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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题8 i3 | {) h1 q. j9 t: ^) }4 n
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
% U! v2 u0 z' Q' ]Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.. e& m% b8 b5 }3 F1 N' a+ L* r
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that( E1 W9 _) \6 L$ m6 K8 ~
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"; z5 p# V, }- n; ]8 O
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
9 D8 D% O; n9 k4 h1 u"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential. [0 L9 C* F. H" _+ w4 I
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.5 B ^% u4 b, Q" R9 i! P3 M
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
, ?# A& R# F. K, ]5 d! T) {acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and" h4 Z2 M" A" W
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
9 J! S: A9 @2 H& @8 U: Smats and sticking accelerator pedals.
5 l- V T' v% b/ X9 _- A, THe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal, o) d" j% G- I
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
, D+ I% z6 M8 z) H1 K" c9 q& i4 Q* Ocriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
- @5 s' n) \. u6 X8 P hfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could; k6 d, b7 u% l5 n1 @* n
not stop her runaway Lexus.
- Q. T8 e2 Q. f$ }( r$ _7 y8 a- `; E, Q"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,: d0 N1 ?& |; J4 O# r4 o( j( ]
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second3 c1 b! `8 }5 L. s0 T
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.! h& o- w7 ?6 w" `% ]
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
' l3 t b9 `; [6 D* w0 Aearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
) K: ^% R# N" g6 Z$ y"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
( N+ a& {, Z1 _9 \6 D: n8 n& q9 C$ bdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
* y P2 R6 P( n m; j4 s& ]# U; |through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
; ~: U, C- ?* m% z" W3 C$ } z" linvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
" L( n: C' W, J, uLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an# P! v% u. U t, N6 @+ W- P5 N3 {4 b
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of. R1 j8 K; U5 j, I9 o
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
* f3 N8 B) x! u wmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
- k7 n: g& ~: m3 U0 Isaid.
9 j( |8 V: W+ bAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what# l6 y, H+ G6 e( k) R. t
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
+ u5 C# O! y# `# S2 f/ }about driving our products," Lentz said.
0 x- \2 ]6 z& F' `2 j W) C3 SThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's4 q' X% L A# h& n: H# O
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
3 x9 h) c$ j0 ~6 K- G0 [recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
8 F+ P# [: U# c3 Q6 O. J8 K* lmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of+ ^" W: Y1 w: h/ P1 \- n* r
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking! v+ C# c. C* s
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering6 i" ]3 i1 z R$ n
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of) y; ^4 h/ {4 e3 n7 x+ ~0 \
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
( u- E& C& n/ Bdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has9 ^6 ]. Y" \' E1 y( S2 _! ^* B- e
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration# d# R( ~3 V/ j b7 r. K
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
6 U! M8 l B, _% jLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own& e* D) w8 R! P% X# z+ D- G8 i% }
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he* |+ \9 k9 }4 y" T% r5 m! Y% m. B0 _6 F
understood the pain.
$ _7 c) V U2 H$ {"I know what those families go through," he said.! {0 b9 `& A3 Q- }1 I. \4 |* h# S
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
- T% q% X4 ?( F! D* Hfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.6 q, y. H' g2 [ E, m I' {
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman( ^' P: A- w# A e( D& N
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put/ o( C5 m. S6 O" r. i* T# x; U
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,1 u! W2 n( u+ j: I% J% h
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
3 p8 V: |9 F: t' ZStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
' a& J$ g# p% g. C/ ~8 I: E% M8 h"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said; O5 `2 W! y' }" a6 y( z
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas% u: Z6 G' Y5 _- t1 Z
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
9 U t0 G2 J% j% g/ P( Ivehicles already on the road.1 ~6 w. p2 s* b# {* v; J
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
; o8 ]( u2 M% V0 abefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
6 e9 v: J# }4 fresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
7 f5 O$ }& Z: }/ p Loffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were$ v8 u# i; C& b8 X7 I4 _$ d9 s
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
# L# H% D$ x7 f! I! d& O"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a; U; w: Q2 J/ _0 B z8 v
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony! h# T# U$ U/ H4 ]/ \ o
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
3 j [9 w: j; }1 U7 v2 x% x& eCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
7 B5 E2 T! | B1 Tcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
8 E7 M6 r+ M, Q+ p/ ^restore the trust of our customers."
+ N( r3 i# V! _( I" ?Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
+ l6 K n: ~, p9 I) B! L bSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
0 f. ~0 [) U% Y0 @* jzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --& Z+ H* @1 P& O" Y
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and" U' A9 f) f! F- R' E2 }6 Z
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
; f1 K* n, F% ]% Gthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and4 E' S/ h; M$ U. |6 t3 v A
turn off the engine.7 }, V- V6 |" X; ^# H
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
! V* d- K0 G/ w: L* V' a. ^& yOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
- n0 V4 z: I- F& N6 i% N: }"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she, v6 P3 e0 ^0 W, k9 p l2 P
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
6 F, Q* b5 c9 Ito her complaints.5 J' e+ w: Z: I( d
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers s- T0 p/ t/ m( i5 D
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic) g+ e; ]$ g# K5 S% d
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
& E. K6 Q/ U1 h* J3 M& x3 u9 N"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
2 _6 I& O4 c2 e/ sthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited: f2 x" E& Q! j2 n6 ]
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
" s5 @9 ]3 ]7 i, M% _; H0 N$ \- Zoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."2 ?- X- P) w0 b2 ^5 i# ^
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
5 n/ Y1 s- U5 `prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were! ~* m0 |2 A" r+ _
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls5 K2 B1 W3 C) [! C9 t; @! W
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
0 `% U& v4 m6 H: g8 l6 Ievery question."2 w1 ~& V( O5 D7 J" Z2 ^
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
! w% S" V- I# [, ~: K/ d, M- \9 celectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The; x5 |/ t' i, Z
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
% Y% ^8 {) r+ \# m3 scommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small; O5 u. ]9 e/ R1 p$ v" o
number of vehicles& {2 ^4 V# _5 C$ K5 e
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more$ M" R+ k3 V" Z. S
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
4 x( U# h; y x% D5 x8 O; i; Wmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
8 e. o" L8 ^' l( ~; T- W+ Tsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.% q2 j2 J, h2 E
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,, o+ T8 J( D) f" _
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
( ]9 f4 e& s) a0 C5 utrace at all.$ M' V* p$ _: A% f" @/ e
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
V& k, p3 {& j; e7 J4 }database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden) W- ^' s, m' l
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
$ N0 h* q A: w5 _+ }/ xrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
% z/ {, ~# V. YRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,6 _9 p, [- V. D7 Z' q
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
) _8 ?4 H8 V" Q- I% B- y$ T4 h) m0 p nother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
6 J p$ Q, s: k; J( Xelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible+ O( {& h) s3 L9 S% |. {. U6 O
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only# Q" R. E6 T$ a
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained) \5 Q/ A; F% k' ^% t. Q5 b
by Toyota's lawyers."6 i* p; R+ @& \
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of |7 ~! F! ^. e0 v5 \% ]6 D
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
, q; u& o- v9 lcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
3 ?( V$ I) |, }* Usaid.3 \( z4 X1 }+ O: g
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
& b6 C Y8 g+ B/ I& o5 g3 [, Ua rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
: l1 b) L3 x. x& _, a; sgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating& N% [$ q; S$ D0 R* r0 B
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.' F# e% r, B/ [, f1 I! I
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
# T \+ w, O$ ` vmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread0 b1 {, k9 T- m
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
) c: r( e6 [# Y3 G3 rautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
1 K7 L/ D4 a, d0 Zinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
2 X) [* G, ~9 [" H4 B/ A4 S( ^Chrysler.: H" l# H# C. }$ _) v' j
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
' C: [5 n0 }. Y) O% l _dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
. R% Q; a$ `) F' |. ~/ q3 N9 x5 {% nHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
$ d4 r* ~! {/ l2 R! h5 T2 Oserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
; A- s9 O7 v4 m3 d6 v. X3 dwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
: {" H8 q4 a0 M1 ktough."" H3 [9 Q* t- h9 @
---/ ~$ A$ m, p+ H+ V
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom% j$ ^: {; n( B) J4 ^0 \
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
2 C9 h: Y/ h9 Z$ M$ D# Uthis story.
5 p" j3 m0 l Y
4 j$ z j' v$ u8 e/ T) w G, I-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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