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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
( p }8 T6 B# |' D+ X3 d; ]By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS9 Y; q2 s' j, Z6 m, c+ n/ d
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
: R3 O* d2 V+ e: C% o& Q7 @operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that' q/ B! V( R' J8 N! Z' |
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
5 f3 _1 }$ o$ ` p8 X6 t, a7 Z# [solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.# A7 Z8 u3 @7 f. H( g
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
% ^' ?& h2 k. ecauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
% Q' c; u- J8 q3 IHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected$ C$ Y! D* ~' s
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and! s. H* u u( T5 o' k6 r4 M
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor# b+ {, Y% R3 |1 ?
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
9 @% v8 w8 W9 m1 EHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal( F$ h8 l3 d; N% Y9 |
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp, e$ h! X+ J! e' | t
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
1 v8 U) \. w9 Q3 T# w) ~: gfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
0 w6 B# c+ G+ ~: a; Jnot stop her runaway Lexus. h6 L$ N0 p/ c- k" C; g7 V
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,% `" }* e) s, i: h& e4 _
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second; F; D4 T% ?" p' e- O% Q
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.6 i' P. ~) w" V0 T* x- S8 k
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues( L' y4 Z2 y9 k3 Q3 [9 G2 F
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said* d# \; e& [+ ~
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has1 v& {: d! k( L1 m- ?
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
; Y* H) N5 c q t# J5 b% ithrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's+ j7 H- x( o+ U1 t8 w3 s
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."6 I& w" M% S* M
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an1 q+ T* d# D% v3 g( Z8 q* y
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of0 X6 D# Q( c& H& i3 ?
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
' q4 Q, c) F- [4 o1 ?: M, P. jmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he3 S% C6 f. z& P6 n# w, x7 W
said.+ N; _' }3 x) O; W" q+ q
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
4 [ j! ]; d: R: E7 jhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe+ s3 P' y& w; x2 K+ E: Z
about driving our products," Lentz said.3 S5 P8 V% w3 r. P
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's% O6 T; T/ l: k/ i
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has2 r7 v& T" I) Y/ g
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 65 w% G2 C" x0 C& m4 x- X
million in the United States -- since last fall because of4 x |9 N3 C p
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking4 ~ E1 Z- n& i
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
! X* o. g( p! ?. \- m; G. P0 Sconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of9 _ y9 n% o; g: X0 G* a1 |
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow/ X' ?" s: v% H4 M) ~2 d h
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has, R8 X( a& q# G. n. H' M' w8 c
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
* w- p* f4 L0 b3 R8 ?4 ~6 nof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
; y$ U( w @0 C0 f/ {$ x6 uLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
: ~+ n) x( W0 Z) Mbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
: a5 ], K% ~& O3 ?& Ounderstood the pain.
; _7 X9 g6 \; X: _"I know what those families go through," he said.6 e$ a, r2 C2 `* j
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's$ K7 g9 P" u6 b o2 m
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.& B5 P( O" Z5 d- t
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
: L0 T4 g) I5 Q+ p {3 ^1 pHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
" E/ K) a' E+ _) W! ain place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
2 o% I* F2 [$ y z0 l7 a4 CLentz replied: "Not totally."
! K: b2 R- r5 ]5 `; G/ {Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
" u! x9 e( Q6 f) C& G, W6 e5 D3 d"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said! O( u6 K% c( W: x2 ~4 @! s
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
2 D" T6 {, T) ]4 C$ m9 F9 u( G+ Vpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
& Y/ T; o! ^; X" z5 V2 W. `vehicles already on the road.
9 ^/ y3 O3 h$ f9 P6 d; {Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify0 j) z8 _7 X \( B( ]
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full. v' I. L' Q0 W6 n) ^" R3 L' A
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and7 m8 w8 J) t7 q8 @, {
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were$ ~6 I- L# J* |1 j4 t8 y: X
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.. B d2 a" n E) |
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
7 x/ p0 H0 g4 v8 K. Xtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
! y% v- Z, x, P* Z7 Q/ U) }for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
% d F$ s* b, j% B) m/ BCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal3 u% Z0 X" R# m7 d! n9 d0 ~# @
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
2 C5 a0 [) |9 e8 \- Jrestore the trust of our customers."
% z. z# n$ G- y s. ^! NLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from7 X& T, j3 g# ^. A
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly3 l4 }3 P* j+ {# ~( z2 W) `8 |- K
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
& P! m7 z# m6 Lshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and1 X b5 b! h7 ^
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
- H2 J% J" M# `$ sthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and+ S' j! _. p& ^' m
turn off the engine.
& L/ w8 g9 o6 F. b( [" u( D9 hFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
|9 G" _6 V% n. U B; VOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
' I" @; }; p* w! s; `$ l6 q8 X7 m"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
. m1 G7 K0 Q* l' {said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond- |+ c7 T9 B) N" ^8 e, K
to her complaints.. A3 P/ f% w' m [5 W
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers9 {% y* N2 \. @6 P$ h
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
( q" @) `" B) ]& E# Kmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
1 b: R5 I; Q d6 j, C u. n% J& w) m"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
$ {& k5 I8 f5 }4 S( P( Ethrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited7 \& \& @* m7 E8 `% I* P- Y- a
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
' C' L2 Y0 S0 y; goff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."6 M: c, S- P4 f6 W, c) s i
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
) K- A5 I/ K# v2 K1 r# J5 Pprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were& j2 r- O3 e' t' E9 ?. J: o
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls8 g9 S- i% |& [7 k" g
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer) `0 M5 V, l4 X3 m! c, P* W6 H' J! \
every question."
4 i4 ?# |4 ^ A( u) XToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether" e( Y" t+ p& Y4 k# B
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
2 X- Q" |0 t& k) U5 o: |# Pfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But9 Y# ~6 ^2 v: P! h L% k4 A
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
5 f- w7 a; R6 |9 }number of vehicles% ?' H# T, e. N9 [
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
3 c* _1 s6 d" [difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a9 c0 r% p- T/ | Z, ?+ |) ]0 g
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
" o- G7 k+ U0 {! |3 j! ?* qsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
- `0 o. K0 m- ^2 dMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage," s! q& E7 Q* f9 X0 s+ e$ D! A
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
; x( p! C w( Z( L6 s+ c* U/ Atrace at all.
* p- G7 O; g% a- N$ L: ZHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
* s: g& y0 j6 T: w/ A! ?6 V0 D$ G/ P, Udatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden; t& Y! s$ ]' i% {; i. |1 X2 q
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
/ W+ Y5 [' y( e' qrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.6 s1 E0 f0 h- c, I1 O; `. U% j& N
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,# r$ Z: ]6 K6 E4 c: _$ B" _+ q0 a
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
! M/ K q6 e+ Bother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
8 Z0 I' X+ ?% X& @/ pelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
/ Y. {. |# W& w: V% B3 p5 rcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only; R2 X' ]9 U3 _8 H4 j. i# L1 Y
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
, O: e3 J% n! I$ h8 dby Toyota's lawyers."/ j3 t+ Q" ] [* W0 G) H0 g: D! P4 G
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
6 i$ M8 ~& q) z$ T* I V! h8 Xproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
% U$ V+ e3 M1 i% `# k' z) hcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he. `0 {& G/ V* h, N
said.
d" v$ C% {$ s; Q; c6 i"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
/ i8 s. @0 F$ l! M6 j: o$ ka rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
* Q& j" `8 R' }- V4 @. T% K% lgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
3 U9 _# H z( [officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
7 ]0 W' ~/ t) BSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying' l) n) U$ {3 z/ O
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
& i2 t/ h. ]# zrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
( o# u, M$ J# L+ S0 F1 A; eautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
" e; ^- r4 A1 }8 A3 v! ginvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
* C& L/ I* L- {& W) F' u$ aChrysler.2 q4 V5 K: w/ d2 b; E$ q' ^
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
+ E' w+ b' N" P: T# [8 Pdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
: K, \$ ~8 `6 B u6 f* eHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also: o4 m9 U8 F: x$ @
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
( w& I4 ?8 x7 pwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
7 j. h) n9 a6 e# ttough."+ H7 g3 ^0 ~; a. U
---
0 l4 j+ @4 D! D1 e$ D nAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom; X" M) A4 D6 i
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
8 j5 Y; s6 R; U/ r5 Z) Nthis story.. g& r; w) L$ H) x
2 |/ c" Z3 ?1 E8 C9 O7 |5 _: M-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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