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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题; f5 t& _- G; J
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS5 J2 Z5 N- `. ]) O
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.) W' [0 f8 Q/ v, j
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that* N8 s) L8 c3 \% U; t9 f {4 g
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"2 j& U6 X0 h$ G8 @8 ^0 N8 d9 a. y
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.+ [* S5 r/ ]" T3 N: J6 ^
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
* O7 c6 [' J$ q. g, E4 ?causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
1 A# J2 z) p w7 K: E; CHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected" ]5 |" B1 a( }) Y
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and& ^8 D3 h' s( ^6 Z. m
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor" o/ a4 ^ C7 r5 }6 y6 k5 x
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
9 y( a! F/ _( j0 N. U L1 uHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
0 ?3 k$ v' S; Mand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
2 C4 C1 n2 v$ b/ H I+ ocriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
: H) k; L0 i: x1 v& S2 K4 I7 Cfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
5 I6 o/ B: g0 \' o) e7 snot stop her runaway Lexus.
+ n9 q3 F: `3 Z+ C+ Z1 H"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville, p4 h- d6 d2 k- i/ A9 C
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second% y! A& a4 [2 f3 c- h1 U
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators. b$ I1 F' U! a+ i; l
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues: Q, ? f5 m4 d$ Z( S
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
3 |7 D4 R. X% _8 q3 C) _6 m"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has7 d$ q4 H" M4 l. D1 u2 R$ w
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
8 ~, G/ J& _- ]% Z! {8 Vthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
4 Y: @: m0 U/ l! B) N+ Linvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
6 D# s# R9 f2 E0 H. T7 f' {Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
1 d) R7 L$ w/ ?8 Delectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
/ D. D4 k t* L7 [5 Uthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a. _1 S& a0 e+ K5 p/ @3 a4 X% Q: ?7 p" D* D
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
3 G; _9 Z8 k/ ~3 Jsaid.
* z% ~+ }' g3 k6 tAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what! C' c5 F9 E) J8 M# J c. F4 a! Q; p
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
) g: m8 w" H4 p( A+ K! tabout driving our products," Lentz said.( c$ c1 e2 {3 g+ \7 m
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's c& Z; ^7 t0 Q$ x8 R; Q+ H% p+ ]
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has1 T1 d4 Z# o/ c+ l& |' N
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6- n6 C# U7 E+ @. `8 ?$ Z
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
( Z& t" L9 Y0 n2 s: b9 w$ Zunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking+ X; r# y5 d- h3 v9 r! A X
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
' W0 F0 _2 K! }/ ]) Q6 o' {6 Oconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
- G7 u! P8 p4 b& O( C: itheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
7 d! P$ S" M3 idown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has9 l$ M2 C9 T3 H6 @* E/ v! s
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration: r& O2 t# ]* @4 k1 A
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
: Q. ]3 a8 `* |, |& x9 vLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
( p2 a1 W9 U' o/ J5 }' m& S9 |brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he4 C' D8 ~1 K+ J& y; R
understood the pain.
1 P$ D5 O. h0 R! ^$ b"I know what those families go through," he said.1 P- R+ X1 k# [6 m& f0 J& a! L
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
" R- P% a! @0 Y6 y4 ~fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
v0 L& Y0 t5 GBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman |3 L% _" G4 q$ ~
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put: r! }( S% j( u
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
9 C! y. Q8 t! v2 c4 b, J4 gLentz replied: "Not totally."& N) Q) \4 {- N8 X& a# m* ? \
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were9 u9 w N8 ^5 Q' y
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said* ?' \" I# `2 I! u \' t5 O
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas, F+ X: F0 P' s8 ~! B# g
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its& e ^. k' I' _- w" w8 o- u
vehicles already on the road.8 j7 ?6 B+ e+ h5 r# N
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify: k2 J- D0 C1 |( O( z( Z
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full8 ?, d0 k2 {* p( G7 y- S
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and9 a" M: Z- ^: q9 y6 T! A, v0 A8 F' Y
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were; C5 w) J& d4 T
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
8 ?; c% q% a8 w& }' q"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a, h5 o5 j- H1 d5 W. z/ S( k$ N, e* J
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony' Z4 M; d) L2 R& j9 q5 f' {+ k
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
# E9 a8 x7 j x0 Z# q0 K+ X* q. `4 Z' bCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
) I. I& |+ a' q& Y Scommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
7 Q) }. `. M9 vrestore the trust of our customers."
- } E* e; Q( U8 @- S* YLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
7 q' G3 v3 C# [( c pSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
B3 v+ n3 I" a! N5 Ezoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
" l1 C2 {' M: y! U( V& p8 Ashifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
5 k) @4 s' {" F4 C' u5 Bhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough. ?/ u+ O! X Z5 Q* y
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
- u% C) y8 K& W2 r yturn off the engine.& {# J2 P+ U8 M g7 w
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
; f& U$ H3 n5 S8 [6 x& H, ?October 2006, calling it "a near death experience.", H1 E. w4 \' E4 }' L; M. B
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
+ t0 @4 Z2 w1 {* K' x! psaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
# N0 o1 U, u# Gto her complaints.5 r$ e- u( x) I- A" ~( t7 \
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
7 s/ I1 o" ]) K, l4 {' ireturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
& ^4 ?, P, h- [5 A5 Amalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
* Y& s+ @4 E p+ ]3 @" [1 E9 _/ Z"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
; e# v g+ `5 I* H* `% ]; Kthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited1 Y& B. Y; ~4 w% i4 T6 m
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
! U/ K( D1 j3 t) V W/ ?off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure.". z# }2 a0 E! A3 b
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in& D" R2 O) d8 K; _
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were `4 e1 `; S7 o: r+ j
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls5 t" j' ]( ]+ z% I
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer0 S8 d$ [& }8 |! e) {
every question."
! l7 c. O2 I6 G0 tToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
2 |. w1 }8 \6 n9 M; h' \) gelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The) _! y: m8 q2 q" G% V+ T( G( q- s
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But" c9 {9 E. H# F& Z3 c; B: a! G
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small, l4 f- j A2 R+ _) ^8 n, B; c) I
number of vehicles1 `7 t1 m& V7 D; `9 X6 U& E V
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
/ j' c/ y! Z3 udifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
) u: v; w, _& wmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
7 q% i8 V, A( v& o# V; Vsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
& Q& N( S6 t/ v% F: DMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,' ]' L7 V8 o" X4 E- x5 @4 @
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
- a8 R% E: V! r% w6 Btrace at all.
7 j! E+ l5 u9 |House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
9 J# k9 n3 r# F) |; @. o/ sdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
) j4 \0 D% U5 e: S4 I% cacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the }# h# Y. m4 x% ]3 D! ~* U
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
& t. D) Z. i4 s" _4 Z6 m) w6 v+ IRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
! a3 x- p/ r# N% zsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and, j, y4 w+ }& |
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
2 B3 v7 R# A6 W" n7 D4 O4 `. M8 Eelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible; r: i5 k* X8 x" F
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only3 y1 S7 I7 I# O+ v3 j
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
5 Y; ` v5 v0 U" Q3 |by Toyota's lawyers."
/ M* s3 k/ z1 c3 j9 W# ~6 QLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
, W; N% O* R4 [; b( }! \) ~+ Nproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our+ h" y* O# p4 P& `; L9 H7 M
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he) u) i; O4 e. Q$ O8 u# K4 `
said.6 a% ?0 I$ t% K6 k( [ m; D
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
) e4 [+ i/ X3 c$ X. @: | ka rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
. |8 W/ h* g+ Q* t& Egood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
3 r i, ^4 T! E6 E4 E4 Oofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.+ u/ b* j4 k, q1 J& e
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying; b& T0 Q9 V, F+ `. R
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread8 P s0 l: f) N7 |1 U# K1 p* ~
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
) I) g! b* t6 c& G8 T' n# Sautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
9 _3 H' d4 i9 T ^: h( Winvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and5 N6 Y, ~/ ]4 r& ^6 n
Chrysler.; {2 g# `: Q7 M# \
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
2 a& m% ?9 |# o1 v: o* p; U, pdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a1 M# D- n# x! R* K' {; f
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
2 l: \( q, N3 i% g2 K1 @( tserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete- B) Z$ ~; |. S2 U$ f* N
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty8 P& G* h( E( p4 x A4 ?; k4 A( _
tough."1 }$ q+ M/ z! r9 L8 m. M; o* W
---) p: n$ u y% y& R# J* i
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
9 v; O8 |4 q" R! `$ O$ a4 uRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to9 J' m9 ]5 y, U( k" W6 F
this story.. ^6 W: k: D, e0 W/ r/ @) E5 e
# Y1 h- x# m5 r+ C-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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