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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
# n( p" [* `7 kBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS. ]4 `; c2 l1 T& N4 x- Y C2 T
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.9 I/ I! L2 t6 r- \- s
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
, m& t! K- Z( U u" \the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"" }7 Z4 H' } S
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
* D1 m1 q: A: X+ ^"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
( i( Z& I! @1 S' ?* r$ Ccauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
/ {; ^* V, \ K( L1 o+ a5 fHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
/ J: q4 s* X& W3 d9 dacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
4 j! ~& Y! ^6 ^trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor7 I! t( @7 F7 c% j F
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
0 h' h% j+ O. K; bHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
6 H5 w: _' s( ]% Mand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp# {, E" {' [1 W# G
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be" f& l7 U0 C7 k6 |. Y
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could+ S5 G. m& o8 v n& g2 Q9 e2 y, o
not stop her runaway Lexus.
) m$ |2 B* u3 Q( v6 X# ~+ a"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
0 p/ N- |, e: o( \Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second1 h5 H2 Z0 ], Q4 E% Y
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.; y% Y+ G! \( h; T
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues5 g) r8 ?- O8 f* Q8 Z# E7 K. k
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
7 i9 n' R4 r" q: c, W' Y"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
& g9 K7 V, T# ndone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
2 f$ [. E2 [: E1 Z6 k% O/ ?through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's+ E) j5 G! V, ]# F- `! e
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."$ k/ g5 z5 T9 R _% @
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an, z# W0 `6 r* Q9 }' T) [
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of" g8 I$ o% ]+ B9 t6 Q
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a" }. T8 x8 C( J! w
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he- c6 R5 y' l6 C, ~8 L0 M* ^
said.
/ M4 Y/ c4 S% q" `As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
6 m) Y' X7 q9 b K0 j- Hhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
7 i( O7 I/ u" m) _. x5 M @about driving our products," Lentz said. }; W* ?9 B, j( b/ X3 j0 |
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's2 ~. W2 b& H9 v( ]; z$ U P* v
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has/ q& v4 ~. D8 O/ S# T0 J- e
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6( |8 J8 e7 E9 s1 M1 X
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
" T: w$ }1 {6 Ounintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking( m1 S, i0 X# F$ s- X7 H- M2 H+ S# Q
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
5 {- L8 B3 ?9 V8 [concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of8 b& W8 [6 ~/ }+ G
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow3 x- q0 t+ k5 ?) v$ U5 S3 Z
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has( i0 v$ k$ N/ ]$ t
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration# h' h& v# H4 W
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
7 {( E/ A4 R& A9 \2 jLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own3 m8 t$ S0 b6 b- B: Q
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he: _$ F+ |( w0 e n v
understood the pain.
. f) E' z8 g: z( W* Y0 m"I know what those families go through," he said.
8 n- D( u/ W, i4 \ Z8 p' MLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
9 g- \% C! o) G* O g, u3 X8 G; X" ffixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems." q4 o1 C! E$ p" U/ O q# S, A- P! W+ ~
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman7 t8 [0 N5 r$ f& L3 X
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put% p5 ^$ j$ Z1 i! w& H
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,# q4 M8 G j8 a: w+ f
Lentz replied: "Not totally."3 y6 D5 `6 }' f& T
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
1 h% W/ e8 q% J. X"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said' a" }$ j/ E# r. D8 X3 O, E2 x0 J
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas5 t, d/ m9 c i- d; S
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its7 x5 l5 J9 V$ @/ \
vehicles already on the road.2 F3 M: D6 e! v3 J. r7 P9 `
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
4 X( E" ^; e' V& W$ Tbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full. [. i. R. f9 B
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and8 \3 W6 B( [; d3 D' l/ I5 {
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were! G, A: Y+ E0 i
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.4 z( J& }6 W% ~* _ U
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a9 A" d* Q2 G, E# }7 h
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony" u% K6 |0 z0 s2 X
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight, I) P9 |* d5 R
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
9 P0 h, n1 [; m7 B/ ~commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
7 g; ]5 A1 S" u3 u+ nrestore the trust of our customers."8 T! A5 @1 r& ^5 g
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from& u8 j3 s- y6 _7 N& T
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly# U) H( a1 i" H
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
]% J0 e/ G# J) \: Gshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and( u, d( D( D- V4 \( ]
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
) p Y, d+ i) _; e! [3 E4 ]" d$ Kthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
8 R O \& x/ n7 l# oturn off the engine.
; c( b; h X, L! DFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
n% Q5 [7 K9 H$ kOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."4 Y- ~/ z* f; o% ]4 D+ \
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she4 F! c! P$ ]+ y. H
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond! K3 P2 `0 n3 Z0 l' |
to her complaints.3 z+ ?/ |! [7 t4 e7 H& ~8 U6 T
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers |) Y) Y" [& G( c$ ~! e+ K- V
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic2 _' @( p4 W4 R) \; ~% }* h
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars. q6 l/ w4 i3 A! x
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
1 ]9 s9 T0 J+ k7 M) S+ bthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited! w" K1 p- ^7 \
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut+ C6 i& L8 \% V7 T& W/ j, {5 @
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."% y, v- ?0 F. B6 S3 q" v2 x+ @' H7 _
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
- F' z0 }( d0 x% ^) {0 Gprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
5 R. T# _9 v! T, J- ]being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
+ {2 g/ |8 Y% v# n T+ e* J: |0 ^were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
3 f" l2 b$ Z6 l% c. P3 q9 f. z& Oevery question."/ n/ e8 F- A/ @3 u9 U5 g
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
7 b3 \3 i7 r ^ U+ Felectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
, I* D# `$ s* f0 _. b; }firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But9 X) W2 G- p& S+ |# E" F( L
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small; ^8 ^& O& \0 ?% G, X: y! B, }4 w' Z
number of vehicles
: [8 t6 c# M; B9 Z1 QTracking down an electrical problem can be far more9 {/ H8 s8 o/ l
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a( K# P7 p4 S' d# r+ J2 l
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one6 c' Z* i7 b- `( w# F3 T" y
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
5 v2 d$ L# _, g% h3 xMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
8 `3 `5 m& H+ a( Q. h, Swhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
, c1 P: n9 J# l& E1 @trace at all.7 s) |% u/ o- O) X
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call3 E2 @7 t! ^" A j6 `9 D8 W
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden5 p' a5 @. ?1 S6 H7 s
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
; r% {/ D& J2 z0 O1 ~9 y% precalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
9 i1 O% d' p; SRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
0 u1 a% K- |, ]" y, Msaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
% u1 f4 E1 g1 Yother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the( `' ?& |# a9 r- z$ Q: e
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
/ q% y* o8 H9 C1 ?' k% rcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only& z9 ^& L; `# {3 o% i
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
6 D5 L4 \8 S$ A- R9 K; A' H! [- uby Toyota's lawyers."
" [0 [4 m' W7 E! g( E8 G; D; TLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
) d* h( U F) G2 R# f8 aproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our6 ` Q& @: i9 \/ B5 l) r# Z
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he/ c% V/ t+ V, c* k% I* I
said.
$ d0 C, m1 z0 m$ X! y0 Y+ H"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
4 r6 c9 ^8 R2 ?* ^, Z D9 b/ ya rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our6 x' i4 R+ q: Y+ o, {: Z
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
: S2 N1 a0 @ }9 U3 Uofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc." Z) Q, B+ a* T9 W/ F* D* Z) _
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying3 V, r6 k5 h+ P( P& s! K! F6 ] n
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
* O" H" Q! r# M1 z. g- Krancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the$ N* w( T: x w6 y% P2 I4 s- A
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
# i' j0 V" S; a! U) D8 N. Ginvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
+ R3 A, H' B4 l7 Y8 y7 VChrysler.) s% m% @ c% Q) k% k! o
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
9 o% Z) b: t4 Q* }, m: I7 [dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a1 m! o0 s4 U3 _5 W2 H& a
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also# p# D# M* j! ]( @
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
) z' \3 L6 u9 Gwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
: S m( t$ @' Z9 \/ \) ^tough."
- K: v1 p0 l0 ~+ Q$ C( q---
$ e1 x) e2 C9 T6 |Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
; _; ^& j6 ~( X' jRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
7 Z6 A! N2 M7 Q+ h4 Fthis story.
. y* F6 F! p* `+ j4 G. Z
! O/ p0 h. f4 ?-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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