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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题+ }9 q! u1 s5 V8 {$ h; d. Q! I3 Y
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS a0 B2 |7 \8 C% i5 u$ I: Z
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
7 u) ?! l* S; ^' K6 u m! [operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that( H7 j. c8 P" K( A
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
) b* ]. |2 L9 f) e! Fsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.3 i. c4 V* m3 B+ b7 a0 b: v/ {
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
$ o2 }7 \) d$ E% T; R/ N/ ecauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
* P; }& d6 F& EHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
, g' m( u8 q1 k4 D. ~1 ]acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and6 e% h: N k3 h
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor( z0 ^: @; H" C4 s. F
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
$ S! j% e2 D6 v; u, A7 G) hHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal& y1 s: u& [* A6 j. C# E
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
4 a' H3 u! p& M& bcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be# M* f$ ?7 E9 e4 O' _ u
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could) b1 e8 k) ]) X1 @) I6 [& F( O
not stop her runaway Lexus.
& ^3 l1 [3 _2 N$ |0 E" N"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
6 b* n" S& n: [1 P9 D% |Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second1 C& w* c8 V" P( R. O$ T$ C( r7 i5 x
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.. e( g" g- Z" C8 v- X
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
' z( M; r, \7 t% R U5 |early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said3 h( {; C/ a, ?1 N+ k# q9 X
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has0 W' |& G' `9 n' M% r' u9 b# s7 Q
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
; M9 k* z( L+ L0 @" u& ~; ~ ^$ W! Bthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
w, }. O2 q: Q/ ~1 u- f1 {2 Y4 ?investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
& A/ F7 o6 z6 N, k: s, C+ \! jLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an" x5 U3 J1 H* x" g
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of- z5 O7 J F. f8 m* x
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a0 ?& y2 O+ |. q( j8 u
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he' o7 [" _0 A! C# ]
said., R2 r* z6 u4 C0 i2 F) Z0 t9 ?# `
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
) }% ]2 @" L3 H5 T# M! F: u. Ihappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe+ Z) P' G6 n8 [/ S9 r, _; N
about driving our products," Lentz said.
+ S4 R. A0 q) K5 VThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's$ ^) n) o/ X8 G i$ I8 V1 z* b
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has: I: f, n. P' Z0 f% g
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
7 H& B9 ~4 e, e( w' A6 U% amillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
1 H6 T* Z4 L3 n+ B3 |/ kunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
) b# h s6 X$ r" Aissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
: Z6 S- L# Q6 I$ V# x4 sconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of. r& B( S; R9 }; i0 E
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow2 s5 K- @0 \+ K
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
8 U0 O* T9 ~% b' breceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration0 J) O- o$ }( e/ u
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
4 s6 l2 @5 o4 \% K1 mLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
" w8 |% ]* E+ kbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
3 [ j7 [1 x; ^' Zunderstood the pain.
# P* m: Y$ G( }" F"I know what those families go through," he said.
* ^+ |4 p% l- s6 M: rLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's: ^2 s% _; e8 \6 Y' F/ y1 ?
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
% C( D5 O ^$ i$ d! z- D- XBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
4 o% |8 S3 N& v5 l0 _7 b3 mHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put/ _& X% y6 w) e$ {* o/ Z8 e1 U' Z' C: K
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
+ }" f6 U' D6 Z& i: K) [1 YLentz replied: "Not totally."/ y7 ?5 r5 o% n u) ~" E
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
/ J" P3 p# D% I" \0 S9 g"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
r: x/ `5 x( W! p( CToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
( q; r" r4 Z% O- |pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
1 a; E& O+ k! I. tvehicles already on the road.+ |, ]- x8 R' }. h8 T/ `
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify3 k3 m) r, f X1 O' O
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
0 f1 Z C+ K) s) Sresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
6 q- M7 r W" toffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
# ]$ t4 c( H! ]* \+ L6 _/ ]killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
' R0 w) H# ~1 M6 |, T"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a6 B0 Q. F0 P& d% x" n- F
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
& h& p* i* @, c0 o: Q/ \. vfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
( j+ v+ I; Z: e- C* ^+ { Z+ e6 a3 `* ACommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
) b6 V$ T8 ?. r; G8 e& h Y. ^commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to. c/ ~( o4 P P& @5 n
restore the trust of our customers."
" e$ J6 \% B9 V' I" P7 U& g j( iLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from q! ]% |9 _- [0 K2 j; c# l) M
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
# c1 z# p" c. x7 ]7 e" c' Zzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
) L Q7 R: q/ V' E" V8 E; }shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
6 Q {4 g) d) X- v; l2 Chitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough! l; [( ~0 @# t) u
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and$ Y F% G$ m7 d" T! t9 c
turn off the engine.
, [; Y2 u0 u# D% TFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
" z5 |3 _" b1 `3 }1 l2 h# dOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."+ W. T7 I$ a" h& H4 I- A( t0 `' U
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
0 k4 C1 ]8 t* N' ? e* bsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond+ f2 F2 m8 Z F( X) C
to her complaints.( N9 o+ K' U' F: U
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
; o$ l3 G5 k* y$ ?, k3 Zreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
- ^& Z9 A: w5 B k, [+ pmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
$ L& L5 {- t# g9 c3 N% L- o% s"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric% R |, G* d! F4 @9 w* W
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited) e% y6 `3 @- [7 n8 @' H- x: A0 I
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
0 t# A7 h0 u( b3 q ]' t# Eoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
' j0 A Q8 c r P+ e+ ^; r, F, z& _Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in/ z! j, n6 s9 g" Z# ]
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were9 a: s# K: c9 c# j7 L
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
8 ~" X- s, d# A* M' h: {* J }, a2 bwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer# ]. {- U C) l6 _0 ^
every question."2 G+ J' B) _9 L5 g& m0 p
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
. n. |3 N) q8 w7 Z9 B Aelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The4 n$ e& M5 a5 A# o, }
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But* {5 s8 p" x( k3 V- b8 o
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small) @8 X" M5 r: `4 [! K
number of vehicles
6 P& V5 u% ?5 W" G$ D/ B, zTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
& d0 \$ k4 n( b6 ^' _1 xdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
* D7 a. ?7 W7 u6 imechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one: f4 \: x- M4 ?1 _1 S9 p" ]* o
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
! f/ h1 y/ T& ` s8 d; z8 uMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
/ o x- j2 D; m$ O6 jwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
& F9 D4 j v4 i4 F0 e0 Atrace at all.
3 ~ T3 f2 c- ` t7 K- ^House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
1 E* P) U$ O- I9 y8 idatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
* e" l' M: w0 o. C3 ?$ o- S- oacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the. v: L: I& k/ J
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.6 c4 @ |) S6 w0 i6 p4 D( s; U
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
0 ` h0 w3 v6 k! @ [1 |8 esaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and0 y- E0 p' B8 X' ?- c- j# J
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the V6 s- o1 G c
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible! W* k A# U8 A9 S
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only2 h! V+ y+ d* }
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained6 m% l! j& ?2 P) F1 a. N1 a) |
by Toyota's lawyers."
2 w' d+ S0 T- w8 h" zLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of+ b2 i( o* S# l* J
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
# S( ~' g% {+ Q2 fcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he9 [1 ^0 f/ p0 k2 S1 M
said.
* w/ \8 G2 Q( L& \5 K4 q"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
& O) \- V) M. fa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our' _0 S4 J9 g+ O) v' D o- a5 d
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
* s5 c K* T4 T! z! k y/ }! x% Nofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.+ d9 y0 J' v% F
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying' ^& \; _8 y/ `/ I, e7 l
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread- W) v% w( p5 R$ r; R
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
3 {+ ~( V0 V" J$ F3 P9 @* c; Sautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
2 Y* T# S, N1 T( ~. r0 xinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
& q1 o0 T: {. ?7 I: ?Chrysler.
9 @, w! d7 C+ V3 X"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
# e+ u! X9 m1 d: d$ @% [ w( i& M! D- Odollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
H' T. @5 y2 m: DHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
6 u( W, X* a% g/ N' @1 userved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete* b! J j+ [1 s% t9 R# _. I
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
$ s! F4 F7 g- r- |' @% d: ktough."$ q# X* J6 G7 H2 [' }% @" o8 q* o
---
5 E! W1 [8 E$ G6 C5 qAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom/ v: z. U! D+ O+ Y- M
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to: S& ?6 ]/ ^6 U x0 V2 T9 Y: d1 P
this story.
& I/ P5 u, x8 J+ Y2 x* Y/ J4 w( q: l2 `, X# D
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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