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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题9 N: g( l. J! r& O* m+ T
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
1 w) D$ N$ }$ R8 [! ?) C9 U3 tWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
, x+ D9 f% [0 ~ D7 K; ~9 ~) moperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that; k5 Q3 z- O. S' g7 i4 \9 Y
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
/ n! A5 [2 @; ?7 Ysolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.9 {8 R0 b- ^, ?6 A) B3 Z
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential4 k Q I1 ^9 H% d
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.# M3 D8 H% e8 O; I
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected( r( H9 N/ j& q, |( K& g2 \
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and. w% K8 v( T( T& n
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
7 W1 ^: _ c. c0 l% L4 Ymats and sticking accelerator pedals.
5 p N* u% n! a1 D- X" THe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal5 x* s: ^# v$ W
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp! }- t2 F" f: I8 Q1 j- x+ L2 r
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be. L- F0 e2 r2 d0 n4 e1 Z; C
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could. @( U$ o. c8 }
not stop her runaway Lexus.
9 q4 l. z: O8 w9 {8 U"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,: i7 G4 O( c# ?' I! z+ R4 U% \
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second& z }/ l( ^( Z: B: D9 f
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
" I1 \ M. w0 s- WTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
8 S- e) @% [ R2 z' |early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
' D2 _0 M# H" w% h2 k2 o"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
# f, m9 R- u7 V2 j$ rdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway( e9 R( T6 P( x! U( h
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
( O- C( D3 H& Q* W# linvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
! p& `0 n% o2 cLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
9 q, F0 u, _- z# Aelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of6 i! F: }* m1 y: Q
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a9 p) x# V0 Y7 D- y+ Z
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
, T) ?6 j% f. o4 e* @9 J$ j2 Dsaid.2 O6 J, _. c/ t% s* | U! ?
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
" Y- `3 m( v2 z9 bhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
3 E3 Y7 S! J7 D' h% Y4 M0 [, o+ D$ Wabout driving our products," Lentz said.9 @9 n) n. N& B% X [) d( v
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
8 E. ?/ v2 A- _problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has. U# i+ @" s0 V/ T
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6( \$ q9 w; r `8 f/ [$ p; S
million in the United States -- since last fall because of- L1 T2 n- A5 V( r) }) }
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
3 {( l! l' o. a+ k1 V. |. T+ c" Eissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering& h7 `( [0 P; J R
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of4 F) C4 o2 r( h) d1 x7 v
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
4 }: W7 y/ U/ W* M/ V9 Y6 @" Zdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
* E2 X5 {* a1 n8 rreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
; l& `/ b7 f0 }4 X: [of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
& r: q: H, R* t |* P2 j3 KLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own/ I" B9 N4 Q" |4 g% g; j
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
( M: E) Y6 |8 u: G2 Eunderstood the pain.. K6 `! ~ r/ o2 ]6 O6 e2 r# i
"I know what those families go through," he said.
5 s/ W, E& |; P- FLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
2 r$ c0 t8 ^/ u3 R5 t" Q" ifixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
: J, z- z. r& uBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
; u5 G( w* ?4 [" z$ NHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
9 D/ C( G& q0 B( ?$ }3 Uin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,% S% b( q% g1 Q4 ~% y, R
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
) z& j' N+ C' j/ y) VStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were" E3 T/ B/ |% E) d
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
6 N0 \+ H( S& G1 lToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas2 N1 v/ P6 a. j, L- D- X
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its7 }. ?4 W1 ~% p# H
vehicles already on the road.8 |& e. A! {& P" }( t7 S
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
" n/ O9 s& k/ pbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
) M( i! V" E( e7 I2 x4 eresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and6 I4 _& U" k2 m4 T! a6 ?" @
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were/ e6 S# q, m1 i0 C$ J$ [& X u
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.7 d' _% V' u5 }2 w3 }
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
5 y$ g# |+ V- G$ N9 Utragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
. J2 }6 h% X: k4 d) M- [7 rfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight& f+ S5 [9 V! s! M! H
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal7 \" V% d1 A1 Q% ?2 G" q
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
K# O, R+ N5 [/ k5 e' ~( k) ^restore the trust of our customers."
, K3 G% Q% v9 a, m! [! TLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from7 t0 @: y7 k% d: B
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
( M: n ^' O B! `zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
* d' }. w. m0 [. b1 Ushifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and+ T. A t( g* E
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
* ` ]/ J: w# ~that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
( Z3 ]% o& o& C, e* z* Q4 Gturn off the engine.
! }, R) w8 d- e2 B" ^" tFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of, R: T- g+ N: |2 B% k, V1 y+ n
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
5 h! `* g3 `- w w3 p0 w- o"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
$ X2 J$ Y* Y1 a* o) v; ]said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
: u0 e* g# K8 U7 Y1 q' ]7 fto her complaints.
# @) R9 h% p- YIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers5 _3 j% Q+ f, @ h4 D6 d% Z
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic5 ]2 h- Y( O: o7 i
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.% q* X0 u: ]" T$ B z& q' g
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric" ^; _; k: s( ~- D/ Z. { `
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
3 |: _3 k! A/ ?4 z; s"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
" P; j( U9 ?+ m* N7 Soff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."0 k% c# t$ b- V; } a
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
9 o @& A4 I6 k3 `4 ~. \prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
% f" t1 D% { tbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
) V, H5 }5 H; v8 d2 j0 \were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer3 ?9 s0 F) w7 I
every question."
4 M, Q" f1 p1 P f7 F: ~/ q9 ZToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether) @. g2 e" ~; o) f" e4 o
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The4 J3 A7 k' U. W4 `9 x( s( Z+ K/ E! n
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But+ B. N) T' t0 ~( e; `
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small5 L4 Q6 h7 _' g) X5 U% R& {
number of vehicles
" R l5 f1 p+ v+ R! }/ ]Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
7 n+ y, C0 y, Z; H9 _difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
. ~! U* y3 L6 l3 c( I2 f3 Lmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one- x+ ^; ^, @# \4 K d2 G" l
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.( `, L+ }5 @. ]7 \- [0 w3 m0 s# v
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,0 ^4 o2 S2 r8 S* R9 w" L
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
4 M% E6 [4 f" m$ Ftrace at all.' N. f8 y% P$ l: _! s: m8 E
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
, ^( T( O- {' l, _' Xdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
. E6 j# Y. T' ]3 m3 j: R% a, }acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the* Q( z9 o2 P; ^3 V6 U
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.8 h: a- M/ x1 _0 m/ O5 _* | R
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,3 V. H1 S' ~5 M) [9 H
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and. u$ A# x% }. Y) M. ~, T6 \
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the- M9 }& h( n; ]# z; W
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible9 j. Y& {7 n3 k' W# q' B, u& a! I1 W, y( t
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
! D* ^3 e' @) d7 asuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained7 l' j. f8 w/ |0 }8 J
by Toyota's lawyers."
* O& A4 c& f% }/ CLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
' m$ I5 p. d: B7 `' lproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
2 L$ F2 ]# p! l0 rcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he. U+ H4 q6 @. [
said., g9 h: h) |& q( ]7 g! e! a
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with+ \9 P$ u! F3 V6 z
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our: D+ Z. S0 q2 i! L
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating: v; B$ h5 g z0 |7 W3 C2 m0 b, p
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.- a! |4 Y0 \9 S1 M. C5 B" \# c L
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
! j( T- g0 C ^. ~members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread0 ~* |. b. T: @ @5 Y |* z. j
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the+ S; l! w' E, m" e2 v) ^
automaker, at least in part because of the government's+ O3 W( G) O* m- X! N0 `# e b* g. k
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and" ~& r% X# Y; F( Z' E' e, ]
Chrysler.
3 g F/ m: J$ } }"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
% W+ ]+ m, T8 ^) X# P5 E: ] ]) ^7 _dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
# w+ O; N: Z( D! L e" J' a- R, EHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
5 O7 I" K3 a! B) _% _& j+ E& w4 }served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete5 ^5 ]( E0 V( [. j4 M5 n
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
" X, @4 G @( [/ N" j: h/ S! Dtough."
6 L. x1 _& Y8 J: p) w---
; w! M6 J0 T2 ]: ZAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
% b- ?3 o& B# u: `) T. ERaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
$ C5 P b+ {) R! bthis story./ f5 I. C3 t7 Q, f- C' @9 K
; o% \) M( _( W/ O4 _/ F: }( ~0 T
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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