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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题4 ~1 ~% }! e% ]* S( p2 a
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
# W& \; F; z- I5 V4 z! OWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
6 u8 Z1 v/ x) b) j% D$ N& Joperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that1 F, V/ m0 s! Z
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
& r9 ]. Z5 z- f3 S3 U8 }' Usolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
, p6 D, w0 P" F# k& F"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential2 `! u' I% J. \, }) t
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
% I% Y& x% }$ R' g, p5 iHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
; c5 Y, f$ G3 Z9 p; g+ kacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
0 _3 k8 K i, C2 Ktrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
# Z; k' P8 G8 J4 B* N( nmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
0 w! M6 j* S+ A+ S. \% uHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal" W+ `0 r+ C5 w; A( O
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp9 g4 i6 I: X, P7 j6 O, Y6 ?. e% I
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be/ I( G" S. r) L0 w+ e! O$ D: k
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
; v0 E, S4 v7 P! V, a5 h! ~; {not stop her runaway Lexus.
& \6 |% X) l! T. i" i1 G" W"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
4 a, K/ u) b9 _. OTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second9 o3 T! u( Z8 a/ ]& }! T
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.& M5 a' s- p1 W. d4 k# x
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
! J( ~3 b" h4 {early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said1 Y( t- k; h0 u, W) g( j: k
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has7 ~: Z* @9 k' t4 ^; \
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway& s! _5 d4 u3 i; J6 _* C/ J% J2 _4 C
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's) f' T! B: d. o
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."6 w- S7 f2 G5 P K
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
6 _2 L( e* M2 k+ {- @; Belectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of- B# i6 I+ g: M6 o+ K. { K
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a4 r) o4 U; o' _6 G- R
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
! _" t- I4 x( j7 rsaid.) O! Q2 E h# c3 @$ G
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what% i( i; x" w% |5 \* N- C) A5 f
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
/ p8 F' b7 t/ Pabout driving our products," Lentz said.( W9 {: A9 B! S! |$ u/ P
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's; w8 C( d$ O4 |# W" g
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has" g. C* {0 {% t4 I# f5 v
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
j3 O/ u2 y3 T+ k1 e4 Kmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of& P" @/ A" ~" P/ T- N7 R) r' A
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking8 v9 U* Y) D B
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
/ }3 f/ z I2 u( {1 k0 Iconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
# j0 ?( P8 [6 J/ d: @: @their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow+ G5 ?8 }/ r; l k# W
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has3 \1 S9 |9 z# a: I5 P5 C* `
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
# r/ v1 H1 ^9 cof Toyota vehicles since 2000. B* Y: j, p$ R8 t; c& }
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own+ h5 Y) E3 g4 x7 j T* N3 j1 u
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he' {! ?6 g, Q4 T6 X. v; D, V
understood the pain.! s6 {: B+ V) s9 S( z, K/ u# j
"I know what those families go through," he said.
' s" ^/ E% z; P1 o$ e5 y2 jLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's- ?0 U: e8 D& ~" B8 o2 C
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
; y: s6 N) \: Q9 k/ W4 oBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
4 ?% Y' Y- ], h- q: o- D/ J# aHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
: o/ V3 Y+ Y/ kin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,+ H/ O5 k; O/ ^5 F
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
8 l2 f4 u$ r8 Z" oStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
+ ]5 _; T5 U4 I3 k! ^' l, A"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said O- _0 D% I$ O: K" ?$ [2 k+ w
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas; W D+ x$ J& [
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
2 p+ W4 L4 C( ?3 T) ?; J; {) p1 bvehicles already on the road.. i/ ]* U0 Z7 P8 I3 @) e) L
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
5 c* ?) w8 O6 X! \2 C8 fbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full- y _ p0 j- K5 W7 k5 M7 D( ?+ e
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and: p" k$ c/ [4 F, S
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were, i1 B, D* ~" e C! w
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.& z8 W# }7 w: _/ H7 A
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
; W- `: z X. a. h7 b% |tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
7 d& @6 t; a I+ V6 I* ofor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight7 y; F; ~1 i) t, h0 a- d$ R
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
2 f. O+ w1 ~# Dcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
; K! r" S$ ~2 {8 ~' k, U: vrestore the trust of our customers."( q+ `% I" r7 i# N) a
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from( p. ?9 Q7 L5 l e3 g
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly' W/ ~$ \9 F ~$ v% ?
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --* V" Q$ s1 _# m# [* Z' ^3 S& ]
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
9 @+ T5 _7 t x/ `# zhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
# p+ N8 H6 J4 V' cthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
* x5 x5 x# f; v/ tturn off the engine.2 c/ t3 I, |9 w% N
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
$ v; \% i7 K/ l& BOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
4 K+ G+ j4 @- A) V( Z. C" R"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
) @, Z4 h, N `- J# esaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond1 {8 k# B: w" A& j4 U
to her complaints.9 u8 C3 F' W5 H/ C. \# N
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
* q V& N/ _0 @/ l9 Dreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
# k; A3 u# s& A6 Y Smalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars." [1 l) o. U: b4 {
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
, T! `. w' Z5 K2 [. X% F1 ~$ Xthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited" h w1 N/ U9 J
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
9 d% b& v# i( |' X* voff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
" W9 C0 d; c6 D: f, ^Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in: p" q4 E$ |* K0 x8 E- E1 K% S
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
" q& B9 X/ y7 U- E% dbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls% K! U: k6 }" q# g' @/ n
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
5 y+ ^7 _, n( uevery question.". O$ H: F3 \ M5 f! X3 {
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
$ S% B# ^; m; A" ^% G: [electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The1 f; j+ x# s8 ^; @) y
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But0 r: e) R8 C8 `' q2 }
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small6 _- ?6 f$ o5 R
number of vehicles
! f( f5 w4 V. {4 g) ?0 L% F6 J* D6 U2 ]Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more7 r3 k0 G. ^6 A) Y3 C
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a2 c/ W! s- i7 i, x/ A3 s6 T/ d* j+ f1 m, L
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one6 Z0 \6 w( k3 I1 I9 x
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
% ^, k& U' j, m) fMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,; T! x0 l- Y: B
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no' W E0 L+ O% [ N
trace at all.
U% d9 Y% q n# mHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call: n0 W; d- j. E; N# y+ `
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden4 u- Q( ?4 ]8 t5 u5 m, I: x& K. p
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
+ X- u4 u8 e6 n7 Wrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals./ E0 ?9 O6 ]! t1 C9 V4 ?
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
5 m# m2 M1 e, T0 _said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
0 }* w* T( m* ] H0 |- z5 eother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the- h8 w) `4 A5 q% u1 w$ `
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible& n2 `; `/ _% A5 R0 m
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only. @2 y3 k$ a: @ S+ ?
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
& u: A$ i$ T8 q7 @2 Eby Toyota's lawyers."
: l; O$ ], O! o0 J8 Y$ R- F8 O9 yLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of# v! N! W; }" s# Y: y7 I/ E0 {
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
2 A3 a' F: o% h4 Y: L4 I1 ycustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he4 h& H1 \* A5 d2 O P
said.7 ^, w3 }2 v0 K8 j) x
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with' F9 X, W% f8 f+ I$ {
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our. c0 F% B# s; N! k# [
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating) D- N3 z& p) ~' l0 e
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.* [- p' @- [: h; h# \% ]
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
& Z1 X8 U! L1 G% m' N6 x: |( g& a% dmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread! _& G' i: I6 ^6 Y# W1 Q( i
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the' J6 _, _* j o; ^
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
' K# W! {% Y7 l! _7 Dinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
; B5 j) y8 `' b3 ZChrysler.
$ G: C1 f$ w1 y4 I) D"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
. X. s {3 Z; G0 V7 idollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
% Q& L& P4 M: E' I9 J, Y0 \Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also" u, e2 f! d0 P
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
+ t9 V/ u1 \2 i! jwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty) p) k( u$ c! B' @6 i& ?% N6 i6 k% M
tough."
1 z. g$ I# A% b---: r7 i5 q4 O! r: t$ X8 H1 C, T
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom/ {, I a7 ]' Y" p' y
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
% u" `+ g5 J4 v: i+ Rthis story.8 x% }/ N! y* p+ s
+ r$ J- E: _/ ^" F-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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