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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题8 d+ S$ O( j& S) X4 B
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS1 {" n/ z0 x- e- c( y8 e) s9 o- q
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.. F9 l. ]8 e* r: j/ i. V: w( C
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that& ]- c) c; S F& g/ U' v% V
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally". {, M, [1 U5 R5 Z6 V2 y$ e V5 v
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
4 L# e0 L9 l; W8 x"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
# `- r1 F' z: W2 rcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
, I5 d" g5 B; n9 T* lHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
2 y& e. e. g( v: u6 i9 J# W4 ~acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
% d$ q$ t" U- y6 u& j# ptrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor' [% D# W. D$ W% U4 Q# _
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
. S1 ~/ t) ]0 Y" uHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
" t' l: |$ H3 H, s' a, Eand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp) X4 d5 V9 V0 A6 S/ q2 a
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
: w: A1 A" q; H7 r7 afurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could' \. M6 d' c8 V7 \! N
not stop her runaway Lexus.9 ^. _# t, A" k/ M5 q- j+ D# d9 d
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
" T1 n4 ^; a7 q7 J/ ATenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
1 ~: S' F" i, n9 f' V" |"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
" [# R# A* }: oTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
' w( w" \% [+ W4 C, u7 c H" ?early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said6 _8 j7 D2 {/ Z: i) E' n0 L- L
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
5 |2 k$ y. V" A/ [1 odone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway/ G4 h5 j# S; t+ E* B
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
1 \) W+ Y. W/ S; c4 {investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
8 r* F" B' j) v) e$ W. |Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
0 |" }% y/ ?( s$ l" O/ telectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
9 I* E9 y- d! b5 [+ c# m. Othe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
/ g, c* t% {5 g: x. umalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he3 D! m2 B* E+ t7 J3 _1 V
said.
. A4 v/ ]- G4 Z. nAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what5 n0 s0 R4 N2 v0 W. }
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
+ J }5 r& z) N& S( xabout driving our products," Lentz said.$ B3 ^2 K4 m) Q' `
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's2 ?# @7 v, M4 w
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has$ f! s, v& \& j9 \' L9 K/ z& ~
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
) [+ T$ ]8 u0 n3 |% vmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of* Y; a3 p6 e5 D7 \
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking. {+ T4 ^2 v! V- h# c. D4 i, B
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering" K5 v1 Q; e9 A% V) Z; H$ x1 T
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of4 ^) v6 J) j+ u# X; |2 t0 L
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
6 O! O) M' ?8 \/ X8 a: e+ ]: W. Qdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has% H9 M# @+ ~" w7 P3 ]0 d
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration: k6 ?( A1 } ~9 O, u9 B
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
1 b; v& }& s' A8 F8 \Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
7 u# R7 f4 Q+ e0 j/ @) vbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
8 c9 W4 y5 @6 [* G, g& v' c* J5 {7 kunderstood the pain.( @, E/ ~& s2 v2 H# M
"I know what those families go through," he said.2 Y8 h# m' L; r) ~
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's5 t5 w% y. ^$ F& V% F4 F% i
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.; i" ?% O; `. W2 b; `+ o# g7 f
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman) V1 m. ]* J8 Y
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put+ c3 L# I! n0 f l. I, w+ b g
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
5 c: g' O- c* U! O3 X; S, l8 G, l) VLentz replied: "Not totally."# w4 N2 h8 s" _- x1 d1 b
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
5 t0 x6 z4 b) l, }& I( y"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
2 z$ O7 B0 [1 t8 [( s! E& R5 CToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas7 G# b$ {/ e- B6 ^
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its- H. T; d. F6 N5 X K
vehicles already on the road. p) U2 _' h! g1 u! N) H
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
* _1 I' w5 U7 G/ S6 ~7 ?before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full6 i9 u6 o3 J' T& q6 C7 d& y1 n
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and. d3 _3 K0 c) Q2 B( z& L, s3 F h
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were' w9 R* ~+ ^+ G, U8 \
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems., H+ n. O W. ]0 Q8 D" L2 ^% e
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
, c. `/ u4 @' Z+ W3 ~ x. |% ktragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
0 o, C8 |8 m; Y# o( q7 p& q4 _for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight, t6 y7 Y4 t" G2 p
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
8 q0 X. _6 }. w; A1 o. `commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
( @/ b( F5 Y9 x) g7 o ~6 J, irestore the trust of our customers."0 A. A# }1 ]- u
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from) a" U0 C# ~: {5 z
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly# D9 v& }& k: ]' M
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --: D4 E5 j B: E) b o
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and& d( G) A0 N \) e1 m2 p5 L4 n
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
8 E2 u7 a& x6 ?1 C2 M# g( a3 gthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and4 ?& ?: V( j) O0 S/ u+ i7 }% Q: Q
turn off the engine.7 Q3 a' M- F1 F+ S8 B) q
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of/ @, G1 E0 b9 d# F
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."$ K7 K+ w8 q+ M7 o6 v
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she# t$ ~: Z* p& b+ c
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
( Y6 k! _/ f' r9 P, A5 }; Oto her complaints.
3 v+ i4 `: b* E) b2 K7 y3 [In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
2 i# t# V& E6 v8 }returned again and again to the question of whether electronic+ O6 \0 m; f8 b9 k
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.- M" k. v% l6 r U w% k
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric# `2 W2 |% e) x
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited# n! B- t7 }+ T9 }9 G+ l
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
( c: D( p9 g* roff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
6 A( h; ^, P1 d0 f) |Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in& I5 [. G9 P$ l
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
9 j4 [3 B3 I* e3 D- m& }1 `" bbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls& _" }2 G7 |- p8 z. I
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
" r/ E8 x' z1 F5 severy question."
1 g$ r) h6 `0 BToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
6 z2 L4 E' |# D; D% O% {" Telectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
+ T( p$ q0 X: @7 lfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But( A! f, E# {1 L' W9 Y( `
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small+ ?& D' ^+ y- i9 w$ e
number of vehicles9 N3 D% O2 `9 P9 m( g# V1 I
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more' a. s; q, Y0 I+ `* v
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a9 i1 v' u' S t1 f4 m
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
H3 g7 _, o2 N, X( ~2 ~source, and they can come from inside or outside the car." k4 C) [# I. k) b
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,$ `4 [3 n( @+ X
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no9 A: @% s4 B/ _' |
trace at all.
2 f: y1 _5 e5 mHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
# T; V0 z ~' P8 m; S. Pdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden5 Q6 d/ K/ n+ D8 F; _& l& h, c
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the$ p+ ^' b) Q$ x2 v
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
1 Y7 E* r. |7 j; y+ gRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
6 S% M0 P/ x7 I: n! V9 ~said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and* q" L! \. w9 {; I/ o1 w3 h& {4 ^
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the* i7 ?# c }1 V* Y. Y* _
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
h& V Y* e2 f: Fcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
) r& Y7 P9 |5 h9 i6 i4 Vsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained7 q* S) o2 i0 `5 P1 }
by Toyota's lawyers."% o6 Q7 G) v' p8 [2 y- p
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
! C9 z8 a( U. {* Uproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our. C$ b; Q4 y' b$ ^5 j$ r W
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
2 Y2 i O. X. S+ ^9 ~2 y) D# u5 V" ?said.
3 T% f7 P9 S* ["Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with; U) S# m) `4 h" o/ k: c
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
: w5 I T+ a6 ~3 _good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
* K' L" h6 \- I5 y7 v0 r4 Nofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
+ U# k; m) K$ D2 L& X1 J6 ?Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
, K) ]5 ^" M+ Mmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread; x7 t( } Y2 g+ |' J6 f' s
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
9 Y; f, [2 ], G& `automaker, at least in part because of the government's
" b9 a/ I6 k0 t0 }2 c( j9 tinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and6 b. d) t \' f. T, c3 E
Chrysler.
9 V# H: q1 N) e2 y6 n2 o' _"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
! U4 ]* ~. k6 [" L J; H$ p+ \$ Zdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
6 \1 D7 ?7 V9 s; P. NHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also6 e0 b, [" M2 |8 l
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
% b% G% T" u% U/ g9 P/ Owith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
- s+ g7 X; s* W9 Xtough."
, i* M# J6 ^) x7 s+ F K---8 S; g7 L- A9 r0 C' A3 f1 M1 I. T
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
+ m% S& L5 a, W% y3 f! IRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to' G3 |. C1 }: `
this story." F! D2 J7 R6 ` Z
/ B4 {; @% j' b5 G; Z-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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