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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题" t( V8 P- G( I. ?; V% j
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS4 L7 O6 }9 u% d, y" e
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
* Y& a) ~. q/ Z9 p( y! Zoperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
# c* x2 L) F5 rthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally": k8 Q% F' h) P+ O& J' p& s7 u
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.9 d/ A0 g* n: P A! g$ y/ P
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
; c5 b2 M6 L# u" h) ^causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
; ^$ B9 Z( j3 g$ D/ D! e% y& IHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
* }9 x! P) T' _! m, V. Racceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and' @$ i% x% _ [' n" _; u5 B2 z W$ \
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
/ ?+ L0 \- m. W V. C @2 Jmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
, w/ F) t: [" m1 b" P( m$ dHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal" m6 ?- q# W$ g2 e' a
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
9 b/ B! Z$ p+ `criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be' X& s- g$ P2 ]9 A: _. G
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
?, p6 p! j# U" i6 n% c, _/ pnot stop her runaway Lexus.
; ^0 A8 x9 f! \* @9 u+ c7 v"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,' p c7 [7 C$ G7 ^, [! o9 N
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second$ K5 _9 {& W1 q3 x. z' j. e9 z" p7 R
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.3 ` T" `' q% k! @) A$ F' M0 Z, y
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues0 o T) s3 k: M. F
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
* e2 f, @, O3 h"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has8 @# [7 {8 p2 P
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway/ R+ ~5 Y& \& i. s
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's& A- U+ h9 s: a$ [' g9 v3 M; W
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
+ `4 C/ s! ], rLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an( J9 C9 q- e2 j! Q
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of1 P' P5 @+ G0 k" o% F
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a' E6 K. R( w! H! j; Y% n+ K! _
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
- H: ~9 @* a" q! \ S, X' Msaid.
7 v; l$ D3 ?6 z* ~7 m1 `As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
3 h7 @; q! U. qhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe' ~9 }( o2 `* c
about driving our products," Lentz said.
9 S+ i' j1 v! Y9 v3 rThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's+ U, x: A9 Q% h
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has6 R5 s- z u) d/ p% L9 ? g+ o
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
! e! U% }: u# j/ b4 ?: @: Umillion in the United States -- since last fall because of7 o9 C! v: G c: p' {
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking8 B- m) \% \/ W4 u
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering8 x5 \7 d. G5 ]+ ~
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
* a& Q' C) D* u& K2 E7 W. Ztheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow. {0 V$ t, h1 n1 r
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has* [; d# G! H1 W
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration5 T0 _: ], A: n; z, E# ]4 m
of Toyota vehicles since 2000., k, N9 o/ @ n6 [1 j
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own3 j# K! x9 f" q2 } Z* t5 b
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
# t2 z( d$ t- o( n9 D, ~understood the pain.$ |0 O y/ m; s. @) ^6 t9 i
"I know what those families go through," he said.) W9 A: p- \+ H, I9 \
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
3 Z6 u5 ^% X* ~) E& l" }8 Nfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
& p1 _2 F/ i3 v& ABut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
7 Z, h, X2 x) g3 V! W0 Z; q2 hHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put* f( o5 k8 K0 R! D
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,# J, Y0 o, {0 a0 T# r/ c7 z4 c
Lentz replied: "Not totally."! k! U. h: E( L$ ^
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were+ _# |7 [& y! A% n/ F
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said! l3 V: i8 r# j9 ~6 L
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
: x) Z2 h5 p- y& S# X+ `, _0 Y% Gpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
0 ?* o! s, R+ U* O0 c8 xvehicles already on the road.
1 p1 I2 y+ f" ]9 o- vMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
( O$ ?: ^4 W7 ?0 _9 a `7 Bbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
* H" k6 D8 y$ ^7 t4 Y" @9 c- X/ Jresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and1 D2 p; _6 i! h% o3 d4 ^$ V
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were6 T0 k" q5 \, [
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
# ^5 i: E {1 o; R"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
5 [8 a; x/ y/ wtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony& K/ q: F& `3 g
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
+ x- R- F. [7 N z' \Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal. |! v; _+ c2 g9 U0 j2 o
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to; {! g/ B$ b) L" O, ^
restore the trust of our customers."$ K! f. W% W# e
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
7 e: f- a( @8 J& h. d+ h4 tSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly* i! H/ r+ C7 v, |
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
7 D& x/ ^2 u0 Z' h5 @shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
$ U: Q, y m3 g6 |2 p1 k* @hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
3 X7 o& J/ o; J# y+ B* q1 athat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
7 z3 _, k9 ~* l6 l. zturn off the engine.
% X% L+ S0 a0 iFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of! e3 L7 K. {% }( \6 e. B' O
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."/ S5 r( }. d2 u7 [: s3 X( ^
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
! b' H* g4 ?2 O& Osaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond1 Q& Z7 |. q- g$ l
to her complaints.
E: e6 p+ j4 y+ @: k9 NIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers0 m6 Y5 x) t6 ]6 q/ M- B) t
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
1 S: B9 C$ E9 [4 [) H' a; imalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.+ G+ h/ l' Z4 P3 Z. l4 V& S
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
' G6 `, `5 R c. V! H" o* wthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
: P. s b5 X( J% m$ f"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut+ E6 D5 u. o8 f/ {8 \, I5 u- y U
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
' k2 d# W. [% l8 p- F2 DTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
+ |1 |) w I/ Pprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were0 i% l7 a0 ~& Q+ w- y
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
8 x& y" O; M; O% @were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
5 E' i9 w/ ~4 r1 _. ?9 Hevery question."
! W3 p2 n$ i8 Q# y( JToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
5 b; P9 Y7 H9 D8 Welectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
/ [ A% Z' t$ Z; l: m1 Ifirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
& T5 T, Z, @: ]2 s6 ~6 M8 |; \3 zcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
1 E3 `0 a* b1 A) ?8 m; E5 @number of vehicles
; ~$ {, r+ J. @! E: ITracking down an electrical problem can be far more7 T1 }" Y' ]$ D/ M$ l- ]
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a0 x2 y: }$ _. m) D" H9 s; \; i: b6 D
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one; ^! {3 \4 ^# e) v/ l
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
6 G# V5 a9 F1 y" P+ cMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
8 c" c g! S) m( \where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
! b, k0 T S) e3 G5 b3 htrace at all.
8 z) H/ L( r( m7 r2 C# S; bHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call0 ^3 |8 [8 C4 W J5 i: s
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
! |8 Q4 |2 i+ M" Eacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the0 Z v2 V4 A3 l
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.2 s- x: {+ R1 R: P* w: Y' E5 y
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,) F6 z ?' ~/ i- H1 A
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and) F5 @; [; a4 L% {* s; a
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
% R) H; g, t( {; u8 c* x5 q; S- j- {electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible6 V3 e, ^/ s. q7 Q9 t( z
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
- u! G) K6 N4 c% Msuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained& K4 e9 L5 z* @, D/ Y
by Toyota's lawyers."% L; B' u, w6 ~. N
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of0 L# w# `2 w) a
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
; [+ R) q& Z+ Acustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he m3 u R& G% ^1 \
said.% J" e; Y7 u8 z5 v& V; Z& i
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
Z# a( d7 y) q/ l( m: Ia rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our* z" V) S& F+ b `- P, E+ ^& B
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating5 n6 z( _) G3 M
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
! o$ r) s, r3 p8 z. f- uSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying( W1 E$ [6 W. V$ B7 c$ b
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
" l8 A& f' J5 francor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
! y* N9 H8 Q: g8 n' P6 _automaker, at least in part because of the government's
' }; C7 @% K" \investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
+ |; G6 n4 s [3 R9 JChrysler.8 x( g9 l4 {' `, w. F. F
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax* @; i0 `8 a: G! \5 V
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
. E$ t4 T# f1 g3 o6 O( g2 xHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
" E+ |* i+ E. o! z5 @! |* |$ {served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
3 Z* A0 C M3 T9 r$ ?4 {with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty; @) c! R9 E0 c
tough."
. x2 b) G" l4 N---
5 x& c; `- i2 D+ J- z) Y: M1 ZAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom M* e; u$ K: e
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
: ?- Z2 R l4 f" y" v4 y* n P, o# Kthis story.
# J! w- R' \, {: n. q4 y+ u
4 a! v& A) R' U! ]% k& }1 B-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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