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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题$ D% T8 y! `: D! @7 p6 L
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS, O j! _1 g0 P c4 u3 B6 C4 e
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.( v' g5 ?5 _) ~, p
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
, o+ F9 _. s: I; Cthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"1 ]! S" H8 x) c
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
4 `; _6 n% y" c/ K: C"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
% y. s! C" s3 T9 B* _causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
; @3 d" f) ]5 Q6 p6 EHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected9 N8 ]2 h0 D/ b) D, V/ m2 ^4 }7 V
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and! T7 x/ T5 A/ e: o6 }. i; ]
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
8 f9 _ ?$ w, u3 L0 K: r! Fmats and sticking accelerator pedals.3 h# L2 c% [8 t
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal& q4 b. S$ A6 P$ k# c$ f
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp" G+ b% z0 k/ \
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
0 P& r7 Q) o9 d) W- Ifurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
+ K* f0 {& k* N1 g" M$ |. y0 h ]$ \not stop her runaway Lexus.) N5 G6 F; Q! A" F7 J: y* G
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
8 t0 b$ \8 s; |/ W8 N( bTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second5 R/ O" v) y2 H+ k$ Q8 T/ R7 n
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
% v# o) \3 H+ P5 qTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues1 O; P6 r# C( P( f0 Y
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said) M& W" t" Z( e2 j
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
7 k: b' a9 v0 g- t* K7 jdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
# Y; f& s& r6 r) r8 q% I, [/ M& wthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
$ V6 B* d* r; L: _7 Ainvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
& h. h3 ]: ^" C7 A& U& ELentz said the company had not completely ruled out an/ F- l* u# c" w* t) _1 A2 A: F
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
2 Q$ G" I$ X9 N: T' B- t2 Q3 Athe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a, L# Z* W. I- p0 X* q
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he+ W, V+ }/ g5 U/ r
said.
& o! S0 u5 O% ~- RAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
9 _" L& l. d2 Y6 v3 Uhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe A( X, x# a7 i
about driving our products," Lentz said.( ~$ v( {, P! y: u7 D" [
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's" s$ B; j o: ~" U3 F1 Z
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has& K: f7 ?1 U; v/ C- y! u) O4 u
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6& K9 \% w5 T* u `+ [
million in the United States -- since last fall because of ]/ t9 Y. R) v# r
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking8 b2 t- u' g. Q6 @$ N3 H
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering5 s5 O" Y L3 u) o/ K; \
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of4 u& _6 @3 [. m6 b0 p
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow, V7 c: c |# W7 w! S* k$ [5 ` W& J
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has N/ K f0 x7 l& M' @3 J' G6 u
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
. Q* | ~3 z4 e! Y0 P$ L! A0 Gof Toyota vehicles since 2000.) a" ~, w5 G) d0 g" L- u
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
. M d+ s+ ^1 ]" |: Xbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he1 }6 } W9 Z i
understood the pain.6 r, w7 B/ y! |+ A2 f
"I know what those families go through," he said./ S$ i6 }3 E: S! y6 x
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's) y4 V* \/ O; n0 E9 k. }! H$ q
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.7 m+ u( |* ?( o* h; p
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
5 U1 p6 H" R, s+ mHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
8 i( g+ D; c* { t3 C1 H: u4 hin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,5 e8 T5 O+ j, U% F1 @( S
Lentz replied: "Not totally."$ w- f& E* v; Z) @
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
0 S; Z. `: d+ V: n L8 \! {6 n"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
& X7 G7 g ^* y" NToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas9 k% X& z I: T- u* |; s
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its' o) b' y" V$ E
vehicles already on the road.
5 M4 j# b7 u1 |- o, O; A8 X1 IMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
( u6 ]( y- q1 H3 ?1 r- C# h& ]1 bbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full/ C3 O7 V9 s! ?# [/ T8 C
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
5 [& r, U3 y# D9 L; O8 ~# Joffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
, K1 O. E0 N9 R- Bkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.! t) z) Z7 [! M
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a' U3 Q) T1 K5 g* x V# ]# ^
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
8 {! O+ q5 D4 i5 P7 c/ {for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight9 m" g, t3 L) ]1 g6 D1 t& l v
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal9 X, K+ c7 t1 d6 A
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
8 T u, P+ I b6 drestore the trust of our customers." Z" j3 h( v w8 O( b
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from" F7 E5 R N I2 H+ X( L# u2 {
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
/ z& }4 b* J6 x8 @/ S0 {zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
# E3 a# T% A) l+ kshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
$ g+ f+ r( z% r) y; i2 J) lhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough4 q* q' _2 F' s3 d1 [
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
$ Z: A z/ t3 I1 F6 y) rturn off the engine.
: N, u+ q; p, w9 N" n7 cFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
5 `! H/ S7 H! m4 M1 l# D2 oOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
6 B$ {3 C! a4 o% m9 M Z$ Y"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
1 T% ^ c, H0 p7 Isaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
3 c& ~8 y! [4 q! J* Cto her complaints.9 A* V7 R3 J5 A7 k1 A: l
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
: j$ n) I! `) [' @8 t% Rreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
; W* d3 l) W: w( E/ I0 fmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.4 I4 ^, M: g$ i# B8 ~5 I8 j
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric3 C1 j* b% s4 S0 B
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited' N& \1 z- E! l
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
- Q! J3 l8 [, v; E- {' Boff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
1 k$ A4 C9 e* k# L$ WTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
1 Z1 M8 s- e8 r tprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
. X+ Y9 }3 y$ D. x( {; Ebeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
) m" E9 [ [2 w$ O! M* gwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer! L/ D; M, n/ A P6 l0 k, E9 j8 O% q
every question."
3 n0 H! n1 _& N4 z0 kToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
$ y( x# C4 m( t% N6 z# ?electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
1 Z; I I! |7 a f0 D: j" Ufirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But4 U7 D) z* I! M9 }/ }0 i
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
$ n. f8 f: [8 ?number of vehicles
3 K3 k. |. T f% KTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
' O2 Q c+ d2 v$ r) C2 U& W# [difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a% \3 `+ t: {" ~1 e g- \: p
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
( W) c- v9 H# A w/ _source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
3 P9 P( C) H9 c6 z" kMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,. l% V3 E9 B! t- g- m" [
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
7 V+ Z0 q8 r. L% T& X, \' ztrace at all.( U# _: ^ t+ N" E8 L. F9 J0 Z
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call: N$ b+ a/ ?* h3 Z
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
8 H/ j C! z) ?" Y8 L9 G6 hacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the W- [5 f8 ^/ c4 r
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.% ^' Z! {) @5 j8 f" F. c
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
9 Z9 f, i& \$ dsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
$ R& I. B, { v& R* p- C+ q9 Gother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the8 A$ O6 v7 }0 y* O% u6 ^% @# @
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible6 t5 z( G/ L4 u& |
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
" r$ f- j6 `+ `6 J% @such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained5 N1 h2 H2 P2 G* T* O
by Toyota's lawyers."% d o9 i$ G' k+ \; R6 r' T* t
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
" H2 _7 w9 {) V, ]! H' h8 uproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
- A# }7 F6 U3 Ycustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he# F! g8 Z! }1 B5 x' e
said.( o" @. _! ^3 J
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
; P9 V" E5 X N; qa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our# E6 R, F; n$ U- e
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
8 ~5 F/ I9 [+ g& v6 ?9 aofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
! m6 ^; B5 | E" G2 X6 vSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying% C+ r' C4 l; m2 w8 @; K
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
+ t; L" e v& u$ Y( f8 v! Yrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
9 R; r8 p: f' a; Hautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
8 [7 P4 [) g7 }- Y6 W7 Oinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
$ E B0 p E+ n* N$ ?: x2 {Chrysler.0 z% {* q% i; K; a2 A t6 h
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax* f* F- i# `9 [! s8 C
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a! { i" @) m! n
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
( {: ^9 T; j4 T o( F( N+ K: aserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
+ a8 s: o. ?' w6 U& C r5 Wwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
i! l- _, A1 P) v: R: rtough."2 \. @. Y- k# n3 K' a0 A+ n
---
" G" S# u2 T4 UAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom2 C7 d8 }# X9 L/ b: ]! B$ Z
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to, P0 K* a+ S. Z; O5 C4 M0 k3 Y
this story.3 U0 G) }' H) G8 x! J" M
0 t' T6 [, c; Z/ V-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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