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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
8 u! d6 H$ D3 t$ H; VBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS+ I- K" [* W1 p8 ^- g
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
2 D4 \3 e8 v, z8 e! F/ |) A" \2 Foperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that5 P) g% U9 B& |, o5 p& t
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"* o3 T, Y6 l, r6 U6 _0 k
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.+ v ~7 ~/ z7 P( ~
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential7 E3 m( d, M/ l" }
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.# L' d M& Q: x: L) A
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
4 j+ n: Z/ r/ J% P9 c+ P6 lacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
$ P: H w4 W9 _6 z$ O$ p. Otrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor# H6 D9 ?1 Z: U9 {7 O; ?0 P `: K
mats and sticking accelerator pedals./ i: Z- d- l# v+ Q' T' r
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
) g9 g w3 j; W* G" l0 Land fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
1 o$ |- D# ?; ]- b) fcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be. x# E3 C1 G* A; N
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
) O- L! n4 ^. R. q; Dnot stop her runaway Lexus.
' a& u' A0 }" e' h9 x"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,- T' a: S1 z' B+ K" Q4 k: T
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
. A5 m9 f/ q( B" C: d, r3 }"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.1 o& i5 e* U/ B4 U% {0 f5 w
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
5 l1 J$ e4 v W# f/ x8 T$ jearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said! b6 a8 u, ]( e0 n
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
; v# T$ n. \, C- j1 s5 ^done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
3 X" @4 s) X" x" Y- ~1 L3 y2 ~1 Ithrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
( }4 ]- L& w- }1 Uinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
0 T. i' D& {6 ]0 S# r6 {Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an' G0 G3 C" p5 v& n: ]" h
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
* V Q3 T# s2 D9 l1 N: G6 Kthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
2 L9 Z+ x: n0 w) z1 smalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he1 n3 m8 w, A( _5 Y( a
said.
; ?6 F1 W3 l# E/ l# fAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what/ {9 a4 q( G9 _* H
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe3 [5 r& B3 T; m1 ]
about driving our products," Lentz said.* J, i( w; `5 j% f2 y/ g
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
3 L: ~( c [+ k! Aproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
$ B* b/ Y' s# P; H: F7 }/ ]6 x! Yrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
0 W+ X1 f9 m6 m4 o+ ?million in the United States -- since last fall because of9 X1 j% X$ ^# {
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
/ x" t* p5 l. Y; ]# ]! Pissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
' S7 O3 k+ a% P- }9 u/ A7 lconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
6 J9 A; @% k5 ^, @* Ntheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow$ k2 L7 X! ^+ N7 _& y( ?; S
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has2 L9 n u3 G' U: B) l' y2 l
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration7 t0 f4 d$ K4 Y
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.' f+ n! K: A" l+ ]% g
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own6 S+ [; f" ?/ c8 A3 Y% v% p3 L
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he9 N. c& `% r# h3 b
understood the pain.
! Z9 u) @7 `6 |, H* y A"I know what those families go through," he said.
" V) [" S @ ^4 f. y6 [Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
4 o; z1 X! \, ^9 ?& A F9 T4 W; N- x9 tfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
& ^- d7 B' B" sBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman8 ]6 ~' j2 [ j: D0 ]# a) A9 }
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
( Q# ]1 ]+ Y/ C4 J6 Yin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,) s+ a' ^- K$ ^% F" V1 V+ A! Q
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
" g# l5 q: L1 y0 A- {& ZStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were1 j. Q, z" j, v
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said3 x/ i" W- N) X7 R* B
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas }+ _) T; c& P$ \7 z" p
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
' w4 S$ e8 T6 Q3 ?) f2 G; T! jvehicles already on the road.
6 B5 W9 q5 \$ X* J$ I- k2 }# gMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify- b( i$ Y$ q& n) `. ]4 P
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full |- |. w7 D7 L
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
* `+ t* D8 b4 n3 W/ n. B# a6 foffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were& t" g. a+ ?) v
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.4 `# r: w1 b+ T7 L! Z3 d
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
( h6 {7 r3 M! ~5 gtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
: S! N+ E" @* J: S( Tfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight/ S s+ D0 W$ X- a3 ]
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal0 s# C8 S1 N; {/ j8 f7 i$ M& ^
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
2 a9 X7 w* y6 K. C' S& ~; h& drestore the trust of our customers."
7 h0 U4 g) C; `Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
- C0 ?5 [; {/ t. B, L. SSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
: k) R! o& h M' {. C9 c& `8 s2 wzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
" m# m3 l! i# Z& P" e! {( I' D+ Pshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
# m* @& P5 ^- x; [# mhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
( H/ u7 w: J$ E6 l/ i! K M) a. vthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
' f3 k% [2 H% O. ~turn off the engine.
2 Q9 q# l' i$ o l7 OFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
, z( ?2 A" _8 Y! W1 m6 tOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience.") [9 y0 a& C) ]
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she; `2 I k7 E. M1 N
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond) Z V- c' y) ?6 {% g" R
to her complaints.$ u y' N5 {( {8 D @8 ]% I( T- y
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers# z! J/ s9 h$ f
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic( d+ F. x' H- ~* m/ z
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
+ A+ D0 x9 C& G* H+ J"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
3 f$ B# C& p3 @' A0 Ethrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
4 s& D1 X, x7 S5 H$ O; J"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
% I' `2 c8 T8 W/ Eoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
" {, @( ^+ M9 @% z7 v0 d2 jTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in! u. f# G7 W$ Y+ t; R" j; Z
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were" p9 o9 O$ e' b9 o; ] h }5 N
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls U9 J2 j. E( e
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer" m6 T4 q: v/ K+ R9 N* h
every question."
: p* Q& c3 \- @ r) hToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
G- M. }3 l E8 B# M& jelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
; ^+ |' U" L# s9 r' D Hfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
8 i V | `# @$ p* g& a- K' ~% _committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
2 I5 N! y- g+ x/ k& h4 `number of vehicles
8 E+ n8 L- H `! p* tTracking down an electrical problem can be far more1 \" u# R2 r H" H
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a( k8 U% N6 c+ Y
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
2 ?7 K0 t" E8 {: isource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.( s. k+ W( y9 x+ y( B
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
* }! m1 n6 H! [where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
0 k$ d% g# v% N& r! v% Utrace at all.8 Q0 n* A1 _5 |5 V
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call1 p7 y% |& z, `
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden/ c/ e" L5 W# v2 ?( e- Q. U* x
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the8 K6 Z! A7 u+ U1 q- Z* M% V
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
/ r( {% V0 s8 a+ n( g/ ~( j; nRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,# i7 _+ S5 d: }
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
7 M+ [7 X- p, Mother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the9 C$ e/ P7 I) ]
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible# e8 g9 d; g9 T/ A% R
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only* T0 V$ e4 I4 a1 r1 |& @
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
4 K8 J$ n" w" o$ y, z4 b8 Wby Toyota's lawyers."
0 P* }6 z0 P1 s T9 A" A! ~$ sLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of. e* u3 e- W, X
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
# H5 O% _. x5 V! S+ C0 xcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
4 s0 b7 Z. u5 Rsaid.4 ^% f' d+ Y, `8 c' z" S e3 U
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with; C" n" F7 z* w1 J5 @' t
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
" J$ R( H. t5 Jgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating/ _5 r ?& v8 V9 R* m
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.9 E2 o+ x- J: B+ b) L+ `5 |
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying$ X( }! G% y5 A. X
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread! ]% R7 F' K/ Y$ W! b! ^8 e
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
& A7 {$ L% E$ Q2 \0 b ]automaker, at least in part because of the government's
6 _& m% `7 g/ t- b$ Hinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
! \" b$ [2 ]6 WChrysler.
9 G; l& v( m( {/ U; r% v7 ?"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax$ r5 j2 V( Y# @. o8 G) G
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a# K* L0 y+ U5 c$ `' c* Z) t9 ~
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also) V, }6 Z/ s+ X7 i/ |3 u/ d5 a9 H
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete9 M; P6 s# Q( f" E. I9 b
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
) D! z _0 j+ Ttough."0 _6 v1 s+ I! o0 m# W) _3 ^# ]( ]2 J
---
! A, [8 X8 t" m$ {Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
3 l6 K7 H& a9 F' ~3 A/ P4 kRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to6 I& _) ]; B" v& t& w# }* V' Y
this story.) e1 w" }; Y, L6 p
9 b. M7 A; `0 T1 z! P
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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