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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题2 Y3 R4 M' | b1 H
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS' E" y; z; S7 I- ?$ f0 n9 n: M
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
& l3 d$ T0 t3 eoperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that# R- ]! g8 d0 l
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
: ^/ k3 j; k- z" @+ x' qsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
% X: j# l# ?" E$ G- F2 u"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential1 e4 t. d7 r& `: Q
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.- l6 G, b& b) p* Y
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected3 y* f9 d$ x: U% }) b$ I% q
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and# B; q/ c1 X9 G# H9 Y+ z! p
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
$ E, n4 z7 x+ t: c. o6 kmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
; `) h# N/ P6 F) sHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
) c( o" ^2 [0 x. tand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp% ^- u% B) {: T8 r
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
' v& M% \! W+ U# X! Bfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could8 G, y7 L$ h @; \6 K( }, T
not stop her runaway Lexus.
( N& v. x4 D3 d9 t' m"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
! `% E, V H# ~Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
9 E' }" a+ |( r' [+ ^$ i"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.; I9 ~9 h# l4 E. o6 J% b
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues% Q. C( W: E2 t
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
& d$ M& O* I: w+ v+ @$ \. t7 P"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has H: J" I. F+ Q4 ~$ u" J
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway/ f: F) Y' J) u8 H0 o Z( f* R
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's+ G. @% F% q! M1 C, W; \9 i$ T
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."3 K. c- R o% t
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an8 }$ d5 S. n8 X! O6 L
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of( E# }+ M0 ?4 S: C3 a* ~8 s3 o2 M& s
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
0 |3 W1 Q0 r" P5 A6 L+ U& @malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he* \ b, V& o& }4 o) q
said.# Q8 ?0 ]/ F: {* ]7 c) V
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what" P) }3 Y4 A+ ?/ @
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
, U2 X5 N5 K/ X& n, oabout driving our products," Lentz said.5 k- S5 z8 S) _. Q4 \% \8 f
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's2 ?7 V) G" f: N7 W5 L# L% G
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has2 s- a% _6 `) E: a: Z4 a8 _& P
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
/ a/ I, I- e7 w1 } y7 wmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
6 Z3 q$ W" p: q5 b9 s( Cunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
3 L( L0 I% ~% _0 T3 `issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering) d% ^5 O! Q( J% x
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
& c, N8 F, ?0 w+ _- Wtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
5 A7 v! O5 O v% t# C' edown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has) Q q' @2 ^- ^2 d, s( u
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
9 a( k$ Z7 o* o8 Rof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
7 T$ ] M& P5 qLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own4 e" H: P% y3 N( I/ j
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
; x0 c' R2 f1 w- N( B% |understood the pain.% j* k2 E+ O+ { |3 C* V
"I know what those families go through," he said.5 B6 k5 e8 O9 ?
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's: N. p, K8 I1 m9 m8 S3 `$ B+ |) U
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
1 `; }, @; [. L( ^, k/ j9 mBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman1 }% g9 |; Z6 Y2 j4 D, ]6 }
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put; j' ] ~$ i; u2 B$ a. A6 S& N9 [
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
+ n* r, z. g, H; a3 @Lentz replied: "Not totally."
, p. ?+ n8 R7 W/ XStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
3 X; R4 o9 X1 n6 d- _2 C! h"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said6 q- r( s$ @, \( C! J
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas% a& p2 D6 l# K
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its# v( [8 V1 X- j/ r! ~, M c
vehicles already on the road.7 T9 P# n% Y! r' k5 ~9 J
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
G" E+ k$ M# X$ R0 m; }6 \before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
& ]7 O8 n% w" u! G9 _responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
( z/ u- s, B! R7 y5 a' Yoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
# Q; Z4 {. W/ `. W: Y, y- V5 _& Bkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.7 G* X1 H4 B& C1 M9 s, |& g7 t( d
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
" s. p' ?6 s3 H/ f0 htragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
+ \" p2 c, m/ h$ {4 W# u7 cfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight- e0 ~. w6 _. f' G
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal% L- d4 x2 E8 N9 I, [! F
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
7 x; V2 O' w( R& t1 o2 \restore the trust of our customers."! H) `) y4 P& `% [! n4 S' s7 \8 i
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
9 f2 V1 o- h w. {6 i% zSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly! S. p! Q$ p( R0 _2 f: A( m6 \! `: l" Q7 J
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --3 B' g: J" R' @* ^9 K/ ~2 Z
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and8 I9 ^5 Z' Y/ L' P7 r9 j8 \/ |
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough) g2 F- m. e8 x+ X
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and% n7 T6 \2 {' a. _
turn off the engine.4 G$ N2 g7 V8 ]# Y: [
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
0 f7 m) Q7 ^& W# o1 AOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."# [( A2 k7 Z& i/ f: d* O" |1 m0 K) |
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
" K# [6 |% D4 Psaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
% N: g3 k: B5 k6 i @to her complaints.6 W$ q( r5 |6 l: _4 ^
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers# ~) y9 ] G# C7 l
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic' Z. @; E6 Z, m5 s; h1 r2 W
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.) c2 l% [7 V6 S+ h v( [# c
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
0 g5 s8 o, r- m7 Q& nthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
% N9 a9 I& R! m- P6 B"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut. `. A8 R+ ]& i
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."! d/ R4 k$ a4 v& O4 F' C6 k$ v0 V
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
6 [, g/ C! ~% Aprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were+ C. e' Z5 I# I$ z3 w/ Y. T
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
t. R: m& @ _3 U; R4 rwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer. I+ A b( Y9 e! u' q- b5 y
every question."; k% w1 G+ A2 Y- [4 \
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether6 A9 Z( m v- L) d% |" n5 I5 I
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The* e( M0 O- a" R" M
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
+ N% ?: f) d- dcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small* f% F# k( p% A8 D8 n% x
number of vehicles: {# C- U i9 F- i$ k+ q
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
$ \, n# v5 P- Z7 J/ \% Cdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a2 I6 `, A+ T& H# w8 y# k
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
' d6 Q$ z+ G& a3 M% usource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.9 U! E* M4 @& g3 t
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,, R6 Z7 p: X* y5 v
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no# I* \ z6 q, P6 n, y
trace at all.% _! }! p. S" E2 p: p. L" n8 n
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
) |! u' t3 _* v1 b! Hdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
8 u" y1 y: Z c1 S [' k! x- J" i% vacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the& a* L- x$ j: Y7 w& R
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
6 ?5 ]6 L7 ] a5 iRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
1 F: a" V2 f; i- T+ J7 Ksaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
6 a: m( m6 b! r1 N5 h4 ^0 eother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
8 ~. ~, h2 D2 [4 t- Uelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible6 X# l1 I% T+ @0 L
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
% d1 Z& N) S: i& W' M. D- h# v5 gsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained1 @/ z* D D7 H3 y0 d
by Toyota's lawyers."
* J b, ]% _9 zLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
7 O- P% W4 O/ N yproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our* X; l ~/ s! m* l# @
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
* Q+ t6 ^8 L# g" L3 {" x; Z2 hsaid.
; e2 t2 [& \1 k( |2 D"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
# v; G" U1 H9 F$ Z: W1 N/ Qa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
4 Q t$ M# h# } f* l5 t$ _ Xgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
! s: g4 e) d( L. z6 ?. r4 |% Tofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
* A5 L4 I) f, q" _/ D& A: a/ I5 BSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
4 l' a1 n/ d& l! E# }6 P/ ~members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
& H7 i/ Y. B& N$ @5 arancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
?2 O# p+ y6 e. Qautomaker, at least in part because of the government's% c% j) C9 \" |$ }
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
/ L( a3 q4 _6 v6 n" G5 P3 k$ l$ FChrysler.
+ m1 A) w9 G+ i1 o% Q/ `"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax% r5 E/ Z9 P# V9 ?/ y
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a1 b' }" {8 v* U- X! j8 x L1 ?
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
" M( l$ h" M7 hserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete o* g' x1 @( s2 B. i
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
# V4 Q$ {: h/ x, B0 b% m% g1 Ztough."3 S* T8 K J" H8 l
---
1 w1 J, h8 [1 \* q( k% w2 ?Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom0 b9 U) ]2 r* D% m& n E
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
6 s, K6 z2 q( S; O* Tthis story.
3 W$ A: [. c* F% B" a
5 ~( @ C1 ~- K* B+ p-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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