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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题7 T/ L% E3 s, ]
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
- g; w- w* [( }Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
`, g; ~+ m7 O2 p0 C/ r/ z6 Noperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that, X: g6 f0 a! T) d0 {
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"$ K# Z+ G" n/ F/ |) U0 a0 i' j
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
8 C% w, \( t1 L! j"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential: z, D. U1 l/ A! w/ P
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel." L) i# |7 c; P$ }( I, r
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected' D/ \% c7 q9 T$ r
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
! t; k3 T6 j4 Z: b5 ttrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
3 R c; c) |+ ~ e; z; z6 ymats and sticking accelerator pedals.
, D1 b* p t5 K7 a3 [He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
2 [% h' u t6 g( jand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp, J+ w1 ^2 m# T5 [( G; H& g
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
/ }6 J: H: S m7 @$ ]6 O; p, f; [further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could N% G; l( H2 R, K% M
not stop her runaway Lexus.
8 `4 n( q, U5 A" Z"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,/ O0 h+ E0 q# D. M7 Y# {: D0 @
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second1 o. _ O$ j' ]( e4 ?; d# j
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.# \8 l; I" E* \- k9 [
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues S& f. F6 N' [& r
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
% Y: k7 B+ [! E/ V; p. N"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
/ a$ T+ M8 A) Wdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
$ N$ W( i5 z$ _* [7 g% @& O$ Lthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's d5 Y5 c6 h% E% s$ _
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."+ p i3 O; q* H; Q; g, f- K+ h
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
% I& G% p, N4 R6 }" n! a6 t4 \electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of, M1 c1 t4 W3 b# g$ G5 {9 ^, b
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a# [$ f3 l( r+ [0 }
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he3 G: K! W% ^' p# N2 c% c' t, O
said.
) \: W; j7 l: T, T) JAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
9 s" j# Y; z" s0 U0 ?7 N- ]0 R0 shappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
0 W; ^. G R J babout driving our products," Lentz said.
+ v* x+ b$ d) oThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's3 p3 P# Z5 A0 G; f8 h
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
& s- C8 n! a$ o$ vrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
; h# M4 x: ^; q0 m. Pmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
/ ^5 `( _4 b5 O9 G& _) b* h/ J4 Yunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
1 q8 ]' u$ ]' Z7 g( e8 Z3 fissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
, Y4 c b: G4 M& Jconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
: E) @0 D w# n% n xtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
* b o9 V: U# [* odown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has( d+ F& I- E8 \5 z6 m
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration3 t& i4 q4 j* P0 X4 N
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
; B- {, V, y" uLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
7 Z- T$ b7 R7 o8 c% C1 E Dbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
' n/ ^) k$ x8 ?& m! i' k1 O. I$ u8 Gunderstood the pain.& s+ z; p' H2 @$ i6 ^" f
"I know what those families go through," he said.
" [5 t+ ?- o# s P- t6 v- a7 HLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's: o9 g' v0 n9 |1 w
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.0 d8 x- C4 y% J' i3 a4 n' @
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman/ H) j. p; P5 J. R0 P
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
( {9 S6 w' V! \# [in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
8 A$ R. }7 B' I* i! c9 cLentz replied: "Not totally."
3 q. C5 T+ ]# `% v$ @Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
8 Z) H5 i3 y; ^, P"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
* z n, L% P! F& C3 e. EToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
; |( a) L+ ]" f8 M3 Z5 mpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
8 k/ y+ i J+ d- A6 r! T9 Qvehicles already on the road.6 `1 D/ N; N- ]$ e( K' S) w% ~
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
" A; S9 j- C/ z; Ybefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
7 j# w. ]1 g8 X' H( kresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
- O3 G* @ c1 \* Y4 W/ |offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
3 G4 u/ q7 k, z. b& Okilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
# z% R* R9 E$ b"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
4 y5 o2 Z. o l2 k% }$ Mtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony+ i' o# ?; W2 S
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight6 J0 L2 _/ }( e& ]
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
. P. ~; _/ W- x8 U- {5 k+ V; y. Mcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to8 K6 k9 }3 {2 D( j: J& [2 K
restore the trust of our customers.": P' a. H, z" C0 u# f' w! c
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from: ~! \+ Z% a2 B
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly8 x% k% k& G# c3 D
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --# G5 f% s, P- B x( ]
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and" G2 h: ~; \. _* u& U
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
6 J t, p9 J6 G# F( ~$ Othat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and0 J- B# V% J* l( S; E; \
turn off the engine.( p t3 d, E0 Y7 ]4 {# r; X
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
9 Q8 A# m6 L3 j9 C3 G/ i3 ZOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."! h7 H G; m8 E9 b( _
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
5 p+ r5 T6 ]- Xsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond- ^( V! L2 J6 I# |: a
to her complaints.) J: m8 X6 _& `, `& X' \- d
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers$ S9 d: l1 B5 Y
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
; L/ H) {- V% G, Umalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
) |& }1 _* I5 ^' Z) S l2 @3 ^ |! U"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
& X" n! J! t7 N1 sthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
/ N4 G9 ^5 T# b"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
% _" z" D7 f6 l1 Zoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."+ J# Q ~) z3 _3 e
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
0 t' R% m6 I6 f: A" \& zprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were# B- l8 K, F0 }
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls! D: a8 I5 \1 W* G
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer4 j! ?$ \. c; a( j
every question."9 N* C+ n/ M& E b
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
5 o8 t6 R, C1 D8 v7 yelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The" T5 J! b+ k/ g9 r( U, Q) I
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
9 l. }9 Y" P2 G) S6 Lcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small* l: _- ~+ v( \7 c/ g5 s O8 r1 A
number of vehicles
( a1 a6 ?. c& @% OTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
" m8 t7 h0 [ g7 H4 hdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
/ J) H: ~5 c$ k( z) omechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
& `5 Y3 j W- @/ t2 Tsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
% r2 u; u9 l/ g) gMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
: F0 T* \$ g8 E8 G& Q7 a$ Zwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no5 y2 G6 `8 l* Y1 C) h7 T! y6 o# H
trace at all.1 p1 J' o9 W H; A* S- E8 E
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call2 o9 ^" N4 ^- }) ^! e7 ?& @* v
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden0 G8 F( N1 x8 H6 }5 Z. W3 l
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
1 \* g# z N& c4 M& T( wrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.7 O6 n* T. U+ I# H% {
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
8 Y# h' j' Y* O! O/ U; }said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and$ m% c5 I( v/ g P+ s
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the4 E! Q% D7 |& {1 \
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible; A) R6 a* E( i/ V9 g9 L2 q, c0 F
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only9 K; Z; _9 F0 D9 \" n6 m7 F
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained# R5 V' }- T! b) t
by Toyota's lawyers.". @ Z3 A. C7 Y1 a) w& l
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of* }% M5 w8 z2 t7 @9 H! x
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our- X- m/ @+ Y8 V
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he/ a W% F' }- U1 ^" I
said.4 m3 L$ b# Y7 G7 U; \ G
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
9 f, @/ A; q% [: Y4 ?a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
& X6 q8 \3 t6 v5 M) @- Bgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
$ b7 Y+ S) R8 V! A$ Sofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
) b/ R7 Q% b+ b1 }: M" XSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying9 B6 k7 [' [" G- @
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
" a& `- h% O: q! T" W0 ]8 Q$ Lrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the5 X' @ v4 F' M& }/ L( g
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
; F5 J9 h9 `' _& f& R) Zinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
$ d. C& v- j$ q( DChrysler.
4 {! ^ j% F' R: r! u5 e( ["That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
) R5 H" U; Q0 ^; g7 w, g' ~% udollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a* Q0 d4 t$ B# Z! L! Z
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
1 F" |, p* Q) aserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
% ?9 G; F' `& B: L, Lwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
4 B2 g# X. s' T) m& p# H3 ltough."
, q' h3 G) m2 H& T" B% f p6 M---
Z9 |% G8 g0 a9 t$ P. s' [Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom0 b; t4 A, f! I8 ~, c
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
% t6 K, o( Y M8 @ Lthis story.
, x9 N( c# J* t- y( d" E1 B
' k ], b! k3 i, X/ E; J-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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