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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题% d$ v# i9 ]$ q
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS! p8 P$ W' `. c }( a2 F" [/ o! ^
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S., T" D! k9 C" B, v" [
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
8 u6 v4 a% p/ T; R! qthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
3 A0 t2 R# _/ Zsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
/ y B: F6 F/ u: R* L* h' Z! T"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential* W/ z: X( f3 r
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.% O% o! T# b5 `* p* i2 U! w
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected9 A9 n6 Y' O. k
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
0 y$ H" l- C" K9 L6 {trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
2 @! z) a6 [2 ~" @mats and sticking accelerator pedals.2 X n8 M- h, W1 ]
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
. U4 Q2 G: z' u( a6 [and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
" u# d* W8 N% N: w0 xcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
9 b2 v3 \ i$ u. y6 t! l9 Ifurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
9 \ \$ R2 Q+ b5 K6 Unot stop her runaway Lexus.
- m# L/ P! Y8 K; E" B"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,. S- k2 v; u, z
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
c$ M* [5 _; m% h1 A2 f* L7 L& V' }* q$ E"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
* w/ v* R: e/ |5 ~: mTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues7 h) V" s% x# r" P
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said4 b6 N& A9 Y3 D4 X T
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
* @: B1 U. j: S2 {done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
4 R$ p2 @) b/ wthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
p' W* F7 L) I5 C; a! e3 ^, Ainvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."7 l0 P- ]1 q& `# l0 e7 D
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an0 e0 p/ m7 C. b
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
+ u. U2 ^+ V$ ~the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a0 _/ T& N( ` f/ u
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he; N8 Y9 n6 Z" p) B1 {
said./ Q2 g5 T. B, _7 ~
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
- ~3 S. b% z ?. Y- ahappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe. B* `2 K* \0 x q# R; R0 j
about driving our products," Lentz said.
/ a' G. f0 o% m3 z2 _# l0 `: TThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
9 C, K! G/ Y1 J' |( |problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
- i. D2 a7 H/ s" O; }$ ^recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
5 v7 T- `9 N# V: ^ P$ amillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
1 ]9 n" s+ e" H+ bunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
7 s. v0 F& F: M4 W: L" {* c2 Iissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
. h9 R, O. O: v( ~concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
/ L* {% _) a0 X6 v c( D. `their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
~$ i4 A' U/ l Y# _down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
5 b! i! o: k4 Q- m: ^1 m; dreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration* Z! G" R) R1 Q
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
9 G4 K) g* ?; F P' z6 Q! pLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own( l5 r- f' Z# y
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
5 R' |: m/ W g$ J( t" ?$ ounderstood the pain.' Q* k' y+ Z6 B1 l/ k
"I know what those families go through," he said.& _) F1 u. s" _: i: ]& t; D) A
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's2 Y% Q) n* R4 B, V9 ^
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.0 V* ]% U1 q/ a
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman3 a- w8 A) Y0 |, W C
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
- ]5 r* q1 b1 }+ ]0 ?& zin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,, o, o+ f" `; Y
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
! e0 E/ R2 o4 M* c4 cStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were+ X7 t7 i# Q, S8 V$ s
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said$ N$ s9 a4 e$ U5 y! u" d# ^8 G# l
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas/ a, `( B! h9 q1 S$ r7 y" J
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
2 |4 c* ^0 q% y. N) j! h# Tvehicles already on the road.
( q$ Y R% [/ }' ?: H: |Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
" G3 w H2 a3 N# z ?2 G: H4 Lbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full4 G- R% n/ \% q% z5 t1 C
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
( c9 P% e% H" I% c5 woffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
( ^0 b: o/ J+ ?: q- dkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems., i/ J6 ~! ~- O: ~4 n7 D2 [
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a7 D! f1 x- H) P" c3 I& I2 U( O$ q6 j
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
) }0 L+ F* H0 N9 D+ e7 efor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight0 Y4 m8 E2 t5 y; s9 L
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
1 J* r$ Q- F' ?6 hcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
0 `3 A, j5 K$ yrestore the trust of our customers."
' f+ d _$ @2 m7 ?) zLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
5 y; n1 s9 `- s9 ?' DSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly [. |9 p A9 K1 v& E
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
( V' l5 X5 D! G9 A7 E' e% zshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
2 m c6 y8 Y6 l6 Q( n& d( yhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
2 y/ A+ ^3 h; @5 Z5 |$ ?- ythat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
9 g* j: g2 V0 ^( X$ ]turn off the engine.0 a5 U' p* p& {/ z' W7 z( r0 U
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of" m) ^" X" P: |
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
4 V2 d* z' P6 K/ b"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
7 J. h M, r" B- l- M& Lsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
; F9 L4 L+ ?! C* ato her complaints.$ X5 b, [1 d$ Q2 T. }! ~9 a! L1 l
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
8 @& G. q ?! `returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
6 l- N e$ v* F `4 K# bmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.+ x% V4 @, w7 k$ Y$ F. x
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric7 U/ ~# C* R3 Z6 f
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
) X5 \+ b. [7 b"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut) C0 \+ T# n( o' Q J
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."- k/ m+ O* l9 M
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in+ b, @3 P9 K& m3 I; r8 @
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were. T; i* M1 J9 M1 b$ } @- `
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls! \ H; ]: n/ D+ {7 D3 E* B
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer3 m( k8 u9 y5 R, B5 e4 }# H- B0 _* e
every question."8 d. n4 _9 `( @
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether: J/ {# S* Z. c: V+ p# r8 ~
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
$ m: N$ o& E1 G# T7 Q' i2 Dfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
8 L* x" H& X. N; ]- h& s2 Ecommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small, O; F5 L7 j) K8 D. X( V
number of vehicles. Q; P! U$ y9 G Y+ r. k% C
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more# U1 V: M2 o% s8 [) l
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
$ |" n0 ]) J1 i3 vmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one6 z8 z% W7 t# W9 j
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
! r! i. b7 w7 v3 \: @5 oMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
: ]) L9 ?4 V' V3 c4 W) x" lwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no7 j" {! ~3 ?0 ?6 E$ {& }. ~
trace at all." b3 Q. S. j$ I& r o' ~4 `" e
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
' i' D* \1 C) b; F9 A% r, I, kdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden4 W3 g- x$ l( k& L- o
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
: Y4 K" q( |. M' Y: A0 W" `) urecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.0 ]4 }) P) @2 b5 N; Q: W
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
7 y7 v/ c# u* Y- T+ Rsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
: y" Q* K7 G3 u4 Dother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
3 i3 i# Q5 ]2 N3 f- F4 zelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
' x7 h& r: q$ J/ v9 I* zcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only' d, \, S) l8 s
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
8 P) v. h( J% }% x- Y8 e, |& ~by Toyota's lawyers."
: n& M* a% w) J- F4 U9 iLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of) _/ N) S5 s" V# `& l) w# h4 m
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our, n: J" @- Y) [: Q$ p$ t6 s" [+ _
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
& e' s0 g) \ [5 m3 |said.' L6 _* h: R0 d( F
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
5 s& g+ J9 k g# f5 m# Ka rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our, m& T0 Z) k& [8 A2 I
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating. c" M7 b: @" c, C# G) }' `8 T# W
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.9 t) w( k5 Q0 ~3 c0 m
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
_2 C9 D& Z' U9 @) B9 l& E3 Tmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
6 B, W6 B2 _0 p; H! T3 S; nrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the C" A: }( m0 U X* M' s% z
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
8 }- d' }0 s! ?4 r0 ~investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
4 a9 P! S* O& s' e' D' F4 ` L0 rChrysler.. I+ T( H0 {* j& u- g5 v) K. C3 J
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax4 o8 C# C z( J9 g+ x. T
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a1 {" ?2 N, h4 ?! J
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also: Z3 x4 U7 P+ [6 h" Z. s. w
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete4 D' C# I0 \& K2 g: a1 U' [
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty+ ~9 W! A6 C9 L5 u* O
tough."
* u# u: P: b- Y& G1 x! {! u3 u---4 @7 _: `$ K" F: n
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
) R* A- \; q/ p& M l, U/ oRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
- H' Y, | G6 x; o9 B3 p, Sthis story.
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) g, t$ N9 w. a9 d1 l" Y4 C-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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