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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题$ y! X* A# e8 _" m' I4 A% u
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
i( S# c, O+ u: b+ p) P, I! dWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.* N# l3 h6 `' m1 H7 i
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that. k P @( `, m: c" O
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
. X: R5 H: Q7 _- g& n2 ^# {0 tsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration. f/ c) [) [* e% Z/ q# ?7 y
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
6 `& m/ L( \5 B$ ]( `causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
$ o4 ?+ n+ e; `/ d2 v9 SHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected f( ]9 W* T' T
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
\8 |$ J f/ k: wtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor. E5 ~5 @9 z! @3 P( A b# ?4 _; R
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
0 Z- M# _, _9 Z3 F$ r4 k0 I0 QHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal# i, T9 P: m7 g1 o
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
* V' U1 C* ] X6 X' q8 i# Qcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be( _: m: M! V) U* P
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could! K' F' M9 v* `+ E% z0 h2 A
not stop her runaway Lexus.. s/ j; b3 f1 L
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,6 a9 {6 f% T v `& s2 y
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
4 u7 N, O' y( c& p9 O& p"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators." d1 [2 D" l- _
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues* i2 T! h$ A0 b2 O
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said7 ~8 y* h( j7 @
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has" p3 c( ?; ?0 c+ c+ \8 V7 p: w: D
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
* r7 I8 a# s: ^( f) Z* ythrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's6 a3 b! o. Z% q4 h# b( R
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham.") W* }3 Z3 F: Z9 L7 B' j
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
5 d& e5 O, _7 q7 ~electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of& A* ] O/ e8 T5 s6 `* m
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a" T: k3 [0 s' A: }+ W- h
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
" [$ E7 u5 U7 C/ J. {said.5 O7 }% a5 c& b; |5 R. O) R- H
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what- n$ G3 K& F! y- {7 d; N% G
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe) [ `$ k' @' P; \5 t
about driving our products," Lentz said.# d( D, Z4 A. K$ u
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's, K# o2 S4 s* ?9 G9 D
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
* n* D- j9 W* E* V6 z- t$ |2 l! Trecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 63 |/ [% i# M# D; m$ P9 w1 R9 s
million in the United States -- since last fall because of$ U' N t, I2 F; }( U. O; ? _
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
2 z# j# D0 w# R0 \( P* wissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
# d4 g. g% Z" l9 _' G, mconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
2 W: s7 C( S6 t2 Htheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
/ o/ r w7 ?% k8 `3 Z" zdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has. ?) ` K! |& r* |
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration; f1 N, ?* r5 [6 p
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.3 H* [0 M+ P A5 k' O) O
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
" E) S# V" D' b' R$ R2 fbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
- f* R. Z2 s0 _understood the pain.
( a4 G& _' R+ A. c k1 U"I know what those families go through," he said.
5 B# t% s) t I- S* PLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
% Q: @+ k7 w9 f3 b6 ]; v8 q dfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.) N. {( Y1 y0 y, s
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman- p) W& N# o7 O/ x
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
7 N0 T7 Y' z$ G' Gin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,# D7 E7 ]2 {4 G- r; Q
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
( ~! z# [7 V5 k1 s# N* v2 H( aStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were3 {1 n9 P; P. J3 C, |* h' B
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said- r" D' u3 F- S. s- z+ \
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas6 N+ w- q/ D4 ?, ]1 P! z
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
" h& y$ P1 s1 E3 Kvehicles already on the road.2 y9 ?7 h" ~+ v4 m9 }+ m
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify8 ?" U r8 p1 j" R
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
; U& ^7 ~# S3 h' ^: yresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and% B/ n: V6 f# N7 _
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were5 y' R5 N: x3 C* G: A
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
7 D2 ]3 I6 o7 y( {+ E; T"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a8 M4 c; l- r6 Z$ w
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
6 Z$ c G- Y$ Yfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight; b" O6 U" B' @2 h7 Z
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal+ X9 H8 S. U L2 ^, z
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to6 U8 w- m$ M' O' D
restore the trust of our customers."
2 v d4 _! \ D& m5 VLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
. z2 t8 y$ D8 u. g9 F1 nSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
8 ?" b3 J+ y* ~zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
1 e1 m2 Z g( v" m. e- Tshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
\& N1 ~! d3 D4 |hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough5 w) z# ~) l+ I, T6 b
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
- K* l0 `9 J- l. i t' Zturn off the engine.
$ ]; e8 `) l7 zFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of+ ^/ k' Q. ~. Q" S7 D
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
( Z' U7 J5 T4 M) R' e% }"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
* Q! ^6 S: i' T* x" Y, g) p- }$ S& Ysaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
! o2 z' |2 u7 U8 V: d6 }to her complaints.6 e9 n% B) m o S( P$ |
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers: F, e4 Q/ g$ O- F& V7 K
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
' |4 ^0 }1 q5 `7 W( y& N( Zmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars. [, g* |* C! l& m, t- |
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
5 n* C* Y9 Z- t6 qthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited' k# }. h' H- Z- y3 a/ _( S& T
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
% a5 i! z' L8 }off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
2 y- e: \' ~$ y+ v0 O _Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
5 C0 |- D( z3 E; bprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were: P3 c8 w4 P& c( e5 c0 Y, L& E
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls( u0 }7 C$ ^0 N& q- |
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
! h# L8 s: n7 Z. _- a4 A& ^, Eevery question."7 q. o4 ]5 H! j3 @" @$ \+ B2 F# b
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether4 q4 H! x0 S7 p' a' o) n: b
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The: u9 w) \2 T) J# U& p5 G
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But( c& o3 X5 i/ ~1 o+ d0 C, x) z% R
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
+ G9 s6 g. D4 A3 Bnumber of vehicles
# m8 F! @% [( U0 ?1 z" ETracking down an electrical problem can be far more6 X4 z: K7 R2 T; K' L
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
) D$ j# ~5 w zmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one% s' R% e" y/ v4 k
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.$ p$ s- L$ @$ q* i+ d
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
+ ?- o( e+ @0 P" F9 M% gwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
1 o& l' }4 B4 n a8 g& ?trace at all.; u6 m" ?1 Q5 ?0 i1 u+ R
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
. g( W* X5 X7 z: ?0 r Jdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
3 d8 K3 C* P) k8 \* I" L& Yacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the3 p# I# ~6 `9 A" H- F' [# Z
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.+ O" o) _: d+ }8 u+ S
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,/ J- w, v5 i% j( n# ]7 h$ o
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
: G5 B, \8 N$ o' N U: A5 a( Mother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
$ u9 J- @6 t1 V1 `. F0 Z$ R8 {6 \electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible1 m/ i- |8 {8 k9 r# E2 Y
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only/ z! K% T: F# m1 Q! _
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
- Y5 V' n% n' R i$ W1 nby Toyota's lawyers."( a/ j, X' t$ ~
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
8 D, W* k" c1 h4 D; @7 qproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our8 V3 H {" [! Y
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
. z v) g7 X/ f. r$ ] Ksaid.1 g6 A/ f* |; {1 R
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
' m+ c \# H+ _& @a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
: g3 g. H# u7 u& Mgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating( w* x* s$ V7 o, F, g: n
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
4 c2 U2 C5 |. o( g% o- M# ?! SSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying& u; L; P" f3 F D# Q
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread5 o0 v% n; K* [; x' a, b" r* q
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the# _% Q0 O4 ~4 G5 t) j) L5 d0 K
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
) p8 q7 L" g0 p/ S7 Dinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
; {4 I5 R% R2 c6 q8 PChrysler.6 _! x# M! Q6 b A6 S, z6 ~% Y
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax3 y& v' n. \9 p$ V2 v f# I" b* h
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a$ g- O$ z1 X" f8 ?
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
( l% E+ O3 K5 T: `1 Y( Eserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete, M6 ?5 R6 J8 \' ], d* @
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
$ V4 x: Y5 j# E& `# u; u8 jtough."6 e: M6 C* F' [
---
7 x( |/ m: O' [/ v5 h: c7 vAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
3 u9 n. g# n3 E3 b* S$ e- B8 e3 l. D2 sRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
6 v$ S! s ]" ^ ethis story.- o2 L: u6 v( `2 C1 v% ~/ ~
8 n9 \! f& _& k. D; Q2 ^-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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