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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
/ F' B c7 j& ^$ d. rBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
' W5 d' e1 h1 v/ P/ g3 rWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
( {0 b' L" J& t% i- Poperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
2 J/ a: I. \' O5 @, j) Athe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
4 H, l. ~9 `+ {; R9 J: tsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.. g& m6 a0 K- ?6 A; T D. F
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential o# z: M; _4 z
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
% N2 Q( ?2 t+ {; a+ p- h" W/ I K) GHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected9 E) T$ K q5 \! L' n; b& w
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
4 ^! ^- W' y" t+ ^trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
% X, E4 h: E" \& \% y; D8 ?+ d) ymats and sticking accelerator pedals.- i6 T. u- {( T: ?3 F! h) n9 x
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal7 M j& x4 x8 C4 D9 R+ s; f
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
0 W- @1 G: E+ t3 |7 V @& Pcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
: k; t6 ]" R3 o3 \2 F! |further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
* _( k& J+ u& F3 o. _not stop her runaway Lexus.
, w* V* e1 R0 z3 ^"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,4 h, u$ `9 [) L
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
$ ^& h+ U: t5 s* W7 N"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
% u% x$ t5 W! _9 F- o8 cTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
! J4 O! ?: s( |7 u0 b; z. U: `early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
$ O. y2 G4 A3 F/ u"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has. H# g2 i1 f1 i+ l( x# }2 n$ d
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway8 X1 g- F" L2 r* j9 k3 M( p* l
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's/ Y) l; r$ ]- k+ }
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."2 }; S5 q2 r2 `) l7 H2 `
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an" Z0 r n* k. M
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
: P+ J" R1 \* D- Sthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
7 y1 }5 d* x+ U$ H* m) amalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he. W* Y! c) h- B
said./ F0 r3 L- E t! E, `+ I) `; J2 w
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
: w. ^0 Y5 Q$ Y: A% phappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe# ^7 g# Y0 @' z( U6 U, Y8 F# P( M9 \' N
about driving our products," Lentz said.8 o: G' Z. e6 ?0 M8 o
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
$ G e6 T. P' I; Z* Nproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has( c& w% I% `( v S8 W9 q
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
! X3 R2 m* W8 i8 ` Q ?million in the United States -- since last fall because of
& D( [9 y3 w7 O3 f& X2 \unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking7 o: V) i* ~- V& N5 T; J) B
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering$ {& D0 T# H8 {; Z0 g4 q
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of l& C6 k: O- }% H$ e( b
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow, r+ j$ r7 N7 j) T8 l1 B: a# X
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has+ a) X: V8 ~4 t1 D& s
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
8 B( g$ T5 p" [( V% Yof Toyota vehicles since 2000., [4 t8 o1 l5 U; Y$ N) a2 K. M
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own5 Z8 ~ n( ~5 D$ m
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
0 [! T# o1 `* |$ ?( U5 ?4 kunderstood the pain.
; H) d6 W4 C& F3 k( |+ `( V/ U"I know what those families go through," he said.+ h3 N7 d3 z5 ?! ]2 ^+ i8 i
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's" [0 d4 T6 w r( _
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
; B' n7 h* t" _- a7 UBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman% b8 c4 d& p/ z
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put; c( K5 G, r, C A1 H
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
& K8 Q( }) U5 \- c( ~7 yLentz replied: "Not totally."6 Y% f& W% b% q$ _% }& H5 Q y" U5 z" [
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were/ ~1 X @( n% s! Z
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said& H/ a+ N; X/ B7 o+ _, c6 Q
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
b2 e( }/ }& ] m. lpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
% z8 E* t5 V' I5 V# ~0 b: c2 rvehicles already on the road.0 a) G$ ?% X0 N9 T* f3 T1 }
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify1 [. Y7 H# Q6 S* t( a j( F' I
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
4 O4 F! G; O _9 Z' {responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
. c( f4 \6 L' _8 B7 Y+ f6 R6 s5 _offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were! I ~8 _! b( n3 }
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
& b% u; J g8 k! f0 p" Y"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a5 `/ t n* `/ i6 N, }( U! i
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
2 x# d" E' A# X+ P; Yfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
( f2 E% R$ _) J- x( M0 `- LCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
3 |# ]1 f: b% a- O! ], fcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to2 k. I4 T% ^8 M: L/ R7 P
restore the trust of our customers."
, l6 L+ G8 s. b1 o c9 SLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from* _5 ?4 z* ^3 k" M5 w0 D/ N& A& S% A
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly# A. T! A, j. [! E
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --: s( ?6 o1 D) _
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
3 P/ Q1 q1 H- |, d; L1 D3 I! ]hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough1 q9 `3 ]: {/ v0 M& P& z3 F
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and' s% `5 q1 A+ X5 e% Z! N
turn off the engine.
: F% w8 k3 G! ~# aFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
3 r1 l7 P c( h! M( j8 Z! h3 ]October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
- }3 a2 F+ h" q. {0 d"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she {& S A) t8 w5 u% O8 R
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond; j! Z) L* N3 L
to her complaints.; ?4 ]. y9 Q. w9 V' T
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
* @$ i+ m% p( H/ y* n) p- U3 creturned again and again to the question of whether electronic( J' e& M. d* w- R7 q
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
$ Q3 H3 u. j* U"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric: Y8 v* U* @2 D* R/ u# ^
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited6 n* y& @; o% a9 b( b; ^. e7 J
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut9 i8 w9 c/ T$ w5 [4 C
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
: D0 r4 B0 |, }% m1 ETransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in8 v4 h, w8 f4 @7 H2 O& s5 _' N
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
+ ]+ Z f6 S/ nbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls) B# I; l# U! k3 r% L
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
" i8 m2 R7 X3 J2 J7 eevery question."1 y) U2 p6 i& M0 [4 |8 n: W
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether9 w# F/ _# u B5 m* ]
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
% M, |$ N3 l, N: z0 rfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
; U" H4 Z$ d2 U ~/ E5 ucommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small# k6 l) T9 u- @3 }( Y' K
number of vehicles
, ]3 Y4 r4 i! s8 D# ZTracking down an electrical problem can be far more z' ?: E7 ?3 }
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a) ?, f4 r! S9 V# `5 e
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one+ L) S; Q/ n2 C
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.5 @7 z/ } z: H6 h$ D
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,6 c5 _9 q) q! L+ J5 u" e9 B
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
/ p( X' u) D" x* G1 atrace at all.3 W# A% C; e% M; y
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call( N; O, J5 x4 {2 d% Y
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden6 N2 I9 p+ K% \9 R
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
& A; J& n$ o. u2 ?/ H; irecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.$ u5 D, K) j# Y
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,' M- l Z8 u0 ~6 U& x# c2 g/ N
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
( [) @+ X, [' ?2 I7 G( p- Aother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the7 ~$ H4 p" B9 D
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
j* G {" I- d3 s; Qcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
5 H4 y* R) l) Msuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained5 w* g) z0 A! c" h
by Toyota's lawyers."
, ]9 C- v$ |+ pLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
5 C8 U( k, s% [: b, Hproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our V6 c' N. C7 i/ M& O: q& `
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
. z6 [; g8 h4 o) E% w, C; Lsaid.
2 p1 n4 I2 ]- f% l$ @"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with- N# ^) p1 ~9 ^" @
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our" o9 z8 T6 e3 H7 o4 n/ a) m
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating1 ` v' _# L% ]6 [
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.- m+ ?' s, i! k. }
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying9 A) Z# D E: B. i. K/ {
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread) \% c& A0 s* [! D
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the, M1 k* {6 _9 g- Z7 z+ {
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
! {9 ]' _4 t. C- G4 Uinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
. Z Q- T" Q S, h, P+ b8 t. c0 RChrysler.
9 q, I* f$ l* w/ j. |! J c# n"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
- Q* Y9 g# _/ m' m9 {dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
, M+ d8 r; ^# w H9 h+ A4 pHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
) {# l0 @ p, Q# E$ |9 Oserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
9 O( g; E+ f3 A: f/ f/ ~0 D jwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty" q# ?5 D- [5 r; ~; j
tough."
: o2 v$ g9 a0 U* m- y---3 ^; m+ r- M, Z M n
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom& V1 T! q1 m; x1 y
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to' |" z7 l/ i/ _1 w8 P
this story.
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-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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