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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题+ {/ d9 s7 U( t" ~) D+ r* q
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS+ F+ ?- L. Z) a. X a' h _! V4 C
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
* V% V# c+ X4 N7 t- uoperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
7 B/ K& Z3 e; x$ n. p5 y- {) B5 Sthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
( m2 A) o8 G* K# [1 usolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
) j" C, f+ J! z% u6 c: O; ]( I"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
1 C; [- U: [; ]) lcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.3 \ F# B7 T9 d
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
; ^2 r7 E4 b: K/ |& ]) V, Sacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and, T5 I! A" ?" V( S( A" {+ e
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
0 v2 o( b# C, _! P' u: M0 Y4 Emats and sticking accelerator pedals.9 S; u/ f0 q# k& Y, W% n
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal; E1 \9 @" ]% F/ I( n [" s
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
. J: g" r; \; L& }2 M( H1 ~criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be% O8 F7 ?# W7 Y. T1 ?
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could/ o/ h0 X# ~# i w2 e* H) J
not stop her runaway Lexus.7 _' D0 h! `) K0 |
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,* j! R2 v. g6 x, F+ u" i2 Q3 \
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
! Y" ?/ J* n4 M9 G# P$ `: d8 e+ j8 a( a"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.0 v1 X8 Z. G2 n
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
9 h) \+ T# Y0 W5 a) r4 b0 Hearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
: K+ |5 S+ p: W. U, f1 g"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
/ D, [3 Z: J+ J! z7 Idone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
1 U, o' h7 R$ F3 dthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's" ]$ W. i' c' K- s' \7 S
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."3 M7 ~, U6 I$ P
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an* n( n6 F; h" K. K: R; o/ I0 d1 }
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of3 N& A2 I- c4 t4 k) |
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
& R+ c% b ]2 `! Umalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he# E# d* v, d& j: B* k: }6 P. O
said.
l8 t7 L) ?# h6 Z; g" @* `0 IAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
$ S* d D. Z8 K; v* e) t4 o9 mhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe, _2 s$ |$ H, s1 w2 b" D& z
about driving our products," Lentz said.
) {$ {9 y& j0 sThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's3 r& e' z5 b, u- o; T6 V3 e
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has% X4 S7 }7 @; v: s! P
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6/ E5 y& s- H& ^
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
4 j6 q# r% k* {+ A' \unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking- f# W0 k' y- D3 I! M$ j
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
6 ^* N, ~( N/ v5 W9 }concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
5 s1 }2 r8 T/ s; H7 Qtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
3 o+ o o+ w6 b+ |( |. Ydown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
8 N b0 b6 b7 Lreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration) n a# E; R. ^! {2 j2 Y" M
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.% S0 ?/ {! Q( }$ Z4 W2 k1 e% J1 c# b
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
% h8 k" f) x" m- j" L! _brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he2 a& ~( y+ L- d+ [! p1 e
understood the pain.
6 c5 O5 Y, j& f; {0 o' h/ V+ _"I know what those families go through," he said.6 E5 [& W6 n, ^) @* X
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
- C) X" G3 g2 i6 u; ^4 Yfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.8 p# N# f+ l" x9 Y3 Z" C/ q) k) n* I
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
, V8 y3 A4 V9 w6 M9 y- dHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
) Z E$ s, Q5 e9 Y1 {in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
( o0 l2 z( ?( x3 T8 vLentz replied: "Not totally."( z) O( o7 f$ g7 n0 ?/ K; R) ^
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were+ w# [" t) F$ x }
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
6 e) K) I6 q' fToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
S# \$ y% F, i* N$ Y- Spedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its9 \0 v) ^) @7 U# ?1 I" x
vehicles already on the road.
* ^- b5 ?- _* U4 Y+ I2 g$ N1 xMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify( s- U: @) F3 [
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full& |! g* F$ M% _# I
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and0 i6 g! Q9 E4 {1 L; T; }$ n
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were) y/ k. a3 c A5 P% o0 [. M( S
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems./ w7 e& U8 V1 v6 ?' @" l& t) U' f6 n
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a O" J$ K2 `1 `$ q7 x; r6 c$ r
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony) b7 ]8 ^- c9 z% n: ^
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight2 P5 \' G2 e$ x5 y* N
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
/ D1 g* a# r& J! c: f/ Zcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to* S7 Y$ C' \* G
restore the trust of our customers."; Q% X1 r* V' o) b- @7 q
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
- m: A6 o5 {9 g: A' d2 v2 A( N& TSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly' n" I1 x, k" h, O+ X2 g5 g
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
" |0 W9 j7 q" {: c% ~% Tshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and+ J* R9 A8 W! y
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
" r9 }$ D; U/ D9 p6 {that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
U6 z1 [; ]: ~0 K9 W* h+ ~turn off the engine.$ V2 [1 ]+ r* Z1 p
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
9 `7 T+ I2 G: O, o% ?% @October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."$ Y6 t8 [5 J# m9 i/ O X( \
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
1 m( J: n8 }$ e# _said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond; u8 s) g( U+ y. S! t7 x
to her complaints.* b3 W. W4 V) _
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
( q( l$ G4 o3 k b0 wreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic! V* z$ H7 {; I- T$ I
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.* [6 g) q7 N4 g
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric: S, Z) [1 C! D) ?* M
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
$ w( c C& ~9 ~3 G"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut7 `5 V, i/ c& X6 b9 h& ^- z
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure.": L! a5 ^- u1 y" Y
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
# s! z: c6 h7 xprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were, n+ z) H; |; G! G2 U
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
0 d' m" V4 z1 s3 U" f4 twere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
q K% @% Y' O6 aevery question."
2 u! `; ^2 `/ P4 `" t% ZToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
! K- K/ f |: T4 felectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
) S$ q4 V1 f2 U% I0 tfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But7 _ W8 c- b5 Z" ^9 U
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small* l: E% K+ S* V& T/ u- j, s
number of vehicles ^! l3 e& y) |/ {$ l1 f" \
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
. ]+ t6 r# B% X; a6 o4 pdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
# L6 g! w0 l2 k$ }2 rmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one, K9 h; L; C- o8 z8 o3 e
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.& I+ m& t4 g7 ~- J7 Z7 m+ \+ [
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,' ^0 }' \# Q5 Y4 p( w( e
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
) {! A" e, ^( L+ z* rtrace at all.
A% Y$ |/ E/ f; n, ]$ NHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
- ~8 U: ?/ v3 z2 a l4 Z1 _database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden( O( s$ X' E# G0 ?% \1 y, Q
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the" ^0 u% ?0 W) s/ r# ?( ^( `+ }
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.- A3 b3 ?" [, A9 ]
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
3 N+ Z$ S. L2 _! o0 Xsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
/ A) w( c3 n# f" d$ h, Lother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
- o6 p5 N5 T) s0 Gelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
! z$ b8 U' ^# j l$ e8 Dcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only: S6 t) h; P4 Z) n8 |
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
2 I g5 [) ~4 z$ K8 Jby Toyota's lawyers."
2 x/ o+ d; s' I8 dLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
/ Y8 t* i0 y' a& S6 U* Dproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our" t4 B/ ?# J9 [5 w. m! v0 i
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he* s4 n) H. g, ] v# M
said.( d+ Q( U$ h& x, j
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with0 n" T! d7 q8 x# ?
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
9 `" O! A# Q$ Y; u; C- `good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating7 @) G1 p; L& v, N
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
% {5 R: F+ a- B" w. ^3 P( P) y! qSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
" P6 ~( h: G& S! B5 Pmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
1 Z- w* x( y! ?% D, i: Erancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
K3 c$ e/ g1 Y) `: ]* K2 B" j& cautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
5 S3 L: u7 m1 I# H' Vinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and( M& }: l6 y- U/ l% m. l" B* e
Chrysler.
/ t- t7 x# v U# b8 {"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
; b( H: D( b* Y; @4 Fdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a% c& G b0 y5 \! U1 T5 {: P4 H
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
( F/ k t% j% S- A+ \served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
, i5 H0 ]. v! |* w& j hwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty0 i' t3 Y/ J% K. S' d: t+ a
tough."0 J) s8 P% |% ?, m$ u
---
: h2 a1 V N0 B. X& {- I2 h7 dAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom5 S [$ d! [1 w" L. U* U
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to2 D8 @5 |: `% i, \, M
this story.# |& O) T) d" \2 L( l
2 Y" m: M" d; e-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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