and5 ~2 I! F$ }% O% r* N s: v
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were" t5 b7 i6 V' Y6 \' L+ Z
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
5 O8 v; u1 u: E"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
6 ^ G1 W) ], L$ Otragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
; }$ ^/ {8 `- f) Nfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
6 s2 b6 x: r: v$ I3 T' q% c' p! |Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal; Z. a' W; E( `
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to5 S6 k, W4 \( E8 g! X4 ^: b* b3 K
restore the trust of our customers."
1 o) O# q# ^0 \8 }Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
2 u7 G E; c% \, RSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
& |, G. [( Y B! s# |zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
- U y; H# C4 Y/ t& A0 xshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and+ e) u* e; ]" K$ s% p% a- G/ V! Q
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
( N W" d2 F9 `. v2 W; bthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and9 n5 {/ n+ x' E2 A8 x! U4 k1 ]5 M
turn off the engine.
7 m* i! b3 ~, y" W2 EFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
- ~+ u- m! \' v1 c LOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
2 `/ ~7 c& f4 ^! ~* H0 a! r"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she5 Q% t* k2 f. o% q: I
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
' {/ z9 t4 b3 H( pto her complaints.. g" l. q+ }2 \) ]" \
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
! ]0 \. M/ c9 l. }7 ` ^ V7 n% P4 ]" Wreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
! F& K: A" \4 Bmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.7 s4 Y. @7 ]7 S' b& T/ D6 ]
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric1 [3 n1 L- f$ b+ x3 K3 C, |) L
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
- ]. C) x) L5 ^* o- K) ~" r+ a, s" P"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
9 p \; _# K) ]; b% K4 l. f; Woff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."7 j/ O6 S: K1 \
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in8 d! w7 f' Y8 f, t4 C9 ^/ V
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
3 ?6 o' B) W9 R) Ybeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls: ^! G! E3 T9 ]/ j4 R% s
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer+ D) }: R1 p5 a
every question."
. E$ M2 K# x- @0 y' j6 x5 SToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
1 t- p4 q6 K6 aelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The( t# k, H0 ]/ M" H9 ]1 O. F
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
1 v& u8 w3 ]% E! @6 v6 Pcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small4 E' l, b( t0 M: V
number of vehicles
% S: m D8 T, E5 Q" e9 OTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
0 \) ]* l. t/ j' l, Zdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a2 C/ r$ O' r( z* h$ A) V
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
! q6 Z+ a% u) @source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.4 l9 ^/ v- f8 v3 E% \
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,1 N y, @' B4 d( p
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
) n B. m8 p* N3 w: Jtrace at all.
- `4 `* Y1 c# B6 h* }5 cHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
% R+ A7 R" G4 r3 Tdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
6 f, [3 R6 w6 \. T4 ~, Tacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
) b8 A7 P& v7 W- i; N" w, b) rrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.$ e6 m# L/ y: h
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
, Q0 z- a9 }% ?8 f/ B. v% ]said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
) j0 p& L S1 e. K* \$ Wother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
& u$ N3 g' C% X7 Q0 [2 V3 }electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible d' U9 o% W" {6 ^$ ~7 N& J
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only$ M0 e( B8 k7 `
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
/ O6 B% \2 C: p5 Pby Toyota's lawyers."
7 R. P& @) j( N5 w, I* |$ rLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
; v, q% {5 f2 N9 P. W- I. Dproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
' I# m* m1 {# e. a! s& y5 wcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he b, F( x$ r) ?6 {8 s
said.# } u% y& I. g- b$ k6 }" G! L/ ]3 S
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with3 ~1 j% w( x, G( k
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
A$ h, d Q& hgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
7 S& c2 h: a, g5 r4 i) [officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
; u' h% t5 h3 ^& f, ESeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
) ?1 K$ C0 _. h' g6 ]members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
" E9 O" ~/ `* S% f% X4 S: Wrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the1 ?, ~, {. `" q. z0 I
automaker, at least in part because of the government's$ @ z$ b. f! y, [! @! u
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
" H9 N4 E7 t8 ^2 K/ c; h* V4 t; XChrysler.7 n3 V) u' v8 \% j
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
5 m2 C4 l& q% |/ A7 idollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a! H& [! q* |. {1 ]0 ^2 X1 d
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also; O7 W- J5 h/ a. D' K- `" a) D+ M
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
( i c4 [5 J7 q" D# rwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
: ]" L1 Y# X4 }. Y: Q* ?, ]tough."
3 x$ b- g9 d+ p) G( h---. a& p. |8 U m; j
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
$ X( h. ^% w! H3 j6 N2 _% ?. {, wRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to4 i {6 D7 p/ `
this story.) U5 d8 R, k) \, j/ I
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-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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