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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
. t5 p3 n5 R* XBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS5 Y8 V9 }* o; ]. M0 d
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
6 s8 w( x3 t. goperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that+ B! o2 T I( X/ F( k) B
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"; x" y( ~( W0 Y( ?. S% L r
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.0 B) ^* s9 r" G7 w; x
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
" l) X! [3 Y! G( Wcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
" v3 i& `6 b S I; n; @However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
! z! u" h$ T5 w+ k6 Sacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and9 G, G6 ^. U6 e, h, C
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor2 I( @: ]+ t4 e' B0 x
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.) u- Y0 [- k5 W7 r
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal* s) C( N! [+ c) P2 j2 Z5 N2 N
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp3 {" w" W; v4 O
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be9 g; ~+ Z# N2 d" P1 ^
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could, Y) \% @8 y8 T7 \6 [! P$ _4 K
not stop her runaway Lexus.% s" O8 a0 r9 |* S3 m. ]
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
% J: Z; R# |5 @% x0 x7 M% e' o& gTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
& A# g* a# Q; v9 e"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.; E, Z4 Y. z/ |' M' ^; ]3 U0 }
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues0 h0 r" Y( Q5 O
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
" r5 t2 D6 S& Y' A3 M"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has9 R+ B: b0 t9 I
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
5 g. |5 H/ T- h6 q( a" ithrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's: z4 J6 U" p$ b" r* }7 e8 h$ U, \
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
' Z7 M7 N& P- l4 V7 y' Y4 q7 ZLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
* Y5 A- n$ e3 j( g& W% yelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
0 b k+ A1 ?0 y, h2 J$ fthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
3 a+ X3 ~0 e4 s. F( fmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
7 V3 k; }2 Z' k! z9 lsaid., X$ h N f' _1 r$ ?4 h& O* x) g3 {
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what7 o6 t0 `) { l$ J
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
8 P k1 e; \' m" R' P9 J9 C3 @5 |; dabout driving our products," Lentz said.5 Z) J0 x+ y' A& q7 h
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
' ^2 [% v4 C3 ~problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
& r0 d2 B: b {1 @recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6% }6 ]$ T5 g8 X; A
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
* k q3 z# Z4 [' D E) n! hunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
" |. Z- G$ P w ?! T3 D3 Aissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
; _# {5 \- x2 ?: _concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
1 b8 Q5 m/ e% r9 v3 S# [7 _their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
Q4 l# Y" o ?# o" G3 sdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
; M' d! ~, _3 i- I% J: S/ Wreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
% P1 w: z* w/ z1 l; Y) {" oof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
9 E5 [+ `; a; s. {: N6 j6 D4 }7 j" E6 CLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own4 E# h' ]) W3 i) @
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he: d$ D8 j6 p9 Z* [! x
understood the pain.- i+ y% ?, L5 A' e
"I know what those families go through," he said.( d2 A/ U. V4 U- Y8 }. E
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's) q) n6 a8 v' E ~
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
7 Y1 R' l' o9 J6 k. M. `But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
' a: n% l% O, h( q$ V; lHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put# d/ ^2 z/ p* @4 ?! l/ E% q
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
0 e; d# ]( j0 i5 ?% K& zLentz replied: "Not totally."
0 r1 M3 `+ a+ I$ f# ?2 K8 pStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
; k: ~" \6 `/ k, Y"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
4 i6 R' A4 |2 n! j# C/ SToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas$ v( g" Z5 I1 [; e! @
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its0 H# M6 I" F$ m' J5 |3 l
vehicles already on the road.9 g+ u, g" ~- j3 J1 D& k
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify9 S1 ~# o8 }. S& j
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full/ m2 i5 |+ J+ _3 \
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
$ X; V; p! [6 ?7 I& Q3 Loffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
, [! Q7 z" Z0 ^5 R& }4 J% q1 kkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.( T7 d: u( q+ a" y* n) U: o
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
( J8 U" O- w$ Y8 v: S! F* a; etragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
9 U8 ?0 b' q' o2 n5 ffor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight% M1 L+ I/ e: i2 M- @
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal* y/ v! L4 ^' G p7 [: ]
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to, _: E3 _" i5 O) _% Z9 ~, G2 b
restore the trust of our customers."
: h" f7 _! _2 J) m R( c7 D" }Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from: E8 t) s2 F9 Y2 ?, t
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
* @ t' n- Y8 k; U" J& x u9 i4 zzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
; F6 d+ b$ d) u6 l. I, wshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and, k( w- J! x" b V
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
% |* G b9 h/ q3 r" ]9 A" O9 gthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and4 x) Z' `. z$ ?4 {( _) z/ g
turn off the engine.! g2 v/ y2 A( ^9 D' o0 L5 p
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
4 f0 u* i2 L6 t( E0 `+ P( zOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."& S, P8 |# R0 ?
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she' V5 j2 j+ ?. {1 _3 {+ r
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
# K% ~" H! }9 {9 D# N( h d$ H1 Rto her complaints./ a/ d6 L+ N$ U, s! O* L
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers, K* H$ L" W4 E) B- [! \
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic) }. i$ W! d8 g7 c) r3 a' d* O
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
. G+ E, `) ~4 X* t& g! o0 |4 m"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric* X4 M7 w# S4 M1 C/ z1 U4 c: R
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited- X9 R* j* A6 x/ f; D; T
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
. k a0 C$ o* v! c1 N( Koff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure.". d5 @& l7 G$ |! ? {( P% Z+ }: }
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
; T" B9 B& w$ tprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
4 W9 \5 @! t0 ~+ q+ U4 ^, Mbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
# w9 q% L. {1 Y/ Hwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
3 K5 g% ^; B* S7 c2 Oevery question."3 B1 ~0 X. l! p$ p. b+ [5 a
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether3 M* w9 x. k" E& L6 [, Y
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The; N/ Y+ Q$ @1 p7 n6 R
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
9 l* ?( p- o3 |1 wcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
e% V, |( J- ]. z' Enumber of vehicles
1 u3 T2 V; b! s3 R, {! ]. v1 m, F$ {Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
: [! h4 c" u# u5 C i4 @2 Z/ l0 p* Xdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
. c4 S6 N9 Z5 O4 u Imechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one& L5 D' v) N& K0 X
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.! R- B9 ]1 S9 r0 K9 z# s& N
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,( M$ { o, m. B. }
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
4 b( D8 ?5 W. ?3 ~7 x6 m1 ftrace at all.+ B8 I9 C2 |9 o; U
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call" q$ m ]. I' V
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden! A' m7 n0 m- ~. B3 J1 `
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
- B. G" v0 L. @1 t( \recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
' H% v( m+ a5 v# B+ ^& P: a3 mRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,/ N& I# W" p. Q0 H1 H
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and3 |# |, W/ M; [ D# u) q7 T E& \
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
' x, S+ g6 T: Y* U9 U! G; \ nelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible/ P5 D4 k* G( Z) T; f& ]" G
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
& R- }3 B- s0 @& qsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
5 r' f; ^# b: d4 w' Pby Toyota's lawyers."
5 m @& ]! B# I4 i; A% V4 B. a( HLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of) a U$ K/ y- ]
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our) U5 @ T6 ?% R' U
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
, t3 w6 R" N& E$ esaid.' e) k4 C+ b( G8 N3 F6 G/ N. S
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with5 p1 {0 ~! M* q& [$ u9 V' t, i
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our" O4 b. m8 {0 `& n0 Y( ?3 j* X
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
4 ~. l0 ?1 U& v K2 N$ K& `' J+ Wofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
$ ?, T2 }- \0 d4 V. wSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying& N* x- `% S! M% M
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread5 P- c& H. l4 f! d3 E* w) F
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
. F0 L- s# r4 `' I& hautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
# C+ i7 l1 p% L* r8 F. B! t: V# Yinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and( ?0 w( S- f# P, Z) H- J- Q
Chrysler.
6 B7 z2 r1 X8 k, B3 x"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
8 T. e$ @- j$ o) ~* `dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a, K2 ~. N6 `9 [, Z2 g* Z
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
3 r! h4 I8 n* u8 Nserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
8 }9 {+ m4 `/ ?+ Jwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
( r8 Z, l) R# ^% R) }6 Stough."
- i# B8 a: `/ o5 R/ w' O---
& @: q9 W; X. f( ]Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom: J: Q! q* o0 B3 Y8 ~. K
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
, L" }/ _1 f' p% C3 R! l: xthis story.6 Z8 e; g6 @, e- M" h! Q
/ S9 p, B/ i: Z; Z5 a, v-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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