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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
0 q1 |% o! p4 k9 _. o& I9 fBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
$ e% d- l$ b0 MWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.) A) R$ ~1 f: h4 }. K3 c
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
3 k+ y: ^. Z+ H3 e# a7 M) e, Jthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"7 ]# x# X- r" p9 a" b8 {; F
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.' t8 Y3 O& T; I2 M# K9 w" k: m6 g
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential0 q7 i4 H4 K$ p$ T. q
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.( n; }$ J" B8 s2 Y( K
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected; B& R* I+ E1 X- W! _1 v
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and4 ?6 ~) p$ T" c
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor3 v1 X! b8 o0 P J2 ?
mats and sticking accelerator pedals./ @' b6 G* s8 F) V
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal5 l/ A) O% d8 x+ T# Q; \/ E
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp! }0 O9 p5 ^2 z/ T A5 Y! o5 E
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be# j1 \/ Y. B3 |! t* G
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
- d7 e7 Y4 V' J5 k! m6 ynot stop her runaway Lexus.! Z- O# C, g0 P! o3 _: e+ w
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
9 X _) B/ a+ ~, y& g6 l% zTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
2 [ ^1 I/ a: s! D" F"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.+ S7 i; k0 X4 a y3 E
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
8 H7 E4 s& G% _3 u$ D; Bearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
{0 z- R8 t# i5 L9 a9 t"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has& x- [! ^% c& ?4 {
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway) B- |* g8 [; n+ h1 I3 i" N# U
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's3 B. R `3 D* i2 e- ]- ?
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."% a8 C0 J' W4 O
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an3 [0 D8 y: U3 K* l3 p; u
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of/ o# C( ]; n) n' Z! S
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
' H6 W j- j% V9 y0 p: I2 G, }malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he/ ^) G4 F+ c' V
said.
3 }/ k c- g+ p6 e( GAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
: B- q! e; K4 P! G [' thappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
* t8 N' j( g$ ^about driving our products," Lentz said.8 S& h% g. ~) x' a
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
/ k4 p( R& z8 Iproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has4 d& N; l! X8 M0 [7 _7 x
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
) O# R$ j8 J* w. B# xmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
1 _* N" I q, e1 K. H% N/ |; |/ I" {unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking: ~/ e1 b& }3 d: g) |7 f8 ?
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering: E" g& L4 U" F/ d8 v, N
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of. [: @( a" N- P9 z! e
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow* e* _* F# `! L8 `: j! c
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has3 s4 v% ^* M* f1 p
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
! e% l* ?0 Y; b1 g9 v, B+ Rof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
9 C0 D* C u, C8 ILentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own e$ K2 F" F8 f/ @* M$ D# {. \
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he6 G0 h! M* X2 J
understood the pain.8 a' W3 t; s9 k( G& _
"I know what those families go through," he said.
- D5 D6 U( v% `4 O( ^Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
P% i7 m8 R/ z/ Qfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.. I* ^" o0 J; D" n6 k8 B `' V
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
9 m( U4 ~( F6 O/ DHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put0 l! b& o3 M) B; }* R8 @! P
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
6 f0 g8 _4 n) Q, sLentz replied: "Not totally."; n6 t+ ?6 g0 V5 O
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
8 z& Q* f5 x! W1 V) S5 S1 S"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said. h1 i& s0 q/ P8 \
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas" j2 I/ M2 h+ Q7 q0 K N4 s* c
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its' w8 w% T* w( Z) \
vehicles already on the road.! `3 h/ F# F, l- \2 q, H+ p2 C8 t
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify% K# |/ s& n4 X& _( h
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
) C& J8 N! t$ N9 [5 B3 _! \responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
2 r# f4 o3 Q+ i8 v1 Noffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were, l. A+ n* y7 f5 K& X
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems." V9 P2 a* @7 W( |6 c+ q. |$ a
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a: P+ A9 ~6 O; T' [# a M
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony, e" y# K& O- p5 L3 v4 O @
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
4 y) |! l; ~* R" y, DCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
' W" r, t/ L/ G: q+ K" E- ccommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to; W* C7 v8 z( n, g4 V. B- e
restore the trust of our customers."
) A/ W. ?) P% l* s- i' fLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from& `6 B6 T' l" l! _8 b' \
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
2 O9 @6 Z5 E: Gzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --1 B( b7 R" \; q3 ]) O) v
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and) O/ N c, w* B9 W
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
1 F* d3 z& z2 i, d9 N4 Y) A" r6 Cthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and) u* P. |5 ^- y1 w% S# I0 J
turn off the engine.! d+ {' d/ m9 Y
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of' ?( e/ ]3 B: b1 I7 M& ]' \
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
, U( L E4 B: @" ^9 c"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she8 v7 ?7 Q" F, i, Y
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
( u% W% ? i* d) kto her complaints., }& `' k; Z& n0 m) X3 B3 x
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers6 |' Z) k$ R6 t6 o& E4 ]0 W* s
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic5 F9 x2 H2 y: y) c3 k8 p @
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
/ g8 E8 k$ m9 _+ L"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric5 P; ^% i9 y' n# o3 m
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
6 m. {" v- x. m, M* t"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut: x J- O3 h: i# T' w. O* i- i( q9 Z
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
6 W: ~( o% f3 J1 _" m/ NTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
# M6 L; @* r4 a2 s. C5 i5 O0 Oprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were) `0 i- f; _2 Z% v( V+ A2 J
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls9 C! z* @( s# ?# w
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
( \6 P. \- }; U- Tevery question."
2 j8 z; [5 j8 U1 n. R1 k1 w. xToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
1 A% r- e1 O1 {, U4 c: I8 Eelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The7 ~; ~3 b: l! S8 G1 ?1 y. Z( s) w
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
: j$ z! |) ` Ycommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small4 }& ]+ [. W8 n( l7 W; s
number of vehicles
( ~$ m# v2 b5 s& I1 c7 {$ LTracking down an electrical problem can be far more( r* p4 E' X$ o; w2 r1 t- S
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a6 R$ I' Z: M* D
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
8 m* N% v* j! _: q/ A0 }source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
, b: j5 u' O! A* gMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,$ I( c; [/ F# f) v) M- d! J. B
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no; o7 e1 X( Q& y% E# _( P8 L
trace at all.) z( ]1 k% M$ V) q# Y
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call1 Y( J3 R& v8 ^7 a" g% x
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
& ^0 g' v7 H' ]' P- Xacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the2 `8 l" G# G: e7 j% e& }. d- w
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
( f8 `7 X6 b6 A- BRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
& y8 h% J6 F$ C2 H q8 Esaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and0 I& C, c+ _& ^& g- l& Z
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
+ W E1 D7 w0 F% {: z# |electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
. O5 v: o6 `* R7 d3 I$ L- y, ccause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
4 @ t! Z R% f* j- z, Lsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained$ o+ v5 z: f7 ?# i: H7 z
by Toyota's lawyers."' V5 x+ i0 N2 G9 ^* r* r% h
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
$ ^( y- v; l: t3 d- H* o b$ Vproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
# l* O5 T a. R4 U5 kcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he' n5 w( P B, E9 n6 J3 p; X1 R
said.
/ K2 `" o2 v& R3 a0 E"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with% B9 e1 M" y& S- s' H
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
: q% p9 U: [& q) s3 e: o0 }good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
. Y) P% A' l7 B b* Mofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc. n( b8 n5 @! H
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
( x0 W5 x! |# I' Zmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
' z# b- D, `* P* W6 nrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
" E9 b$ D5 O. L+ A: T) p, Oautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
0 v+ d1 f/ c; v- } E1 F* {- [4 Ainvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and/ @9 g7 k$ Q7 Q6 s
Chrysler.8 y/ P) G/ W' J) l, y
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
5 j5 r. p. ]% D# |9 x3 W5 }dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a3 L5 M7 p k8 T$ x
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also. n' t1 C* c! G A
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete5 A6 T8 ?5 \' |# Q+ \
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
0 }5 O8 z5 {7 h0 b& Etough."
" ?1 |$ X" R [ H' ^# D& b) ?---. E* y5 T3 w) D( ^6 n+ w ?
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom5 |; D- d0 I4 e. C" @ C+ r3 W
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to: M: I- t" y$ j6 x) i
this story.: {& \# e x) y# j1 X
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-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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