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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题- [/ i* y h3 ^# @6 @
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
3 |+ M/ w1 L% a- k6 `! v6 WWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.2 |, F h1 G( p5 w( D& u
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
8 ]) e" c1 ~" A4 l, n! ^4 ^the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
( h; \& U9 _6 h; q8 o' s; T" h/ Rsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
+ X2 W! y$ E* u& L" J5 ] V"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential) C" c z4 \1 |9 |# |
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
4 f( o! f! n4 f, I& p# |! FHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected& H6 U1 X. \6 r& r
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and+ O9 h0 K$ t" r0 O+ f- V
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
9 e2 J' U4 f3 W/ lmats and sticking accelerator pedals.8 C2 ?6 u0 A1 e+ X
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
3 l3 {/ F+ ~( N' Uand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
, }) X$ U4 [' icriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be) O% ?% l/ }8 E% U3 G! c9 f
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
8 K& k" |( ?& X, q' X i3 nnot stop her runaway Lexus.
4 @/ c4 z X$ }3 V: A3 c" \"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,# t: S& U/ y, i9 M9 e3 \. b& P& b
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second+ t# Z% v0 E+ Z/ a9 ^
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
, @! P" k7 z' C# g- b9 zTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues& {3 R& Y$ e# }+ P) q
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
; A! o! t0 n3 |1 q3 u: {. c; a"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has! K1 f6 R. y& r, W8 f# e' C" o
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway7 W" M9 }' x: o$ |! h- D. L2 B
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's/ ^9 d- u' M7 X! m+ O6 `1 {
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
& o6 K; y9 c1 A ~- X0 W. QLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an" d# T6 v/ @8 r$ ^5 V# j
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of+ U {0 b w& P% a: j
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
2 j! O6 {: O- l. E$ imalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he5 H1 t- i8 D, E" s% T0 z8 L# F
said.
/ p1 Y4 ^# D2 a& s6 }9 I E. RAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what1 |# f' j3 D: Z; s# @$ |
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe" C* Q- A8 Z. K7 l. _$ ]0 L" }8 t
about driving our products," Lentz said.6 ~6 I& H F4 K8 u/ m
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
9 ^5 m0 N, e9 s7 J& ]) V; {3 h% wproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
& |5 z" c6 j7 x: \! }% Grecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 64 `1 z( b1 ~, n* ~0 f
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
" W) a' Z3 ?, X4 P# A/ Kunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking- j8 g4 |2 Z% v2 g' V3 |6 {
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
3 z- Q& t5 e9 Q7 M, Jconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
& j3 d3 R9 r: q# X0 etheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow9 Z7 ]+ K2 @5 |" o' o
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
+ w" c ?2 n6 u0 i' Q hreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
. h6 _# a) s" @4 @) Nof Toyota vehicles since 2000.. ]+ O, S1 Z( H+ V( D1 `
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own9 t S$ C) }6 O4 j( }5 M3 l9 j
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he0 Y/ c! v, L* b! |$ u
understood the pain." O! `4 e9 X2 J/ J4 ?2 Y+ p
"I know what those families go through," he said.: z7 V" P: i' Q* R" ]
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
% ~4 x& `. `- B. Y0 e4 U1 ^* M( ^fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
0 Q) R! a% v0 }& m; o* kBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman; F( z8 I9 ~7 m4 l$ `9 G% f, I6 K
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
; R* H8 j' K6 c7 h. A/ Q8 Cin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
' b# M/ i" w+ Q+ bLentz replied: "Not totally."
; J0 \- `4 u5 q8 L7 c/ ZStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
0 z q4 q* v5 z* K0 V"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
& ?# J; p: p$ dToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
3 G; @/ y; D6 e' p" n% gpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
4 W4 F7 H% ?! k) kvehicles already on the road.2 `" h; n. T$ g. z
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
$ F9 m7 h( S) {$ abefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
3 N7 a6 ^* |- w1 ]7 {- Presponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and& U$ ^6 I& Y% i! }
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were( F! W6 |7 x( ~" E6 |" o2 \2 I
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
7 [& [. n! l. H6 T"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
* |! G, {0 \0 T0 y3 itragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony6 t' O ^) h! A. h
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
3 N( ]; v. h; x% w; w& y5 {Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
\# W ` p C9 g, xcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to) _. t4 b: U4 J2 z3 m
restore the trust of our customers."3 F" h( U! q- }& g" H! c
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
, j& h- ^2 l" [: cSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
. B- D9 ~1 k9 T1 A% U% Y. Hzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
/ k# y2 i/ u* c: J# z0 lshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and, `2 n+ c9 ^, v" A
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
! r& K( q! [, Athat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
: o0 l: m$ B% kturn off the engine.+ v2 v/ k4 Z. ]
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of* G/ x2 G1 S+ W. f: O
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."2 l/ ?5 E5 _& Y% v1 P
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she$ e6 K3 [" ^+ ?/ m9 Y
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond; J" a3 p( ]% a9 A O: z- j0 E
to her complaints.
' p1 t5 p9 ~; g3 }. [" sIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
4 h4 w2 R% L2 z! greturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
& _5 D. N) I9 R" |% T8 m1 Y6 Tmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.1 ^5 J/ j. L" s/ _
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
; a! n( M! u" Z% w; sthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
1 _; y( X# ~2 L) ?1 z"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
1 f- A/ W: V6 N- G& v% P! ?% ^off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure.". W. n P9 g, R' f, u7 f
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in' k2 ^( h3 A- w
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were7 e/ T. L# v: [+ {; [
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
- R! `/ [6 b/ J v- K: |( swere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer9 [& A, A8 Q7 F3 N6 P% ]/ D
every question."6 e A3 z- x4 ]$ N u
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
" @- B* B5 e% g" u. t$ D$ t: zelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
* s! `0 `+ V/ N ]+ Q" c! m. m4 gfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
( j" y) G+ U2 Z7 I$ |7 n+ d, scommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
. X( s( l# y9 v# w9 hnumber of vehicles' [6 e4 T: m: ^2 f( T
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more; R3 M$ e- T+ D
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
H" h5 m" g2 gmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one) T8 p( x. o/ K, ~. {) z
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
2 u6 r2 n8 }: n1 p2 ZMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,5 I9 ]2 R8 a+ j4 o& S
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no# I, G W# G1 l% d; P
trace at all.
2 M! ~* U# g( Y' d7 X' ZHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call3 J S/ h& _# q6 c* P6 @/ D* q
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
1 }2 R3 J* _8 o& xacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
# [+ ?0 V, p* q# Precalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
. w# I' ]3 h. nRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,; i, Q3 |5 C8 ^ o6 L
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
' N% w/ e% }0 a; Iother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
0 R o7 [$ x! k; w1 P1 D$ relectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
; n4 I: I5 F7 D+ Mcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only) _# J1 t: r6 T% B, M
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
, Y6 k7 W5 w9 ^) K s6 hby Toyota's lawyers."1 J! n+ a- A% F; ]8 F7 O
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of [6 Y4 {5 f' T5 O5 ~0 j5 `
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our' R$ ~% W0 E* ~1 F F
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
& ]- R4 c; Y' `2 b) V o% tsaid.5 M1 z) c' v9 {% ^( U3 H8 F3 k
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
7 d( w( U/ h* K1 o) A/ Ja rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our& q' d% D8 c. O0 o; m
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating5 M' O$ _( H. ?8 |1 p- [
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
, H: X& _, h$ F, E% L; X" jSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying) K+ d, B& E! U( F4 h
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread6 j' A C9 a5 q! r$ v" o- B
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the8 o- t( e( z y2 r+ `5 b
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
: T2 c; K8 Y' Z& \' |) Q) linvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and1 R& o8 D) c' q$ ]
Chrysler.
1 y/ _2 q2 u+ U" r' i$ K; i"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
e$ |' Z# T! m$ R8 U% N! r2 Cdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
4 [" ~2 q* M7 c) K( K7 KHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also8 I q* U I; ~* |2 c; D/ Z5 W3 ~
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
, I, t* ^/ [+ \0 s) c* [, Cwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
5 u" W% n6 u& Itough.") f! Y* S$ d2 _5 B
---
5 o4 R, Y& j9 A& WAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
! c) |: g. _3 M8 g; c) y& nRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to1 {3 \. C* ?+ g
this story.
& g5 w1 O- ?7 l6 ^0 ]2 `1 u, N2 ^" W2 H p( E: s l& t
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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