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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题+ n! y- \! w& n
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS; ?: s% ]. x6 R, n3 e0 X; I
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.& S G! W* [+ M4 i
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
/ }5 C) h+ ]( Wthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
/ S, N; S3 s( A3 S: j4 psolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.2 d9 H. h9 B2 {: G
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential7 c3 d/ m$ w6 _( t7 l
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.1 Z Q' _1 @& b. p% L
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
$ ^" _5 F, }' r7 C7 s9 N7 Q+ jacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
+ z* V4 q, i3 V! Wtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor/ ?; V3 I6 M; R1 {# V9 H
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.: A7 A$ a( `# C! x
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
' t& }9 o4 m" M) P, tand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp' I7 c5 N' A8 M, y! g" N8 V
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be+ T; r' D/ X1 _- V( k9 ~
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
) r |# u+ l) \& }% u8 @not stop her runaway Lexus.
* s4 J' T' w; `"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,+ |% x2 G( B/ M9 w
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
3 z# h* J. f6 y( q7 s"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
, v5 ]+ Q$ L& K1 [Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
; t5 Y* y" R. ]1 q }) T# o# Y3 L" ?early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
0 O! @! d% D& V" Y"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
: z! l9 H7 R1 Z- x( q$ a! p5 M) adone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
: Y% M4 i: ?; x' g) Othrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
N5 ?6 e, k$ U) m$ Finvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."" \$ X- u+ @1 k! p7 f
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an0 Z8 [2 _- ]# R2 r+ I! K @$ H) X
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of! p4 ^' g& J# g6 [
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
: T- O7 c4 x5 O$ Amalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
" o1 H: f# ^& @9 ]2 F# J; [said.
: C7 ?/ g6 W7 \As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
+ s+ @; P, H4 f# c/ b! w, hhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
# N3 m0 E# A9 s% v9 P( `about driving our products," Lentz said.& d( ^+ @( t5 i& Z6 a
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
" \0 f- v u# Z% e# n, b, bproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has: @* H4 Y/ f0 s; I2 h
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 69 A& U7 g" n( A# T
million in the United States -- since last fall because of- l9 [" c o3 a/ a* F3 Q
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking- G/ U8 ^0 D6 K2 c+ A/ H
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering! X3 V( e2 S' f, W! O
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of" |! E9 k* x5 Q, e& U$ g% Y
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow* a) _! U" }6 B( y
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has2 D8 V# ~; g3 [9 o, u! @- X" w8 x
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
" M; t8 m# H6 A% e3 kof Toyota vehicles since 2000.9 S2 T* A. \6 E; z; z/ _$ }: D1 l
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own2 Q5 L5 l' D" ? i: H9 j T f( I& r
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he& d, V. ]: N9 J, P% e0 A3 p( u8 @
understood the pain.5 x1 P- x( `$ m; Q/ {
"I know what those families go through," he said.* q/ N! @; s' j0 _( P, }6 L
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
+ k5 ]% d- T1 B6 g5 z' @fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
& M0 b$ L! H) t x1 uBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
! D/ l# ^( c V, P e( B1 QHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
$ X& q2 W7 O1 A+ k; d& min place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,% K0 k' B% }' V' g" P3 g
Lentz replied: "Not totally."1 v7 L7 s2 J9 ^
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
6 T9 E T4 G f# C P3 h ~( C"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said/ e; g& B3 W3 ]1 S' E
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
2 A* V B8 m5 e6 \3 Y. `2 a Bpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its, ]5 }; E3 Q9 f$ {8 k6 L$ A
vehicles already on the road.2 t' ^! v- ^. F1 M! i9 }
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
' Y+ Y) n$ J* L* Rbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full2 `" t, }. u' I, a( x' r
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
9 \ Q- w8 q$ |! g4 j5 u# Doffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were; R. ^0 x& N: e! K2 g
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
+ m- W6 `0 z- x# H- K' i; S"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
) |, M. G. A7 Z& V: l. `tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
: P* F5 t9 `% n$ L( l7 Nfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
8 U a c' u. sCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
4 u! P* r8 j9 T5 E8 Y9 \commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
, ?# ~# r- g; k2 ^& Z7 Q+ Nrestore the trust of our customers."
7 \! b, V, h& a6 m% e& ~Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from/ J8 @; E5 M+ ]: m# Y$ e
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly4 n8 h5 q5 e, n# J7 b+ a: F1 }
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --2 V9 M2 \0 W) I( B* H! v
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and4 |8 J# y& L2 C: x) r$ c( X$ k
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough' s- [6 s \& y3 |' ~3 a( t, e
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and, H4 U7 M3 N: C9 o2 ~. l
turn off the engine.
9 N0 c8 a1 o. O8 hFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
6 T0 a7 Z# l7 i9 l2 y+ ZOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
. T, t# Y" B- h2 V% v"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
( [; c* u, I: l* Xsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond" Y# J+ E& |" i% {: v
to her complaints.
( s7 _/ ]) N4 O4 \0 ZIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers8 V) L ]4 G# v4 W4 s9 @
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
$ P) Y5 k! N# v: rmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.7 |& Z# E/ h, S9 y! D! c
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
: k$ R, n4 f6 y/ C1 }% A. `2 Nthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
# n" q3 k/ f! m3 p+ y& U1 ]. j; f"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
% b0 [) b3 q( _! Y: |: N& M4 hoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
& A9 @5 i Q6 H* |Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in# R! T/ N9 U3 f+ V# i6 n. }
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were+ i- x( P2 G/ j% l6 E5 C |
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls; s# O, g6 I" P, c# h% |- ~, V
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
6 B* B# s8 A3 u n' X$ \every question."5 K- t0 p3 y2 z) D+ C1 Y
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
- f4 \/ }: |( e5 i4 b" e0 Yelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
9 M% H9 M5 R2 @2 l9 t' L3 v* {firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But7 C9 @: E8 \9 X8 r9 v0 [6 E! m6 n
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
. P* }7 }3 K$ ?number of vehicles( L q* L6 j; d2 `
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
3 X) h3 p; u) K+ J+ B$ b" V& Adifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a! O* }" G- e' G& G
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one) i3 [0 Z. G3 y3 v6 B
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
/ m6 i: B) C5 c6 B0 MMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,. ~" ]" X6 g( Y9 o6 d k, r% H3 x
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no% h9 _: d. v6 ]& ~, _# _4 f
trace at all. z- e+ U; o! p0 w9 {
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call; `! }' y) Z3 Z- O6 {0 B6 j4 v& @
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
, W, M) a3 o' N0 a7 f( a8 tacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the. B9 y+ {# }0 O# I6 U7 B. A
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
7 s0 p, J) {- x1 ^5 pRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,2 g" s, h# b' ]' C2 k! @
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
! q% X2 |: ?, x7 \( A, Eother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
4 e2 Y: P) o2 Jelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
4 X* E, P3 Q7 l- scause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
7 v! U9 n) n1 L: F5 ^# Lsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
, l' Q1 d6 F) b/ I7 Z( nby Toyota's lawyers."
( R5 @ p6 z$ n7 o6 [Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
% `$ X# w. ^1 K0 ^* R9 G+ [problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our7 X6 u, y0 c- P6 [9 y8 @
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he0 E4 b# A$ \, c) Q k* M, M* P
said.
0 l8 }0 t. R. S' Y3 ]"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with4 E0 @& f# Q! U# z2 I4 T5 z" t/ G, f
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our, E8 G& Y( O S" s5 ]! |
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating2 a8 t( i: }2 }4 S
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.* o/ M% C' P. L b( S
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
* W" r# ?4 T8 R7 N; H" W( hmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread3 V) z, b9 m3 m7 c0 L3 v( `' d
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the) ]8 s' i2 v$ K4 Y3 K* s% s0 [
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
( F! u$ |% r4 H4 A6 |. L5 J1 o# A: W, \investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and3 a! @5 a$ n- v2 @% |: R9 z
Chrysler.( n' q$ D' c ^% `; X+ l2 S
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
5 L$ ] n3 O! g9 e" ^. w- fdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
& B: f# K2 c. B0 R) z3 N( k7 {* x% {Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
( D* m2 V. l( \2 _$ t8 I3 mserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete# ?# D# s; \$ u" J7 J0 g
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
" k1 C R. S& O+ j: I# ntough."
, w+ v! D0 w6 d- o$ Y* R* O---2 w5 B8 P1 S: ] q
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom2 g3 p" T/ f- f$ q$ L
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to7 |! G5 z, D/ ]' `0 w
this story.7 i. s4 t* X7 `1 r+ T% |5 S
3 T8 U& ]0 b$ f
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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