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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
o" g- P3 k/ {# g: {( wBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS) Y# r/ v4 d- a9 V% Z; N& Z
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
; [ B: H% z, N0 {2 w6 w- s! hoperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
' p2 r3 F4 {3 Nthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
& _" O1 l2 a3 V# G5 Ksolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
" |* G( G; g# @8 D& q"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
+ \; R$ } f) K6 y- ecauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.+ i1 L) m% K+ q
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
- k6 K* z, p0 _) ~& _( m2 `& pacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
" B: ?0 y, m# j; \5 N5 ^trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
! l* G$ v( G% u( P/ nmats and sticking accelerator pedals.- t- W6 W& G8 a9 p
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal( z. s2 h y: t0 p" d7 I
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp/ U1 p( @# t3 b" p: \, W
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
. r$ h1 ^) k6 J3 Wfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
9 k, {$ A; F4 w y3 S/ j2 mnot stop her runaway Lexus.! A$ ?- j, n4 G/ H7 v8 k8 a* H( M
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,4 U, r0 n; c" A9 G7 Y& o6 x) |
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second0 v1 M2 ~* ]- `
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
$ g7 x4 K7 _: S9 x, C5 @Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues9 B0 l+ ~% W9 E" y' h
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said6 P* S/ _+ k5 k- ~
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has8 Z8 @- v( ^0 [- P# \ J% }
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
! ]- m, x$ z$ Z, u4 M5 j. L) S3 tthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
( y+ B% c* |6 d7 T+ y) a1 Pinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."9 S- n; y) H% v6 C8 a+ Z$ o( A- W# l
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an" Y ~* w5 b' N. _2 L& H/ F5 M* t! X( r
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of; N5 z- H i: K$ B: c; [% l
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a( ]& s& h/ o: L5 J! u" }/ v( g* ?
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he9 c, p4 W% S& Q; {% b0 w# U5 n
said.
8 I# i3 ?3 F# p5 H* Q6 RAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
* b) C: M$ X) }$ |( Uhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
1 D* o% _5 V5 K- t% B* x' Babout driving our products," Lentz said.
7 o, q( ]- Q: c: yThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's4 c" a* j- K4 B# Z9 q& {% `
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
& X1 ?5 c9 d. j+ B: _, |" s7 ^; }recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6' e3 y5 E5 k' X' f0 d% C" U
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
( W4 v) ^) P' m. ]) t1 m6 }unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
- a9 d. h& e8 e3 _! \+ Dissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
9 ]6 ^) s4 N. _concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
) V- N) q$ q- s0 a9 t1 Y# B& Jtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
" z# N0 P( Z0 u6 \$ p$ Udown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
5 `0 R# o0 B% T: Z$ y' H: Rreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
1 ?/ p' I6 Z/ ]# e, O; vof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
2 d. w! U" o: B8 l+ t' gLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own ]0 J* S4 @2 Q( C' Y) A, C
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
8 M2 \" x- ~7 N! s8 W) ^( [- P# Hunderstood the pain.
! O1 y$ N% t8 r( w4 O0 C' o, A8 r" E"I know what those families go through," he said.
; ^! @+ Q5 Y& ^; P9 {; f. Y6 ZLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
0 B7 N# Y8 [; xfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.% Z& [- O/ b; l% }0 |
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
$ W& _- n) [% t" T1 i6 MHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put- @8 U% w: M/ L- K
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,2 r- p7 b* l7 h! p% x9 U
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
1 L$ A6 d$ ?" G( N/ SStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were0 b" g9 i6 C5 \+ g6 T
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said6 x6 Q' O1 A' P
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas. Z2 e. o. o! P9 w
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its9 L7 o s- V! ^
vehicles already on the road.
! i, \; E: ~0 v7 VMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
/ h) K! J( X: g* `3 q6 t+ zbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
2 a: h+ Q8 l& I$ E0 ~, Cresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
j( ]7 h% H2 P+ a2 J9 m9 E) @offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
# E- X) J7 O8 `6 e5 skilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
! Q( S* s* A5 W0 q( p"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
/ Y4 G1 h4 G1 D: S( z4 V! e$ f! ], Gtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony! i, W' g1 ^ r2 r8 X& X
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight- [2 a. V2 @( w+ S
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal( J9 e4 ` r2 ~& e8 W4 v
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
5 z! p1 V) C" ^2 c9 y- ~, {restore the trust of our customers."
Z: I! }& g* v6 \( j: OLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
9 p9 J- V4 b3 PSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly8 ^/ R: t& D1 }- W
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --6 F; Z, W7 X6 B5 L/ D
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and* v8 ^4 E* \. d, S: E4 M' D
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
7 X- D) r$ b) [" Rthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and' V# c, n- S5 W
turn off the engine.* H* @1 I. j' L- X
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
' @% w$ [; C' L, H8 vOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
3 S) o* N% m) R5 G: h! \"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
6 L6 W ~) J$ B _6 N3 x1 r3 ?said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond( F0 n0 |" f P E" x
to her complaints.4 ~: g9 L- t! w5 T" f# \5 Q% x
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers( Z6 {1 k+ ~3 C% K U, X$ `3 ]
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic# d, F7 |* p8 T: u7 R
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
' ?5 j" N* ~# J5 \3 y& ?; r"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric& G8 t: x, |. ?5 P* a
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited7 d( A8 o. `+ E" s. ]2 ]; J* J4 R
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut% Q4 G: ^/ k" Z% L
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
$ R/ W% V s, J. b4 Z- }( pTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in" C4 a& a- e. B/ R, B
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were( y* {" k9 ~+ h: P$ \8 Y
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
7 V8 X. W7 y+ J& c9 M. }7 qwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
7 K6 ^% _4 C1 F2 H/ i9 s$ a' |+ Uevery question."
5 h, G- ]% {0 ]0 SToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether/ [/ [, k; H8 x, A) n
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The) m' J8 Q, {- B
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But+ Z' ~- ^' W( G* z
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small8 m* O% } u& J0 I
number of vehicles
" ]' K9 ^: H \5 d' XTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
4 j6 T- ~4 l+ S* [difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a" _ L o/ M5 ^* q6 Q# S. ]
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
" L3 O0 K+ O( {- \! jsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
" q. h# z+ }+ s5 H4 S! IMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,9 h# l. ]0 N: n2 f
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
& s, T& {# x/ ?; _2 F: [trace at all.& {* { }- U" ~& E0 D. O5 {# {% ^" @
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call. w4 _ k& k( _
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
% g( M( I8 W I% Q2 \, Wacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the" q) \' x9 [3 k, I2 ?; S
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
& o1 Z4 u+ N# C3 a; X3 GRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,6 L8 s9 u2 r+ C
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
% {& D2 D$ i' Z- Rother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the w0 d2 o- t: N6 j, D0 N; {3 t
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
2 N5 k) f! f" Z& h+ Q, b! Hcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only' _, M3 A. q' Y! b) F1 _7 Z9 e
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained3 ^: |1 U! L' e* r, g' Z9 l h
by Toyota's lawyers."! u$ P# R; ~4 c- R8 F
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
& p3 G2 V7 z( wproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our n4 ]" p5 R; W* P& ^
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he3 ]. s! u6 `4 _ t) J/ C
said., Q4 ]+ [9 f6 l& \& u$ r/ `
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with( |) ^' R* I O; @
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
6 L' v9 J0 L3 t; |; wgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
8 p6 a# r+ x0 `+ M. { s" Jofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.9 g* {5 B4 R# \1 n8 Z; F' E) A6 ?
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
, ?- @: J3 ^! Xmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread0 d) C, b5 k9 n' n( n
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the, F' y/ O9 n/ t7 S5 r7 {- ?
automaker, at least in part because of the government's! y& I2 C, g5 I. B8 E+ G
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
( c1 k' S$ u( zChrysler.
9 t3 e3 [& I2 o4 m' {"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax) e* i: Z) ?6 v1 y
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
) u* f+ c; {3 i# C( E; GHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
3 V4 p8 ~' K, Y! q- {0 t' oserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
& u9 S5 m) E+ _3 k0 kwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty3 C: j) R# k; g
tough."8 u1 h3 T' M$ W- m2 a
---$ [; O1 L4 a3 H; I
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom# N, `1 R; d- K% Z* }8 D
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to5 W: x/ Q# D, l1 e5 `. X- s
this story.
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2 R- r9 C' Q* b! ]. k1 w3 g-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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