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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题; V% Y5 ?+ d2 G- b1 T
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS* H5 ?0 ~: |0 b! O6 C2 L
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
+ ]. r9 C0 d- p) joperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
5 d( s2 w1 t. H7 Z5 u: ~the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
0 P2 i9 c8 O1 K _ z! Zsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.- D' ]/ `7 U. Y1 ^$ u5 p# J
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
: S8 R3 {) U; y( p1 }: G! V+ scauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
2 e+ q2 g. D6 cHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
0 d2 j( P8 H7 n0 ^6 R: h X* s: Wacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and$ P! Z6 m( x$ x, O2 u
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
+ V2 Z3 d. R9 m/ s; I3 g7 Ymats and sticking accelerator pedals.
' s0 ]3 y( g" s' gHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal$ X a! I3 ?# K/ |
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp# b8 f- q) F* T; Q; _. \/ Z7 @
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be( K& n& I8 j; b( W4 E
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could2 ~* U$ `. d+ K# ^5 ~7 g
not stop her runaway Lexus.# H" Z I( h0 T, U' S/ I
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
, W) T: S& R3 |7 P3 w6 d9 oTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
" [4 M6 U8 Q A. h, q"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
3 o. J. x5 o( z( l6 tTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
- c, s4 ]7 T' K2 dearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said7 k4 m; p/ t/ @+ }* B- V$ J4 o4 ]: F
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
0 _; U0 h+ A: q; |- ddone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway/ B/ N" L' z3 [9 b. V
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's0 a6 p% y8 K( s/ [
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."$ F9 b' V" q* B: s9 `& _
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an* T5 T- P, M) ?3 S+ s# Y
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of& A+ t* D1 F0 Y+ t
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a, E# {9 V8 J; T' i' D+ i0 y) I5 s
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
+ f8 Z2 W/ \+ P/ i" q* M- l/ dsaid.2 D+ \! }. q* B3 A! X$ d+ L; M
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
0 r1 \0 {1 z+ t+ S, Nhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
4 U/ _1 d) t& kabout driving our products," Lentz said.
7 H/ B1 e J5 D% L' C7 n& y# LThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's4 w4 G9 z- [% w* D
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
$ R7 \' O" S) W+ [/ j vrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6% f$ I u2 f4 ~
million in the United States -- since last fall because of& X q" ? o; F# j: N# I
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking+ J& L" B0 q1 M6 z
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering7 X" E0 ]9 _8 E1 X" S( Z
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
1 f. p* p6 h" Btheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
2 g* I# g+ d3 G8 G f: a6 L- rdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
# D7 R/ a5 A8 t4 E! treceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration# `5 }5 y x5 b; \% J
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
, O4 L/ L5 U+ p8 F* Y4 k4 u. fLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
7 W K# ~& b8 z8 p5 X3 vbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he4 L! ]1 H4 v+ V8 a( O( T
understood the pain.0 }- A j! M& S
"I know what those families go through," he said.
( C1 W% y; `# yLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's4 J5 m- G9 _1 w& u
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
* V+ s0 J H0 ?! a+ o wBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
/ q4 U# M" W, c6 H1 vHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
. I- p6 G$ g. d6 T' hin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,6 z2 j, C9 G3 i9 r0 Z% V
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
2 `' s& Y6 z) f; f5 sStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
: W ~! D5 l) \. A"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said, z$ S5 A( r) {" a; z
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas- q# C! k. c, v
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its7 e; ~3 \, \3 W/ P1 m
vehicles already on the road.& W$ t8 V# q& e9 R* g; M1 \* K
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify' k5 n: D) E# g/ k, e& {( p
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full# ^2 ]9 a, Y3 y5 [* j/ _
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
; i) c/ o4 C9 b4 C2 koffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
, H, O+ k6 E* P( G5 @% d9 ?/ @5 ~killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.9 B- l' V1 [+ w" |/ P, \
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
5 @! k% A K i1 X) Htragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony* F" X$ [& e% m; ?: b6 E( v6 Y' w
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
4 Q0 \/ M3 }9 k. Q% KCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
* y" W2 r/ a9 M2 ~4 f5 w" Ycommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
( e- o7 f' W' u- o: ~: Xrestore the trust of our customers."( N2 i5 t$ a5 M9 p; I# ^
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from4 o; ?9 i: u5 `4 w8 D
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
) n& B1 x* m4 r' fzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --* W) Z3 O7 C5 J, w
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and4 u! J! N: m7 V& N/ \# x
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough' k0 ?4 B0 U* f& Z3 D2 u0 t
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and( k! h0 O, D! P" V8 @
turn off the engine.
* }' M6 T, d, P/ l8 iFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
4 f# x' y" O5 a7 S3 m6 \October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
& g( x0 K- P2 D"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
( @ R; Y' O, I. I$ M5 a7 Ysaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond* X9 F0 j; R) Y3 l5 Q6 {1 I9 s; H; R
to her complaints.$ V2 }( w- ~6 B) e4 Y% C# y, S& x
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers; v( L/ e5 k; g$ e& V3 \; z e
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
. c$ d# Y) V$ r% F9 hmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
1 i' W# l( |/ h' C/ w3 H7 t"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric7 y, o- G, I( p7 r
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited: U- ^; ~# i, C5 N, ]+ L3 A0 \
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut. B: ^! A/ H; k# t& c, N+ o9 S
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."+ w# U+ k) Z& V6 ], Q8 l; X) j
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
9 Z& N5 V Y. e" v& ~ V2 tprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were7 |! V' r' i3 V( O" ^8 r! p5 W
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls+ _; r; `' w/ ^4 ^
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer! ?7 V* m4 M* j0 l+ u' f* { _
every question."
% n. b0 H+ P& j; d0 QToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
5 U& S; Z2 h- W$ xelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The4 B: x. O, q$ U% d
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But# k' d$ C9 @- y3 Z8 I+ z6 A4 K& n0 v) D
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small: p% g p1 ~6 b. q) [) }' T
number of vehicles7 d" V3 \9 r+ f# A6 o
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more/ x: R8 ~" a1 P- H1 F
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a3 d! M9 y9 V( W
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one- ?+ g$ o! t! ]
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
/ s* v3 h+ R- B8 E- S* u) DMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,- z$ n. Y5 }, E& g& S
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no Q2 J' G2 u( h' I3 @& i h! ?+ f
trace at all.
1 ]+ ?: j k+ U* j8 |( H* }0 {House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call& L z$ s$ T# g
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden s6 N7 ~; G: Y% `( y! E
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
: r7 x& F1 r+ |& Q; Zrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
- b9 e, W; p+ V; m9 q$ k' URep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
7 U+ ] L/ _! m0 Fsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
% C! [6 n: A. G8 C0 aother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
. p8 \' `4 N$ Y3 Belectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
& c, [+ Z/ ]5 r. r$ D* D2 _8 K0 j0 Gcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only8 V! O5 ^5 g# \8 X8 F( g
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
, d3 J4 v, b% T5 z# t$ |by Toyota's lawyers."- }# B; ]% `# r L! h6 y
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
( V, s5 `; `7 |$ O' _( Oproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
) R0 W1 t+ C& S, [2 |4 `# ~customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
# G) e/ E- h& x6 K7 ^# A" isaid.
# A0 t H, Z( L+ x"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with; x& }% U$ g$ B
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our% l& E- I) q" z% z& t
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
: X+ s {; i- V2 v9 Cofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.! g+ t9 `3 u* M; Y# w" K7 K: D
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying' R0 e2 B/ m- j
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread5 v2 y4 m9 j+ [9 @8 j. n
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the) a- g; L* v7 s% `: w
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
/ P4 n0 T& M9 O# Y# _! zinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
$ Z% K5 F3 `; R/ DChrysler.
- L1 P1 L$ ^ C5 f7 ]" v"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax' l; \% |1 Q6 z
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
7 ]& U% t c& s A7 NHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
1 q" ] r6 m6 ?/ e: Fserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete V7 E: t" C/ N' U' N
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
Z$ a$ ]9 O- U, z% ttough."* i! z4 e a2 S" s) P* e+ g
---
: z# G& E# o: y- l5 \0 h Z) ]Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom) R" z" U. O+ N$ K% e: W: f2 B( _( }
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to- @2 T$ g0 s7 C0 e% d
this story.
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1 `! I( J O* X9 g! L' r-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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