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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
" A1 D) p- A6 g4 V. uBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
q! b" i! g5 s* {1 h% v; w" \Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
' J3 J8 [: W7 M' o& }5 N p s5 k soperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
% h# q( Z1 U. {( l! Sthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"# Z7 o$ C" r2 J: x$ H9 I
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.* ] J, V' I, z/ Z( [* r, D
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential% o' K C$ S: l' v7 f
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
5 d2 u' O: a& R" L, P9 RHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
# f4 m, i, c0 D2 f/ oacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
0 J0 a. A, ?% r" a, `# @; a2 H) otrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor3 V9 r. \$ e+ h h: E
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.- Z [$ G/ a U9 ~$ y
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
4 ^$ Y1 ~7 i8 h4 hand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp ?- i6 }0 d0 r# G
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be4 W% c7 t/ m2 I+ {5 f
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
0 H. T$ C( |5 @1 E V7 u0 ^- C( D( Nnot stop her runaway Lexus.
# z/ ~4 J$ Q1 }3 N0 R"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
8 t/ T7 E- p; {+ ?) [2 tTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
( [# _- w7 h, A, X, O6 D"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
& h5 t# n' Y2 F* n" y8 J5 @- dTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues& Q( o" Y$ t+ L' ^* r
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
1 q& l% m2 r, Z, c1 i"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has2 T& ?/ v$ x. o4 j+ m# Q7 h1 T
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
7 H9 V: L5 s+ f, y0 W* U& ]7 hthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
1 V6 c4 Z; j; I+ s. R3 }investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
& D, f7 J3 V8 {+ Y, l7 t9 RLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an' ]8 G( A$ Q8 `
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
0 i o% Z1 {0 ^1 u) e0 pthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a# D8 S c; E: p+ ]
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he y7 p$ \# H2 e. B2 E" [$ o& Q2 G
said.4 j% B [* A; Z) E; B0 o
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
5 [2 q- P% w) i; k5 Q) Thappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
" l1 l) M" A F) | G# O5 k( nabout driving our products," Lentz said.1 _2 b j3 X, ~9 J; _
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
7 D) P, T% a4 l# Qproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
1 i7 i/ z9 d) drecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6" e* W( ~# \+ z' a* k) [8 o3 ]
million in the United States -- since last fall because of! N- T5 p3 q: p( U( O+ f/ v- L2 c
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
9 ~% y8 y$ x( X/ L {issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering# p0 T" Q, w7 g; m$ ~0 D% Y' o
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of: A& m# [6 T2 z) A) n' `
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
( c% \ ?. L3 P6 R, ]down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has1 { z. D- K; L) G; {
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
) M( Y5 @2 c% J* o$ k5 F' Bof Toyota vehicles since 2000.. `9 Q3 L4 i* \6 I9 i
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own ~+ e d* `5 O2 m" e! ^* g
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he: N2 E9 p* C0 p0 [; m5 T, l
understood the pain.7 e+ i4 U! }% u, i
"I know what those families go through," he said., W8 H1 G0 h+ E. q9 x
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's P5 Q3 s* v+ }9 l2 _0 L, |# I
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.2 T9 Y7 @) j( q U1 a$ ]- K
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman) \! U( a v- {8 A' v+ r
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put' ?9 N( m/ v- y
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,! w* Y0 f$ m( ~' Z
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
* Y. R! m# _, A) h1 {Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
& D# u. q B1 o- k"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said3 s7 p5 C: O+ B: r3 B& r T
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas! f. x$ k! s: K- J$ c8 @4 k, X
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its" M/ e$ j4 v2 Z2 f6 d
vehicles already on the road.
0 f# y9 n9 C3 b( H& fMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
4 R+ g2 H/ M |. }9 Wbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full# L: K- i# o Z6 M
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and3 `9 P+ \( F$ q* h2 | a
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
4 E+ A! a5 l& I( l; _! b2 C; W4 tkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
+ N4 j9 \, K* S+ S* a* d! L"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a7 E0 i+ k: E' p# x* O# q8 q- `' ^
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony5 d. `- |0 a. S% ~2 B# z. I* g4 y) M
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight4 t0 u) \# d5 i) i' E: U6 {" O2 G
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
# v) A% y- u A$ ocommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to5 |3 L+ r5 Z6 L. d- O% U$ B9 ^
restore the trust of our customers."
3 B7 h" v: U' @Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
: K" f# Z. l/ l0 dSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly" n7 N* j( D. H6 N$ n
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --% S3 U( @; d. ~! h( b# L- M
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
& l* ?7 |* x7 q3 R1 Qhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
2 q. N5 _8 O3 Jthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
5 \1 }2 \1 r3 U. Q' sturn off the engine.7 x/ n. H# D9 u
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of* }% `& [4 B& p9 o2 t7 ]3 i
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
# n: I0 H7 w* [6 Y" v"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she: \7 a. C* M* g* c
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond* ~' g# n) L# l+ y8 I
to her complaints.
& o" O/ Q( s- |! X$ C/ EIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers/ ^$ p0 K* D$ f4 o2 K, ?, S( G
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
4 z+ f5 _! F( {. B# Umalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.1 C0 X7 K' q! i c
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric# |* s S0 e! i: T& i$ [+ }
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited" v. {$ E" B. V1 i
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut7 D1 f! c7 @9 N! w5 D
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."3 N" y: N; J) Y; C' L
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in- ^/ w# S) ?, N
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
2 A4 ?- Z# j. t) ?7 _* jbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
+ P( r6 w+ D. j1 b5 ^6 kwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer' U6 |- o4 n# N: y" T% h
every question."
6 b# L E. g7 [! R& e, EToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether# V+ f/ S: l* {! f8 V. M
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
# M, u& v' M& hfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But8 E G& ], t3 v; P
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small1 n* i7 G" i! s h1 F" z$ T
number of vehicles
7 ?0 b& b! K9 e- n3 I: X$ zTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
' d( F* q* Y" P: {0 n- Ydifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
+ {0 g2 o9 U% `3 B( W) W# Gmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one! t" _7 X5 m `
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.* z! z# D* z( F: a- Q
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,- R. E4 x& }( F" k" ~
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
- L9 Z( g. ]- ]- c" ~trace at all.
/ ]) \/ ]1 t% U* A" Q, `7 HHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call7 W7 T, a$ w1 F/ t
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden' d2 j; s1 M7 p7 I2 K
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
" u6 {+ V9 v$ H; r) H8 ~3 K- z& c8 qrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
* e' n, n) u/ ^; _9 }3 uRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,# y4 d8 i1 w! n8 r) h
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
( D) k5 _8 N: g- mother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
) j0 Z" i; _! l7 B, t* S$ felectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible& J$ Y# h9 ^0 n2 g$ ^
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only+ N5 {7 o3 R! n0 }2 r
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
; k1 s6 o# Q* \7 j# Jby Toyota's lawyers."
# U l) r- |" r' I( {& l& R& bLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
+ p* A4 h- |' l" g/ A; g. fproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
- ^/ N( w. }0 m$ Z7 c7 ycustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
$ l0 t; A8 H4 `% E! v8 ?said.( Q7 ]8 z/ l/ j. G
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
0 L1 x e6 _0 F+ Za rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
7 s2 R6 W" d4 P# P) \3 c7 }0 @- egood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
; ?: v% E) {9 ?3 a% hofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.4 ^+ k9 c7 b; ~% X
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
+ E4 ^: S5 ~5 K0 ]members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
: ]& Z9 b8 u6 {' n/ C# hrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the+ p. F# O, |8 G* M" Z
automaker, at least in part because of the government's2 a: O) v$ F5 P3 {0 E& M/ T5 \, M
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and( I ^' [* }' x0 l
Chrysler.
! y2 r; c7 x# U! H0 _"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
" L8 M2 D* y# l" q" K4 y1 |2 xdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
. N) t# v3 G$ x% m: p" h. THouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also! C5 G) ?& q5 E% b
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete% e- N& R' x: P# W
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
7 H" _- t E1 }5 v/ vtough."
3 A' |* M- p2 [+ j6 c---
$ X( s, [4 D: V4 gAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom, C6 j7 f7 u0 U
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to+ x6 p% M l8 I
this story.8 [$ d& h0 B, K7 k& d
" v& M( t s7 s" U
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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