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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题) k/ J- ]1 N: I
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
2 N6 b5 _% Z: ^! h: }9 bWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.5 H- m+ z: n1 r3 n5 a
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that4 R0 M7 p( u% }( r9 h- ~
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
6 r) m9 J, ]4 U$ ?& wsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
. y- v: S6 R8 K" r6 {7 x, X% s"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential, C1 ?1 F+ k( g w" B) U
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
) G6 d# y( M; u) q( d: M9 H( j0 ^However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected& I8 R2 c% Q3 j
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
: i9 ? |/ O. P) }4 wtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
8 Z; ^ ]0 |( f0 ^2 ~mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
1 i, H, a1 E* h1 ]" DHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal4 }& }3 g! w) g* e9 H) z1 t& w
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
3 b8 c6 c6 Q; p% N8 dcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be& ]/ Q' Z% k" _0 }
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
6 v7 O" O5 Z; P, nnot stop her runaway Lexus.
! `5 ~, M* d: q1 S. }7 J"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
2 ]- U- G0 g1 u* L: J6 r' b( ]( V3 ]Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
$ z6 E( B3 G R+ L: w) Z6 ?"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.. k: w! E2 Z4 B i5 F, O; s, n8 t
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
# y7 {) ]4 M8 Z* Y8 oearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said' G: v" ~# f s3 }' H4 I5 C3 z
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has5 R' i3 q' Z2 E8 P7 X2 s
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
7 M7 F- ^1 Z, J$ R/ _8 m! Dthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
( n# i6 x% y* m4 jinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."" `( T2 s) _! k: W, Z6 n. B
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
5 `# \6 Q* o. h, W1 Qelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
4 C; ~5 |. L1 l8 z; Ythe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
) ~ `9 `, _$ F5 V4 g( h7 X3 emalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he6 H1 U3 N5 K$ Y) a. ], X0 V
said.
; H0 Q3 M( T/ [' U% wAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what1 q" v) N& x( I) e# `
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe# d* _, p1 m& A4 U% K* }! O5 V& c
about driving our products," Lentz said.: L4 E2 A0 n1 J* f6 E& v/ r
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's+ C3 Z. A! N* H3 X" R
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
" V+ v6 L3 g trecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
8 j- \2 x( {8 d7 h9 ], Pmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
0 j# C# k: ^% w* F5 E4 }unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking+ G1 O# L U# }4 C6 ^
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
0 x8 m( z0 P' r, I' xconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
0 r9 y- ]& X! b' I% I3 G; V' etheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
' b: x* t# y0 x4 G6 P& wdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
' m* b, \4 b: k5 L# v3 O. |" E9 Wreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration8 C9 V# P2 ]: h+ }+ N
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.2 Z' Q; Q1 u* `& X8 F) M' _9 {! a
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
# y* h, y3 s0 h! k( I5 G; Wbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he) S# u, `$ n; j+ Q; T5 ]: C+ a+ [& V
understood the pain.9 [. S0 X" g9 A. Y
"I know what those families go through," he said.
5 ~* ]: C+ {2 S4 c& A3 |Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's# W! _& F& m6 O5 H/ j6 s
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
+ N$ u; ?$ h: ?8 HBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
5 a, X# N% a0 XHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
/ D1 L4 g8 M, P( L6 c Tin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,$ u* X3 _6 K5 |* _5 f# p, Z X( F/ X
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
6 _% d0 B0 d" F. K* \" gStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were9 `) \3 r$ h7 c4 E
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said# E0 |) B% t6 o$ K' p( Z b
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas4 P8 i( f+ F1 O7 S* F% u
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
7 r( V" V! w/ J2 x' }! S; Ovehicles already on the road.3 B- F, k* `; |* P
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify- ]) e; u- n9 Y2 w. B3 m
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
, {0 T4 g3 C, A9 _9 p: Dresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
2 A( W" M3 H9 Y5 e$ b1 a1 Aoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
3 W7 E8 B" `9 l* @. L' Y' F( Gkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.* @" N* X+ o, R1 o7 a
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
9 e" g8 j( N; v8 X8 m- ~ z L# ^tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
7 E, q" y) I4 p2 v3 Y, cfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
/ v+ j% H. b$ }( x1 M$ xCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal. \' j. Q9 k9 {7 c4 L7 S
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
4 w5 q: I; ]3 P8 J$ I( Brestore the trust of our customers."- c; e" x2 F- }
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from& C) W6 V# m+ Q v0 B/ v1 [
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
9 P- F4 @# a. c$ D! Z6 \zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
# c; C( k C4 p7 O/ |0 {9 a7 Oshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
: N/ z4 A5 I* l2 X% Ahitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough1 g& D0 [' }" w+ J1 ^
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
- H2 e! p& [ t/ B* `- iturn off the engine.
4 M8 s ~: g- \ \% v3 ?Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
2 `/ m8 Y3 |! ~9 ~" g! jOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
0 q6 m! {" _0 b1 U2 B0 `, {4 o"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
- `% f: {/ e7 l7 o9 L9 _/ a* b% Ysaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond1 E" n, M, z; X, ?
to her complaints.+ O5 A2 O; V6 D. z/ v
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers9 R: O4 R$ [% K9 e" D% X9 i
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
* `7 d& G" r4 S$ Y: K" j* @0 }malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
: _. x& K4 O2 h, g"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
* g T# W: w& \throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited4 L/ [3 }5 a1 W0 ?6 z& N& f( Q
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut$ l6 ]( o5 A, J, ]
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."- u$ u2 s. j7 i5 c& [% M
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
$ Q! T8 ^/ n# E% j) F& Yprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
9 h7 y3 e( p Tbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
! D: H, n8 J- w7 ?" W) H- x8 Mwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer- F7 q( w7 b& G8 t6 _
every question."
3 o- a& v- m7 L; I5 N$ k4 kToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
- B3 v! G4 X c% z8 j' \electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The" Q3 E6 _; u4 o# h! O
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But, Y4 u: H, a0 t$ e
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small. [- ^8 K+ y' e
number of vehicles
! w5 s3 P" E R: d$ |, r eTracking down an electrical problem can be far more+ I3 I; j; k! A! M3 c4 q( d
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a& h4 @; Q# A5 |
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
- Y& }+ \9 P4 }- M- Jsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.* K/ c4 } F: ~$ g' h
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,. `' Z4 i' |% H1 {' u
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
2 R* J: T$ j4 O' Etrace at all.* i7 W9 n- J; Y' n
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call' l5 {+ c- N% ^$ m) ]! H3 D& `
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
, i4 B' U3 T6 z/ F* y5 X& Y1 ?acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
e! j1 n; J5 l8 B, p5 nrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
+ d. o- E5 g" w4 K0 xRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
+ O& X8 a+ N$ ]6 d% S ysaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
9 L' g! C9 Z" I3 Y" G! zother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
' w1 E, R& I0 ^3 ]: [& o4 N! pelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible* O! H+ I; N( y$ p/ b% n! K- m
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
, t% P: K7 s0 J- V' K- Ksuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
4 s! i! \1 p/ o5 ^( xby Toyota's lawyers."0 Z& I# V0 Z8 `1 m! [
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
+ B4 M' O6 m' t Z2 J. bproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
- {# q) L+ {7 G' ]$ U* ncustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he. U' |* z3 H" z
said.
+ h& [" V, t4 U8 c7 t# e) i: e! l"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with" E& M4 R8 a& \4 L% I; @% e1 {
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our& R3 k, E \2 \9 f+ W; F
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
% K+ h9 |/ C! [+ s1 P4 o) |2 Hofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.* q4 q# F! c3 L
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
% H8 H/ O( w$ i2 M1 `- Imembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread8 T+ a ?$ B+ r4 [6 T6 [
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
" C( s6 M- n3 ?$ q zautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
- f# r$ i; y0 Ginvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
( @# D- N ^9 I: m( KChrysler.
9 o/ @1 E4 {3 M: U, t- ["That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax! ^( o Y# U: H# X3 j f1 Z5 }) y& V
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
) c% J; Z, y$ j EHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also( U' a3 h4 Y7 v/ m5 R: |( ~ s
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
/ J1 A& i7 }1 `, _) i: `with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
, a9 W* X$ q, m. ltough."
7 Q. ]; c3 }7 s% F3 a# c: L }---& r8 X) f( H2 P7 P" h: g! ^% J6 O
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
6 T; L' \) h$ O' wRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to. Q. {0 ~$ R) s; l( d4 ^( p9 V7 L! m
this story.% ^" K6 ]$ K( @: S
2 i3 F. [+ f2 k) A* C-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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