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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题9 F: v8 G, U4 X2 U
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS& K) B1 w* R+ ~! H+ N
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.6 f" s/ J0 p( r4 P! O; r
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that8 }. W# C4 ?8 }- o7 u$ I$ ~
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
8 L+ ?3 g( W4 c) h7 |/ { osolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
: Q& S* i* M1 R: s"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential2 m$ {; }! S8 I+ S; f% B4 c
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.. _0 L7 ]2 d6 @' \7 r
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected" |; Y1 n3 |" Q, U7 ]' ^
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and; P% k" l( V6 i, {
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor+ O6 f7 N! W0 L+ K" n* \
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.9 C8 W) U0 m% ` g; n: @1 h) X
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal6 n, ]% |; v4 u: J
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
- ?5 k( U, S7 W2 }+ c4 N) ?& ~criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
0 ?! I" u7 A% g8 s0 S7 ^. R Nfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could' t# _+ Y- d+ Z- R4 |
not stop her runaway Lexus.
$ f- z; \/ m( A"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,4 h2 W3 k6 k7 }7 Q b" g8 l
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second; R0 V- L( g! a/ y9 ]0 @& a
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators. V; \) J! |9 K$ q8 _3 s7 p
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues: J) k2 ^" h$ }: [' F2 ]; E, t
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
' u, \+ N7 g5 {, ? T"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
$ A- c. \7 g# I& R4 v- F3 fdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway$ d$ |- {9 w/ U8 D* q, I$ T
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
- Z' N; Z! I' f1 A! g! l/ y" u8 Uinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."$ n* K' r# q8 X- g* B0 t+ C, z
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an& R- o3 t" y/ W1 [5 g( y7 f# [
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
% D1 Z# C7 ^# L5 @the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
) H1 r( O: Z3 M: n. D# x2 Umalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he, u+ y+ a: `2 O+ J! o
said.4 G( B- s/ Z" G9 S8 Y" Q% G6 d
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what! r, V! I% P! }. i
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe1 a) A! u4 Z3 x: X( v# m& r9 U3 X- |
about driving our products," Lentz said.5 n Q* H6 e& @9 Z J/ a i) k
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's" I7 P9 A* a. z& \2 N) m
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has" ^( r& I% j: {" Q) w" ^
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6; B# R5 a2 p: G
million in the United States -- since last fall because of: A& f1 @, n5 \+ u- x% s" U
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking6 \2 X; t* L3 M, _! e# }1 q9 N: B
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
0 e2 U! |; L6 r8 sconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
( A- O- M' K! r3 g2 ^their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
7 D G1 \9 y) S3 M- w; wdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has) q2 k) h+ w; j
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
. t1 H( F: c( `5 i/ W- `. Jof Toyota vehicles since 2000.! z% Z2 h% P. x E) b, E5 R
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own, D# L/ J3 z& ^$ j" A
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
; P4 X7 t) a" O) s$ t5 a+ G9 K/ eunderstood the pain.6 B$ z- F! n1 ^/ ?: D6 y+ i
"I know what those families go through," he said.
1 h. d( s" H; _Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
. O3 x& F' h1 {6 l0 x D: Q% Ifixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.# G1 ?6 y& h% T0 P/ `# e
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
( W! A$ \& u, d, ]2 |Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
}6 k" B* H+ w7 p) q- Q$ `! Zin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
: F7 d" y: D' C! ]5 E( R5 k; aLentz replied: "Not totally."$ k: V7 k8 l# S8 j8 }
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
- \ {) h# J0 |* D: s& r- y"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
2 }& s7 R" B1 }- ^; mToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
L: x% {4 F+ V, d& X$ W/ _+ Wpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
8 M" t/ p/ I& [) f. o/ S! bvehicles already on the road.
6 o: {/ y+ h/ C. kMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
/ l9 V5 A. v3 f3 h4 ]before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
; J+ N+ w* C, p7 q1 xresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and( H+ D. _' ]1 l- {! v4 }& U+ H- f$ ?
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were I* e# n& }( `- x
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.. c. ^* [' G4 D: Y5 _% i- e( {
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a6 B" o( C/ F3 e4 c% Q; m
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony; l" q* x' q4 _- e" P' m
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight/ O, _# C; `! S) V$ _
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal& M* @/ @4 g" J& I" ^
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to! q5 m( I- E* a4 \* T# f, P
restore the trust of our customers."
) [- J1 X6 i/ A& l XLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from& m: }) V" h: z
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly1 X; ^0 h7 u1 Z; m- s
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
+ ~4 J) ], a* ishifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and H4 k- w' q# g9 x5 o7 j
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough) O, _7 L1 p4 Y& M9 e
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
, _4 n }1 R3 B$ Aturn off the engine.: N# A6 p$ ?. \/ P, h. d4 @. Z
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
/ d C) _2 G9 e( ~$ ]1 C" tOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
% l, X% Y; e$ R"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she- |! U- f" S5 ]7 i) [
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
7 \0 k# N" _2 c& W5 p) v% r( ^ F7 @" Tto her complaints.
1 b1 I& f; q! k/ i5 n2 ` W8 ZIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
$ O! h9 V. u/ v$ \9 O- D' Mreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
# p# W- i6 W) K# D0 R k, n( Zmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
: b1 T" G' w! P, n# z' G' x"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
; e$ B+ V. E( ~, jthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
" ]8 k0 F6 I$ E( ^6 @; v+ ^"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut+ {3 }" b! s. Y# z" a) W0 V
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."9 t! m/ y1 f9 n* {1 h: N" U( D6 `+ k
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in: q+ W' u8 B$ `" ?5 ?. }6 h
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were; t. X+ p* B" P+ f8 \. {
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
$ V ?; ^( ?2 D6 s, p% n+ k" Lwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer) D% E: p" i) Y) h5 o0 n# i
every question."
8 h0 o" M* H* X1 H& RToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
' r8 E- Z% S7 [electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
2 U$ h, _) m. j& |' M1 E/ o* `firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But$ N: i4 z' E9 Z! u' w
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
" ^8 \- s2 i w/ F' rnumber of vehicles# z" D+ y0 ]; `6 C5 |
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more3 A! @7 _: v$ A) w5 ~
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a4 ~0 g$ P7 K1 r* j7 z
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one `( x; d. N* a! }/ |* r
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.% _* G$ [6 i0 [+ L0 x
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,/ h7 U4 d! w; ?( q: c# [
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
9 L0 r4 n3 C; b$ otrace at all.
6 U- h b% L& e4 gHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call% ^6 Z: a7 P. F9 K; a8 ~9 W6 M7 g: o/ P6 n
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
$ j, p; U" \8 w/ f0 Zacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the) L ?( A4 r8 ~# }* F( J U
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.% t. o# m3 F, }
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,! @( y( }9 ~( G; R- J- w
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
1 V1 `$ S; J4 r; mother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the: R+ l. {( W) q, X( u3 |
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
8 y/ j( H! g# j; `cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
! T1 K/ G$ V+ {' Psuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
: I( B3 {: U( g M) tby Toyota's lawyers."+ r6 Y+ X1 P, Z5 l3 [3 ~: l& J
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of7 w- g/ ~$ Q4 t4 W% ?* r
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our0 ~0 ^# N$ M2 r/ [. V/ S
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
; Z) B- B0 q- q2 }2 L3 U$ I% Dsaid.
2 I7 s a0 l# l, J1 X8 a6 x"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
( L; }) f# E! J) \9 E, Ta rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our }7 `' m/ e0 L; f1 b+ v7 i
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
- R z; g5 q# M' ^- Wofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
6 |, }: u- v$ q! p2 vSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying8 M7 R) z ~2 g3 o" a" D$ S& P
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
3 A' }2 F1 I9 Krancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
% d' |8 x2 j! [automaker, at least in part because of the government's
; V, V5 J4 \/ h; S: O# T- s, z! einvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
6 ^5 s* f# C3 m0 XChrysler.
9 K4 ]& P+ E" ` U e+ R"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
* X- u! D! a8 I* Fdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a$ q9 k9 C, d& B! n1 m
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also( {2 U2 ^5 k- t9 Y* U7 P
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete& e, w- t# J% p
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
5 b( L, Q" ]0 I1 otough."/ i4 ~: m- _: b: [
---
0 M/ k1 s4 f. }9 Q+ w. IAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom) e3 |" y/ n' I' }
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
# G K D4 v4 i) S, z6 O7 V( Fthis story.
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* d* ?( z6 F9 V-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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