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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题- M) ?) r* e' i. ? L Z
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
( z$ W) e3 B8 U, Z( U# ?0 {9 f6 XWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
9 H# f2 ?- N# k. b7 A/ }/ e' moperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that1 D1 c, a. W# _" [1 c
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"3 {! y4 U- W7 b- m% @" t
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
6 n4 g; S6 x3 g3 F; I"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
4 o; {9 x: k8 \% Zcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
& c0 y# k) K& u% R. }+ v& `9 a: kHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
5 V8 I5 S& v: cacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
9 z, Z) y, L& _3 y# |' btrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
7 ]* V3 G9 @; d& ?3 D' Bmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
5 k% J( K+ d/ {" f1 pHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
& D7 }# p: e# ~" O# Nand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
, _7 p: k& n- z+ d0 icriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be) a4 b2 X: f5 F* Y6 X
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could5 ~! B! m/ g+ f4 k' s0 y9 r$ Z
not stop her runaway Lexus.# k c7 @& l: ^0 m- C: ^
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,1 `! `- a' K: O; l" D1 o+ A
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
$ X) z4 `1 M( `. a* X5 Q4 u* ]"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
, l3 p9 T2 a/ H; I4 T0 bTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
% }" u& |& ]5 U. ?/ b4 S5 y, fearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
9 s* o; f% [; C4 T' S"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
% z* ?# a0 d+ n' g7 S% `* F" _done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
; G- e$ w% M/ k0 ^5 Tthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's4 ^1 Q' a' W& \" A3 \7 L' ]3 p
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
) a8 M5 o" ?. k; uLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an8 M; d$ ?+ I1 z
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
, v' a* W8 }8 Y4 u- g* Kthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a7 `# I' n* Y* ?0 H
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he1 ~3 k* W' S, { l; y' M
said.0 L0 }) q# m3 R- j5 V0 B
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what/ t' t7 ^% m+ ?
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
+ Y5 t" x& S8 {* A) i7 Iabout driving our products," Lentz said.5 A; p1 x* K: v% F# i$ K
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
# P1 ^& J% v- u( w: kproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has6 D# m! w. j) O& g* T$ W3 ^' ?* s
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
* N( Y6 X! i/ Y0 lmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of' ]+ E& h& a# g* L3 H" X' r
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
( G2 S. M1 t) Z% j7 [issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering1 T" o# w; V: w3 p' V
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
0 ^! X# B9 x0 z/ qtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow5 t) F, P4 q- F- x0 @
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has$ R Q) X2 K+ d6 W8 n+ o% z
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration0 F( \1 f3 c. c/ D0 t. S6 |9 {
of Toyota vehicles since 2000., [1 `2 s! V+ u- P
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
) l9 K/ Y& k+ t% @* m+ N4 l$ lbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
2 `5 T1 l$ R* w6 t1 D) @; }# Dunderstood the pain.
* O0 {3 B; n& \6 B. O"I know what those families go through," he said.
1 s/ z' h% h- l7 Z& yLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's1 y# s" b! q* }( U, ^; I9 p4 b9 p6 ~
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
3 {* Y! F3 |4 R- P8 OBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman: o' R3 @; L& H9 H# O3 ?
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put& M1 q. S1 e; O! \" C0 S
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
; I0 i; C/ E* O: E/ s5 Z$ ALentz replied: "Not totally."$ |$ t) i1 l6 |, y+ |4 p& O
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were0 x8 O$ e* x5 f
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said9 _1 f; V0 L1 a
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas" G# \- T) l* s2 l
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its$ }4 q: ]9 J7 O) ^' F" y0 @& t
vehicles already on the road.. j$ X! P& v! d' m# `, S: L
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify/ W- g( N9 z1 T) e+ Q
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
6 c! B6 Q" G. \7 Rresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and& W4 T- L8 F: {( n
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
. V! A1 H' h9 \% |; \killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.6 X" n- t" a# E
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a K" Q% @% V2 \1 U# a2 M+ d
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony8 S, I' t/ k9 b; ~$ y5 s r
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight b; o& l4 _8 X( u R
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
- t: t) j0 n- Rcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to7 w1 H8 P, S+ L* a. D- c) h2 I- j" ?# w
restore the trust of our customers."
5 G6 E3 K# Y' l2 l- w2 [/ A8 p1 T* ^Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from6 o7 g2 l, _' y# V
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly* S- O# U; r0 f0 Z1 q
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
/ |* a u" r; W) C6 ~8 |# ]shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
2 z" s- `- s% v; uhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough, l& J6 |4 e' R( q
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and1 [+ D" B! G0 v0 G) o1 i' v) @
turn off the engine.. r y7 X |. O& C: p5 |$ _2 \
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
. V2 x" @' b: a; [October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
7 r" F* T u6 \! I4 ?- K"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
5 V2 D+ Z- f3 Z" ~% x1 J! K* |said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond: |2 D" l+ J6 g/ n% S5 ]
to her complaints.
S! B- j9 i' o2 x/ \. CIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers7 R7 n$ a9 F9 g- m) L
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic! W" }, Q& @# f- j8 g, X. Q
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.( P& ^$ r7 v3 K# f8 }
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
- b5 {" q! S2 L3 othrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited7 b; ?9 r& }1 Z
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut: t' o, d) c# A; e# p$ h
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."3 ]- o( Q( |% ~" v( G5 t
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
2 ^/ V. M! T) R6 m# m# xprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
, |7 g* {: _2 V$ f* x( O" `6 ]" jbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls" r5 X* p' _) Q- K, B, W* t
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer w2 Q B8 B" T6 m3 V
every question."; i" X/ o2 n8 E$ }, y, W2 K, J
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
0 O( e* J2 V; ^' L" X0 velectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The% [( B! s3 {7 k5 F
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But3 i4 b1 ?5 D1 D9 ~0 { `% k
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small+ u$ u/ R6 l' Y& d4 k
number of vehicles& h( Y, F1 q3 P& h( N* y0 I
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
i ?) T3 y1 v4 F, m4 r: fdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a: O2 D& C2 \2 X
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one& y, r6 _ w0 T; Q
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
& Y ^' b4 H5 W6 m M2 y% K, LMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,/ i' B1 n2 p( S4 G8 r, h2 q3 D9 N
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no7 }4 [3 N$ b% b* A
trace at all.0 N$ U* R# m5 Z% m9 p: r
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
5 w4 Y8 c" o% ^& i4 f7 _database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
: f z2 q% F* Q/ D' c( jacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
- }, G* q; b# f0 K* arecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
( m6 B4 c l7 ~$ C7 T ?! v9 U: cRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
/ q/ d1 b. G n. isaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
1 h8 J( j6 t9 \8 o3 v' t# V Zother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the! f1 u# d+ ] ?2 C& K
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible$ p8 M" [" C2 K# L- F9 }$ M i
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
+ @9 A' p4 L r- k1 d' V* m: {: esuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
. i' V% Y* ~$ w, t4 wby Toyota's lawyers."
8 Z) F5 M3 g3 H5 j! kLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of$ a+ W% t$ i! F
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
4 S: Q9 R# _4 `( Ncustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
\+ B" T3 Y+ tsaid.
: H4 S6 w8 k3 y. u( v"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
4 n* R& [$ v6 F; n1 Ya rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
! G+ W- a# k, ]' A7 Rgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating9 \* E. g4 d: M2 F
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.$ ]% Z0 B- j: W% W. C' y( H5 z9 ?) u: _
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying8 M2 d! o0 L+ K
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
5 N& ?- K, o& i$ I D. ~rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
, @" t4 f2 C ~( ]) H$ B9 fautomaker, at least in part because of the government's3 r7 O- L# I; D4 G3 f7 Y1 d
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and% g: s: V; Q) r; v$ S p* j4 H
Chrysler.; e" j: n* A$ [. c2 Y3 o/ R! |; Q) O
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
8 l* |& Y8 w4 r0 C7 wdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a" N1 C& \4 b( p7 D7 I) F% n
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
* A# `2 M' ` X) mserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete" @$ x3 E h- ~# t o# a
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty+ @7 u2 ?& j: y6 m7 T
tough."- d+ k6 q) Q- R1 ? ?& j
---3 @* ^3 K7 `) l$ m- z
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom, _: I6 B V' n* @
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to. A, u' p1 L2 h+ H# s" x- ]
this story.7 p8 h U- n: q/ k4 s
* L8 O8 F+ q J
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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