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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题( Z5 s3 E$ k2 x# ]4 w' Q2 y3 z! J
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS! v. E) _/ [* D4 j
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.8 }' L: F n0 ?8 L
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
% B3 l x8 C U- |' G+ @the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
+ w8 p- ^4 C5 L/ [solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.% y- x0 |7 e4 H5 r, h" E
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential, g/ ^: G+ D" g6 S( \: ], A
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.) w; @0 S5 W$ H; l0 m
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected/ c. b2 N; q" `# f5 u
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and$ Y- j- B7 r0 \3 |3 Z
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
3 T* f/ u' A x" \6 c3 k: cmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
* W# d2 |, e7 [ h wHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
& r7 k0 [& y- Z7 Pand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp& b2 z+ ~1 ?6 L: ^0 r/ Y" R$ {
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be7 S# S! e. H7 E$ b, q
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
( b/ L! b' p4 W4 [% [. \' K k9 B( ^not stop her runaway Lexus.
- d( l: F. I' J" k, P"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
3 Q) W2 _) q4 L7 XTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
) p V8 D$ k- r* M# S+ f: q"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
/ t; D( S d, T- p& v! S3 s* T7 I: hTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues" j) S: ^5 U3 [, o+ i' M4 d
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
4 r" i% M! \$ A0 l! A"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
5 A6 X2 R3 x0 d- \$ E0 W' ]/ v/ Z1 Zdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway k$ m; ?1 L* T2 I5 e7 e5 n
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's( Y* \& K% v1 q% |
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."! ~5 O- }4 r9 ? k5 C# `. ?% b
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
( A/ a( g7 x- ]+ z. zelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of2 V4 p# z) A: f, O
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
k/ Q4 p4 b8 I" t+ E2 ^& m$ [malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
. `9 T& F: J* qsaid." S# z9 r- C* z/ Q
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what1 `6 }2 w; H% w: N
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
$ ^, U* c3 M. Q5 J; @2 habout driving our products," Lentz said.) E6 U1 n- w# a2 w% \
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's3 J) [3 l" N6 W, u+ Y) v5 J$ K! f* M
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
6 [1 ]: `( }! F) S2 u7 Precalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
9 X+ H( w( U) Z- o+ B* }7 Dmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
! o5 Y/ l6 v& aunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking' c" Z* p7 S! w2 f
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering* G; Y! Y+ X- J7 U6 ~
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of+ v& @" r( R+ r5 l! ~
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
6 Y* |* ?: D9 a! W6 ydown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has" j% _0 S3 G5 f8 A7 _" H
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration: p: r; C4 ~% v- Z
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.! j( r' x, c: A2 Z- a! e
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own$ x- J! p. P _. ~6 X) e8 H& O" A2 S
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he }- q% P4 I5 I) ~, O
understood the pain., [8 H' `! K( U1 a# ?" C( n
"I know what those families go through," he said.8 v3 i6 A2 U9 e; z/ L/ f
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's/ k( M% y7 ?# z( g
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.$ |$ {5 `) k+ n( U- m
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman, t, f0 m6 O9 J* ~! E
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
0 C6 D* E- O1 z1 \) S9 B7 s4 i; {) C+ Ein place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,# B! t% [8 n& L3 v
Lentz replied: "Not totally."( ]' ~$ M2 T' U& y- L6 N
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
. v. C6 y; N: q$ w. v1 v6 R8 k"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said4 v$ \2 D4 K" L9 O1 w, l1 `$ W& D
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas6 L6 d1 ]2 T9 ]$ ~9 _
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its( s. x3 l& ^! d3 j& I. Z! J3 k
vehicles already on the road.
4 P7 H% T7 P' X7 P' s4 _Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
3 T2 S- }. @8 q$ Y' }. S! \before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
! t6 R |7 h- G3 @0 G$ qresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and' U1 |. D7 n$ P- {' ~
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
/ t% x) \+ y% A$ M1 s3 O4 qkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
, h% t) k0 p7 }; Q$ \3 ["I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a: F. N8 s/ u# J" U' U
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
" ?7 w2 T& P+ Tfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
! t" q& a" K5 dCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal4 G$ j4 {# e6 p0 X+ |' G, R1 ~
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
& a; B% C3 j0 K1 W0 s6 Y1 arestore the trust of our customers."
" b7 A! ]4 r5 RLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from; @: p2 A& s: @* |+ v7 e3 Q
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
$ w/ n9 v* b" n6 e( A Vzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
; ]2 c! p! l8 f, D6 g9 Tshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
- f" y7 _7 Z' s- l/ n; S& \hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough9 \% ?* g' X$ `
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and9 i9 d2 V, Y# b* Z( P* F' b
turn off the engine.
?' A( W7 O7 ^- R+ ~0 PFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of- L t/ C [: {5 n1 n
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."6 }: c! m5 ?5 U! `( ^
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
* |" S- d# p) ?2 b% Dsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
1 F V7 R' C, \. qto her complaints.# m6 i6 y5 q) e
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
! g- }! t+ U! G" ?returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
3 i, M! K# A( {4 u/ ^9 Xmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.; Z- l+ C9 J& [! a5 x
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric8 S; A& [% C n& c; Q* @2 `' L5 N
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited( m. Z, E2 o7 V W- e9 } ^1 Q
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut1 {7 }1 [5 A4 A6 g. G6 `% Y
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."" h" Q1 C7 s4 U, W
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
: y; Z" |. ~1 m% l0 V0 q4 pprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were! Q! d+ e0 X; _4 \/ m' c% e
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls# v2 }$ m0 O4 ?
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer! p3 Z: y3 Q+ d3 `6 _5 r
every question."
( u: h1 _/ R" s0 {: AToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
. _0 G& }$ e+ z' M6 i* ielectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
' n* q @- e( J; W4 E" ^; o' ^firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
( y+ W3 F v! x A8 d% l/ y% fcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
( _1 d9 Q% l7 ^# Z. L7 rnumber of vehicles- k4 Y7 }* z# k! V8 F
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
: J* C% d& |3 U5 u0 E9 ~ A4 Zdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
% M( V3 g1 U3 U' k2 {1 o9 Wmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
4 d+ M ^9 j/ lsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.4 X/ O' d' X3 f( h! i% x# S, K$ m7 b
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,7 y+ c C9 ^6 F; `5 k" N
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
3 t: q$ g, d( j0 T1 v8 E$ wtrace at all.
$ }! I, _( V* T0 {House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call& U. v0 m9 X! g% Y& q: v
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
3 m* B+ X @. {! q- ?+ Y, H; hacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the5 I$ P4 _9 }+ T0 ]% N
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals./ a5 f1 y+ I- i0 j* R- @0 [
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
, K( e: Z. p0 X+ E4 u1 K( isaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and+ }# E2 x- z9 _2 k
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the3 }# t u1 l( l/ L7 X
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
. `; g) O, K, b+ rcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
% v2 O% v4 `. p. o! A$ J8 Rsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained2 a" `1 [/ r. q
by Toyota's lawyers."6 i9 }+ z4 v3 W3 Q
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of6 _# p& a) e3 Y9 a5 \
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
a- ]% l8 P/ m# wcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
$ E$ v/ G3 X4 c& }6 isaid.% ]# D3 n+ [( X' P. i }
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
; |* S4 T* q' P+ d0 ka rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our0 |- x& k5 N4 Y: Y. G0 H! s9 T
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
0 k' R4 [* A9 W' }, j* C% \+ aofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
0 R7 B, ?. K# @- a/ y4 [; z3 MSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying7 Z# p$ }! {5 t3 u; W0 f! a: a6 N' }
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread9 V3 |$ m) Q2 E0 Q2 v: i6 k
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the) V* K9 y" _ m' U
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
; q7 t+ L& c! d4 E: G$ hinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and/ ^ K' C& e7 f
Chrysler.
) b- a" E$ J7 h! H: A"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
2 t. k& h7 Y1 X% {. Zdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a, ~) s: D8 R; ~/ P+ J* h, J
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also3 `$ b, R# n: C6 F% C
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
# P0 v v% e' O7 Y" f9 hwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty/ I. S/ n D" R. v
tough."
, Z+ o6 F8 A& j H6 L! T: q4 H---
- g$ d6 N$ t- AAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom$ M: U- y8 x+ u& \, A d
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to/ t' d2 G. n/ X. q8 T4 b3 Y# Q# x
this story.7 k( t3 |, [/ N* W; S
8 B+ O$ D7 ?% G! j- \$ k" Q3 S( P-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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