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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题9 @; y% H% E0 L0 n4 I$ e
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
+ H+ a) w1 n$ m4 i. S: Q+ W* v+ F( cWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.% F$ u$ J: ~3 H7 @' L
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
% @3 \ x$ v) e" }the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
/ u ?/ v, t0 c5 b( Q$ G: osolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
6 C9 K8 ?7 Q; I"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential7 Y, g% E" [; H8 N9 y5 G
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.5 `% ~2 C* l k1 H6 _
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected8 d/ g1 N, s+ O w: w$ b
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and2 G' N/ H2 }, I; }1 G" z; `; _
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
' V2 c T" B) K. Nmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
6 N! F- T2 A, F1 D7 \2 v/ _He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal9 a( p. ]( e \
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
. s" O0 ]! e- ], Q( r. B1 }criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be ]1 d: A1 `; Y( P4 a8 u) w4 @( O# H
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could0 V& h" Z' G1 C8 {6 o! T
not stop her runaway Lexus.
- e- v4 T& P- X4 _"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
2 z* A( b3 I, O7 d, V; p- y3 S5 aTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
/ X; }7 p' g4 p9 V"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
" ~3 u3 K U$ B' k6 x9 m2 z% HTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
' w9 h% x* W: C5 {9 T' T! Jearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said5 D3 K1 M7 v/ R
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
/ x5 d- M. z4 |- s A1 Zdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
1 H$ r6 ]) i3 ? R0 [0 w; Vthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
8 `: s( M z' Z4 T2 e9 |4 linvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
|$ y5 Z: A) }" e% C( [; X- _ Y2 ALentz said the company had not completely ruled out an3 A( P8 R5 m2 |/ |3 }
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
7 ]% S8 {7 M( l: l& R) K( e# gthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
" q5 y; p$ @- N1 Amalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
0 m- Z7 i2 k, {; ^( Msaid.2 A+ i+ p) Y: X7 ]! D4 o
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
; Z1 ~* P( i# v9 jhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe. D7 I$ d0 |3 \0 n
about driving our products," Lentz said.' U9 z% S) O9 k6 v
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
# E) G: l1 w4 Y, G" q, Jproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has5 I( e$ v5 O7 y6 |8 E% Z
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6( }$ ~# W( E* e# }
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
* _. Y' |$ }$ i7 U9 X9 runintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking8 y& ^% M- q% w* C- Q+ Z
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering2 W. \& g9 G; `) T
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of, H7 u s! Y) b3 X+ E
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
) s# e: O7 T8 D0 j, c' ydown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has2 U2 L( _' v: h& e& q
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
/ A& V* `: V4 P- J1 z3 `) jof Toyota vehicles since 2000.. C2 n; L z4 x5 |. U
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
2 ~4 M- m) x/ m/ d! f4 x& z- |7 sbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
7 k# q+ k; U' ~% d( p: Punderstood the pain." S/ E% d$ x1 y; }+ f9 c# w
"I know what those families go through," he said.2 J3 l, N4 n2 {8 F: i0 ~9 w
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's2 G6 E& e p# y$ n* [$ }. z
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.4 A+ W! k5 [% c
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
$ e v6 O. G; ~* @9 w5 o* U8 HHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put" s* `+ {! j" n: c* @
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
b% M" r0 g- r9 t2 p( RLentz replied: "Not totally."
7 B' M9 ?5 k9 F1 UStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were4 [2 C. J7 M; O; W2 W" [5 ]5 y d
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
7 K* \. p: h( L8 E& MToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
8 z; S! M3 m% R" F/ _& C. Spedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its: v$ z' h1 C' i" q4 a8 W- i: o
vehicles already on the road.1 N0 [/ E3 t" H
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
, d+ q$ I' g6 D3 ybefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full% ], g1 [! ^/ F, [: ]& E- L I
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and8 L# g' I) `: F/ h
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were% I2 ]* }& M3 Y$ r
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.. a N7 k( O, f4 c+ e
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
5 y# A6 I% J+ A. `8 u- k; k/ ntragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
3 k& \+ N9 ?+ U4 W' Z2 [for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight5 i H- J' D# h- q b$ [3 b: [8 ?
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal& t( R, k& ~+ \' G) z
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
1 l; ?' D. }# m% X. \. Crestore the trust of our customers."; ^% o& @6 J |
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from4 `# L" j; v5 w; l6 r z
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
, X* m0 g) a: d2 e$ vzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --! N; D2 Z# A9 e: h$ b# D
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
1 G- O" q- z7 t4 I7 O: `4 L Q; [hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
0 u- @5 `5 m6 h" I$ ^that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and0 Q S- e: p" p2 d6 }2 J- L7 `+ m
turn off the engine./ A/ N$ Q+ E0 R( V9 J9 N
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
1 ^; ` z: o/ ~; l; p; ROctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."+ y( A$ R3 L; O0 S1 P
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
9 M, O& y9 x$ M! c1 n5 Lsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
- c, X+ y& X7 \! {$ e0 dto her complaints.0 A# M$ X+ e' S* s
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers* Q; H3 Q' J5 \
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic+ o0 i+ H9 C( Q8 s% l6 m1 Y. V# I- f
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.- e. N) w+ e( D" Q+ V
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
$ B/ D) o& j! w. L; t2 gthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited! Z9 L2 G6 l% I7 `# O6 `
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
! w# [1 z" N* e/ {, P1 \; [off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."' H) p, T* Y% H4 L/ F
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in9 z; h" Z* R+ F$ W0 V
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were. |- i) ]7 _6 t$ d$ y, q; V
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls5 n+ P( O7 q- X* h/ T" J o/ Y
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer; W; o- x, \" t8 \; Y
every question."
$ r4 e6 A% c/ G; M4 b: q+ yToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether3 E) E7 `9 n3 w N2 b
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The7 @8 }% N1 O* `4 g% k
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
: w" W1 A0 U2 i1 m+ `! Vcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
9 v- Y/ z# C0 t9 \4 e) snumber of vehicles9 R- w: g& E* e; Y) K" w
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more1 j5 {' H8 p% S0 ]' @$ Q- ?- U+ ]7 O
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
* S0 }+ R4 T3 [( h- t7 c5 ]mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one0 N8 M7 [3 \9 D2 v1 W
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
" Z( h. X/ M, g- vMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
" j8 s3 `0 Y$ A5 ?4 n4 n( X4 Awhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
; z( M/ R7 X/ }- g' N. otrace at all.0 {" }5 R$ M" N- S5 ^2 Y8 V
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
( m5 R/ P2 W$ c/ Fdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
" a6 H' k; I' ^% {6 H$ k+ Uacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the- W5 q4 P$ w1 E# a2 T) b2 V# B
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
0 x: [( x; ?6 dRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
- ^4 J% ?% t6 [7 E4 C; O# d$ P2 a# tsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and" B( ^8 ?% e# o: Z$ t& p+ X
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
% A" L) J' m+ y* h) I% r9 telectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
3 k; q0 m- M( ~" Y( i! L4 a/ @cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
% N' L' B7 w& ?1 Rsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
3 ?$ Y# C) Z0 {; Xby Toyota's lawyers."9 d& B$ m8 j5 z) B/ I) T/ ?( y
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
H0 ~/ L$ H5 n/ l9 Y* F$ Gproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our o! z8 A0 g2 n4 r5 O" @
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
$ p4 v+ K4 B$ C; Q7 s; }% Csaid.
6 S' ?0 E7 ^$ {! B7 E"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
! u e5 k# P+ K# Z) Sa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our# D2 \" \+ C. ]" O1 @! m( W& q
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating7 f2 E- w' D3 p. S7 e9 _% `
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.' q( b8 [4 H* ]6 q0 ]( Y6 Z
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying2 Y0 U; ]+ ]/ c- d( H7 d8 w
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread0 e X' O7 u$ ?
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the# z% o% G; M( p" l/ z& J+ T5 V
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
6 `# K* e% Y* Y9 B- Z$ w( Winvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and3 v' X' ~7 p5 ~3 L. Q" A. N
Chrysler.2 d' X/ h' ^6 S( _) T. J! z* c$ b
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax: z) _2 I- [4 `1 b
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a1 c! }* O+ h2 s! _5 n- F
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
/ l) C/ d( V- v$ |. g. w8 wserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
( \, \! g+ f" [& T' |with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
8 N- h- d ~1 w$ k. I" v8 Utough.") u f' H5 D( C4 N; l
---7 j! K$ ?. b0 v8 [3 ?2 X+ V7 u
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
]0 J* r( I" I/ c# ]. z ^Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
2 p/ a+ z7 d* B3 t3 M2 ~6 e- e3 othis story.
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6 k/ ]& g2 ?5 `+ Q-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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