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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题 V1 w2 ^$ i3 l
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS- t: N- h/ @" m- i
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.' k; U! M9 {3 W M* y
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that" s& C* e) Q; N3 W6 w# {
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
0 \# S S; l; n$ I0 j6 m' Q2 Z8 M- msolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.! E/ ?* T: |& D* j/ S: t" O
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential* S, r2 @, Y: V, f$ E
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
/ k+ K& p/ G1 J, `7 oHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected1 c# O3 s3 }" d0 |
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and% h: r' K7 B* C& `" w
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor: A2 Z2 u; L6 V9 f6 Z, S! m. g
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
; O! U8 V8 F3 k& yHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
3 o' l4 c& E; e* T& x6 Y( Y$ qand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
1 [0 @! o# L! s* v$ u* Ucriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be; ^: e' `+ U/ t4 [* J) h0 e( L( \
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
5 [' c/ L L ]. C' gnot stop her runaway Lexus.* M# k: p4 P$ B
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
9 l5 e. Y( i' {( |Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second5 u* N4 J" p4 j6 S5 a
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.% C8 u4 z- G% @( D& O8 e. Q
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues+ H5 E9 f+ F& ^: E1 y* P4 Z
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
6 Q8 d( m1 W8 S) E# x( W"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has0 u5 {2 h* B4 R0 Z
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
, s% V% a( u3 L' Mthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's& { O( l; F) h, O
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
3 B2 L# I6 v6 L$ P) ?; L8 }Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an; L: @8 ^$ j8 j6 Z/ K
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
. g& W) i8 q) k& l$ ?& nthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a; ]1 |# C5 ^" ^. }1 P( G/ g$ G
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
% L3 m: j- Y% o9 H5 _7 f4 ~4 Tsaid.
% V& c4 q5 s0 |. T! |) oAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
1 ]$ l- J5 D& c/ Chappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe! ~6 Z! j0 O+ W! u# v9 s% S k: Y
about driving our products," Lentz said.! d# x6 V; x0 F" N
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's* B* w6 G4 L8 S, E% Y% u% ?, T
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
! _+ z& T! e9 b! N$ f( T, yrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
+ y. e+ G) A/ _7 M$ kmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of7 F1 S1 @; i, m: B5 H8 O
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
2 N$ l- |0 N: H7 ~0 oissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
2 V! q4 S" t; n2 C. R; @% kconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of/ @4 u" Z# V; |, U
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow( T3 T1 n8 h G& @
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has2 t n' Y% _$ J
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
/ E0 ?$ m+ V6 Rof Toyota vehicles since 2000.% E# V# _& s6 {4 |
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own6 ^; o |) C; E6 f |: R
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he6 e/ d0 E9 b8 S" q
understood the pain.& |6 X3 S( s8 G
"I know what those families go through," he said.
, {% i0 [% u$ L/ ~9 a( ILentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's* J9 `4 ^) Q" ?3 c% W4 Y
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
! m/ \( f7 i/ N+ c' g1 v0 gBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman9 ]$ i) D- Q0 V' r
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put: q. c$ W9 X% j- \8 n$ d( @
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,) d% ]2 Q% ]' ^; F
Lentz replied: "Not totally.": B. U! H9 T/ Y
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were/ g. i4 z7 n9 E ?+ L! k
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
$ _! ?* n8 n3 E# ~Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas' `- {" g5 r3 B, `, ^; e8 c7 ^4 A' I
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
" r& K5 O& X/ {1 tvehicles already on the road.
$ E) o6 \& |8 n8 ?Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
0 `. v9 g6 e( a0 Dbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full5 a. } O/ \& m8 P
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
8 j+ U/ R0 g2 k, toffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were) S& w0 \' h% W5 p3 Y) G( h a
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.8 R( R) v2 f. B1 s: N: c! ?
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
) W3 S( \: `8 xtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
) l% x }* F2 j3 S8 Vfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight( j8 Z- X9 H2 B5 D; I( x: \8 V* |% Y
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
1 i ?+ [0 l4 F3 P+ ^6 lcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to+ r6 Q# O4 s, O% D
restore the trust of our customers.", `3 D+ y5 e0 @ ?* l
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from4 E+ G0 ~$ L' }2 ^
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly, L/ k5 G, ]; {! o4 _
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
$ T2 m, {9 D( Z2 D3 Q6 @4 J, Gshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
/ [1 X, t9 w# Vhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
8 e) B/ k [9 L& T$ t3 a1 ~that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and$ R; Y9 Q( W1 w
turn off the engine.
) r0 I+ I7 \) ]4 U7 {, aFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
0 a* e. ?/ f4 I) v* aOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
, U, X. ~3 s' r! k/ n" r2 v"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she1 X8 f1 o8 {# N! d( B) |
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond, q! ?; ~5 I: F, Z" |
to her complaints.
; T* P4 i9 t$ j/ V' I$ a" }In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers! q1 Q) w p. ], b3 I0 b
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic+ W8 H6 S$ r' R) d+ g5 b
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.* k1 [' x) c% F. Y# `4 f
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric6 C- n/ ?( {% z6 _0 G$ }- W
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
. W% I' E7 a- u8 {3 X, ^"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
- W0 y! R/ A$ m6 hoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."# W, f0 ^8 h* A; I5 l
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
}# q" S' N6 h3 x: l' v' dprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were+ Y$ ?( v0 W) l* t: e! B! `9 y4 k
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls. r6 h6 B% [+ W) g4 V2 f2 ~+ }% v
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
) N, B3 ~: @; \' Eevery question."" Z. S" V) S$ `4 X
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether7 Q& k; A9 c; V. v
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The$ q [* J- ^7 u9 u* F* N4 R' @
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But8 W+ |# t3 P) O# J9 {
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
9 V [+ b2 z* xnumber of vehicles
8 f/ F+ K0 r" a- H- c- }Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
; H. [+ a$ a3 u: v8 U3 q4 ?difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a3 R; n4 L% l" o- p/ n
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one' ~- u$ @; a) _' E5 R9 b, m" s
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.3 l! Z. q. H" k: A
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
2 P V. ~! y1 h2 Q! I7 Cwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no* A/ B; j9 |9 v% P
trace at all.' S1 j, U( G. z" n5 e- F
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call# R4 o9 X8 _4 ]. n) \3 h6 ], d
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
) s; l1 V: k8 A& i* s- O) o1 z! Yacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
" g" l: F8 R2 K0 w v$ Zrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.$ T6 e. J- j. a) Z1 [3 D2 h$ V
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
8 a ^7 M. V" a2 W% dsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and( s, f( U- |9 z# Y: @1 X5 @: B
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
& j( U$ n8 Q O- Kelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
- x7 M C s4 l- C& z/ }& Y, @9 Lcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only$ W4 X+ h* c# Y" a0 [3 U
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained. S* W& p$ Q/ J8 Z
by Toyota's lawyers."
) ^) [. `/ n, K- b; d/ JLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of' _7 p; ?6 x$ T% |4 t/ W8 y! e
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our. r1 K) B- l) O0 p
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
3 E2 J! S, {) y8 f g+ ]said.
- B# K0 k8 N8 G Y) m8 y- v"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with: d1 v7 b+ ^1 G$ v
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our k. x" J; Z, S7 q" V
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating4 Z1 i! v3 y' w5 q# k
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.4 {, j* b. ]- j( x6 v5 G! B
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying$ h, {' {( Z' I. Z! Y, d
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
" V( H0 n+ p0 q* Brancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
4 e4 Y v6 S) L4 H$ Kautomaker, at least in part because of the government's! i/ D4 w: b, B. v
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and) a1 p n4 `% ^* H& k; B' ]' F
Chrysler.8 R! U5 d k( {7 R5 H# h: L$ L# r
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
8 @: K- l0 {" f7 p+ Kdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a7 o0 N+ b3 a Q2 Z2 B) j" g! I$ R
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also T7 {& A6 w9 c. [$ P r1 T; r
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete1 N2 d1 r5 _- [. G$ j
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
8 ~/ g; |+ R; i9 Qtough."
- B7 P# b) p/ J, V---
& f. Q4 }+ Q7 l K- ?Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
8 c! O. N! L2 S8 n) ~Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
; V& c2 O, W) ~" b. t2 Jthis story.
9 a! _7 n k9 p) Y4 D
$ i1 a \9 _' L* _2 S2 A1 y# I! n) X8 T' z-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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