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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题% Y& P+ ~9 l4 [" Q/ S1 k
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
: s% N1 k( k* G4 G; e! BWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
+ X4 g8 \3 {- c4 Soperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that3 j+ J8 u0 [2 \) m% [& r. i
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
1 f7 ]+ p V$ ^* V# e7 z" qsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.' s* D/ T, p. }( `- Z8 F+ \
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
3 n9 B3 G" ~0 xcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.2 f& y# h$ j+ t' P' |( D+ `$ I
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
( B$ E4 M7 D8 d" ~2 k0 Dacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and8 Q5 p* e. B3 l. |3 E8 ]3 H6 O
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor3 F' g4 H1 _% z! [( @0 A
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
& @. V& F% t H( x- Q: d1 j! `He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
# S- p) F2 Y- I c" j& U fand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp4 B. R) `1 ?: Y6 w* F9 {4 ?: K' _
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be) s7 q/ F: { ~! D
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
; L+ A& w* b/ `+ q' E) U3 J6 e1 nnot stop her runaway Lexus.; n/ V, I) H x @2 i. Z3 @7 U* v% f
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
6 W4 D, z: v9 oTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second2 W I* H! M. T [ F% f$ H
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.+ O# l& T( c- d* b9 H5 f6 Q
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
3 C( p$ `7 c6 R2 A' j/ j5 ^8 b5 Uearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said" b% o0 K3 F. ]/ @+ ~
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
5 x+ Z3 D, v, A c: ?' |done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway2 \& h! Y* ?/ e" L, V x' \$ E- V
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
; }3 u( Y5 D) w- c( Linvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."& Y- o1 ?/ n8 d( E* g
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an/ b+ d! i7 {8 V C3 v+ ?
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of L ?9 O9 W( t
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a$ N5 Z& C9 X) ^# u
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he1 Z9 t8 ^; j$ J* d
said." O: ]$ G9 s& V2 _/ q% U, A
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
9 |! e: h+ E# Zhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe4 j9 s% i+ Y% k# ~* j
about driving our products," Lentz said.
/ x, ]) f, j! HThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
) a7 W% b( f' p/ Xproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has: p. j/ l" A$ C: D: O# ?: Q
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
. }7 D4 x4 m; {million in the United States -- since last fall because of
% Y3 O1 |' ~2 i# @& bunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking! a7 F* {/ G5 A7 s
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
$ P% V( _$ Y2 Y* ]6 _4 _! mconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of5 D. X0 G0 T$ D' M
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
7 {3 o- d, x2 N7 g* K, d- l# Udown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has6 K4 C r5 b) a) u2 W! k" x+ {
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
) d2 }- M% ~/ [: l3 n& pof Toyota vehicles since 2000.6 z# l8 k) I7 m9 v' M
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own) b: @. K( c6 k/ r1 q0 c
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
8 ]7 I: f- w9 @7 j) A2 [understood the pain." ] N4 u' c6 Y3 ]( G% _
"I know what those families go through," he said., }( V; [, [/ @* e
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
8 i: ]) A+ o. H+ ifixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.7 n, G4 `5 p% D k5 d3 ~ Z: Y
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman( C1 J6 H5 B) s# K& Q3 {' C
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put% `3 _! H: R7 X* S& V6 X) F$ y8 b
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
3 W6 W& `, A% \5 VLentz replied: "Not totally."
D% B! M# L# ?& [4 fStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were) Q# G5 ^/ o' T# u6 A) g' V
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
5 L U9 X* B: s+ kToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas1 Q" c# B! D6 t; B! \# x
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
, y- b. w& x" cvehicles already on the road.
% o3 m" J* J( t- mMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify% X% V% f7 U& f0 Q3 f" y X
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
) g' a& v# }/ D3 D# p8 J) C2 P1 Sresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and* q! |; d( s" q7 f7 p
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were$ ], d2 s* v2 @% t/ c/ f% @, E
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
5 m, [/ D' s; A$ L( J1 G! ]"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
; v0 {7 R1 A J. l) ?% Qtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony: U0 c1 q) i2 W% y; \$ e
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight+ K/ i1 m, n6 |0 u, I# ]
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
A" l5 d2 f$ d J2 V6 T- r7 C' }commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
% F* Q1 |2 r' j8 \# i* frestore the trust of our customers."8 F+ \. o3 R' W9 i( n0 P
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from/ W" g: z" `3 U% W7 ~
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
j C& k0 f' W r1 Ozoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --# s' y, l5 F- Q2 p" e& p
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and0 {$ f' V* w9 b6 Q7 i
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough# W1 [- c, a. G `
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
: D0 f7 f8 S+ d! Q) f2 s' yturn off the engine.
1 b- z/ J# K3 }0 `Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
1 Z7 [( t, Q& |& j6 I$ xOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
. e% q4 s0 j c. m"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she s( q. d: R9 y# h0 ?* h, y8 u- |* r
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
- u6 v X9 K* H9 pto her complaints.
4 I8 T* j; |" q+ F4 h: fIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers/ f0 P; D" E# x A- ^/ {3 d0 Y
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic v/ @2 [- k( h7 h3 v- ]# v
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
6 k5 [/ C' I4 D) ]8 }0 R. b5 F5 M"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
z! y7 B" d' F4 C- V% Fthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
/ i1 V5 s u5 B$ O8 k( q"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut4 u! h7 h, K* L" ]6 f6 Q# l4 T" U5 s% s
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."# Y9 ]- q/ p b/ ]: A' z
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in- {' z/ J8 ^( V6 a) J
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
0 T9 B- e$ O4 V1 j) Hbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
% ?& D% k, w: c& I, J. a. n$ A! Rwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer2 A# m* e+ M9 K( S& M
every question."
# S/ H' u/ A' J. A% L4 O7 kToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether6 j ~ i- {; [4 H3 T
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
: c, C& E4 [5 Yfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
* }- h m1 t5 t( [) jcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
6 ?* y5 {/ {8 Q+ R8 C7 Cnumber of vehicles3 s5 K! X# {5 _: f, z% z9 q
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more' h- c1 @, L/ ]6 h
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a/ O' a- ^$ e# A2 C0 {1 U- \6 r4 y" \
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
7 ]+ c( j; E1 _1 N4 Psource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
2 ] v5 A0 O4 UMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,, n8 e7 x4 ]. W+ ^( f
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no8 g/ u. b3 i2 j& [% r4 F
trace at all.
! o. k- |: l% ZHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
/ U8 K0 h% a$ h' V& xdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden5 y+ M5 g& Y" D
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
9 T0 K; `& k/ Lrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.( q% p3 }0 G% v w) h' I/ j" V- F v
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
* b6 ?- ~; O3 Lsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
2 ~ \6 ~- i; Z; K$ t! bother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the& X+ a) ~+ W# Z, j
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
}0 J! |- y+ c- |cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
: g5 X5 l$ ~$ w p1 {0 }such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained; k! G1 }( y/ v" h, B' P$ @ o( |5 O
by Toyota's lawyers."2 E# A0 P/ U3 Z$ m1 H: n% ^
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
9 ^: j$ N: ]; R2 h. x# h5 C8 h( xproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
4 f9 l% t- Y9 [! X: |3 lcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
" V8 Z5 e5 ] s% msaid." P( l& J- K j4 ~5 d; A
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
# A- e+ | v1 y) D' Ea rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
% P/ n8 E0 c: l; qgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating7 M% h% [4 t% X) r% a* Q4 q
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
% N4 ^" e& r, \9 X% LSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
8 q4 @6 C, |. m# d+ a; @. ?members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
) G' `: S7 E7 a8 v( Z" G+ ?- s0 M4 }rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
9 c& p- q1 K1 H. T3 b" W6 cautomaker, at least in part because of the government's: [/ l8 y; H7 I2 O/ j8 G A O' o0 `
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and+ K, i$ y0 J/ \9 i
Chrysler.
4 R+ A6 f h/ Y7 C"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
2 _; F$ F. ]0 X% L: mdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
6 I) p6 x! K" w& {" lHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also9 O* e% h" |. H* n( m
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete5 ^* G Y. B" N' T6 i) d7 e
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
. C5 }3 z. D4 }0 `6 L5 Otough."
' E6 |7 J9 S5 b k3 C---3 o1 g' V' e3 B! _, R* P' i
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom+ Q0 B' V# W" \. d1 [# m
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to( j4 n0 X5 p7 h) X
this story.8 e4 z8 W+ u1 k' F4 ^
4 ?$ u: I7 I& ]2 v2 S `. |-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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