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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题! O% y% C, f+ e5 ?3 A" G6 b' L$ F
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS0 O" L! R0 l5 [6 g4 v$ x! a8 O& t/ X
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.+ Z' @6 m; G: ^) A
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that9 |1 Q( T0 s1 K7 E2 X; d+ h+ w
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
0 P9 _% f- c* B) X1 esolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration." ? }* V) {3 x K, D" R
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
0 T2 F2 ?2 C5 H4 r1 v/ R, Gcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.; ~. }. e( M! K2 `- r1 x
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
/ G$ ~+ z P3 ~5 h* E" E! ~6 |acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
0 r* T- H; o; l" [trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
. v6 ]3 W* x. W+ A" \( f {mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
2 x u$ t, y1 d; V% [8 g ^, @( iHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal; p) \5 t; h( S# ]5 g) D1 V3 [
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
, ?8 @& A3 `& R P+ V4 b; Wcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be+ @) X1 t( |% v, G, u( L) Y
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could& z% b: K9 H. S, I1 M5 y: n
not stop her runaway Lexus.
) S/ B! p2 ?/ Z* K9 Z% |"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,. A* @9 M. l$ t6 K2 X
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
4 w; t" ~" U* ~( j. o"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators." x, l# Y3 \& d4 V4 ?
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues) P/ r) C3 J& `& m! ]) T
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
9 g9 K$ B# X( Z1 d4 p$ N* @"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has6 ?+ @: e8 v" q( q! T
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway, A3 j( e( a$ t; G( X
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
0 n& y/ [( B/ L5 O& }investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."% d- c$ a$ b4 \' ~$ `: a7 a1 ]6 a
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an5 ~, p8 t3 z1 N
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
0 \, Z0 e" F' U6 A: u! [the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
5 j; I& l! S# {3 N7 dmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he" j! q9 j1 [4 C. ]
said.
1 P( A4 Z6 z/ C6 I0 G" jAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
. f9 I5 t' W9 y; j0 n' Uhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
3 c$ p9 a; _: L5 t2 Z& pabout driving our products," Lentz said.; P! [6 Y6 X) B. D* v( v* {
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
5 l: Q. B# K3 }! d, H- sproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
& G$ E7 { H) g! t5 P0 G) D4 L& qrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
1 A/ ~: u% T1 n2 ~, a4 B+ a9 [million in the United States -- since last fall because of7 m8 T0 D) b: j5 `
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking3 N2 d9 r$ b1 Y% ^/ q3 m" l( X% ?
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
7 c) g9 Z- f# n# ^/ m4 f2 K$ x; Zconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of4 n. s2 c- S6 K7 ] |9 d
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
9 K7 o9 l z8 @) ~. }9 ydown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has1 g. }( [( n! |1 z' A7 H3 N
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
/ ^+ p* j8 U j# K5 j1 wof Toyota vehicles since 2000./ _0 Z4 A* e' R6 e1 m
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own2 |4 N9 v. }5 d+ B+ x7 o
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he) u& M# J1 a+ A, a
understood the pain.# a! b# R4 H7 i& | c- B3 Z! i1 ^0 @$ ?+ h
"I know what those families go through," he said." e0 @# ^+ J A, n0 s2 F1 \
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's& W, @7 N, `, o) l# a% E
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.; t- B8 B) Y4 U/ {8 H d5 V
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman/ G! @; F; w* {) J
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
) A. o3 L+ }$ j. ^3 j, P8 L% Vin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
1 q- `, A9 P7 u* ^: Z5 DLentz replied: "Not totally."
9 d# ^- c1 N( [+ f* t8 JStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were5 m3 l( f7 p7 \
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
# a1 I( |9 {% a4 w7 d- m5 j M/ iToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas9 t! A6 [3 p5 ?. S" a8 K% O
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its0 ?2 R9 q9 S4 y0 s
vehicles already on the road.
) U1 v* o7 B! d# U( H/ J: AMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
% A+ A' ^5 m; z% m6 T7 Jbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
5 H6 E2 P' h( X; G1 J* T4 D1 Lresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and: ^4 ^- n i, M- w6 O8 [
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were7 X8 v6 y e; K) \& p) v
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.. @7 x1 A2 ?: M7 e( ~
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
4 u8 R: U2 I& K- F) Ytragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
: _$ a4 z& W/ |4 [for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight: K: h; T+ w6 w6 r- [7 R. W w! ~$ U
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal: v1 [9 M8 x, J( i8 v
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to3 ?6 ?: z6 D E! C' _2 H: u& @4 _
restore the trust of our customers."
, B3 p6 u4 k/ j& |5 n( V) K4 ^Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from8 l$ s: ?1 \! k! A2 J* m2 T5 j- D. x
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly- u: O* n8 ~$ }8 r: M6 V& g( V
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --7 s5 v8 g/ S, Q( M6 _
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and# V# t- x8 i0 f& R
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
/ G2 h' G# Q6 K0 D t+ N- Dthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
3 E3 e; p) y- Nturn off the engine.
% R- A6 W. U- }# l8 ]Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
5 R3 B( M8 q+ U) GOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
4 f. B: `' r0 a( E3 V2 {"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
, b% K6 ^4 N( `4 e; w) gsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
8 z% Q4 x$ s6 u Q. d- _to her complaints.; h/ z/ {/ J+ @2 B
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
0 P. G8 Y# P6 g# {! o$ V' W; oreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic4 K" A5 Q" }$ U
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
& D* F9 \. m* ~4 n! f9 d: ~"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric" F9 v" S( k6 b: ~$ z3 U
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
) s# O5 [. r& {; f& T, C"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut* Y8 v+ ~7 r' Y9 q$ T
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
) m3 y& V7 W& @& t# i: q/ @Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in) Y9 |( s7 S8 n
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
. e9 Q+ @" ~# o( d" ^/ ?$ g: O1 kbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls" K1 D Q" [; \
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer' U9 _0 m4 W n# _3 o
every question."+ C- z, p8 {3 N) }6 n. Z
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
( K; P$ j5 y! H& P, @electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The: {. q: |' f! k9 N* `
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
2 D% S' j. z7 d5 v2 I5 @committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
# |4 k( V6 G$ L+ ~6 E% q& Bnumber of vehicles& m+ l6 Z9 A1 ~3 j: _7 f
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more$ i3 z5 ~: s4 p# S* o
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
! Z! O, X: ?# M4 ?2 Cmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
# r/ u# C/ L/ [' ^. ]source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
. q" `5 z7 p1 N$ @- f; i5 \Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,- ~- d3 y' W' m/ t c, V7 d6 K& q
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no4 k, i3 S" K- e
trace at all./ [! X! F2 ~1 f
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call% X) n, ~; T& o+ O
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden9 t% k) D# v6 h" K" t1 a
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the2 g- i# X' l& @* R9 C
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.4 n' w5 Z, \9 ]% _( x* t- k; U% \
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
) R5 x; T, [8 {# h9 {3 D6 u- vsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
W/ a9 [+ z$ C+ a2 e+ B. hother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the) }' i& z" L" s* D- s
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
; O, h: S: A& Ycause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
/ O; H8 t3 F8 _! bsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
' m; _! j3 {2 `5 Q* B8 wby Toyota's lawyers."* q4 e- ]9 Z) n
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
. g1 D K/ o. U1 e! U% eproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our( H& o0 ?$ S( U3 `1 s
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he; T6 Z) q3 ]7 \8 V7 J& g8 Y7 u0 m
said.
9 n8 B/ j" r, n& [# r"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with6 r$ Y1 E6 ^% v7 o" Q
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our: r; A: O! C; G2 T) r/ c
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating! E- Q- c3 ]9 x; [, W7 B
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
0 Y; S" Y' a% c% K( x6 |Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying- U3 X0 u% @% r2 I5 J
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
5 m5 C3 s& e) {& j- D5 Vrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the: ~) ]% E' t8 J) r) X4 l
automaker, at least in part because of the government's" S( Z" w( g1 a2 A# X- d7 u9 c
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
$ Q2 S0 y, x. {* T* Q NChrysler.% }. p2 @- W* j0 [* m7 ~; R
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax9 y$ Q& T0 p0 a0 h( k3 f
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
' m Y9 ^4 D7 {7 r2 i2 M+ \4 eHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also+ S( m- A0 x# A: M
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
% V4 s- a6 e/ J* L2 h" M4 [with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
5 X9 z1 J, b* y1 L( e- ]* _5 h ptough."0 R7 v" [7 [) `6 U4 z
---
- B3 N H9 j5 E/ q, U& ^, CAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
! ~4 ` E% v' w# t& yRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
$ d9 D! N- G$ s0 {( fthis story.
# K' a6 C! ~: G/ k& ?: p# D. K3 w' C+ S" f! j
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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