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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
* t6 i: r& R8 J- NBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
2 f m, K; [5 v! K& zWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
- k# G/ [$ {0 l: Ooperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that; U+ r' S2 a. o1 Y" V9 [7 c! i
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
& W5 C: `' I1 s5 k) Z! [: G. L) v/ \solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.; D3 ^6 C- L B
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
, T9 ~. \" _; M! [9 Wcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
3 U( H( y$ C$ |9 K7 h0 m v- IHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected0 Q' g6 {% W" M1 |6 u* H$ |" z) k
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
# ~: L+ ^& @1 k1 C9 M& \trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
- }) U1 A+ Z `9 g% Emats and sticking accelerator pedals.
. e9 J4 o7 |* \7 L3 J& gHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal, H1 V! A" T$ C; W: r3 Q7 L
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
3 S3 h! ]) F4 L$ C0 K# o0 hcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be+ ^' c0 e x# p2 i$ z2 Y7 g
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could% Q2 R4 g1 i2 R( C
not stop her runaway Lexus.8 Q% M5 D1 Y& W( @0 J3 U: v: x
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,& R& r0 y/ O8 R0 C
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
7 M) V$ W$ V9 H. v* L2 h& w$ Z"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
+ `4 z4 x5 [& q3 m! S; fTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues0 V9 X, L. E4 W" d& g
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
5 J3 b+ e. C# g"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
0 e1 m/ x9 ~1 d( bdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
2 \6 ?2 c7 G4 nthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's7 Y% b" Y3 ]: h# Z* N) }' U
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
3 @% U0 s* s) _, x2 SLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
& J8 F/ Y9 c% relectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of% y. h0 C1 ~! G/ q- \
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a' |: G& Z9 A v' R6 Q
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he$ D* U$ J% A5 `: @
said.
& |& X7 \: j! A4 [8 C1 N/ b2 t- M4 vAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what$ I& f' z. N- I# h3 p
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
d, g `9 D {' U- y: Gabout driving our products," Lentz said.* i! [* ]! r! ]
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
d1 G5 `, q9 Y3 h% f& t2 F9 fproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has2 n+ e4 j: D. p3 i; S% W3 N$ R
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6 M' M3 b9 w' @7 i" l8 ^: u
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
! J+ T4 O4 G, w# X* ]unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
" {; b$ }: N& M( q3 x& b: W& Z! Zissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering; l& e. T% d) h4 `
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of" E! y" s( V8 v/ M* T) f
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
5 M9 c8 o l3 E# Cdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has2 U/ K1 I" _4 a
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration+ b. Q. g8 i q3 S, e3 I2 _; s
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
( X) f) _/ j" Q" q; N" mLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
! \) |0 Z2 M% ~# \brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
2 H' @) R; Q0 [3 ^* J% G: |0 qunderstood the pain. |3 r. j) e9 A- `+ s
"I know what those families go through," he said.
6 ~6 \1 P( A0 W, SLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's) L- O. V+ T$ f
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.8 x& M4 Y5 v0 O0 {
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman: i! i% z9 j' u& v: \6 s6 B
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put8 ?$ F' ? q5 `% L' v
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
2 b9 q) _- F6 A8 [3 r0 [Lentz replied: "Not totally."9 j: ]0 P: _6 H7 B$ J: E6 h# d
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were& [- r7 A1 U$ `& \3 b$ [+ @
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
4 k0 B+ H, p. [" KToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas3 w1 P2 O) j6 x2 I* t. Y2 Q O
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
4 a8 z. i: B; Vvehicles already on the road.% U% F) u: K' k5 x
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify; L" z: u' I4 _+ J- P0 v7 F, e
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full7 z* E4 a `3 [/ y
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
5 z+ g4 }. l i1 goffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
4 U% Q* n1 M) |killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
& L/ u) L$ a ]1 [- S' W- U$ l"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a C9 h- B- s, O
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony) [. D( t$ [$ U5 F) l" K$ F7 G
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
- _! M) p" p( W# R% UCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
0 I! }% U7 V" O9 e x$ P# C: lcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to4 T9 O7 I# K3 \( z1 q6 {8 X
restore the trust of our customers."' v' n% o% u- _3 P# |
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
# Z7 i0 z6 U2 @( e wSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
. I( o- F4 s* E% I0 D( B# G/ V& ~; G* Zzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --3 }9 q0 c, p, _8 r1 x7 D* M: s
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and" n% P7 b4 x7 X5 z1 o
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough3 N7 a7 C6 v) K. O
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and1 K' Z/ F3 r$ @0 ~4 v0 ]2 @4 E
turn off the engine.
+ x8 z# H0 l4 mFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of2 U0 P3 }- v6 S& S
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
8 N S% v2 z1 }. @3 J4 O/ Z" p"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
& r6 T1 A) |3 Y/ ysaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
' w# Y" H+ x) M0 o1 `0 p! X& [# xto her complaints.# m8 S4 z0 [$ \5 N* r9 u9 o7 S B
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers, N' ]/ I9 b5 t: B& I
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
/ w5 p( m9 s& Gmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars., r9 K7 A& Z+ I6 a
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric% p X0 b$ ~* E& A2 r9 l1 n
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
* }5 E, R) g# V4 M# ]9 `3 _"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut2 p3 s: [% G3 Q5 `
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
+ @2 d) f1 l, W- ^! HTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
5 ~9 r# K0 s0 f3 u* C+ S8 E' a8 eprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were0 q# @7 w) x( C! e1 K, Q, r4 h
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
+ g% @5 A/ x/ F, b/ h9 Ywere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer( W, u( {$ f: ^. T+ D* f
every question."
5 Z4 d8 Q: N( ^4 X$ @: F0 }Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
; H7 p2 m; S& _) telectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
, O( W8 b0 b! u. M+ |" ]firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
- Q7 B) i8 r* ]committee investigators said the testing studied only a small! K& [# \" B! j- ~
number of vehicles
& A9 l+ g5 a; \Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more% ?$ d7 e; k+ {
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
9 E/ I1 Z2 X1 y& Dmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
% l( {2 z: b7 J* R# M2 h/ |source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
! U- ~* H* t& d5 |" FMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
, k! {8 @! |9 ` g! d9 ywhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
; j4 R% w" n# C7 u0 ^4 y$ c' Ztrace at all.: j* e+ m+ M/ r& Z# ~
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call) o" ~9 Z2 y: t$ e5 E6 O
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
3 K; i3 E0 z/ l" T. b ~8 a& ?" Zacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the6 `" \+ n% A( v( j& j( u8 Z" r
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.' b, H; a& ?9 r3 ^! V9 ^5 O
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
9 m5 T* a: D7 Q1 A4 Fsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and" M* C1 \% L( ~. p% }& b
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
' E' t7 f7 c" c8 h8 G; r7 Relectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
4 O( u; \/ ^9 U% F* j6 |4 Bcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
0 o; E" F( W/ U0 v0 A6 [% k( ysuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained) p1 e9 K( k/ s* j+ Y6 U+ R
by Toyota's lawyers."
9 R* j- v g' G0 aLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
1 P; ?: t* d% {! T5 z3 l |& Sproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
/ L# D/ Z% Z3 ?1 Q% X' Vcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he) f- W5 S4 ^, d6 K0 |% r5 T
said.
) z5 Y9 _& v7 a4 ?" k/ {" n! C% \4 b"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with( h" h7 R9 F# i9 Z4 C: s
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our! J9 v, t: x. u# W, v, t+ Z$ I
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
7 U1 C3 d4 z( A/ x: R. G; U7 Aofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.. R1 S. d$ R+ o {! [
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
& J% ]/ y, e& E- W. g& E" @members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread" s4 G2 T, u- U
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the+ G5 }5 g# {% ~* G
automaker, at least in part because of the government's, y' S6 E% o( ~9 r( U
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
+ M. T$ @, e6 y( E* hChrysler.8 i, g+ @$ z! S O {" f
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
, m/ `/ P3 z# z q3 R5 ^dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a+ i9 ]$ p4 H7 U) c+ i2 j
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
7 z) r. _( i- fserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
1 o& Y$ W% \6 R" c( p8 kwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty# m, t3 R3 c, k
tough." E% l3 U5 ]/ ~6 M- p7 E
---
' F X/ m% Z, _1 HAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
- Z$ _& J3 R( d8 {9 K8 MRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to. x8 p$ S+ N/ u2 v, @
this story.# x+ i# \6 O& R% z9 ~
" M9 Y8 a$ L3 Z! c- l
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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