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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题9 `2 ~! A% H# V1 S( {! w9 a6 U
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS, h/ I7 U+ l& e. L5 ]
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
. K9 s4 P! X5 k# V h: Woperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
& a8 Q- u# F4 A9 T) v9 V+ Vthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally". d) y& r4 t0 `* \; M% o
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.0 A* Y) ~$ H7 \% B( Z
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential0 Q: t# e1 y; @2 L% m
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.' z; G: j7 A7 y8 \, ^
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
' P- Z1 c+ u1 _# y" e; Vacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
: t4 Q5 G- L) x) s/ utrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor& O( ^+ | l6 ?. z
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
5 Z2 ^. v" Y9 T- J ^He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
@; U# \! p$ s5 t% [and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp: r& O. f& o. M+ j; \ y5 h
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be/ ~6 M1 `+ O3 {# v. P! `
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
/ W& ~2 L# C" V+ ]$ Jnot stop her runaway Lexus.' w+ R V! I: X" s, O( ~# z
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,! B& G8 S: f# r3 A, H ?
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
h! B# K/ d) S. z! c; i"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
5 h; c5 d* |8 h1 CTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues1 L& x5 r( j: S3 d/ z
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said8 j7 g; I5 ]! \$ Q V
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
& ~; n" D& a* r$ a# ?3 T' wdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway5 s/ |6 |3 \. X
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's4 U1 r' `% i( P8 z! O# m8 _
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham.", e& B4 h( M6 _. S( E
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
! g* z6 G2 r( ?2 b# L/ pelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of4 H \* x. x- t, o4 Q# v, ] {
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a. _. ]8 c, r! H/ H, C9 n, `/ V
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he0 T5 c, w* p" L: C: _$ l) u7 U5 N5 W
said." x1 G3 f0 \! Q
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
?7 i8 f+ }: H4 V3 \( F1 s! e0 rhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
0 j! [. A* Z4 Q: C; X, Tabout driving our products," Lentz said.5 u: h; Z# l- M$ ^' ]
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
4 M7 x S' u/ I; z7 `/ r+ {problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has2 B" q' ~+ @& \- l0 P& \% s
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6- \: `: Z: Q9 p0 s \, L/ b$ a/ s
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
2 a1 C# l+ P; J6 ]5 X# ~, gunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking2 L, E& ^' u7 y/ v, Y; `
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering" B& {4 e' H8 @1 C$ x# a
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of! g1 ~4 t3 ~+ G8 ~ ^; V
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow6 {" \3 H% T% t, T3 a
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
* M9 {) k8 h$ V* c1 Freceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration8 j2 T7 M5 L" H. _
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.+ T# n, I, z1 A) H
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
2 f: g; T* M% @9 P/ M Xbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
- Q) t9 V5 J. K, ]. |& D* ~understood the pain.
+ a0 C' P$ G. U"I know what those families go through," he said.& _' R, F8 E$ ^8 z/ I
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's- m& v3 e! w. r( J- d. Y( Z: v
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
) u$ m6 u! P5 f- a; BBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman" }# w2 y. w- f( j, {2 @! I/ D3 d
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
, O. i4 o, B& t. w) ?in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,2 m8 \+ W4 P2 A' `& B* F/ C9 M
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
! D9 {/ V& a( p1 Y5 t; WStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were+ l2 ?8 k( f2 l: ?7 }6 \
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said$ h) V+ J! W' b
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
0 e* l3 n- S, e9 s% Zpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
6 x' }3 T7 Q" L. G7 I- @vehicles already on the road., }# ?9 [4 z# _+ z% C. y: a) m
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify* x e: w* M q! d
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full: K; m i4 t8 v$ Y" C; ^7 c
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and2 p$ A3 D5 }+ N
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
9 G1 S O" D; Q+ f& V, r! ikilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
, D5 M5 p7 e6 ]+ A. b8 Q/ h: q7 t+ O8 D1 O"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
) P- u9 t1 q c" N4 S, E; Ftragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
& T% G" z+ V6 g( q: G2 N1 tfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight: } ^# W/ _7 M( P0 v4 |
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
3 C9 I! x8 d. x+ Ecommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
, K; [9 C- [& T# p( f" rrestore the trust of our customers."
6 n% p6 {, T2 V e o' R Q# xLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
# X8 @' S+ o7 O# U; ~: X$ oSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly, _+ m8 n- q# h
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --2 E. C7 |4 \: i" P- D& J$ N% D
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
- q& T0 @' D( M1 j3 |2 ohitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
8 ~1 W" m" u" t$ X6 V/ ]" O: Qthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and) U5 r$ s2 V; v, i
turn off the engine.) ~ v; `, h) g. a" L
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of( g$ y* g) P$ {
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."' p7 l6 H6 z7 i m4 o( [/ J
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
" `! ] D$ w, x- Y) ]said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond5 B5 L% i# {) L( A( t6 M4 j% |
to her complaints.. z' ]7 V# t' { M0 @- J
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers! \) K' I) E5 ~/ [, S# y: n
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
+ e& d' M& O+ V. C7 Wmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
& P, g& Z |, \2 p2 W6 [9 V% q, K* p"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric2 w; k2 j1 z3 j# c9 T- H6 w
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited5 K6 w5 U& a5 k% |* g: a, A
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut, G) x D3 B, L9 E Q% I3 ~, s
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure.", j S6 _3 t1 J- Y9 _
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in' m% W6 R2 h- L* f" x5 R8 E1 O) l: O
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were& {9 P6 t" U( g7 ?3 j: p
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
. J: y# A! }# H% Jwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer9 [ z3 A# r+ e0 |: K8 M" v
every question."
% E5 n$ r7 K9 D! m) m" W0 OToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
r5 m% k: X( T, G2 @4 F, v3 R9 yelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
6 P. q; i" l7 g! O8 b* mfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But' U6 j$ ` s C7 Y
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small/ {) P l4 x% [! f* `: B
number of vehicles) j, s ] E3 z: ?2 i$ W
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
3 [) Q a" `: v: f( c$ edifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
( d* f6 k6 E$ cmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one9 y4 q) d, [4 k2 m4 M
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
; X4 Q( b8 s% H' I, WMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,% l7 ?. M) I: v: Z* q- u8 T
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
( u# o% M# K; A1 I# wtrace at all./ c6 K! ?; V9 D; k) j. b8 h
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
0 v( N( S y8 ?database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden- x9 w# q6 {' o$ B* C
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
7 T7 t/ `! _/ G4 N5 M R! jrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
* ]( t- C& X9 `Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,( t' {/ {" V; S: s" _% d
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
; z/ k. I! M" |4 T1 ?5 dother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the% \; K: }/ j" p: J$ V C$ z
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
8 _3 G2 n& P7 K& P5 Hcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only8 p( a3 Y3 c" e) {
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
3 i$ [2 {$ U0 o; B4 {3 `. {by Toyota's lawyers."
* D' a$ R6 h* k/ Q" X9 ZLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of$ y$ t1 I8 O( t) X, g: O2 H6 D: y
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our( z8 F# s: O% X6 z1 d
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he! O, a+ h8 o2 }
said.
! Z$ Y" X1 R; Y( i0 B* w"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
4 E$ i3 E8 e0 g) `a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our, R( [$ V# C# J d, w# M m
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
, L& V I; z; o& s/ eofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.% k! ~5 ~+ B8 U, O3 ^
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
+ T& u) s5 \5 v, }! i+ n6 fmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
2 u- x7 B) G! g8 C! B1 C/ Y( vrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
: U* @! h, o% z0 h2 a. f$ mautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
3 F6 [& |# o' N& @1 @9 minvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
! n/ U) C7 O _/ J W* T) oChrysler.
: L$ `! z& W$ r3 a4 |0 `"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax% M3 o1 G6 w: l G
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
( M& U" ~( O1 W3 }7 L! R) A8 ^7 CHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
( U5 o9 T7 J- D" Q! Q. x4 f% ]served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete; o6 ?0 ~6 b( Z7 i
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
' B. t: G M4 J" x+ p# r% c) utough."
- p& k f; t) j: i2 @) ]---
t$ U) s0 d1 ]" i1 [- n1 E mAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
* S8 V% m! U1 E3 s+ r; `7 yRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to! j* z, I% I2 b% s# c) P. ^8 z L
this story.
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/ v( F, H' s( |. ~( x( y+ }-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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