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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题; C9 |/ K: B' L r3 R
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS% p, _# \( Y8 Z7 o0 ~4 c
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S./ x! P7 y+ O* Z3 w0 E
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that1 L1 A* k2 A. r7 f
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"! o4 g4 d/ w0 M
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
! \7 [$ T) f: H, l" G& W6 B# e4 c"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential( @" f+ ]4 @# g; J+ d; a% V
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.0 y2 g* G0 k; J2 v9 B. n
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected- s9 y7 x& d( d1 v. c/ W
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
$ O1 o9 i1 o7 T6 h: Ftrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
8 ?" e0 _4 J" d9 v( G1 n8 Rmats and sticking accelerator pedals.7 t* `+ ?) V) h+ U7 G/ e9 N
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal B- e9 T# W( j& j7 s
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp9 P. O4 ^& R J' i- @: \
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be4 V+ J& d. U6 R1 Q1 h: H) W
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could. w) ]" c- G+ O7 u; d6 ^: [
not stop her runaway Lexus.
8 `6 g2 `0 U3 o) }* M"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
& N4 W( ?' }8 [Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
& |# J* Q( p }$ ]( N0 b- L7 R; t h"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
x' f* Y3 I1 ]( D, c+ mTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
; A& M, l* S2 Xearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said8 j9 e/ l5 o9 |) x
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has( M. W4 I4 K) d/ ]9 \; g
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway! ~2 n) F6 }: X9 G# N* _0 H* Y( L+ |8 ~% f
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's/ N+ ^9 J/ T5 v/ ^) P0 n
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
+ z& \7 {4 y" g QLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an5 u* Q5 T' l# o$ g! T' E" x: _1 O6 b( u
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
" q. M. z' B1 O D: d: D9 @" vthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
+ y5 o" L' Y1 r H( pmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
6 Q0 {% I3 c. y9 l- rsaid.
3 r z: b4 ?' s- G vAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
) M* W% r# a" y2 ghappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe5 w* n" G7 j; e& S- g( [7 C
about driving our products," Lentz said.
% R" m ^9 V% V, t$ Z1 TThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
, K8 f5 J/ `6 y6 [; Nproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has: h# M! F, }+ C
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
7 O( E& a- q% L3 R0 ^million in the United States -- since last fall because of+ ]; U* c, W2 n* w9 g9 M
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking* u5 _/ {7 J4 Y/ X
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering& _& w' @6 y$ E; g# m8 g; K+ i! j
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of3 a0 h" k% ~; P0 E: x9 f( ]% o, P! i
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow% h ?8 C1 w7 o0 k" I7 e
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has. A: G+ x" b b% T( |
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
; p1 R2 N+ ~; t& k; M" xof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
8 L" p* q7 z, X/ r9 gLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
/ x7 z& v1 P4 \! N8 ?; nbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he) q/ W/ v f- H9 C C8 _
understood the pain.
3 ~ k6 E9 v1 D+ X) \! @ N"I know what those families go through," he said.
" g$ {' j2 K( }5 tLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's9 Y0 n! P2 b- l7 i7 U9 Q
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
4 ^5 `) J, [) J( ]: S% uBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman$ h( I7 j9 F ^! c
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put t9 S1 _6 G0 I6 A- h8 o
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,2 m0 ^) v2 s {# V
Lentz replied: "Not totally."5 r9 _1 S0 \" ]
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were; T$ u/ H% V$ q/ C
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
+ Q. U" f T/ k0 _/ RToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
/ |3 S. m( k9 b" @( X Qpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
# C7 P& i( T0 R3 n) ~7 zvehicles already on the road.
9 n% y, c: m6 d* [% nMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify8 [) a! {0 B. P: B5 U
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full/ [/ Z" i( W- P- k) [; k
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and- W% A& f7 g% D1 s# X
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were. ]: W, G- {+ U( u3 T! {* S
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
x- F ~7 D( y8 ~! p( b3 ?"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
9 _- S. n2 r& Dtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony5 W$ S/ v5 N5 t
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
+ L& I9 D. j0 C1 Q$ O7 B6 `# bCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal# a: P" ?+ Z! z
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
; p; o u4 ]2 Crestore the trust of our customers."
" A6 u1 V+ e/ ?; T. b9 aLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from2 N' U$ B" o6 J! Z1 k: _: o
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
6 n; t4 @1 G$ h* ezoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --( t. b7 y3 l/ ^9 n4 U( j- T+ M4 f
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and; m6 g; @& a+ B2 t+ f$ `; L
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough- Q W& F0 H% v* M. W
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and- T& s( J# V# q4 V; x! O2 c
turn off the engine.
+ }$ E" B- k2 J" E. ?3 { S+ z$ ?4 cFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
' N6 P- \1 L: ^* Q) LOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
* h, \4 R& K! g1 J3 @" W"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
* k& J" G% h/ xsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond+ V( v$ {) h9 b' q0 [
to her complaints.1 I8 u. {% |) ~- |0 q4 W% V4 @
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
4 [0 g9 z( U5 R# V2 n5 G* sreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic$ S8 z5 e2 w0 _9 j) d7 k- u3 y
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
' h: n8 Q. O& n"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric3 d4 p$ o0 t L
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
1 Z1 n C1 t0 B2 f- y7 ~"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
- N# y6 M, D9 Hoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
9 |2 Y# }& j' l* KTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in$ C$ f9 t. ]3 t/ w W' y: A
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
& c5 j7 O! e* G8 q# Q% Pbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
% `+ L$ e. ~; r; @0 ]& b6 Pwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer) D/ C6 E! ^2 p
every question."% \3 {6 ?: F8 y' ^% P1 `: y
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
' c2 d# @7 G9 i) ?- ielectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The: Y8 }( F& H/ u+ `
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But6 s- x' Q) w! ]- l, [2 z$ {/ n
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small: m. N' C/ G5 |) C6 U; Z7 J- i
number of vehicles$ A% `, C9 x% a: ]. ~6 _& O5 d
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
; n5 I7 {+ D- e0 @# c4 K! Edifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a* _& v9 T# t$ I- a7 z( p! P9 e+ V
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
( Z2 h' k1 h: k& q$ y4 ]source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
. j2 H2 ?( f" \" u# I# R3 c. |Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
, Q8 C: r; H3 `$ F* j, b1 b7 Swhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
$ q" ?0 M. p8 S' @/ Q4 O( l4 ztrace at all.6 U6 W: B! a7 W4 f1 u
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
?$ K. J) E, w V( E/ ^database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden' C& i. x1 N4 M
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the3 N0 c; u9 A9 h3 X q, S+ M
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
! V5 B6 }6 q$ C/ ~" l6 y7 ? y( G _Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,5 s) o U- ]. I6 L1 {8 x
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and/ W7 i6 [, T h' ~
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
$ O* \. B1 x7 ^7 K) p" X1 Relectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible- k9 j% m) T2 n5 Y
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only7 G& b, v0 y6 O- i& D
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
( D: A$ I! b7 v8 S: X1 wby Toyota's lawyers."! i& m. _0 j- o, {# A5 u
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of$ t3 S$ X0 a* N
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
% Z3 o, A4 f, lcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he" e% e+ ~" `; A1 f
said.
& W, n, b# V0 G1 z l1 E$ _; A"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
7 X S: u% V9 _* y4 [- v& Ha rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
7 `. ]7 }% Y' C% ^) mgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
* x1 F# ?& p" g* _7 jofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.; r0 m' N, r0 u" l5 g4 n
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying; D# Z* o2 o- f! n: o& G a1 H
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread1 g- t1 G, y8 G6 z! W
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the4 U, c5 U- |" [6 ]0 P6 y
automaker, at least in part because of the government's$ _) Q+ j9 S2 R+ {, \/ N6 p- X
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and( x/ n$ t D% r
Chrysler.7 U+ C) z9 A7 ^* t+ z% ~
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax& Z7 r* {( K7 A+ }1 L
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a0 v6 `6 x5 A2 h. @/ j- X$ t* W
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
7 h d% B! m9 k7 Y' B* `' _7 Eserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
. g- z7 k9 R' W7 v, Ewith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
0 T4 P9 T }0 e4 R6 W* ntough."
0 l" Q, y- r/ b4 U- {---
" @8 N3 g2 x( j# S; y. H$ sAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom9 L; X9 k" z+ }. J* m
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
& [- r8 W& w% u1 @4 f# e, `this story.% d% U W# |& N3 I! O6 e) F
% d# r2 _) L5 c# s
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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