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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题$ ]( r( w& n, O- m0 l& t3 i/ H/ \! V
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS ~ W2 M" X6 f* r9 I& ^
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S., H& a9 n9 O4 b) o3 c" N% |3 J
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
5 L/ P1 a$ [0 a- U, c gthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
5 k3 S" q6 F4 k- @$ X: w0 Rsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
1 O4 A: M8 m/ ^+ V"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential( F8 t; E' ]. V) |/ k3 O, h
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
" A h/ j! X, W. p9 w! Z6 ~& iHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
+ ^2 D* k% f, v8 [) r" ~' Y' kacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and- I0 C+ u5 {1 L4 I- U! Y, p
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
& `7 t$ T' t" ]1 j% }mats and sticking accelerator pedals.4 g" R9 K; R% ]* e( v) a
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
& ?; h) j( v3 T y/ nand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
2 _. e8 o$ s$ i P$ ?2 _criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
/ }( S2 [2 _% }* U3 Kfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
" h. ~: R5 J5 A# ^* i5 g3 ?not stop her runaway Lexus.
$ L' L" M; ]3 q: S$ c7 ]' z5 Y; P"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
& l! m6 w; o. |) t! U( b2 Y# |Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second( q) L5 Y0 G( s* Q
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.+ j0 {+ D! X: L; J8 g5 P
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
: W( u1 o* S7 H6 n9 H) K+ X1 searly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
, Y% V) l( X/ P"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
5 r; a5 E& [; ^- L; I2 `+ W3 wdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway/ ]/ N# z! r& d6 n1 j0 j" M# f
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's7 | H0 K6 n8 Y$ D7 Q/ H/ w! B
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham.": X1 C: P1 L1 D! b
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
/ m+ ?6 B6 M+ O8 U8 Zelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
; ^5 w# z+ X5 ^& u% E* Lthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a- M6 @+ \+ Q# I ]
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
$ T6 t; U @" Q8 v/ w: vsaid.; D2 L9 Z9 |. Y9 @) v: m
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
* G( T, J% P$ }5 rhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe' Z1 u8 n$ Q0 E# j& ?
about driving our products," Lentz said.+ S4 D* q+ S `# M, `
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
3 G: J8 ^: V& X0 e5 M. M5 Q$ e O2 Zproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
9 N/ {$ f3 a/ w; Urecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
& N! U: s3 R# G b1 d% R6 u" vmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of7 j8 b4 A {1 t5 G
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
% L S0 y. O: v7 J& Qissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering! b6 `" K9 v$ n' H+ G# X
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of1 v; _4 ^6 y9 c' ^; i% c! l" v
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow( @8 Y& y$ a/ U/ D, O
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has! v4 J- Y2 m( r1 G) W t
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
4 c, _% n" R" U; `) Vof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
8 Q1 K2 d( c9 k& A, m" ALentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own1 {: C3 e2 Y$ U. u- m" I( O
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
" Y! S) {; N9 C0 U5 `* ounderstood the pain.
$ b6 x( u% H; r/ K" b" f" I"I know what those families go through," he said.7 v# P' I, s* w4 }# o
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's4 n4 P/ E1 W- H
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
. x9 I6 @# T. n7 fBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman0 S- m. a3 ^* n# j$ G
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put; R3 `4 a& ]0 M" C" [. }" i! \
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,& Q5 b+ P- N+ ~$ C; @) R
Lentz replied: "Not totally."# n$ ?) _1 r" h6 p
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were% k, l6 \9 {8 v; @
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
) N' S+ _8 T& h4 [# n$ P' W; v0 cToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
% _7 E+ e: s. J5 T( {2 Opedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
; g' c0 D8 b3 T2 Uvehicles already on the road.
0 I% T @8 \) M, ~0 iMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
% n6 W* m+ P6 i0 k, ?before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
0 ^! c8 d3 d) g3 Tresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and) _4 P9 p- o+ F8 h! F' V- w4 `
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were4 b0 _% L8 w i6 K
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
) X: @# S" V2 z/ H: X"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a9 j/ n7 v& t4 U
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony/ N" O. Q9 k% v* y7 E2 U/ v( V
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight* Z: ~1 L' n$ E* R' K, h
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
$ D1 C1 A- z {& F+ lcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
+ ?4 l: E, k' I7 u% j9 f$ d; U6 orestore the trust of our customers."
0 R; T8 T- Z3 ~Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from% n3 F+ g" U1 p7 m1 n s$ o d, U
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly) |, t& L/ _. o ` _. e1 E4 L3 z
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --: N2 y( g& i7 ~' c4 y2 I+ }# U) a
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
. g. j: x( k& B, H# }: v5 X2 Vhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
( d6 [9 k, W4 H6 ~3 N3 Y4 X! fthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
5 O+ P, V3 o3 R9 e& ^( iturn off the engine.
. Y* @6 B, B6 z9 U1 }& B& y- e" LFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of& I+ [# \+ X# W' @
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
. P# d3 [& p$ J0 |" a# @% o. Q" K"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she1 H5 Z* q0 m1 ?4 q* d+ ~3 V: _
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
. w1 X( x# N9 g3 wto her complaints.7 r( c) c" `, C
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers0 L" S8 ~1 J3 _# e5 L; a5 l
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic) L' i" ^4 Q8 T4 D, p0 c
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.4 i6 q0 G; `2 _% v9 Q0 f! U* Y
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
6 r B+ I! B8 k8 O/ u& _$ I kthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
7 Z1 |9 U: L% U( H3 i6 _0 d! J"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
. E, ~9 P1 p5 P% H" l' Qoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
( n; E) D& {1 Y1 X: X2 N4 _Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in5 U6 Z/ Z/ Y' C5 M! }
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
9 J | ]* i0 V4 C2 v4 F# q, {being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls- t3 O% X3 e2 s
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer% d6 |* k6 K2 I) {1 s
every question."( t/ e4 b0 X9 ~
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
) c4 P4 d8 c- q! Y6 I+ \4 Q2 P2 r# w- ]4 |electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
- d- n* O2 G* I8 Lfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But/ r5 X) f- z% }8 h! C' c* m% r& \
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small/ K3 y& o$ s n8 ?# x# D
number of vehicles+ K) v1 O7 B& Q- P- \7 ^: J7 w* G
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more( j5 g' q! Q. v2 G, B- ]/ u
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a% c3 {( I, `6 g4 ^; F$ h
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one+ t. Q5 O3 M: I: S$ a
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
8 h1 N7 n/ o3 P9 L% B: W$ ~Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
P: D6 L* Y* j8 Q: w) l. xwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no4 x5 P; Z: p8 ]0 ` d6 p, L# T; E
trace at all.
0 l7 P% ^" X6 r* dHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call, l4 F( k& }+ z/ E/ o
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
: a( [( _, } Q( kacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the6 O. ~5 q; v) Y$ L, Y
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
9 N) Y4 Z! ?! ]$ k1 I5 VRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
0 R1 \" c0 O" y3 M; F/ W. y8 [/ \said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
+ R$ h) M8 r) |3 \% Vother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the6 T9 P6 k/ i* w8 g4 {. v: C( W
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible: }( w8 [3 I8 O. O
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
4 g, u7 y6 o% j7 {& v1 dsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
M m' n) i/ M ?4 d7 kby Toyota's lawyers."! g$ ? |9 i8 Y6 o) E3 P
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of; k; F9 p* d/ U' Q. p, h
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our+ ?6 W1 i3 G' Y8 H7 f% N
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
}8 T) o( ]/ A! S' p4 ]said.4 x) T3 H0 k6 ^, u# Z
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with" U+ {& z; K1 W, f& S- N
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our2 A7 b/ n1 G p% w2 A
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
5 {; }: P2 V" \5 x! R. ?officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
! }5 }: f2 Z, G) ~# fSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
0 U7 y1 j5 V, E4 T/ T' `$ n9 Tmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
) v1 C$ s T. Q# |5 x2 n; y% }rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
% p1 N/ P' k8 o& U8 x% aautomaker, at least in part because of the government's: T* z2 f) E' \. j- ]$ t7 H6 m
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and- N7 f% q! H- C% A4 k% `
Chrysler.
1 c- u6 }. @' v0 |* Q0 N"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
* f9 U; l" u/ C+ t% x- O/ N$ _$ Vdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a9 s' x+ A- t$ Q5 M$ I
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also0 S$ {! J) J- b3 L& w; K0 z
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
) o$ m' V* O& b5 K5 x1 C0 n; ?6 fwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty2 S# e, f, M" P
tough.") _3 _6 w0 V& Q1 b4 F4 }) q
---9 Q1 F/ Q; j% Y0 l- F% k5 q! l# J
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
+ p. ^! P) i( _2 }9 A( M! _Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to h3 [. G+ I$ ] W
this story.7 ~4 J) H1 r% t1 n* N
0 I* S- [! m; s& |# G- \3 U5 c-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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