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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题( \6 B ~# s! `3 Y
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
; C4 z, Z" S/ dWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.( Z: E9 c, H" n7 d
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
8 N+ \( F6 M( Q& bthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"/ e* O1 x5 h2 |' |
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.: T; i* ^' T: b
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential C! r, K- n# d0 K1 ?7 O7 G, d
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.$ h5 F, [9 ~- X1 e. }7 Q* k
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
\# f& j0 |9 L: racceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and- r$ c$ V% z" W- k2 K% n7 H+ u
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
9 q/ s3 O2 M; t3 B" kmats and sticking accelerator pedals.1 @& X9 Q8 t2 p g' m( G
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
2 L! ^! H8 i0 xand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
1 B; m5 @# ]6 @6 l! Z8 n1 f; ?criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be2 W! ~8 a8 [2 A0 J6 O
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could. L3 d* o5 ], ?( X( Y
not stop her runaway Lexus., D/ q# u/ }3 b) t
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
# G6 [. d, R5 M( ?7 J7 sTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
2 o/ u: _3 ?( D9 x"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.& A. x5 K# s& e
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
/ T& R& o- x1 v9 @+ J7 Oearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
/ \/ o2 }5 J) \& w# N"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has" G; i+ J! m7 K h4 _. r# ]
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway! N& C0 C. l2 O
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
2 U; l u. ^2 Tinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
. c$ ~2 s% x" q8 _& l- ZLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an% w1 K& o! A$ s5 M" }
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
" T0 s5 }# \! t+ ethe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a- M9 K; }* X; X& ~2 N
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
, E/ ]/ } P3 z) ]% ]- J; u( Qsaid.
2 Y+ ^" Q) Q SAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
, X7 E; { x- n/ d* u5 r) Ghappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
) o0 V. ?$ U7 R) ^9 S) A/ h/ Habout driving our products," Lentz said.+ E$ @' U9 I$ ]2 b( W8 Z
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's/ A: V3 a5 {* i4 ]' i
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has: E- x: d" S. p% }$ S
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 63 l1 i7 O$ l- t2 L5 q' R: V: T
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
% |" y4 N7 x1 C/ i( {; V/ k junintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking) t" k8 S' Z1 y. j+ S) ^
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering0 `9 d% Q: g1 |( h% o) q- \
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
( D8 g! t2 t, \their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow6 y( A) s) R" X6 w
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
$ h) e3 u7 c* T3 @received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
; T3 _( Z3 O# P! Z: \of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
8 a4 i! b; p" P0 |: Z3 yLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own7 @+ T4 P; J( Y$ `* _9 A, e
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
! w( l# W$ J+ z& K5 F0 @+ a/ nunderstood the pain.
9 {- m: Z# F. Q0 a) [& S' _"I know what those families go through," he said.( q3 f' I) ?6 G) A* N( G. }
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's) v; N. o9 w+ M$ u6 b; c
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.0 x+ e4 X! @; K8 v; w
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman8 I5 O! u6 Y9 x2 B/ v
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put# q4 L& [) s- i6 f6 I8 O5 f, M
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,; Q3 G3 S9 m% @( a& X8 Z' x
Lentz replied: "Not totally."" Z; {+ J E N/ t/ U; _
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
, M; s: t$ U0 f9 Y"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
! ?5 D9 F7 ~7 t( [8 ZToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
/ ~0 Z2 p* A: wpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its1 m# s9 N, @. z$ s
vehicles already on the road.
$ v( t }( f _" s: C( YMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
2 W, K$ M- @ I9 B6 C( Sbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
8 W" f6 u$ d! {responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and6 B) y. a5 ~. f9 H6 \& E
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were" h5 l/ `& P! l1 K1 l7 |, a4 }, S, F- k
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.- f" A* ^% Q+ v
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
) R, e& T7 I1 i5 Vtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
- w8 h4 B6 u$ @6 ?! z( tfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight( c- z& Z" A1 y0 F( k. @ p/ c
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
+ e8 [1 }- ]% n/ W) V4 T- d3 Hcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to$ o. S2 R: u1 ~
restore the trust of our customers."
) R7 u: U0 m- Z; p3 j% \Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from$ L2 }- m" T, e8 Q7 v4 s
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly; ~( n5 a% ^( } h1 B7 R
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --, b; f' ~5 M$ @
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
& |$ T8 S0 [2 o/ s0 l: S8 ?hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
+ D2 X2 M9 ^( l4 Y3 {7 h: v2 ?that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and0 u j1 q1 V! l( {2 _% m0 v+ b7 r
turn off the engine.
* W+ ?3 P& Y& `1 wFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of& O# {- Z8 v* ]4 m& F2 L8 N: l
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
# {1 y) R; j# q3 i) N3 Q/ A4 G"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she% E# d2 ^0 e$ y3 N* Y! u
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond7 V# |9 z" A" }- h6 e
to her complaints.: }/ M8 J# e2 r6 A+ h
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers6 u1 {0 D5 ]: M( ?: h4 C; R- G7 b
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
7 b! F6 M6 d1 c; B& U# ]malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.; Z" v3 H6 A: \/ X
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
6 e n+ Y& Q; z; A, X2 Bthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
! W* ^1 I, V" k4 ^# V- W2 e"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut( s" n' h! Q. p: ~: q4 v
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."* h1 \5 p* N, i& `9 X9 b; H! I( f
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
& k1 A3 [& r# | ]8 [prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were5 y, W9 j6 f* v' }5 Q
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
# \; B' r8 Y, x2 c2 Ywere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
5 i) U1 [ e; Qevery question."* ^) |( E; W0 k% j4 ~' y
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
% m" s8 z& }6 z% s* gelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The* Z2 u6 e5 M+ f9 s( i1 K
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
7 e& B0 i, n, Z8 Ucommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small( @& y1 h+ V0 O2 W! G) {6 |
number of vehicles
4 B8 Q( j: I' \7 @6 xTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
1 C( q; F2 G8 C* E4 odifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a: I# ~9 q# q) X; c7 q4 K p
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one9 t9 I m/ |% e9 i# \
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.( t: z% w, x9 V8 ^" {
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
; D; I9 q; A' [& Z8 Z+ |where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
' d! \/ o7 c6 u! ^1 X; `# ~trace at all.
/ A# ] q2 n SHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call. Q" S$ Z+ B6 V! v6 h# M/ L
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
% L* B$ Y9 t; [ b/ f* _acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the8 A2 Q: K# v* |* c0 {2 K% t& h
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
& r7 b0 A& V# _+ i- ~' z) k( KRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
8 U' g) U! g: {! [; osaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and* v% s8 Q+ F1 y0 ?& V
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the1 L8 }2 G, r6 V. h) Y; C
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible |* r$ s; M) Z, k
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only4 y7 i, k# B, B T, _5 j2 A6 |
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
" {8 ~# M t- j' Pby Toyota's lawyers."
/ O: u6 O' q6 C& ?2 b) I1 YLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of9 _' p4 h: V( e- t8 {2 \
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
2 a( _- i2 n- f2 L* }) m' }customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he8 ^4 {9 j* w4 @# K
said.! Y6 H/ n& ?" K) E9 o
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
- [4 f' C6 }. J3 Ha rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our1 ^6 H$ c, K# g) T
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
8 X- e: T% H% T5 k1 i, W! ]! jofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
5 d' D2 O% K* Z/ h" ^4 jSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
7 h: |1 F: @: W* D5 _$ s8 N1 nmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
]8 q9 ~: w) Krancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
- A' |2 B9 Q7 n& P s* y* Fautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
0 K% J' P. x+ P3 y: s' N- s: Einvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and& P z& a; L$ S2 F/ t: {
Chrysler. l1 Y2 Y9 f7 a
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
+ B$ f, n; y2 k# Udollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
* G# W8 [ w8 @8 A: I# SHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
# x' N6 X& H0 r, B; f5 A: ^$ M( I( _served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
' V8 C/ j' { ?with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
J5 ^/ }; |" Y8 W7 e0 ]# dtough."2 R' N& N* B$ p( e; E
---
- z* ?) ^% I0 B) [+ L' kAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom- D' V2 j% [% |. n# l
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to. c; y9 W& D" |( z) C8 `' g
this story.$ v7 w9 D; U ]5 d/ q
% ?: T- ~- k! t2 h- p-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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