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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题/ |' W# |3 g, V- f* _6 m
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
2 P9 D- h+ G6 A5 m4 B ^4 |Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.. f) _5 J& U0 t- J3 _
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
/ v- h: {8 B5 W5 O% n0 { Athe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"0 [% J9 v+ F+ t1 v7 I5 B, c5 J$ {
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
7 Q. l; I x5 F" F- d) P"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
# |" t4 W" j4 w ?7 Q0 k6 `causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
# K% e. U; d% Q3 M' AHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected# }" P. e% \ ?7 |
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and0 `+ m+ K7 {' ]& x$ ?" Q E
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor# g% g5 O( H" w$ @9 n1 D
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.( S' x, n5 |3 P! Q% i, W; F
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
( [0 k* F i5 m' [/ ~* \and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
5 r5 T: C# A7 s- d5 e, M8 h7 M fcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be& {4 `; E/ Q8 \# F
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
" N* A& i3 V: {( e1 Q# M0 r! A8 lnot stop her runaway Lexus.0 h, |- b6 A* O# ]
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,2 v9 V* Y- d5 L4 \
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
5 D. y0 n& F3 X* h% [4 w"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
" e5 p( k" ?9 j6 Z" S t' gTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
; Z( B; C) B) {5 ^+ m" Vearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
+ X+ J- Z0 j! {6 j, P"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has8 I- k: B0 O$ C
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway! b g H3 b$ W) T% ^4 z) H- [. k4 w
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's# E& O) }$ g* @; e1 x( P
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."" c) `3 ~1 h. Q9 m7 t% e
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an3 P9 G. P& H6 E e
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
' f! Z/ G0 e6 v" R# p z- m( }the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a/ ^. e6 k4 Z8 R& B5 G
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he/ D. i7 ?: P' P0 O) i- \, v0 d
said.+ h9 R! Q# Z! o
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
# G) C1 R* T( ^' k$ p( O8 Yhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
$ e8 Z: ^8 z* c. `about driving our products," Lentz said.
8 `. ?1 j; e# m6 x/ x2 u& U' VThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
" |( ~) t& C! W; Dproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
" `. Y) M* s8 y6 W0 C: Krecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 69 Z. V$ W- C2 F `
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
- [' q8 t8 [* f( Lunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking) Y1 N9 o; [6 E* ~8 A0 M* N
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering. J9 N8 o5 F$ H+ s5 A
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
3 Q2 y# ?0 L8 M: xtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
& e0 r' @1 g" m; K& }( S Q* S. W udown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
. k8 A& R7 @$ K9 C+ E8 B u freceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration' N, r7 h1 @+ \1 H3 A5 I' n
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
* U* `2 u/ X2 OLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own, C$ G& e1 W' @5 ?; r; V9 [4 {1 [
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he. n! K, s- q2 L8 E. X( B
understood the pain.5 R4 F- f6 J8 V V; }! y" t2 R
"I know what those families go through," he said.; P" W& [( U' x
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
: W, q3 a. r. c8 i3 H5 E5 }# |' zfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.* e" Y" Z4 n p' o: p- o9 l, s
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
. i8 E4 ? T4 t5 F% m# [8 b; NHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
- F; m9 E9 c% A5 I1 Gin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it, d( ^$ z% [& B7 e
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
$ a M0 ?, k& U5 ]Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were8 k8 m, V; J g5 T: Q$ j; U$ S$ F% `9 S
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
% B- k( I+ y0 |! O: E: DToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas. ^4 X) E4 p( ]
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
: C3 c5 l- o; G& b$ S/ {) U* f- e" mvehicles already on the road.
: [1 K5 t8 j4 X4 v# u* MMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify4 }7 X | G- ]% s, }7 y9 A, x, y
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full9 }+ f x0 _# l! j$ H
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
% V% m0 _9 r" Y% r' roffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were" ?. _* k b0 _2 r- W
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.8 j* W c+ T0 ~1 ]
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
5 [/ b1 Z$ \$ Mtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony7 j* H! Y- \- Z) X
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight( Q [. L, k2 Y$ o
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal8 M, `, z9 ~) Y: @6 h
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to" g' @; J, C( e' _+ k
restore the trust of our customers."; X) w5 x, S! O0 P. C6 p3 E p
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
* i3 S% F3 U) l2 I4 y+ @+ o* `1 SSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
% q/ \, \/ P6 Q5 Q p; Dzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
( Q* \/ b2 ?( i' kshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and/ w H: [% l0 m9 d4 u4 E
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
8 u. k- Z2 ^: T# wthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
7 o( i" e" M/ }" \9 Y3 {9 L2 T( |turn off the engine.
7 c1 C. x2 v8 ~* Q4 m4 `Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
6 t& S4 V8 I+ B0 @- S/ N: E$ oOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
7 A( m9 e. b! I$ ^"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she& Y$ h& T0 G- T* t% z
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
/ T0 V) V6 z. I/ n3 m: ^+ hto her complaints.- K* p l Q/ D- {
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers4 p* q5 V4 `' b3 K3 x2 }4 }
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic- y: N2 G5 n) Q$ R5 b8 E, m/ A: J
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.% Q2 M2 d, g1 q: Z9 f9 F
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
: \/ O7 Y D% H- fthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited# T. w) E+ K4 [) h$ ?8 y/ B
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut6 [$ y e' m9 }
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
3 o6 \& T3 d! GTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
' x" ]+ V4 C7 iprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were- Q" l6 s* G/ d$ C7 Y
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
" J. H" `$ T+ S$ x- owere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
2 y3 f+ `/ x: f4 |every question."' p8 _5 k r$ t( x; |9 n
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
# | O5 Y: n- b/ G% h$ S/ `% r4 s$ Delectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The1 ?1 S3 O [0 i+ e% i1 x- H
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But( U* B" z3 Y; _
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
0 {* B! p; t2 l: @number of vehicles5 r0 o1 b' G) R: s# X% y5 ]
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more& z5 w7 v: r& \( t
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a0 {9 r' _/ M2 |; y: ^8 d) @6 r
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one& L* G: o* P1 h1 D4 [
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.7 B7 u+ |. ?* B: C) R z: H
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage, R6 f: b- `+ }+ U* Q F& @5 {' S
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
1 ^0 Q! Q" ~" w2 \# _. Gtrace at all.! l/ B8 m6 o/ d6 w2 @. ]% O U
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call8 m8 z$ O. {+ x' ^7 B% O
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
& b. g: Z. @( @! Aacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the/ U1 [ b; Y# U! m, ?
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.3 b3 H/ r _, G# ?1 B3 i. T
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
3 k) o# @# g2 K5 F8 t( P0 h/ q$ \6 tsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and9 a+ S8 J* u' z: b
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
# x- }3 W# V; j6 O$ nelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible3 T3 i) Y. c' v' \& z9 V
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
+ U4 v1 U. z% S& A! P& P: bsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained P. V G4 l3 A" S+ Y# O
by Toyota's lawyers."
]) |; m+ {2 MLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of6 L5 R6 V8 K# ?+ g: [
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
6 F \" k( z% l( X6 rcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
* u) S) q1 |6 B% N( |. D% l" ssaid. f) ~- a& f) g
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
: N7 d# m8 V/ n: ta rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our" l9 g' L& [. m
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
- G- Y. j1 Q8 f$ s; uofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.: t. a6 m/ _$ I4 q
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying% Q" {6 K2 q2 x' o2 {5 f6 E
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
, j! A/ Z# F! s' T5 orancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
$ |% @" w6 r5 h5 p, gautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
& h4 b$ M& T1 J' a5 i( Sinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
7 y4 s0 ~, e( }Chrysler.8 Z9 X; L0 f+ I7 F R
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
. w& z* N7 e- O" H, ]- M" Qdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a+ t5 b# _$ B1 c9 q& d5 n" c
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also: z7 v# c: E4 Z# J; {. V% I' S# L
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
4 X) ~3 D& \' t9 y" hwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
% |4 Y3 ]2 @: J7 W) R) b; }tough."
& d7 K0 d2 c4 a/ v- ^9 d# X2 m: [1 U---" N. j- |* M. [* }
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom" k, G: S1 [- Y+ b
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
/ l( h! w) }" N( P- othis story.
* g& }7 D, e8 m- J2 J+ Q& b# d) a3 f% R+ ~ A
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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