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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
2 Y- ~1 z. R" ?! M6 R) J6 J$ XBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
- [4 {# D; D8 W6 S4 JWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
! W) Q ^# J$ A6 _- }/ ~operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that& V9 @: G9 @- [* p( L8 J+ K9 l
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"; ?* v, u3 Z/ B& |
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
; s4 M# H Z& x# Z$ Q: a8 N1 y! I"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
& Y6 ?3 d4 ?+ R, l9 Hcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.! C& r, R7 R/ w. z* j2 }1 h- ?
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
& e+ I" P g1 {# Oacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and0 [% u. G* A: d3 o, ] P
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
8 i8 R' \+ m% }! }' y+ W/ n& _! Fmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
% z* k& c$ H1 Y) T# Y6 ~, pHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
& `, |5 |) a; G1 \+ Q4 B4 Jand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp" t9 z2 w/ |8 |. G
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be# q9 v* d+ h/ p) q2 o- V
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could2 b' M$ |$ E5 ]4 _! F4 J2 a( E
not stop her runaway Lexus.
8 Q4 I/ i/ ~% u. U" v6 I"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
& z% q' b# \! s! b/ C. HTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second* O7 h( w8 P# u4 R, d, u3 e
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
@3 U' Z& m+ c9 |Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
, N5 j" y4 V3 K1 F! searly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
n" R3 q% h) h& X& E, m"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has8 _ Q9 w3 n; [9 v u
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway$ F3 ]7 T$ D* q# A
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
3 y O( u' Z+ q0 |investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
, [$ u7 e# m% O3 ULentz said the company had not completely ruled out an$ }2 K# K0 ]- P1 B/ X
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of5 ]- T+ z% V2 ~4 h: s- s; `: F5 {
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a8 |: |2 U- H# C
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he2 h( _) F1 E* |: @, u# d( x
said. v% W; V3 F( K8 ~+ B) @* D# S7 X
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what/ z5 {, v2 [$ m$ U
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
2 ]- o* Q4 ~1 g* C" P6 |about driving our products," Lentz said.7 j& m' l& E" n. D& r9 U6 d) @: t
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
4 T- ]* F& b$ X' _7 C" D+ zproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has$ q7 O: y0 G8 D; s( F: ~
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
/ k5 Z v8 o$ m0 \4 @million in the United States -- since last fall because of5 r3 j$ Q" @9 x9 i4 C
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
5 N# b0 R, R0 Q4 l v# [issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering( u( z! a" W" b0 R9 @4 _5 O; A3 x& n/ g) t/ Y
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
0 u, b5 R9 S0 p" utheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
* i3 N: y8 E" ]+ G* g4 L" Ydown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
9 }# O- c% d5 r: ^5 b5 h# ~& oreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration/ y) e3 O- Q* d1 ^& T3 o! s
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
. B% p- A% ^/ q; Y nLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own: l$ I4 _7 `6 M( ~! w
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he$ K5 [7 U' }) m) L+ Z
understood the pain.
; ?+ i( k% r. W1 \5 R"I know what those families go through," he said.
8 U# Q+ u, ], G8 KLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's# X: | W1 r, ~7 y$ r$ F5 K
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems., [3 T6 I9 d H+ m, z( U
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
% _8 N8 g9 p d, R) sHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
0 K& Q+ @! V; o, B4 h$ x& A. c' Nin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
4 s" Z9 v% y! Z/ i& JLentz replied: "Not totally."
/ R# b+ a+ L! NStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were- O) \: ]5 x* Q0 H: w' ]
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said" c9 S* {, w6 b" h: E
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
: F$ M" f4 q" E: ]pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
! |* F# R& M7 P; s1 n% Wvehicles already on the road.
, v. [( T. R# P$ pMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
3 R7 R1 z- Y& Abefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full/ }2 _3 K" @1 ^* S$ e: |9 x- w/ F9 @9 D
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
1 p7 @4 ^! K+ L5 z b2 Roffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were& U; I+ M- a9 M# i N
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
# e- E) S) u8 V3 b7 `" o1 E"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a) s+ k/ `$ \7 g4 b5 v6 l' x
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
& _; B9 }4 |) ], ~% G6 W( t+ afor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
/ A3 f2 ? s5 P0 [$ x8 ]Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
8 C$ D; X1 O( \3 J$ Y+ k8 Mcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
! |- W" N5 U! M& q6 arestore the trust of our customers."
! ?7 b3 c" B/ u5 v3 T. h: d2 S0 OLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
8 X$ e5 ~# c6 i' H6 S* k6 j2 p$ RSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly* S8 c$ r% G4 v$ Q* N
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
% U, Q6 F4 }* B9 b8 kshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
" P0 V- t( N. B; q/ D1 Ghitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough- K& b& M1 x5 D0 e: O& O9 u
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and$ h$ H) }# O0 _% V) r
turn off the engine.1 ^( K1 e3 P' N; A5 g3 D7 }3 }
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of* K$ g S$ @, ?4 v& `7 I1 F" G! ]% D$ V
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
8 d1 b2 ^; v5 k# |"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
/ n" [/ a- U \3 ~( I9 isaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond# S) r9 S( X) U+ z
to her complaints.7 |. Y; ?& U( i. {
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
. ?$ G* h6 G! W8 |: G# ^5 u, ^9 _returned again and again to the question of whether electronic- ^! a7 f- Q. X6 ^1 K
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.( j! ]+ O* _1 a- u3 ?. \! C
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
5 ~) n& C2 t& M+ _+ F' y5 Q8 S+ R% ^+ {throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
9 @' `! k# R1 l7 g9 r"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
, b: j7 W$ T- _- l( F9 Coff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
" a3 ~* ] k6 `0 h) w# K- @Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in- J0 b3 x* ~4 i3 f& t
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were% b. M O5 Y, K# n7 g
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls& u% @. v0 t3 @2 F
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
1 N) V( ?3 R, Q3 Nevery question."8 X! l. i$ u; g2 J* ^3 ]8 I
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether0 Z4 @4 v P. O
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The9 b4 w& x4 v( G$ N9 O# U
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
1 j! R) L8 o+ n* P; _5 Fcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
7 k" u& b' u: D3 t0 {number of vehicles
% H; @3 ]1 b& \6 p4 MTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
/ ^. w/ w% q0 X+ rdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
5 U" @. t4 Y" D7 Mmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one, V, Q: Z& r3 U7 q9 r- H2 w
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.: _/ |# v5 Z. F& [+ m# s$ O j, c8 q
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
; b3 y8 j6 p4 r2 n: C& K5 L; \ ]where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no! K3 D3 u2 g6 V5 g& M. d/ m
trace at all.0 C6 U! V* D6 f: A2 U7 N( z7 d
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
1 I$ {2 ^7 f' d5 c9 s6 N' ?database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden% l4 w1 g8 \+ r. F3 n
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the: ^5 c6 C$ J/ ^; b" z" ^
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.5 A3 \. K# y- z; }
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
! P; f: ~" F- H/ Csaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
- Z3 F7 l* f; V9 N( i: y+ ^! jother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the: l) M! I9 T; c$ l/ V! K: Y
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible" Q, X7 e0 z" U0 S6 |
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only ]/ i! a0 b, ?2 v7 @( M8 p, J& z
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained; H7 u! k K; l! M3 n. A" b
by Toyota's lawyers."
; b. v& ^( Y+ }" mLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of& b' d% E" e( V8 u' A6 M2 V \
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
2 k( z3 k) L9 C9 a! J; ^2 a; zcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
, i, y- ~/ r/ X4 s! C8 g6 M( y" P& l! _said.! M8 c: ~4 E5 i2 w) B4 j$ w
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
4 j4 A2 l* l& Y+ n$ V1 O+ r% s: n/ ua rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our& f5 q5 H' I. D [7 l
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
- {+ K1 ]5 ~( nofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.; q- {9 H& n3 D# r+ b: m
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
% f1 j M, h, \5 o4 S' k5 j2 Zmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread/ ^. Q. v7 i0 r- U( G6 H
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the1 O, i# A5 m% ]5 k% @( ~ V* Y
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
1 ^3 s5 `5 j1 [. ]( n& c! Einvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and: {9 L9 v+ r7 T; W: X# o& m% U
Chrysler.+ a6 u1 b: h; @
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
1 ~5 e; D7 L* p R8 |' Idollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a! U- \1 u5 l0 S7 c$ Y
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also7 y" V4 _/ o2 H
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
3 Z" S, ?6 `6 x5 ^3 G/ lwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
5 l+ c: Y5 x, O: Gtough." E2 q: W* a) l* z( s# m
---
. _( `) X1 P, u3 JAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom! U0 s6 g5 s' v, h
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
' R F% a' l2 s9 T! a B) r5 ithis story.
) U; T) Y9 D5 P7 |/ c5 P
4 A O) H! O# E& j2 \2 v-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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