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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
/ h. t& h* O7 Z8 s- J4 fBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
. U M2 b5 v8 t+ N5 ZWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S./ H# D- |9 S; \
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that! Y! Q& o; T2 Z1 R6 O/ _: L
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"/ }7 {0 p2 X& B2 b# v c1 R
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration." W% ~: u) M5 h4 D+ V! z3 z6 ]% t
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential$ P2 u1 M& o2 E" W! M
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.1 m& _8 }: }, J, ?8 q8 H& l4 Q
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
3 h& v& m1 r) Y3 ` ^7 d- Iacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and9 `6 f. p8 o( z/ B N0 Q6 e
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
' f% m) W( K1 t2 Q( S# z }$ ~mats and sticking accelerator pedals." J+ k, o% ~& P9 s- {7 s) M- I+ T
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal$ |3 }( J: L1 w+ m! J& ]
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
3 X k; i5 _+ P2 g2 _) u8 h8 _1 |criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be' I }. i- V: l
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
. x# |' L# J1 P2 y/ [ w5 \not stop her runaway Lexus.
( u; i5 i+ u% g6 S) c2 F"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
7 |9 W% C5 S- @- C4 [9 W) [' s6 fTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
( I; m, H! M" ?- v: r2 J; G"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.; b- _/ Y" G/ ~' _* i1 _8 g& b
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues" Z$ F/ r6 o8 n! O H
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
& G% x9 C- F+ |$ J"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
9 D# @& L6 F9 c, T% O* n- F4 @done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
: Y: r% ~6 Y" kthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's9 d @. u% ` P# @& r+ h; p
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."# {% I" i. Z j
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an# T/ Y/ d! R) g4 ^5 k
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
1 O8 x' o1 w; j9 Q9 |the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
i% f- f5 N M- B' _5 @! Cmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
+ s6 L i. B: U: F( q9 Y. Xsaid.
+ |: V/ x8 j& t: {$ HAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
5 d8 l( @% N, C' y: Uhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
7 V) g3 C, T/ W3 f2 c$ R' Y0 babout driving our products," Lentz said.
. J5 Q! k I& r$ {Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's+ O1 n& z2 B) W2 N- n; \
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has- f( f6 @( F# t( a
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6& Z% G8 z5 j0 r/ L; l
million in the United States -- since last fall because of2 y0 l1 M% _/ G2 G
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking7 S3 D# D( O7 {8 w# M0 G% z! B
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
9 V1 V# p& J! u+ E lconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of1 y; H( ^& I6 s! _
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow% ^7 U, b; ]4 D9 }
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has. U2 J6 f" _& _
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
; d6 r" O' e- }of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
4 |6 g& [: r$ x8 |$ O$ N/ WLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own; H. w. l5 `8 i$ a
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he! W+ U6 m( T! ^; m8 q& m
understood the pain.
% _% I) \* @& ~5 M8 o3 w: ~) I"I know what those families go through," he said.# S" s F( O5 \! h$ y
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
$ P% g- y: W4 A# |/ Z8 u: W$ Zfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
( Y8 r1 a+ b! I" HBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
. T5 U$ @' I3 w4 d5 v" _. S) c- o9 S2 kHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put7 Y4 J6 Y4 _9 U2 \4 U* S
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
7 ~0 ]2 ~ }, Y, G+ Z3 z+ ^Lentz replied: "Not totally."
9 q \- I" b1 m. [, WStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
3 z' b( A m; o! E. M$ P"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said: v8 \8 `) z( s0 w
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
8 S2 D+ Y+ J3 |0 P5 Ypedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its5 f% s7 ]2 |/ w
vehicles already on the road.) u2 T( w" \" R0 Q; q, [
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify5 V1 t& @/ ~6 W# r* c- }2 t
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full# {" C+ |$ ^: r8 a
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
( |& q+ K' |! H+ q6 ?( W$ E2 [ O0 O' ~4 ^offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
/ v: L5 N, Y8 U3 ] Nkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
. l$ U" [/ p8 P6 o3 e7 U"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
}" l* ?, `9 h2 {tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony$ I" F* O; ?/ r9 V' a: q
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
9 H; L3 W: }, i1 d8 G8 d' X# X4 F) hCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal3 t( P( X% g0 j" ~/ [) \9 k* W
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
2 ?6 e! U6 d0 Jrestore the trust of our customers."
* L3 G0 A5 @/ v$ cLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from0 [5 K% d8 ?9 e* v. z9 a4 G
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly% V" B+ M: \! G1 j' W& ?) t/ n
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
9 l/ Y* \( U, {$ p5 Lshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and! I, S: w2 w! t2 N. o0 o& |- o
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough1 v) k# n4 z" a5 P
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
t2 p3 K0 I; b- q. @ o5 bturn off the engine.
V! f) x+ O2 Q, g& H5 QFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of" I! \/ y4 s6 v7 }! }$ D) d3 u( p
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."+ D, _' i% n9 M9 J) @
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she7 p X2 ]% F9 S& ~
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
! n2 \" G0 z* t# b% s' e6 mto her complaints.* H/ @* ]$ Y- ~! U: w e
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers2 |+ [; F+ M) s8 x8 D3 c: D t
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic7 k7 Q/ b2 K0 k& K$ k" F# O" i3 k, M
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.6 \: O6 X# |; A0 N8 q4 A3 n8 |
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
% V9 d3 Q9 k# P f3 D# Q" n- ^throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited: z+ _7 K R6 M
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut) O1 _: x. a* D
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
/ w& K" l8 u: f) s4 sTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
/ x9 n1 n4 b6 H0 [prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
$ P; d0 f: ?5 I, n3 kbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls0 J9 u% C. y# M8 Z
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
; w+ T% ]- `" m3 zevery question."" }9 r" {- C. G {9 J1 B
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether- J/ w/ u) F% H
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
2 Z6 _' B1 C9 z' i; wfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But* e' R. O1 ]. l' z" l" x! I' r2 L
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small. Y6 s# u; m2 D& t; Z( w! Y8 n
number of vehicles
\% G- `( a' nTracking down an electrical problem can be far more- ]+ l7 j; q- G3 s. z5 G2 q
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a, ?0 u3 h; W$ w% R) k& z9 L
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one( Y$ }% ?- O( y
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
/ d( h/ A( |! [( @- ?Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,2 z" p' I, G; a
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no5 p) m' a6 i* q. y" s5 }
trace at all.+ S3 J8 T d6 ]: g. N1 A
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call; V# f- A9 U1 { t; s' d
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
) b5 `7 n' _; v3 C9 vacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
* U) M6 }" j& Y" M3 krecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals." o5 y/ U+ S: v( ~$ P$ W' M1 M- S6 S
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,0 Z+ C9 s7 M- o: K: F+ m' v
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
, G2 X2 K9 D w7 ~+ s7 Xother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the- B) R; }6 x/ A0 _/ E# q
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
* C/ Q# q5 c( ]cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only& f1 D P9 G# x# J
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
5 q+ k- H5 I4 ]6 _. |by Toyota's lawyers."5 A3 A% P: b% H, a
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
3 {0 M' s) s S4 P& D5 t; k# Tproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
2 T7 h0 a6 [/ _7 t7 acustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he8 j/ x3 {& Y3 ]% R! I
said.% L, G3 y9 T0 T- X. B) Q
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with; M; c- x0 }# E& [% [: s
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
3 o$ P+ Y+ ]2 [4 x. P8 O! M; Vgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating* f& J1 E. A* [* U6 |
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.2 f2 c2 f5 d5 `0 I
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
/ w3 w! t" F) u( }% m7 \members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread: c v' _5 S S2 B: j) f8 H. O
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the5 p7 b+ S3 |5 B$ X: E& ]! `
automaker, at least in part because of the government's) o& d8 c% |6 {) ^
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and* A/ y/ P9 ^/ H m2 h( n, g- r: J
Chrysler.
! \( M( Z5 j; Y$ k( t6 p"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
; D% x1 \1 A1 S# O2 d' @4 G ydollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a( V1 j$ [4 i4 a7 c2 q' U( |; _# d2 Q0 @1 }
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also9 d/ i, E2 p, |; a- H& U! K, o2 O
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete# [% `1 m" f$ C8 A: S# h
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
+ x1 m8 M6 `$ l; ]# n! c, Gtough."
+ Z8 k5 n9 R7 u8 |4 t# S# G# o---# l8 Q! c8 F& D9 Q2 C- y5 p0 J1 a
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
/ }# e/ n$ x- F. [5 iRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to. v5 a I' M% s) u% P5 P' U% h
this story.( l7 o# o" b( ^+ F
3 z$ w. b7 G$ M" J-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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