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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
: O+ ]; P+ x, Z' U9 MBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
* N. | O% W. @1 l; {; UWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.2 U, R% O2 ^ r) L! F: H/ h7 I
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that. y: r# U% f7 y& X; n
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
, B+ ~" g- u& G6 ksolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.' T1 k J+ {+ x2 X1 {. v
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential& X4 C& v* l0 a2 G: z7 o* f6 W( b
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
8 H7 x$ k) b# b$ o. NHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected' {0 E! S9 V; U$ P; C: M- F- y
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
2 U. _: x! w+ w8 z- ttrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor' T p8 V5 u2 \; {: Q
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
0 e7 s1 Q6 z& nHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal& q! J v7 G. U" y% I/ N0 p
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp1 e5 k' L- P* B% V) h
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
/ P0 Q5 ~$ L& o; z$ C2 N8 Z8 Kfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could" s7 N. ^9 _ |0 X" x
not stop her runaway Lexus.
0 b' Z5 u r1 F"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,$ C& ^* ^& r, g) T! D+ V% c
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
& q! _2 N! K: j, K) Y$ f. U"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.; @6 m/ O+ j# P8 O, j
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues) I5 }- r5 [: y$ t4 t; l6 ~
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
) r3 g! x7 c& x3 Z+ A* F& ] o"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has! ^2 b e+ d( [4 A: o& {
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
' c2 g1 Q6 m) Y9 |! y8 g0 Mthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
7 f) M. _* \5 }' Z/ `- J8 Binvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
f% y5 A# N9 qLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
' p# T C) O( Welectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
5 N% T1 F/ E6 w6 D4 i1 Q3 Hthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a' y* ^" e0 H8 l' h( I$ @+ k& F& m/ M
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he" G4 x/ t; p* N" h" F
said.
2 l% O4 G4 ]3 w5 `" ]% e" A* i# vAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
+ b$ `- |9 L, w/ n0 ahappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe, u2 P9 i {4 q3 }0 m* p, I8 D
about driving our products," Lentz said.) q2 z( s. c7 W$ i8 w& n
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's U' ?* J9 I& z, _! P% P5 Y2 M, _
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
8 M# q/ [* ~; k- f" P: ?recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
6 I3 ?# A! d5 y0 N* o, nmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of; w* U# W& ~2 x3 `& E
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
/ F# e" q) @- H! V( Kissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering. Z8 S W& ]$ P/ L+ a
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of3 {' h- p) k! o# P3 h+ v: a
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
' w1 F( R9 t' H6 Z) U# ndown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has' C( v+ P+ V8 e
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
1 E# z* w- G. @* D1 h* [5 lof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
: O6 m" `0 V8 f* WLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
R# x+ G' Z7 y. wbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he% \# G2 Z/ W% t# O
understood the pain.0 q1 @6 {- I- W* I" H4 k
"I know what those families go through," he said.
# ^% P+ N3 D' P4 k3 R5 J1 K3 FLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
; [. f8 Z7 v$ Y0 Dfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.0 k, J5 G# u/ P7 \( M9 Z/ O1 q. m: n
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
% m- }6 L6 K! P% ^$ B$ e4 D! VHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put! g( \' y" G3 {1 f" e
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,6 @- o* e8 u7 d9 d! _6 z3 g: y. L
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
2 e) c( A1 G6 T T0 f cStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
$ ?) h! h" E, p"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said) u6 u" H) g( o" `) F/ \6 M
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas4 c! _. Y& f; G! V& ~2 W
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
/ P% C, R( W, j8 M5 ]- Uvehicles already on the road.
8 ~+ ^ `9 ~3 O( P' ~; W2 K9 LMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
( f0 k3 k* C$ \before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full9 v$ D& _# c+ X5 ~
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
9 V8 K5 N+ l; p! l: S& Joffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
; X+ q7 T' J5 P5 p8 t1 Zkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.) H5 [# A" W* h! [% i
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
7 n! o' e3 ?5 D5 atragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony9 ~, h! ^1 D5 O0 U
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight* y# |3 X1 b# _1 z' U
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
4 S# k Y0 J, _' G) L7 Wcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to3 w" N! O1 ]. S3 {' U
restore the trust of our customers."8 Z8 t r9 A3 R1 D$ x8 b3 C
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
o9 U/ d1 g* b. ]Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
, o5 b( g" L: M+ Q, O( x* rzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
9 ]+ c3 V2 W+ X+ Q+ b$ V% v% Dshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
2 u" z) ]! b# ?3 `, W, lhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
9 c: v1 t6 r- J' ~* jthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
( x6 q3 q& y' c4 ^7 @turn off the engine.4 n) r a# u: C3 h# B
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
/ ^* _) M8 X; B6 j' WOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
/ f/ Z+ g" f2 i6 |4 _4 i4 u"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
3 L/ q X9 m2 W, y: }) v& M; {. U" nsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond) }! n( p9 P5 F0 U5 J
to her complaints.
+ k) M9 Y( Q4 M3 @( L0 cIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
6 |5 H" ]5 G3 ~* Greturned again and again to the question of whether electronic" \# v* n5 T- `7 ~. q0 g# C8 P
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
2 c0 o6 |. j, E" x/ p"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
4 u) C% V# K$ W1 n) a9 [$ H+ c5 Sthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited% ~# w* n7 U7 o) u" @
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
( Y+ _9 [& f. J2 Z8 Foff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."7 w' p+ O' p& {0 r) i! q5 M+ R
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in7 P# I8 P$ @# [6 B
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
9 W# L6 D! V; K" t) ~$ bbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
$ O2 i4 Z4 K3 Xwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer3 w) b- S! f! u+ u, D1 H* y
every question."9 r, b' l+ e q7 V3 {- F7 v1 c
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether4 I% C( w/ C& `* H. q
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
$ g1 {! w D- X+ }5 t( Qfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
3 K1 n" Y+ Q @0 @9 wcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
% |* M, V# q5 knumber of vehicles
, ?8 R* `( l8 @0 c) dTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
$ C2 G e: w; T( Odifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a. O4 y& g1 k& r
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
6 x4 e) ]" E9 msource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.' Z# E! ]7 k7 r# D7 n/ k
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
, M" Y5 J: e% Z. ]where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
( F6 E! D z6 ^: ntrace at all.
" h+ ^7 M7 O) [7 h/ r) GHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
0 M% j: ^1 m2 q. D0 o' idatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
* q9 `, D6 g: `5 ^& ]acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the) Z' e- k ] }* k
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
* r# N( r0 P3 ? `! J& pRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
# q7 }1 Y0 i% O: W2 ]said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and- Q! \( W3 V5 w" L
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
: u3 |0 a7 S* B- H; xelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible4 W9 i: n, M/ n- c* O
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
1 C% _6 |4 ^3 K/ Y/ Y& qsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
& _# g/ v4 g; t/ [( W9 M/ Aby Toyota's lawyers."& s( J1 ]2 ?& x9 h9 R% p; D7 z
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of1 p8 Z4 N+ u) c( \9 ^
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
2 w# h" i% r# h) U+ R3 scustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
% S. U) Y& L$ C/ Wsaid.% i& u3 l1 C b& p0 J& W1 D
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
7 [2 o) { o+ D4 S8 ja rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
+ V' s$ j& _7 [( z" N, F- Ugood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
/ @2 \! T7 I1 x- T6 L8 K" p5 Nofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.8 a Y" F0 _) I0 m' O; w* [
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
3 ^7 Q" h3 r; T* Imembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread+ C" U; n# `8 R. R. ~8 h9 \8 D5 E
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
# y% {, K" n' w7 d H( ~automaker, at least in part because of the government's
- ]8 D, D$ O Z* xinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
2 p8 ]9 |! F' M+ E" g: {Chrysler.+ I2 C& d7 A% ]3 C
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
7 f9 @" Q# v9 M( f) _dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a" U( l C: \; K& A7 S7 k) C
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also" W& A0 W; s: [+ Y% Z
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
' M/ t0 T9 j+ bwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty1 Q; B& u. F. l
tough."
4 g# s" @% L: J1 V8 J& e---
4 y, G& O- c% T( ^Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
+ P1 ?, {" ~7 h. |' c2 v5 u! \Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to/ b0 E9 s4 ?, Q& q, S
this story.
% s9 y P( ]% o
5 b+ M" N- n4 B* S-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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