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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题; w. L! H: v) |' T5 n0 p
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS' D* A+ x; A/ V
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.0 f0 W: k& K* C! Z* W( U8 s, k6 k
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that* E- f1 l! v4 ?8 \) ]7 P1 A
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
8 D% M5 x" ~3 O: o0 Lsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
( K8 p; s7 K% y6 u: L6 T% P"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential5 {5 v0 v# h) h& B M) \
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
; k) R6 s |( d! m% V! p2 N! YHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected3 H K3 o9 _& x
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
/ M- H! n/ C3 D+ t3 ltrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor/ B$ B0 l8 z6 @, c. u! N& ?# K
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
# T( V; O& n' r* Y& G1 ^9 oHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
% n# d9 K4 `% ]4 pand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
! M8 D/ x0 T0 k" `5 ncriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be7 H8 P: _" K. L2 B5 T: O" X
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
" ]& X% t/ {3 k* D9 @not stop her runaway Lexus.2 `0 E Q& e# o; U
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
* i+ J x. z" K d7 ~/ yTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second; o6 M* b5 ~$ y$ F5 K- ]" c# W; b
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.4 O. t$ @1 o& j# u" B
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
1 P% A6 P$ d% o# y' wearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
- v) b$ a* e, ~6 U# m* a J( W"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has, O9 N* L/ T3 q2 Z
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
+ e* Y8 {7 Y- x% X: z; X- qthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's, c4 z0 G" T: I; D1 L
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."+ N+ D/ Y. W! x% n# P( h
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an9 y* P1 |* ?7 T' H9 [
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of' ?* m& ~# c% S5 X7 w8 ~5 B& Z' ?' r' c
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a8 ]4 G; C) R3 p, j! K2 w
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
; i& e+ {" n" Q0 [# h) \7 @said.
9 R+ F6 G+ s, q, m9 N/ sAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what! {6 U& b4 D' W, p8 z
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
3 q" z7 E+ t6 ~+ I) h7 Yabout driving our products," Lentz said.9 D4 m9 H- Q, g! a- m2 q
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's+ i4 k$ V0 u( T6 ?4 E
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has) H9 C( `3 J# g# H- l
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6( |8 s c; M# B6 b
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
9 ]% F$ h& J! Y+ g5 e8 X- \unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking3 @7 }8 a5 w5 F* v
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering2 x! O9 d& g. A) a
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
* Y, Q j% J- S4 r/ b& Y: \" @their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
8 C% e% J4 z) ], i* S# ]down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has+ Q# e h* y$ |$ z, n2 I
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration$ T8 ^- ]+ K* T1 x: G* @
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.; X' x" f* z; i
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
+ i, T5 F) L% u0 ?brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he+ D2 `; D* z6 E- Q1 n I
understood the pain.$ j# J: g+ A0 @6 K
"I know what those families go through," he said.6 B+ F/ u6 T9 M% c" u
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's g7 f. ~6 W Y" r
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
4 ^2 V" t0 X& N4 ?* UBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman& g* [. ^8 }" f7 f: M" K' H
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put0 a9 l5 G4 U: A$ ~' \; k6 w
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,4 f3 W4 F9 a8 j# F! d" |
Lentz replied: "Not totally."/ ^' z+ b7 S8 I8 B
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
6 e/ {1 [" P' c"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said9 U0 B H" U, k7 i
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas$ z% g D0 X9 G4 v* o) o" x
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its9 i1 Q/ K$ r) v. Q6 z% F
vehicles already on the road.8 X1 n* p/ b/ r% _
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
; q( E/ @! B' q8 }5 a, nbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full3 b* L3 P6 O5 b' `5 l9 K! G
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and- }; C% J; u' T! q# g
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were* }8 y* N) }; |
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
" r0 m0 ^& j, ?2 Z/ c"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
+ L$ [* t" m( R3 Ltragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
) p1 G7 V. J$ }( T$ H5 ]# I; bfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
: g6 l( f. K& R7 s: |( {9 cCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
( `# {8 ?/ \5 L7 n" mcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to5 o1 g5 X \9 |2 |3 Y; [; W) \
restore the trust of our customers."
H* \. q; b6 V! a1 eLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from* W Y1 F, C+ h& L: K1 y8 R
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly+ `& N1 N" c# W, W! I
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --: q/ I3 @; V" Q( h7 Q: h
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
3 {, H; `6 a6 o9 g+ c3 k/ ~6 ?/ Qhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough9 |: Y8 n/ V( F8 t
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
/ u. A& L8 f5 T6 hturn off the engine.
% c5 f- T5 d1 o6 V% Z5 ^: L* d9 NFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of5 z1 Q4 T7 U% z k" }) O9 B+ ]
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."$ R; D& v; F5 |3 S$ I; p5 a
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
& p! f8 L/ H. ]; \said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
/ h# y' J: ?8 ]/ w7 ito her complaints.
* S/ F* [2 S; r- V t, m& f5 oIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers( V. G0 }& b0 T% i8 w8 T. y8 ~% w, [
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
V0 c X2 t5 x6 i$ r) Jmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.3 e" d9 N! n8 j$ h' P' N* x
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric3 i6 u# G1 o2 L- o- _" x4 ?
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
& R. G E9 v( _! K! n7 y# q"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
: c# v- ~9 ]! Doff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure.". }" o& A& w4 a0 V. ]# q
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in5 I1 e- V4 J! |$ ]9 h K, @
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were( I4 M8 g8 W. G' w) h
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls" D" M( e1 y+ S4 W
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
; A- S7 g6 C/ g6 c* h& B3 yevery question."
* W J3 E% q1 ?& \2 XToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether' v1 T: ~7 g! @% ~4 u, k
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
8 Q9 y; M! X3 |/ f$ sfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
/ r: o) B/ J& t- j- Ccommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
6 S8 n* w b* q! E6 }) [number of vehicles3 c; ~ k3 d, X
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more! O- p. W% B5 x+ k9 m& k. _
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
: @4 q; A6 k6 \; {& V$ N$ d# Bmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
! F: E0 d2 L/ ` Fsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.; @! Q# X- ]4 k# O" ]: L1 n
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,0 s( U- h' z$ a3 e. J( G
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
' k# \ X- I& S4 T" itrace at all.
. o, c' F* E+ cHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call) V( e) {8 B6 f- ]
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
- n* ]& f3 u$ tacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the A6 S2 t. U! c8 l$ X2 w9 _: \
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
% n% s- H( `) V' a5 M1 t. G2 ORep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
3 A- o1 K ~/ w6 l2 S# Fsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
5 [8 D! y# |3 B, d+ ]. B- W2 k) [ n5 ~other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the/ k0 `- Z1 x* W7 u, J
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible- {9 ?0 X- n) i
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only" l6 @+ ?$ Z- \7 m* _0 A
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained% Q; G+ C' K. Z5 @
by Toyota's lawyers."1 R- s9 O7 z$ e5 t6 ^0 _7 z% |4 V
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of, y7 L4 _% p8 E# V: O
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
7 c/ W% E! | J0 h) rcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
3 J, M# X! {' ^& h5 r/ tsaid.. Q4 f2 R' J4 s) `! z6 i7 {" y4 @4 f
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
: {# U: R% } za rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our0 L' j; J& _% m3 c" P# R( m5 {
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating; s& Z; C6 m. T. ?3 s
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
1 I+ x9 Z- {' x5 a. C4 m" \( KSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
7 C9 {4 r7 N4 T) ~: wmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
' h* `' r2 [ }# @rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
+ C. \+ l5 B# r; y# ~: i- F) Eautomaker, at least in part because of the government's0 ~, [1 l% H6 l& C0 B* R3 e3 t! T
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and0 |( p6 L. f) a3 j
Chrysler.
$ B% p; z' O |8 t" x; V* a"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax1 ?1 x1 C1 w) t D5 c# M5 q: D
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
9 c) p0 k& N# m6 WHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also: B- s8 r, Y+ ?8 ~$ S X
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete# q% r$ }: Q* b3 C; r
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
$ ]$ s9 J- f# [9 {# Z0 I3 q' utough."0 m3 v% W& m& y& _4 d/ F0 U* N
---
! Q9 J6 ~9 M6 r$ ^, ~2 W- gAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
/ J+ J) _, e3 A' F6 c: {Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to: K X7 V3 e {* @% Z( k# C4 M
this story.; P9 `# p) u) n2 N$ `* H# f
o% V, H# |# B5 J3 K0 l
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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