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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题2 ]% }, F+ B* o4 ^$ L) X
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
8 B7 H! t' h; [3 B, A$ v! SWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.& e" N( k' t# d. X# a& z" }; l
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that- }1 d7 L4 [9 P7 Q
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
1 }# z9 s7 _6 X3 g* s5 psolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.1 _9 T+ b9 z, I. B) ^" M5 D
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential2 H6 d9 v% H9 p. g! M, L
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.( u, {, S, Z: J! J) y" u) g
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected' h% e: `3 A, z
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and: V5 u: ^9 y, F! H7 i, M
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor9 w0 ?3 l+ U4 u; K
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.: m0 ^0 M I% ]5 u& d: }
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal/ ~4 O* R( p; X; Y* i) m
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
; \; T5 \: A" _criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be/ m! k# i/ _0 I" E$ B7 [
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
$ U7 T9 ^6 p) M2 |+ |8 fnot stop her runaway Lexus.
1 n/ m0 [: P/ H9 j( X"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville, B6 A, A& F% \4 Z& R0 j
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
) D- r/ O% n+ Q8 L! L"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
& J3 y9 M" x# {$ MTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues! U K# d& z6 p# Q! f/ P& f2 w
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
. E9 f: G' y, z6 M% s, u8 r: L) `"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
& m' \7 y0 F+ I, _done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
' _9 b/ n; w; O0 @, e: }1 E+ n3 o/ zthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's. U/ `% b, t% J! {2 g# ~5 V) N& W
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
$ s$ R3 {8 J$ G. lLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
4 N5 x$ W# {, n' Z/ g" gelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
: z: I! i- m9 D/ f( }0 xthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a5 C( A8 X2 `$ x& S$ W
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he9 a1 E2 ] W5 n3 T8 `2 K
said./ a& p/ \0 D( @* B8 R* v
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what& P! i& O5 R7 v7 a5 \% _6 X1 o
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe% S' Z) [8 c- Q
about driving our products," Lentz said.2 |# `# `1 M+ J3 e. b! M
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
k% M' T7 Z. d* `) Xproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
, f$ F0 c5 R& c/ h+ N4 R! lrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 67 w. l9 f. s) i
million in the United States -- since last fall because of& U+ v7 D$ s2 q4 N# N
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
& P8 _' W$ [6 X! ~issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
5 u; n" m+ J* bconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of; X& \- ~9 b* o: P# N% y
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
) U3 P I3 F$ P5 G( }: j5 |* cdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has, C/ h6 ?6 @ z: m* W
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration8 X# }* U8 ` H1 B
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.1 K9 V( J& I8 K7 i/ e. v# J. a
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own6 Z! z2 i- w8 ?( c& S
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
: V% k1 c' R G4 h: w; Yunderstood the pain.+ i; N6 P: f+ O; G6 h6 a' P+ O" D
"I know what those families go through," he said.
: w3 t5 ~) L9 S( B$ C" ~0 XLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
/ o' n: @) Z x/ Lfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
( ] w4 h. s* M/ t4 X3 s! @But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
4 B; `1 i( T; R) g+ T+ lHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
' p9 x4 \5 b2 S- Tin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it, r1 D4 r5 X1 q9 [
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
* S3 |' h/ x! C' P. U$ LStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were* `- r) y# r" ^3 n R. F4 x1 g9 _- [
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said0 f( A6 }6 J: M5 P1 e- D. f
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
; N. F7 ~9 t# Spedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its4 j# V6 a. q, l( x
vehicles already on the road.
J2 {. n* Y9 ?7 X% D/ wMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify" p$ J* u6 C8 R
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full3 z. Q6 A" M& T" t4 d! ^, d
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and* }- t4 n4 r/ ^1 K% y
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
0 H* ^" t4 t/ B! C3 x6 m' Akilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
$ u0 Q; H5 r( `- W) [; x+ G- q( R"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
. d/ p+ Z% {. o4 L3 x- Q# Vtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
5 U1 H6 b0 g; k) J @for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
$ n8 ?0 G5 S) n3 O# sCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal, B6 u) A% d4 P" @
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
5 r/ J5 N# q0 F8 [4 Hrestore the trust of our customers."- a$ ^: v' T1 F
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
: Q6 U% |' Q& c. xSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
2 i2 x3 B% M. ]7 r# H- O' M# Qzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --. C- |7 V0 m9 M, |3 N+ |, N" ^5 Z, j0 u
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and, a: U$ t0 |1 a4 b, N6 R
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
2 _# b" L0 g3 Ythat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
" k; @8 }& w, Q, c3 b! T& @. Tturn off the engine.! h- U$ X$ a6 f+ G
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
H& S- ]9 r8 j! }3 _$ ^: _6 AOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
4 D$ @! ]* J% X6 p# M/ Y& I"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she" W8 F" }0 @+ S, B
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
" l- o% W0 m1 k }' h8 z0 vto her complaints.
/ i; T; K0 a# u9 w! BIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers: V8 u5 b4 f4 U% ^$ G U6 T
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic- e/ v& J! A, S8 A' h n
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.. ~4 m5 f5 c: {7 ^) h8 M
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
+ H' U" t6 [% h# Cthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited% U$ P' u; \5 t3 ]* q- W8 q3 S4 I
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
7 \- E) I2 |# n4 yoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."3 Z' e, o+ I% Z( S' m+ f$ p, B
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in; v- \. H7 q0 V
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
( @: i1 D$ F0 \( y# b9 q3 F6 w7 g, `% t: Gbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
3 L2 ^/ o% f1 o- Bwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
# [$ ]" P; N% o$ _- ^every question."8 U5 U4 s3 }/ c, L2 U# j: o# A
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether) R& a0 a, a) s
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The p5 ?) [, |, A, R
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But1 h7 o! D" j$ |& @
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small& w+ Q) d* Z/ V, ]$ @1 ?( J: G
number of vehicles% ^* v. F! ]' t) c
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
: ^( v" K4 ^; g5 qdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a# X2 b7 \7 x( t6 M# |6 n6 f9 q* M
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
6 F; J- J( n3 V: o2 }- |source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.2 G$ N4 Y4 w& Y- p
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,( q' O4 W. L& W, [
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
4 |7 z; Z. g+ Y8 V" `trace at all.
1 |5 c H) [! pHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
' o0 ^: J* _7 L2 I7 q- `4 jdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
6 ~6 u& g1 F M' F7 Zacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the/ k" Z, Y8 c. o% P& B
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.2 z& ~6 }6 |, u
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,& a* S* Q/ x7 {$ o- p
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
$ S; L& S, M! K |# Nother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
. A# d$ q. h6 k3 {% velectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
7 a6 `; z3 T+ N( Lcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
, c: B' d" C0 \such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained3 \6 v2 k: Q# m" g1 p$ K- m+ |
by Toyota's lawyers."+ N+ q; b; T, t8 |+ o2 S |! M' V
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
! e4 p. L& b/ yproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
) j+ ^8 p9 a# l2 tcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
' y1 w7 q( \* Z+ r- \6 e* w' Gsaid.# p+ x7 \, f( e/ o5 ~6 z% A) Y
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with+ U8 {( u& b, {
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
7 T2 {$ ~& j- L" Kgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating0 j2 M2 H- |: K" y' ~/ o. v
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
( o) ~- C) c5 r! E- X+ s9 i1 JSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
3 s; r/ H6 k' v0 emembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread3 [% e# l6 X' h" C
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the: ~0 ]1 `& g$ Y* f b5 M. |
automaker, at least in part because of the government's3 |9 L4 ~0 W o$ G8 X8 m1 c" a
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
' O8 S/ M% H3 R' gChrysler.& E/ \ j! e# P) Q2 N
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
) F" Z9 I' R6 P1 Jdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
4 G, z# m" b+ ?& ?6 wHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also2 C- E% f9 ]7 w% [
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
" I' P& {- W, g' n; ^with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty$ r1 [! ]4 I9 B) {( u% r6 P( Z
tough."0 k0 n$ a0 X" }7 r
---
/ l: k. N v- hAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
( ~# M. Z) |: Z' wRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to+ g1 D1 W) e. K, m+ y& ~- x
this story.
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( g; Q( A0 C: J4 b/ \+ F# J& l* G-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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