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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题! }) P, o: {/ U- j& J% b. h' i
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS& H+ |" d' j' C/ \. Y1 j( r2 G
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
0 k% q" a+ z: f6 {operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
6 [7 w- A' V6 F+ athe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
9 B4 f; ~) I( b# B2 W/ tsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.1 G @* H: n8 a
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential; Z0 f+ c6 \ K5 l* R* K
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.8 V1 A" w) ?; Y$ N& A
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected" J: E0 o0 C9 i2 @; i; w
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and7 Y" Z1 _* _4 J1 n& y' Z
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor; I/ G0 ]( y/ ^9 J: P
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
* R! ^3 L. M$ ~7 o5 e9 _He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
. m2 V' \+ L8 {& F, m! A8 C aand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
8 ^! w, E: t+ Q' xcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
. h; I1 Q. {- k! U# \5 [further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could' U* l$ h* y7 Q F0 E" S1 z
not stop her runaway Lexus.; x1 A4 O' i2 u% `+ r8 E" F
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
+ [" [1 C% P3 `6 b# STenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second% t% B3 ~! X3 m1 q- L, v( u* S6 r
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
# P S, l! h! s! i# xTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
+ {0 M' F/ R a. K0 n7 P. C- A- jearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
X. I5 }( v4 Y/ c( i- W$ ^"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has2 L A# t: @+ ]9 I7 R
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway7 d" f% f$ B3 q* k2 t6 k2 `3 r A
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's2 G+ a4 W7 I2 g' Z
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
1 f; L& h7 {0 J' i2 R8 d- SLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
( ?+ Z" @8 j, G P- jelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of1 ~! d3 R# R i" @3 @1 S; y
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
' v: _! x" u0 G3 O. qmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he# M s4 `5 C$ `: ]0 Q' @# p+ v, B. D3 i
said.4 e. H0 P# F0 M8 K
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what, Y) @/ [5 f u8 ?7 U" D8 ^# M
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe3 f" ]& Z( ~1 w9 t+ Q: ]$ F
about driving our products," Lentz said.
# B" D, j+ M1 u' [5 d! qThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's* q# _4 v' c+ }8 [
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has) y! Q+ P0 y$ a# z
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 65 J& l7 h& h4 g) r8 _
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
- C& d/ g4 E% }! nunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking. s: z: t! b8 t" v5 t0 A
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
1 b7 f ~# L8 }4 f- S* Bconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
) N( E7 X' ]6 B! Ktheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
7 K0 I6 s* u) _3 idown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
+ I: v2 W6 P+ u. u. b' L" ereceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
" g- p8 Z. w6 B! b+ L9 Aof Toyota vehicles since 2000.% Y/ ^' j' N3 P3 h
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own! D$ V; U% X. j4 _# W9 j" e/ M& f, H0 p
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he) g+ Z2 Z: F b' ]- _# s r: I# H
understood the pain.9 B3 l1 ]7 u) e+ ~; B7 g) w( C
"I know what those families go through," he said." r! v# C" {! g$ z
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
, j9 u+ |: v9 Y% q* w) Afixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
0 z9 c: ~1 k3 j) P' LBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman$ C# b8 B' M* G1 ?
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put* T5 d+ M) I5 l! o- s" w3 O
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it," e4 z3 c3 u; |7 o1 k
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
4 V3 I* n: ?4 ]. v% h0 F0 z- x( UStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
% x, {* \( G; d* D2 y2 I3 Q"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
4 Q; T# k4 d* u6 A( J5 W- AToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
' r3 f; F5 X: @) y" S/ Opedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
0 s- V0 k2 G+ |+ X6 J# hvehicles already on the road.
1 y2 r5 X" }9 k: }& W/ qMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
! D1 \1 X; e3 T6 Fbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
. C3 h% Z0 e5 s: u8 _; w% U: dresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
" O- |; k9 v, |3 k% E1 w6 hoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were" r8 C9 r+ N( \) \" O
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.- |; s6 o1 q" S8 w4 ?: C8 h8 c* C4 D; P
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a, |+ C o/ B$ z: N2 p+ |
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony" j' J- q: \6 t9 }5 R* J& n
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight5 O- Y; V/ P: t, Q- d4 b& G
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
. m& V5 ?5 R" S4 ~" k% ?) ucommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to! L( P( k. d) c9 ~
restore the trust of our customers."
! @# L$ J: m, D. x, ELawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
& Q% o% f/ E5 S5 U9 B4 h+ [6 O" R0 NSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
0 C: c4 n4 p) c4 P" Z) Szoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
3 {- m: s' Q9 @' D+ u& U: ~8 Nshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and0 _7 y% i+ l/ [- Q8 c: e) m, i! D
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough9 F% J; F& R1 V9 }1 n
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and& a0 {4 _) H- a* Q) Q$ v/ a! _
turn off the engine.
2 t; ?! L7 K+ `1 ^% c I0 ~Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
( x @- G4 v6 d" b* IOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."- g: Z, m) u3 d0 O" J7 G* N
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she ?; I' K0 B) C
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
! h. i+ B4 N7 W; K2 r, [" Fto her complaints.
( ?3 z3 F3 t1 C+ w7 l" ZIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers2 z7 Z+ T8 w, [, _, t
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
% e( c; _7 c! S. X5 ~! C9 I9 rmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.% w' G0 e# ^0 ?) r( b7 `$ L
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric, e# ~6 ^# _# j$ r
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
. |- F c8 G( G( V$ f; v$ H' x6 J+ E"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
% D% T9 m; F+ _1 @1 Toff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
f g: }2 {/ L0 I sTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
: M# N. e3 d5 X; \- O5 Bprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
, T5 Z& O6 y; W5 L4 ?being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls- ]* N* @ s5 z2 c% D0 i" I
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
( v! ?/ K! K* T& d% C- f- nevery question."# ^ _$ J1 X% { L
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
7 M- \5 a- ], `4 I" `! \0 pelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The; V% M6 E4 J" A3 k5 }
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But4 `2 [; `( C% n4 c( z/ F# \" P* q/ V; x
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small/ m% N3 V1 g; N7 I$ J3 z
number of vehicles
2 \* `4 L$ \& J. G' W t9 ^Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
) S5 i6 r4 q5 ^4 Z* R7 i- hdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
# u7 ]; q, @0 j# E' q) l+ Pmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one. L( t) q# k4 M7 m/ G
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
% p) v9 U. J: k; Z: h* F6 }Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,; {- K4 E- w) b. Y1 V7 [+ i
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
" {* G& q$ @6 y9 ktrace at all.
5 O. e! l% D0 UHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call8 |/ Y5 p( Z M! w0 W: G4 x
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
1 C) i) T$ l1 j. B5 E$ p. g* aacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the8 |) x c' Q5 _- O" U: l- F
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.) `- Q. E; G+ @/ l1 c, ^
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
( F4 ]' t, f- \! fsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and6 V4 Q6 D! J5 I( L# a
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
e2 K4 X. h8 s- r9 qelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible0 O" ~% T; z4 B0 y' V3 D% S
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
) W4 }1 J6 Z0 J0 K( V5 zsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
0 ~& i+ N8 r; H8 `9 Wby Toyota's lawyers."
4 J% ]3 x$ D+ V" E. _. yLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
3 k2 [" m8 L9 b9 N. u* A$ dproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
, Y' w% U. @7 K7 \# j4 vcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
# P8 [& N$ y# @* ^) O" b/ osaid.
2 z& F; A% I1 W4 A1 o"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
+ j4 u# H; m; T5 ~& za rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
3 K# X, `( Q Agood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating6 f) m: z8 S; e/ ?$ W- d
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.: f+ J0 R1 N# F1 {! a( e" b- |
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
+ V/ G7 W7 l9 N! g C6 qmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
4 m3 }. F; \% erancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the1 ]* V4 s% l: W
automaker, at least in part because of the government's: |* |4 E' l- c
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
; ?" _/ @; S2 d) J4 [- c; y$ p% EChrysler.2 S7 P- a2 l0 H. L9 o% M
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
: C# t3 m8 ?" _) s& jdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a6 Z, F/ c" N2 x
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also# u8 F# O; F/ g
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete) X9 ^; J3 _1 _' B/ o
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty/ [2 F: [! u& ^* a7 Z! l
tough."; p* ~$ x" v7 H6 H
---
+ ^/ A$ k y, O! U# `1 eAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
# u- S$ \. L) e' U' j; B! vRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
3 ~- i0 k& v6 v2 c' L+ L9 r7 ?0 k; \this story.# `' z4 B9 k( R( l# f0 t
6 q& S0 [( B6 b: j F+ ?% Z-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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