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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
8 t5 L4 m/ g1 @. Q, P+ e9 T: }) qBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
, _, m. W! W% D% ~* WWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.; g. r8 d" q8 J5 @
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that9 p( k9 N- a* P6 e% d/ X
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
" ^# Z( j9 R# b0 Ysolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.: Y# Z5 A/ M( J) e
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential( A6 B: i) B1 T* R' s& @+ F
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
- t- ^4 v% U f! K7 ^- gHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected" \+ J" H2 B5 d6 w2 o0 R: ^* Q
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and1 a) Z, @! q/ N; ?* L
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
% G- y* M x' [+ |- c# y3 Pmats and sticking accelerator pedals.8 I% y6 I. X! p/ x) _$ O
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
* T, c: o6 Y8 \- Q8 j K- A7 Land fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
# E4 {3 X' n# _! v& }criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be% s$ ]6 b! y3 {+ [1 D
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could; S8 ~% a( V, o0 B$ [* r
not stop her runaway Lexus.
9 |/ ?5 N" C" P' }! q) `7 Y3 M"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
+ f+ Y) w$ Y% l. ?. cTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
# A( C3 l& s4 @+ H4 _7 g; ^"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
( w" [2 u3 g8 x$ e" `4 _Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues! s3 y6 R+ j& ~6 {$ u8 K
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
& p/ Q$ e& G4 k8 m, }"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
$ X7 f8 h' [" u) ]! a, |done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway* P5 J) J2 }& V: V: X7 R; q
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's4 f# ^! I( Y0 S& f& P
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."% c6 r# Q$ R" b0 j7 z
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
6 d9 k `: `. v* v* {4 h9 felectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of( {4 S% U6 c6 Z% W* [! W2 _2 u0 v
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a. u) q2 l( D( d R. R
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
( l- ~; v4 O, i% }( P Vsaid.& B; a6 s! Q; Z2 l8 n0 S! {- g
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
+ i4 n) g+ J! j/ n7 J/ I- |happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe5 Q5 l! F2 Y x& o7 B, S7 ^
about driving our products," Lentz said.
9 C2 ^# v6 g' m7 _ p+ FThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's# N$ `: G5 I% g, [8 t% O
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has+ n; l9 O, L7 T' g V3 S- D
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 68 k1 B% g; h( l) S3 q. B! I8 Y; i" i
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
+ D: `( K+ R D) M, ]unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
) t( \4 z! y" y% S5 [( ~issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering# C- X' D% N% y
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of+ x" K# Y2 e, c+ h9 }( G! Y B
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
, x- i3 ^0 `5 [* xdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
5 T! M5 [* K9 M" Xreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
# P) S( u% N' yof Toyota vehicles since 2000.4 M5 r7 Q, G: _
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own3 c* D4 c" h( G7 r2 o- \) O! p
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he# P- h; E. y7 ]3 K
understood the pain.
, g$ m- W: o }. u3 H1 v"I know what those families go through," he said." m8 z) j. J0 ]/ Y0 r
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
, X$ v% k/ e" e) J! t3 [ @0 q3 Cfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.- H E4 P- @6 _' C$ _0 v
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
. Y5 b* b5 {: D+ [9 I6 T jHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put, ^2 j) u0 v% z& A6 w+ i
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,: c, _% }2 C! }9 O
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
6 G! T: Z0 f: F; MStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were& \( y+ J0 \; l
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said( [& ^3 [/ \8 n+ Y: }
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
& V2 ~8 O, Z( m' j) }+ Zpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
. m: _ I7 C+ q* r' I6 a+ Rvehicles already on the road.2 g! K+ j1 V9 T/ ^# [3 E
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
& r) z8 [9 L8 D3 X8 b/ hbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
3 M% M7 A6 P7 S3 _3 R0 sresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and. v6 x( X3 ?! D9 @/ S
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
6 x; T- _* { I! T$ q2 Kkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.% K8 O9 ]2 ^8 D* z
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
+ }& ^9 [! b5 i" T ~; `( H- g1 a, ftragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony! \5 w) i# `, c, Y% i8 N4 z
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight) {# Y9 F% B9 W9 G. A g
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal$ f9 R Q( x1 z
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to* j; X# ]4 e q. p
restore the trust of our customers.", y B6 Y! n1 ~ ^; Q
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from; w, p* k$ K4 o7 @! R' m( ^ s
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
' Z, Y( G: `. r l2 M Tzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
- Q1 `1 H. t) e; Z- j2 T3 eshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
6 a8 X X2 e, w' p" lhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough' B9 o" G* b0 N/ y- m
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
0 m3 y! v, L4 \" wturn off the engine.
/ S4 i l ]6 E. W5 [: w9 p* hFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of" y7 T3 H& ? N- |
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
; M# C- R! {+ ^. b0 R"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she) J3 P1 D9 X! `
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond! t- ]3 Y* u' L7 c& N
to her complaints.- K/ q9 V( C E
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
6 ~* ^8 t2 C' rreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic5 F( J% o! I" G0 l0 D. n& W, A% X
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.; [6 g& O* P" S; J/ W9 M S, k5 Q2 ~
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
* {0 ]9 u) B( H9 g3 ?( ythrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
( l) C3 p& J/ i! s: a7 ]9 N"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
; ?! i' y' I0 K: Zoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."/ }" k O6 f1 R8 Q' V
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in% s* @( G! X2 O0 y, b
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were9 c* @! m, U+ s4 U- A7 ]) l V F
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls1 p% |. n: [+ Q& s/ @2 R6 U9 p
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer4 R: ? O; q4 ^6 W3 T
every question.". J7 ^( C [/ |; Y S% g
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether3 f% B2 Z# {+ I" A, H
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
* ~1 |1 c% |& h% U& r5 vfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
, i! R+ M" `: o9 Q/ R C) J- b! mcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small p/ H7 }( a9 E+ U$ s. ~
number of vehicles
- g# r* Q( `. F9 q3 QTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
# r4 z/ `. Y1 }% v$ }7 w+ Jdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a* _7 H7 g5 z4 h/ e5 e0 C$ S/ D1 l7 D5 q
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
4 Z2 V: [: T, e0 V$ R1 Ssource, and they can come from inside or outside the car./ Q* U2 p" l/ ~3 l" `
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,4 T: O6 c; A+ Y6 W+ \5 n
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no! }! ~- F- f+ Z# o- \! o
trace at all.) n; P4 X b2 m8 q' I
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call' [. E3 g8 ^; W5 {3 C
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
8 @ a6 Z- `/ I3 O. k6 kacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the; t; w- C0 N' L7 z
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.& X5 Z- J* I' g0 _2 G
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,* T% z& T. [7 u; J! Y2 `
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
7 i% F; E; e4 v f- T4 |other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the/ U) C) @1 r" I4 H( a2 I: T
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible5 u& ]9 c n$ A- U/ g2 y6 s" _# M
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
& _5 i% ~) Z1 A$ j# Ssuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained. x' J* ^8 L3 z2 Y' D3 E$ `
by Toyota's lawyers."
# \# H. D7 O( N$ _7 Y( p3 _Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
) k1 T6 B7 a4 w" L' Sproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
5 o8 Z) D$ i) _- tcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
5 m, A% S A1 P3 B- Hsaid.4 \; V1 C. h7 h
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
$ c+ N. }7 B2 K1 ya rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our9 B+ v6 I5 C5 T7 {
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating1 y5 x. E* y8 B& @+ C' M0 i* p
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.- U7 o" `+ Q7 z9 ?1 }! U$ D
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
0 J) s5 G& h3 [0 ^members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread' P6 z# g( ^ m
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the- D3 S6 z1 Z A& `1 L( B
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
1 `. b7 T3 u, V; Zinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
$ h* w2 i4 f: F, F3 [Chrysler.
' f8 w6 `1 D! n8 B$ t+ C9 T"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax# t! c7 M3 x% N9 B: A9 P
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
' |6 M/ x" ~1 `$ z+ r& r. Q4 _Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also/ b% l% b* x) z9 k8 L
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete3 ~3 Y* Z" O+ Q4 M% K
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty8 m/ U2 `9 R# t" L' _: V F9 Z. A
tough."8 _! J, E& ~8 j+ z/ @" _' _% m) W
---# ^% p" Y, A% B& R7 O
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom" d, D! J, l- f( [! A. K
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
4 V) ~! C. s# z/ V( f, nthis story.
/ Q3 d, q* D7 b" i: X$ z1 k8 t! X* n; _# q
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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