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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
- S1 B! r$ N2 _# Y& `9 _By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS/ R! V# h+ l4 m! a3 z& a
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
$ b3 c& k- b% A y0 @operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
) k: w8 u1 C- H0 M7 k* z6 Hthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally", V5 C1 a4 E3 h( g X- ]: f% L
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
! f% B b+ j" ^3 T1 R"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
- v8 }6 c p5 T. p# _causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
* ^! B' n0 t) F- K. D6 HHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
7 {' x. p* K2 T5 d; U' Qacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and# w* u: \' S9 a+ g4 j& U# A& b
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
) |; t7 N8 E* Nmats and sticking accelerator pedals.: o v* w' W2 r+ n" E# |* y
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
; }! d' h! X" J4 K+ p8 w/ rand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
$ b( E! G' B& k4 s" bcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be# L" O6 o Y1 l v5 P( G0 r% ~" W
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could3 N( ?1 ~: U* n Z1 _
not stop her runaway Lexus.8 p! m5 Q2 O% b9 M( }3 s0 ?
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,: ^6 f c' ]% r" [) n: s5 C+ _, ^- B
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second# h% E. y. i4 I$ ?+ Y
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
$ J0 Z5 A* z5 ?$ W% V! XTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
5 E1 R. X) O# _early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said* {6 p5 }2 M7 o+ g
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
& e" B( }, u0 Odone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
1 b. j$ V5 p+ Z+ ] K% Cthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
( }$ h. H) Y* }8 Zinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
2 s* {- n7 }* W* I2 NLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
- \8 }) R$ x( h0 velectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of$ c6 M3 Q' Q6 F( B) H7 Z
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
0 r! }/ h) I8 l1 p6 k0 J1 Jmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he: s. \6 |% d$ c, S8 d! X) O
said.5 Q+ o$ T- ~* }
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
, ]; r( H- i! Bhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
1 d7 p" E s8 |: B$ y# m- `5 C* N: H; Uabout driving our products," Lentz said.9 R% y$ c, i' W% `# z
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's# d' j2 c- N$ }9 J3 e' Z
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has) D/ G ~/ `( v+ g* p" b+ T
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
4 U, m, G: m! E7 o4 |5 V' I8 w, [3 mmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of% u4 J+ m( x; u6 g! `
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking" N) c0 b+ S9 g% D* D3 f
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering8 B. ]' M3 ]" K+ _- f
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
8 |* R0 i" p: Y: _3 C$ b4 ztheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
[4 K; u$ \0 e! a1 `: Bdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
' X8 p7 s- _6 ], N. F' P( q% [/ mreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration. d/ ^6 U! ]( l% @0 ]; Z
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.3 x4 Y( Q8 E' @2 f' i# ^& X
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own* y( Q' n0 D( X6 k: N0 i: ~
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
) c# ?' c" Y Bunderstood the pain.% r* F7 u3 M3 g6 w$ {+ x
"I know what those families go through," he said.6 N2 m$ A6 Z- |8 J
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's# F: h/ w! f& G3 F
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
/ {3 b" j1 I" `7 l7 R, Q8 JBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman) {# Q. j& C& o$ b8 |+ B$ V1 d
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
5 O4 m) j/ H q; ^6 G5 @+ a3 [in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
X: w% h' ~" w2 E. `3 m- s) |: t6 RLentz replied: "Not totally."* u6 o9 C- S$ J+ h
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
; _1 A. j: u# A; M& V# Z$ k$ S7 j"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
: G6 q4 z" F/ ^Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
+ e$ I8 H" g; {' mpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
) V( U) S0 X0 w5 z- Hvehicles already on the road.3 N6 M& a5 F Z+ R0 d* w5 k( e& H
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify- _, }0 _& _, j* [; e4 Y& a* _2 D
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full5 O) v/ l( ]7 L: ]
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and2 q b9 F% f; w; ] a' N; k
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
! C1 v, J9 P, ^# P/ S. Kkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.1 B% G" O: z* F* \
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a$ @6 ^% G \7 }0 \* M1 k8 {
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony. }3 }( Z3 C) R
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
0 u8 }, y6 U1 h; @Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
; o& O& T1 @3 E2 R) Lcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
$ ^! V2 x- v1 t! O% _4 Irestore the trust of our customers."
9 L& s: I3 \; w! HLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from; M1 H% J; }5 B3 c, w5 s
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly% X6 n, b3 N& I
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --! x( I7 ?% F; Y! r
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and: u3 y( h2 ^6 Y% ?# Y
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough+ \3 V% v2 I) L9 W8 |9 B
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and6 I' ^0 x, c, K) @% K
turn off the engine.+ k2 ^5 y* r! l" @
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of2 E$ W6 t2 N2 t/ A# O
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
, O3 T" C8 k. d& _) u3 T"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
' T/ F. L$ _/ J lsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond, q3 a& N* X- z! N) u7 t4 e5 K% }
to her complaints.
7 @5 O, b& I! F! Q* z b9 |0 s9 mIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
7 f, p2 N3 j7 X* a/ Y, O y0 mreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
! i% d& |0 d8 y9 R/ [5 emalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.) m; r+ i. z& X) Y# L) Y
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
1 i) c" [3 W8 `3 D. a' R+ ithrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited7 ~; O/ f$ r) K* e
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut# E8 M$ v8 r$ |3 M! d% O3 ^
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."1 d5 v. A7 w) C+ _ V5 y
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
" F* s6 d: e) `prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
3 h3 `: ?- a5 Z& ^being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
2 B' J0 B9 r5 y& i) m* b- t" Pwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
1 \/ u O- |7 L! T% ? T. ~' j, Revery question."! y5 e, q F0 }) m' }: Y
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether6 b: \, {: f; G0 q% D9 z
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The- S3 E$ f6 z9 r) L0 u# A
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But6 k& L' Y' U2 y" [" H! r+ G
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small' F( w5 F; \7 E
number of vehicles
* [+ I3 o/ |+ r: H$ pTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
* ~' d7 a9 i& K& f( ydifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
: ~. E4 k3 m7 B& Qmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
7 j0 j8 Y& C9 Q0 R' `; lsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.+ |) x+ A" g, E6 r% C0 _& J% r$ G
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,8 M5 Q' O+ T8 l
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no, H9 f2 f1 s4 v' F) V1 Z* L5 O
trace at all.5 h: `2 ~4 {5 ]$ ^. y
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
/ w. X3 |) C& x0 h4 cdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden( D" y1 G& T+ e/ G) y2 X
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the. {: \7 [9 n5 g/ s
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
3 B5 A! z1 M# p/ {8 C' pRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,: C' g \ [7 v/ b0 m
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
' A3 r0 v5 d1 i8 w0 Q$ P5 _other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
# U5 f5 n" m/ ?/ L0 a; S, _electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
+ l4 O( k. Z7 M& s8 p# a# qcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only) d3 M, k) i( m# v
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained) Q9 M) L0 O' H4 h; o
by Toyota's lawyers."( R, b; M; ?- A3 A* \
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of! ]( f9 `- W( p- P5 ~* t, F; m
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our. m, A* N7 c- x% q3 v
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
% j( L- y' s8 ^0 Lsaid.
5 P) U$ b5 K) e2 D$ U- d"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with4 M5 _" y+ X+ g) C5 p. v
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
7 O6 s+ J# P9 t, K" L+ Kgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating1 m+ n4 x4 t3 i/ W. o% V
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.+ v+ f/ z2 L1 @4 k
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
: {3 g$ w5 z) \) omembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
7 G+ ]" {( e7 p2 R; @7 Prancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
: ^) k: E* B! ?/ U4 G+ Zautomaker, at least in part because of the government's% Z" F8 `7 Q5 p% o
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
3 {! w9 C: R# x5 x5 ]' K: iChrysler.
: X0 V' @8 p8 l! W+ R/ V5 J"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
) P) J' l7 K ?6 v6 j! \; `# ndollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a) U) h; ~9 Z1 B; P
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also+ u8 o& { x4 I( w/ \' u
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete. P$ b- K5 S& u& M8 m/ N& r7 E
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty+ Z: Q0 k& L/ U# c N/ U8 w# z
tough."
1 z/ p- K: ^. h+ Y8 F" V b---
; F( `; Y8 I Z* r# }# c% I2 cAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
% s `9 n: r+ M% d: gRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
3 G) v( ]9 P* M9 R6 s7 J! {0 ` Qthis story.+ e$ q+ S9 l& n! W; ?
2 k, q5 Q/ S: M, e-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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