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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
5 ~# g6 t" P! w0 A2 uBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
: M' o, X9 c& J' wWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.) l% ` ^- F& R/ Y& U
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
. t6 e( u+ P4 U! b9 I- A1 b+ Gthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
. K6 C9 D8 L. @1 S/ Nsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.) M6 Z- n3 P. w% M
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
! O( `( ]2 w. Ucauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.- n7 S! U3 ]2 G5 y( {4 c/ h2 L
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
$ U8 r, H% o0 w7 R& b3 Uacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and7 ^# E4 h% w$ i$ i
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
! Q# o4 M( S) w5 s. Gmats and sticking accelerator pedals.2 T# m% r* g5 T `
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal6 v) H$ Y! U$ {# G
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
, n0 y2 n" w# p5 E& d L- icriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be6 Q, J) ~/ w8 L% J% l3 n. T
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could9 {. _* O% g7 i( U
not stop her runaway Lexus.% Y; O2 g3 m, u' W) C
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,0 Q9 I+ w2 h# W! ^& P1 a, v; _
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
# S v; U: O: h9 H. K9 s" g2 p"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
& w' S$ K: t3 b d7 M& zTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
3 S: U2 x* [& I* Searly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said( J+ K$ y+ @: u3 }) I6 N" o- w
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
( e% V" O$ o0 m/ L' l+ edone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway7 ]) c1 U0 o" f r5 o) @! \
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's6 ~3 A8 f5 r+ B- C
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
0 Z; _1 ~5 L& Z9 e; b) L- kLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an3 J, e5 g7 A& U8 B2 T
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of4 X2 {& T& ~6 o
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
0 W& A1 n; p5 smalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
+ e0 Q) M# m+ e9 `said.3 ^% p n; B5 B& O( M( Q
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
7 y9 d1 I9 ~6 zhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe7 C! t2 `4 T! c) I" [
about driving our products," Lentz said.
- J4 v, x& L* }; l4 n& s$ ^Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
$ }- C {1 ~, jproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
2 Q! H0 [$ L* {! e S5 V! Wrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
, E' \& s- ]8 R+ b( j" u6 `million in the United States -- since last fall because of2 s* S$ P# w( `( s, e
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking0 e: |8 @) e& y0 {; `
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering+ V! l% v0 z1 b) k9 ~7 N
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
) T6 y! k( A! j Wtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
1 r& J* k1 {( i5 |- tdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
1 D0 o4 o& o. F0 v1 S' G' rreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration2 B! h: W5 Q" _- ?- ^ I
of Toyota vehicles since 2000." }! T3 h$ \) |& x/ |
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own( V! N/ h9 N3 s) S! {- ]7 `* S
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
) _) ~( \" K' {# iunderstood the pain.
) G1 Z8 H4 L2 f"I know what those families go through," he said.- f9 f- j" b$ r, T" _; `
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's7 }: n, Q$ \0 ?; R: ^1 P* [
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
) \! y6 X. p1 y4 B4 c. ~7 lBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
" Y# r! S+ J! B; pHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put1 u r4 {7 f5 ?7 y5 t
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,$ v1 D; f, X/ ]" V& t
Lentz replied: "Not totally." }6 a5 M2 N; d7 D; O4 E/ ~
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were" i6 k# N5 G+ y6 [/ g5 @
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said1 r/ l& _; e! Z
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
1 |) O( |; S! ]+ ?# M+ b. \$ d" Ppedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
; A4 V% a+ b6 I3 kvehicles already on the road.
0 o+ F$ l7 _# zMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify0 |) W4 O$ W& t/ j) v
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full2 Z! @) l/ N. B# R- S, T
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
+ i/ n" s5 p$ w4 b( r/ t# [" Aoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were: \; ^' t- w" m! S+ ]0 O! ]
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems. F1 p' s% }2 H6 V2 p$ M
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a) ~" o p: W' ]2 W
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony6 R- M& t/ v* ~# M9 @
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
6 K9 @) O$ Q% Y: e" s" K! hCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal7 {% q& I2 J* ^2 e6 @! n% \
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
7 \/ o1 |, y/ J1 p- yrestore the trust of our customers."
: C3 {9 q5 K5 [1 P/ R1 w# tLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from% |( i& c2 n0 i( t2 t% o
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly5 ~& M( b7 n5 g: ^7 ~* C
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --/ U% d9 p. Q/ }3 ]" f- h% K# f
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
2 m9 \0 J7 {" _ K, P' D; Ihitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough3 P) X7 w+ x& k, y6 g- L; ~% Q. q2 G
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and! }) y3 v. |% _( A
turn off the engine.' L: i h& y$ B( P5 [
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
, b6 J% p5 u8 x$ y7 v( G, _+ z8 ZOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
) p& E2 Q! x' f+ ]"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
2 I* }1 q! }. @$ T5 usaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond; P% ?- e0 d6 U- _
to her complaints.
* I4 w# I3 p5 Q# vIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
5 r A% ?; a# qreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
$ D" l' q# T9 c) \% o& y2 Z jmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.3 X) y# m( A) K* S
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
& S8 b. F+ J! o: m; ~6 E# j0 Gthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
1 O% `, e7 C, M9 x"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut x3 s2 Z9 L3 ]7 T
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
6 n* T$ o0 [7 N: u; r- ]Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
' M- p) |$ Y# nprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were7 Z' `; z! i4 {' E* J6 R
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls- k4 n* P, R3 x, ^# X2 s- C E
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer1 z0 @4 `# q9 h2 G
every question.": p: y0 \- D% ^* k
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
# T% N$ `% F- w5 e+ `! e" zelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The/ R; D; }6 V& K
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But5 _& `; n! [9 x) |
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small) x. ]6 {, E" |/ [
number of vehicles* A8 w- [+ S- F
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more0 t# y- e# j: z1 q- X c2 d
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a s/ O( y( i! @3 I4 U& A1 a! d6 g# l4 x
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one4 h! ^( v- E. ]! m" [6 s+ r$ y
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
7 F) @; H+ k( z7 MMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,( R1 P) _1 x T: q
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
6 D b; ~' |$ ^4 d4 Ptrace at all.6 g5 c' V) \& j Z, y5 ]
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call+ C+ K$ W6 W2 E0 \9 G4 E2 Y$ x6 C
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
Z* O1 L' n+ {7 L" X% ] G' Sacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the- l# X# \7 @2 T3 t+ {+ I: j5 t
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
- j5 G7 t* [( w" NRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
% `. ], w2 }7 ?7 [0 Fsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and$ q0 g) T* w/ T7 Q: w
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
" }" h3 p7 ?7 m* k* O; L% r0 @electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
! U+ Z& [% e9 Wcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
4 |0 {% E" G5 Rsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
# E; e2 C0 N; d- o7 v: K0 `9 \by Toyota's lawyers."3 }6 G! ~+ G: Q) U# S
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of* R: f6 L1 G/ N, R8 B a
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our0 ^1 U6 A& \& l, X
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he+ H* g8 U( A Z; L- N/ _) |& h
said.
" p: v, O1 J7 A3 m$ u% ~1 B2 I"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
; j6 @# V: _9 i! {; ` V) U; v3 }a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
5 v7 V5 q) W4 X# V) mgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
5 ]; \# h+ O# B& wofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.# Y4 D/ }* ?7 @; s! G
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
$ c7 Q" R; C$ J% _" Tmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
- p4 b- O8 V. \! s4 F. M5 K, drancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the, M5 ?( I7 Q& E p1 O
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
- r! K! f4 m4 y4 n5 iinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
8 g3 I$ V0 T& \. y; WChrysler.( ]2 S: Y4 M6 n" F" W3 K
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
' @: ?' F, c1 K5 G& M4 @* fdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
6 I" w, O; L W" k) {Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also; l: r: B) Q( O/ T2 I: t
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
* @- }1 Q( b' q/ f0 uwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
% U& p9 B6 E3 o$ T: v" `' w- B6 q/ Xtough."
+ i0 K( e7 m( g/ m) ?/ D1 ]---
( q! Z$ V7 f% oAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom7 Z! Y' |5 n+ ?* s/ n3 B
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to, h+ h3 e+ L T* e
this story.0 l* p) Q) ~. A% D
. s& _9 r5 Z. `+ D-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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