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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题& X& q; H8 w! @4 c
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS/ j' X* R% f3 |3 T! V# W: F
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
: b$ c+ @; [- |- i- \" boperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
2 T. Q$ c; U4 E x' q9 Wthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
: m& t7 D: K+ R1 ?- @/ ]" Ssolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.+ s1 g9 o& S3 ~
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential7 `7 X( v/ D: {
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel./ }& t3 {: ~+ ^. I
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
H) n' w9 V! ]3 t5 Y; x* yacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and% X1 C; {+ Q! o# n) b8 P1 q
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor6 h% j8 K0 M9 o; R! B# E, C- ^
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
, e) j0 T# G0 G7 O2 THe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
1 g" Y& v/ B0 y6 q8 `and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
: X+ g: N W+ j8 A( jcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be6 z( s/ z5 _4 n4 y2 n# N
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
2 {# I8 X$ t( L. R; B# dnot stop her runaway Lexus.3 u2 y7 q1 `0 l* k7 w+ u: T
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,, r! v' N) c- P7 Z3 t. e: M3 o) k
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
7 n# E4 x- w5 W3 P8 X"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.0 @; Q2 A4 v% q' N5 W7 b) S
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues; w# [* S" x: H& l- t. _0 s
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said# W+ c# M6 J% G! u7 E7 N
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
: r. a9 t" M/ H' ]5 ddone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
. _* V5 r! N9 v x* G6 Lthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's. b( X, A9 ]7 }1 {, G/ R6 `1 ]
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."* Q( O# P! O3 w9 \; s8 @4 |
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
& j/ r5 k {0 {electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
: Z/ b0 |$ _. y4 S. ]$ k9 w# Mthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a6 ]& ?7 h) e4 p+ V8 Y1 m1 J) z: U8 Z# I
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
! v# a: J/ A( P' N5 s0 d+ Msaid.7 _9 x. U9 _/ L' l7 _8 J9 u3 g
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
2 z( }, o. l& U7 Xhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
2 q q, s( D, G" sabout driving our products," Lentz said.
# h# D6 Y7 X5 F+ E9 ^' {& PThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
+ _) g3 \+ k9 q6 z4 U2 uproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has7 h; U1 g1 j' T; f5 I |
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
% p- P/ v& s! l' i3 c, x: ^million in the United States -- since last fall because of
7 k5 {4 D9 `& n) zunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
- _ x# B" ?1 Dissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering/ Z# W$ ~) D" a2 O- Y
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of/ l) t$ h$ D% v) U
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow$ O0 ?; j9 @. z3 d, o5 x% ?1 j
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has* j( E0 g# G' t3 n
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
7 Y3 y- K% [( R3 P! Oof Toyota vehicles since 2000.* _4 f1 r S( n, G8 ?( G
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own1 ]8 T) P' I) _. G
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
4 G% O0 g. M& J+ \+ x6 _; qunderstood the pain.
' D* \& Z$ v3 k"I know what those families go through," he said.6 V8 P0 M/ c5 l g' [
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's1 v0 c7 K) Z5 @' b+ e) j
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.7 x9 O, ~" f8 r6 ]; `* w1 f8 N
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman3 \! k3 P1 l% q
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
# [& R$ a$ S7 E8 Uin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
- z# \0 z. ]% ?/ v# ]% hLentz replied: "Not totally."1 ^7 y9 q2 b/ Y) X0 C* e
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were( P2 C6 N- m7 w# y3 D8 @
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
5 B4 W* q/ ~4 Y% |Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
% g1 v( @6 s) X) p8 W3 d$ tpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its5 Y( h% u% f8 |6 E! k& D( y- F
vehicles already on the road.
2 R3 S. R& U; G3 r- d! PMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
2 ]/ z4 S- X& w Rbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full, R+ I9 F9 l2 A1 h! r+ O
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
0 G2 R; [ \9 R7 X: n T+ @offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were9 S# Q, ]3 h5 _8 F5 y
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems., k1 W. R" F6 @; n" H5 D
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a' {( q1 m6 v" r0 Z$ G ^
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony6 f1 Z* H6 o2 O4 D% B: u8 E k
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
! S) h' w7 v) ?$ `% HCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
. J% \& l8 ]6 p8 ]) h* hcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to1 L# a0 I9 Z2 [" U7 V
restore the trust of our customers.") Q: s2 w, i- T* A [3 H& S4 ]
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from& i! C. r* y5 @6 X! M6 X, F' R
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
( U( s" x6 R3 [; @$ bzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --% t) e1 p6 n& b
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and$ n9 Z. d+ Z* d0 l8 F7 C! ]
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
M( a" M3 I' }- T; a5 H: Lthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and8 T$ S6 ~& u9 Y! Y$ d
turn off the engine.* J. |! r: }; A/ m$ x
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
. X: c) C. v6 R! J, B! h# _0 c+ AOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
0 U' I. F# k+ ^3 E2 Y b O"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
4 n9 k) o: [% \# S: _2 ?( C1 Bsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond) y6 k$ q8 G2 [! @% [8 w/ r
to her complaints. n+ l4 O# A) w. Z0 c, F) V
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers- N* L1 Q, c: Q% `
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic5 Z1 S: g+ ?1 [! ]8 p
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
- g l, U+ q3 u% L"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric5 V; r, ?, {. `, y* H7 Z
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited; D2 @: ?5 h8 V7 h" ?" a8 |" k& x7 K
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
) g) M- `. Z1 R1 r7 w) h" Y0 M6 Zoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
8 Q+ W q( ^/ Z) m8 B9 STransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in/ Y; n" [$ N$ q; D" X
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
; Y4 S8 l ^0 y) h5 J$ d1 b8 \; B4 dbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls/ J4 I. y- p( \" L
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
/ p. S+ o3 T$ Y% p& ]every question."
( i4 @8 w8 Y9 J9 H& s( XToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether# v6 c1 R, o6 C& P5 z
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The! c) _! l' F- I+ m
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But a) d% e' M* A3 _
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small" r* i9 S! n( F+ O, G) Y4 h/ D
number of vehicles
$ N+ l. L) l, q2 L: K* h5 MTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
. d$ f0 i( u' U6 J5 z/ ?difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
$ Q/ v2 P; a( H W. D, amechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
' k0 E: f" a# j+ Wsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.6 b4 A7 {: X( I! R" ~) L
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,& j# _2 Z' R: E! G
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
+ f9 a+ X# x$ u" y. {' \+ H' [trace at all.! T5 j) v0 S. U
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call8 h" s) j1 I& Z( z8 \' o
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
* B, m6 p" K: I% M, v! Z' Jacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
2 h2 {* X! _ Brecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.% F( L5 B: w; n' f7 J
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
9 z8 V5 v; f1 G* W R1 l, r* C% fsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
/ }$ Z, n T% B) K5 E; ?. [% Zother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
# E# ?* Y! L9 Z4 w4 [4 j Melectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible9 m, W; |# @3 t3 q$ _/ m
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
) O) u4 Z, v1 t/ D$ R2 Usuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
* |6 H0 C$ ]- s& E. a2 sby Toyota's lawyers."3 u% b7 x4 V+ v
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
8 E+ X1 I8 E2 _% bproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our: h. x" h$ ~/ F* }0 a
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
0 W- w& o% Z, ^$ O1 }6 I$ B6 msaid.$ l% {$ w8 a5 Z" _- ]
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
7 A$ J s$ ^( \4 E& u( j; E0 c+ qa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our2 d v V& u; w
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
7 K" P3 i. R. P8 C) `8 ]officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.- c! B$ {: U% T8 {- V" U
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying. }+ i/ R& H9 A4 l' U
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread& T3 N. h2 ~. [3 |& P2 `7 f
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the4 i% q& X k- c, m3 y' D
automaker, at least in part because of the government's" C- A0 l X% d, C1 s' z
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and" e l0 k$ { \" ?; C( I
Chrysler.; N; U6 i6 j# Z1 |- [ B
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax* t4 p5 V4 [: b6 V' A
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a& q* z g1 f) y0 a
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
% s7 ]! ~+ `/ w1 D: n* E9 S$ Cserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
?* H. m6 d" z5 e% ~with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
& Y" z3 h9 [2 \4 r, A6 L' Atough."6 Y' r _8 v7 I. K* q
---# l7 p9 }* q5 q& _. N7 ^" ^) L
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom* g8 W8 C9 E/ y6 l; f% J$ e' d9 g
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to. Q$ i* e. |/ ]' [0 D9 b
this story.
; {+ Q2 J7 H! H, v3 ^$ E+ e3 ]/ ]
1 d' \) {! G+ l- |& A+ C, b-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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