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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题# U: \* Y1 D& Y7 S( f5 j7 |9 p/ ~
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS& m7 t7 W2 c" R3 t3 j
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
' _9 n% g* q" X2 L/ H$ yoperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
d% p( a# m/ ^+ | }5 c2 Q& Cthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
) Q4 ~ _2 H9 o9 v4 ?6 Qsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
( X5 ~7 D- m( O3 r6 `- G' ]"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential% Z& G% G) v3 m. W2 ^
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
" a2 X/ f# ~5 JHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected8 [* P! o" B, [% @7 ^0 J" ^
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
6 O0 A F) y+ _0 v! utrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor6 U' a6 ^) W/ s; Z, r u; U6 l
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.0 H* a% R. y* L7 ]; p1 M: g. z
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
- O, K8 N' s+ zand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp/ V/ w# X: f, z6 k- g7 T7 w, y; W! r: d
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
1 @% H/ `5 _+ I1 ?" H7 ]further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
6 H0 s+ v8 D0 S Lnot stop her runaway Lexus.
. f' U3 }% k# t8 j: s"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville," R0 ~4 n1 E& V
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second( ~" x& z% k, ]
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
+ Q( a' j* D2 {- e" V; lTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues* _4 g5 \8 ^" M7 A7 f& T
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said0 O$ K4 J3 I7 P, r
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
7 L) a( q+ q% ]) I. I5 a `. Tdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
! u, ?7 s* p$ `9 K7 W, u! Othrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
% D5 s1 `7 j4 f( G8 Ainvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham.": P0 r5 f) P$ }0 U0 ?
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
% x, G5 m. @( j% Aelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of% }9 w8 \! |1 S4 x! t
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
; C! [' L. e9 R" x# \malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he, A7 R+ v: ]6 M) {& X0 A
said.
: K# b# p6 g( Y- A" B9 XAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
; l3 n: h9 ]% Whappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe& [& J: u1 }$ [* u0 B- w: v, h
about driving our products," Lentz said.; [2 L7 d. x* ~9 ?3 I) B
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's! ]( y# ]' F( Y4 B4 C
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
2 J8 ]( e0 a+ I1 ]# v1 [recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
% o2 L, o1 z7 u3 ~1 d1 _million in the United States -- since last fall because of' B0 p- p: V k) @/ S
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking! I; j9 z. V' [ w% W @6 G
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering5 Z1 F; I. B+ N% h; t2 b
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of1 v' w' }9 A, [/ _
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
" K. ~0 W0 N3 _. Odown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has! ?; L1 E6 L+ p( x9 v1 Q; o* \/ ]
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
W2 z. A' w& z+ D9 p( p+ R) Nof Toyota vehicles since 2000./ V" O& J7 u3 g' `
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own! J6 Y3 V( `6 G1 D/ [, K. P
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
K$ ?! v, r; q% e! junderstood the pain.' B6 T: H8 h8 b" P1 {4 l) y
"I know what those families go through," he said.4 w4 P# \, h) ]4 ^5 H
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
- N) ?1 x& }7 @! zfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
1 ~0 }# ]( n$ c$ T$ q8 m# r7 RBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman0 [% [ S+ o# ?$ F6 @9 c
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put; T' h, _0 ^( Y L! f
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,7 @& A: E) {( J7 ~! h) ?. x
Lentz replied: "Not totally."* u o+ u, ?4 U. Q
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were; g! v% _3 l7 j2 `2 G/ A
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said. Y( D( H# u8 C, {5 U) ]7 p
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas' Y& T" v! {8 L' C4 X; v; [' J; q
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its3 R: W, `( y5 k3 A \
vehicles already on the road.1 K( h7 x" |- k) v
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify0 N3 K6 W, X$ K2 p
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
+ J( x. W+ j7 G) A% fresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
" t; q' R& S Ioffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were2 b+ Y$ N: D' M6 W! ^ y- R
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.+ t. ~# _- S% X6 a
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a' {( z: E& ~: g$ a, W6 C3 G" u
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony. a5 a; i( h9 H. x6 D: D% J4 k# b7 p
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
0 T3 h+ ~+ B0 z) O" B! h, TCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal3 d% x- Y3 u- G+ @
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to6 w6 |' N- l3 w" V" t/ p0 r
restore the trust of our customers."' T; j; Z$ W% p R# ]1 ?6 x
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
* J2 j, ^' l% @: A& P& j9 T2 r& t3 @Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
, X/ h$ T% R( L3 N# L" izoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --/ J' M0 f+ w# q! q/ R4 D
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and4 Z6 T; x& I* h1 C8 \+ d
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
" ~/ {9 P; \9 K! Pthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
1 n! ~: k0 d' g/ `- Cturn off the engine.
" L4 i ]5 Q: y! ^8 h$ F$ V& E4 uFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
p2 g \7 w+ g" I, k" e/ F# wOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."7 a0 r' h9 O9 o, ?- e- L5 R- ^
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
+ u+ U$ }/ t, m k, ^! }said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
1 Z$ t; h* _2 k* }' L7 v( Xto her complaints.% x! F8 `' w/ M/ P$ m7 r) Q9 y
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers- g3 n0 A( P8 D
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
E, t- G3 D) d5 x/ o" m2 Dmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
) w0 q1 Y$ v4 v( I"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric7 E$ d' m; d" ]; d
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited2 D! }7 @5 }0 i) s: s& F
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut5 D6 U/ S+ N& d3 _
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."/ F+ H$ d: V) o- n q1 |% b
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in- z; c8 u, `+ |8 z' a$ f
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
" k# \/ W0 X& U# ]) a2 k, cbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
- d" }9 `* m0 H* j3 Gwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
6 p& w& o/ p" r, Pevery question." J' |4 c" ^9 n8 [7 r5 @
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether, z# E$ p, J1 J1 ~- O
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
4 q3 w0 G# L7 \+ h5 ~firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
( g8 l; c% k; w- E' ~6 ncommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
& M4 H" F- V8 R! x. ~+ a7 r5 \number of vehicles
& H4 j' ]9 N: e: R* v9 dTracking down an electrical problem can be far more6 V: o6 k5 H4 W* f& b8 k, D" R7 O
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
# X7 z) y- ]- C& o# Gmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
- K; W' c0 K- D6 j5 Zsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car." e8 W! z' `/ d7 R( Y3 x% s- V6 Y
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
2 S8 x( a! t; d' mwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no# |* q- V; Z. g( c9 P7 S
trace at all./ J/ d% L, Q- U3 a" W, w
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call0 _! V9 d7 R3 }6 O
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
- y3 K" C) _5 G2 K9 Sacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
; r! M& f# Z$ g' ^recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals." g0 F: Y$ i9 P: h" f- e
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,2 o- f3 q0 U$ h! N) w$ s/ V
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and1 _+ P6 J- R) W1 a! V" n4 d& w: T/ g
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the9 c0 A, L/ T! Z: x7 f
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible3 B2 }1 y+ k7 Z$ J$ s
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
2 j; k% Y5 c2 L: S( l- e) [/ |such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
5 U) E) G! w5 M8 {by Toyota's lawyers."
8 Q/ y" n8 S# t9 R9 lLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
! V( A5 P5 c) s" w3 n- L4 s5 `problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our3 L: D6 l5 D: G
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
6 d0 a I1 j1 {said.# l) V, G' |2 }4 @
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
4 s! f+ c; ^# r" {! W* o/ ea rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our. {% Y' M6 O) ]9 u6 y
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
' L: T3 L4 M, `; h& Uofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.$ g& Z+ w, H+ G# e' x: l, T8 u1 @/ {7 n
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying3 v! D/ w' z5 d; i* p
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread6 m) u" n8 C( S
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
0 _+ k; H7 D2 j5 D8 w' Sautomaker, at least in part because of the government's7 |/ j u* {7 w( j
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and; b" D ?6 s. t2 V( f, U; v8 w
Chrysler." h- s' I3 k$ Y, c
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax! y/ k" o5 j9 d" ~& h
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
: S& {" \; w) C0 o/ D- T. EHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
% ^) w# y* \- f3 X4 x1 f0 }served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
" j1 {5 T T- O8 C$ |with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty0 Q$ E( [+ l6 B5 ^9 P: K$ ]
tough."6 `3 j' B8 k- A2 y1 L, K3 j
---& Q) B* C: S* G) [ J$ O. j
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom5 ?, ~! V o; `8 d' L: P
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to( i5 t" \2 k5 T* \
this story.
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, r/ ~- k" P/ i C' T* z-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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