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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题+ L1 c/ W* T* N! d( t' C5 U+ ~
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
, p4 g2 b+ Y8 X0 |/ j+ ~. zWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.8 M$ W8 _ a4 y7 G7 B/ c% P! D
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that7 ~% L# R0 l2 E+ `. ^0 Z9 ?1 m
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"; h5 k4 N" m6 a, M% W: X
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
# l8 j) A- Y6 j: y"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
2 S$ L6 L! H% w7 Lcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
/ m- `( O! l/ t) M& P/ eHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
, o5 ~) ? X/ Kacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
! L3 ?3 _* Q# Y$ \. m( h9 |trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor& G4 O% I9 J, w: r1 n# e/ P; D _
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
% b5 M9 p. q V( U, WHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
# }$ |9 j8 `! {2 Zand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
! z7 l% Z) M2 n* e4 |& e" Ucriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be3 G" b1 {) N9 t$ L0 y/ K1 U
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
7 M6 q, N! Z) B4 M) e& _not stop her runaway Lexus.
4 Y+ F8 }. t: c. E; B"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,6 c6 H+ c; m" [& ?
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second! X2 l7 d4 J) Y5 u t- Y2 D
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
?5 X. C1 }8 n& m* \" o5 GTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues! e z6 ^$ t. N. n( w
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said. W! v4 L% X I7 e1 M% |
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
' T. W" R* Z1 }5 W* V2 S4 x' ^' z, Gdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway- I' P: l5 W9 W4 z; t4 Z/ }
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
- f: {( n3 a' k7 ~: U/ O' Ninvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham." {9 f# e4 r/ o0 I/ {
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
0 I3 O$ H- B }$ C9 K5 t# `+ {electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of9 g5 b2 O6 g' _- w+ f
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a( R$ I1 g9 b; }) R
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
9 j- [8 y I) p& q2 t* \1 d! ]said.% b4 j% h) u5 x+ p% A
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
" u; }* Q( x; v9 Z* jhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
, E* u; |5 b2 k, a* y3 Uabout driving our products," Lentz said.6 i8 n3 t" Y. P' {
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's! X5 K! E& {0 U7 y* \
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has! o5 m E3 N' g2 J* z
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
! ^& u# y) _( Q" \million in the United States -- since last fall because of
) I+ ?3 h) ~3 [unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
; ]# ]; m6 h( _* z( S8 E1 vissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering$ @3 W5 Q- W' l$ T$ r3 l
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of! `; S" u. {+ m; R
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
8 x: |. V1 z0 }. W6 P* }down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has, i' `# ]( D ^* i! b/ G" [( Z
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration/ J, `+ w) |( P, C. z& b
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.( P9 R( J, |6 Y4 g" }6 c
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own3 X' V" }! ^9 ~/ ?
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he$ T9 u) U, N% _1 y" D+ h" ~9 K, ?
understood the pain.
" z7 S; o) B# g: F( ^' o( M"I know what those families go through," he said.5 B4 S5 S0 J$ ^
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's2 h% W. b2 l( u. n% b) q6 Z
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.1 d E' L+ G. p. v. y
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman# w9 `; y8 A6 O4 g
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
* U0 M3 B! y5 r; y& cin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
3 ~: C) q5 w- y7 r' [3 S3 SLentz replied: "Not totally."- e6 m0 k- J; Y$ J7 V$ a
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
( A9 T% x7 w; Z) @5 e/ Y"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
6 C, e- Z) w) D8 GToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
3 w0 q b2 ^8 R& l6 rpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
, q" H4 E3 H9 j+ \vehicles already on the road.
+ ]5 X' L. A( S& k' Z3 ~. O( pMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify1 g$ p3 X7 u6 n" F* v9 }5 E
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
. l7 q6 U% J& @' u8 ?: @+ X" Yresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and8 K p% Q8 |2 v! _0 |
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were* B3 h( k- K' t- Z
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
4 K2 i% S. l0 v1 K `* m& ~9 _"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
1 H% x5 @% V. h8 h o, S+ S; V. itragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony( Q2 h" A o8 X: M$ \. F, v5 [
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight' q$ \) _1 E' w4 p/ |
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal T# q' K" z# e
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to5 w! k5 {: L' ]
restore the trust of our customers."4 ] j1 G0 F2 V+ U
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
- i Z& U2 j: WSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
% s% r& ?& E0 U% `- qzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --' k& N# e% A: K6 G- ~3 c6 v, h
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and- l1 t5 `# V; v7 m% @; f
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough$ p$ x' Q6 I: b2 A: H
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and3 f5 r% [ c, L) I( j
turn off the engine.0 I9 [7 ^; | S5 \- ?! r+ C
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of1 u3 z% r2 n/ R" Z2 V# t
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
% h/ j& ^5 \5 r( D+ T"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she4 e, E& C, C! r& W
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond& u% J5 O5 D: p; A! I$ m
to her complaints.
2 W% E2 i" ^2 OIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers; j6 d, n8 L# Y' o% J; E
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic, d/ a! S$ n( I, W. j' S
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
* X" O) w9 r& n& i3 p3 E"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric$ d7 C6 G% a3 @% q
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
* _3 B3 _7 Q# C5 S" e& n: W"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut1 U& h; E. D" d5 N
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
4 s9 N% i3 _6 e4 w+ JTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
0 A, r9 ^3 C$ w! jprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were' i4 w, h$ a+ q, h6 _2 e8 [
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls* V$ W! W; i0 U: C I/ O
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer: c& k6 J0 U/ X' M
every question."6 h* |3 \/ z% H9 X# d( g
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
3 z' i& L+ G5 t9 G4 z# Y) Helectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
8 R( [8 n/ s' ~$ g! V# ^firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But2 s% b0 I5 ^3 U$ j
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
* t- r4 H, M+ F/ x+ unumber of vehicles, g7 N6 u6 Z0 x: Y* T
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
2 h. Z: o% q+ Y5 x" }2 W" Tdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a9 a" y' G! O9 @
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one. X2 M/ O8 t( t! ~
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
# ?4 D2 V1 x; e' R" rMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,; W, F& Z7 L4 d% ~8 U
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no3 e, B$ F, i( F# }
trace at all.0 I. e6 R# \: S0 d- Z
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
( s3 @6 M; e1 l# t4 B& f5 x4 Ddatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
2 @4 N8 R: `" b7 h4 k1 ]acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
9 y4 c% ]9 n' ^recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
; D; x# \% t1 i5 \0 o5 b/ mRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,4 I( y% a' s% I
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
4 u$ u1 f" `7 a- Cother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the1 x) x/ |, K5 ?; O) ~
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible# b9 h8 E* a$ c; H) s# f
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only8 Q# B9 r- E$ S1 f3 m4 R2 g
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
( J9 U; i- ~! [1 g; xby Toyota's lawyers."
% t# G% j. h# \0 R/ {Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of: H. k, ^4 I6 M2 t( }% k
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
+ a, D/ i" `9 m/ W. Qcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
. G5 z; z# n9 c; ?. o' S* Gsaid.) v2 Y& n/ D# E4 H3 [" J% V$ R
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with) ^2 @8 y' D' ]3 S; e* v* @
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our2 x+ p* G. K( `7 Z
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating+ s8 o9 v, l3 i* m, ? `2 g
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.1 U) K# F% A5 M! Y" G& A. k
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying5 |+ s7 h3 e7 L4 ~
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
4 Q5 w7 H7 d3 k* F0 prancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the7 V, A* t7 f3 n' U# q
automaker, at least in part because of the government's$ B1 d# N: N2 N/ u8 `5 `
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
L/ ^6 f e$ Y2 [5 b, i7 _0 i2 |Chrysler.
( Z1 r/ _8 z" }) A. r"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax, ~, E# _3 a0 D4 C: \
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a; j% b9 \- u8 L; l
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also$ O( W1 C8 A- P! Q; n2 c
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete5 f1 S" P/ A& i" R$ l
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty% s: L- G# s) F1 `# m, e( t
tough."
' ]1 q$ d$ [+ J" z! h! P6 X! o---
% _9 B1 M. L; }. ]/ q$ ~/ A& j7 \Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom1 N6 t2 E+ h+ V" f8 d% F8 k
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to; O& E& S% y. N: I# {2 j9 R
this story.0 Z( H% F2 O2 Y p( d
. K" k# s9 t6 K% f-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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