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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题( l( k; M: T! a; e
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
7 j0 D! {) m& x3 U% @. m& \* hWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
& u$ G7 k4 M/ @2 V* X. Foperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that. U, a, _1 j8 a% Q+ @7 ^- R/ l4 N
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
$ w, ^, I Y+ [# m' l: Tsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.1 j% M, v" M8 D: d( A, k! Y2 k* G
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
1 l- n8 c# O- Zcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.+ E6 c3 ?; Y# u4 K- X
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
8 I' n9 n5 E: P1 `8 Bacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
5 g/ [8 t' q0 Y" q: `4 `& t& Ytrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor7 a' h% y/ ]% C+ F3 t
mats and sticking accelerator pedals./ g8 e+ g m. q. W& n
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal+ w# C8 V7 I( k
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
9 C9 c+ o) L7 G' ~8 Vcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
( L7 i. l& ^% E$ J& |, ]1 Zfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could7 x% j+ O- y2 q8 L! t
not stop her runaway Lexus.6 G" V/ C7 G6 `5 J; A
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,2 T: _7 ?' L$ k, K0 z. ?* a1 f
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second" H) d) M# p9 \9 A
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.; e1 G; {, [) r% a4 R
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
) }- x+ P8 {1 ~+ ?" F# learly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
- N' J& O t6 i' ]; ?"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has+ N; ]' s" N% z9 o4 ~+ y
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
3 v% Q1 J6 A; V2 |- zthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's' t$ b! y$ m! t7 K7 B- M
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
/ g8 R. H" r) j6 `Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an9 | S; z$ k# `- \) z/ S
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of4 W# t+ B0 s. ^- w4 p
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a+ V* g: @! `, n3 x# }, a2 z
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
8 M; C: ~ t) X! {( S$ j) Lsaid.& l0 Y0 Z" |; h/ i8 N# o9 i! s
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
# p* S: W0 [# ]" x+ Rhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe3 L$ q, Y2 @% D9 N4 t+ |/ m
about driving our products," Lentz said.) W+ R- u+ ^# P# [ R
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's% P! ^/ e. M8 |# L6 c
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
! f; X8 ?* C; ^. C( ]. a& Qrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
. Q5 b% a" b, D9 j- w. B. emillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
1 ]# i/ A8 q2 x- x' N) h x0 d; iunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
% Y' f9 m5 ~2 Xissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering/ s1 v& O$ }/ h; m* K& L/ U; \& W- F
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
9 Q/ F# _+ Q; T( h k7 ztheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
) ~# S6 `2 F- P7 Adown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has N$ F8 I [# n7 {' q8 E* {# e& z
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
0 B& X. v# ~" _of Toyota vehicles since 2000.7 ^, |0 C6 W$ @! g
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own7 n5 q+ x e( {7 Q7 \2 w1 S+ a
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
' W% c: J3 @: qunderstood the pain.
$ M2 E7 ~ Y5 P( B4 n2 P"I know what those families go through," he said.4 r4 P: q3 z) q' n8 r$ P
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's. o& Z! F0 J0 y! t" k
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
$ J9 O9 | @+ B) r9 c, q( ^% c4 F4 @But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
+ L3 h I" N- e( C# j1 GHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
! ]% X- ?: k* [in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
# e* F7 I! ~* e4 k! w& o4 QLentz replied: "Not totally.") T4 L* W' m l3 \
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
: k3 I) g+ J2 e1 U* J1 K"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
+ \' c. Q+ X" U' O% B5 nToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
9 O8 A% ]* T. ^' \& F; Cpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
( l. u2 m; E) j/ Ovehicles already on the road.
4 ^7 D' v2 d* D0 [% u1 j5 J' W- l. D0 QMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
4 p0 J0 W2 G8 R! `, ibefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
& K3 X3 R, P0 u7 g( }responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and2 j) N7 p0 U4 Z
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were0 {- ~: w. q: w" ^
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
7 E0 B& E2 m2 P; o3 F$ n"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
3 A4 i% T- ?* j$ @5 Ctragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
1 L- ?, m- f1 B8 J/ Tfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight; u' x- z5 x3 ?( S8 Q4 O
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
: n" \1 {$ o9 p0 ?6 G4 c9 }& Ncommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
! R" V% E: |, E* v! \" U+ Qrestore the trust of our customers."
% F, ]$ @9 M/ ^7 i1 Y1 P/ MLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from8 j: b9 ]( e( w
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly/ t7 z8 {! Q$ ?1 O: G4 {8 ]
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
" p+ Y6 C$ R* F, i; W# W Xshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
- M/ f( o2 n: y. M3 Vhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough [. |% V N) ?9 D
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
) j/ K, U2 [/ Iturn off the engine.& _# z9 { S; P) `& O
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
' V* {$ i! C( J; }' N4 E: V$ ~October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."; t# ~/ z3 j7 q5 b
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she1 r5 u% y! C( l- i5 ~
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
6 V! w! b v( t3 D# z* p0 W0 wto her complaints.6 d9 G. ~" S7 H5 Z1 N$ p! U
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
2 Z% G; d/ y- q9 D- C8 V0 L# Sreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic* x* S; y7 j3 p5 X' N. @; S
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.5 y. c5 Q! F- F Z9 o2 }8 I5 n! \' X
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric, H6 [8 A5 U: U$ U, d
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited" A; o; c( j! H' I: |
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
0 E o) V6 a3 Uoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."0 X+ A( n7 _- ^* ^8 |$ `3 h4 \
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
9 d! j, g: F4 u8 d) r+ q% Gprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
6 q. y2 h. m$ O! _! b# O* abeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
! F' C+ r0 Q" v2 T$ fwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer7 e r! s; K8 [9 B0 D! `
every question."
" g! e& e4 I8 ^. a6 ]$ oToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether) i, d/ F/ b3 ~+ R# q- N
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The7 M% b/ D- T9 w! @6 N
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But$ P5 d' G4 |9 _4 x" c! Z
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
# E+ O! T' o% q0 z/ L* N- T4 onumber of vehicles) L$ @. D) d$ V% d
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more s" f% ~) T# |; ^" u! J% v' W
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a8 H- z9 e0 X1 n/ ?! @, q
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one# \2 _, {( P$ ]% H9 K
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
- S& ^/ a0 F; r; FMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,* F# {; X$ L, u
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no0 {+ W* i* d! i: f
trace at all.3 v. Q+ o! e0 n8 B! M: |
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
. P, U7 h9 E, ?3 wdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
8 K @1 d h: V+ @0 tacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
# \7 z' w4 L/ ~recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
6 [8 t/ Y! Y3 L; ?, o- cRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
3 X. d" B$ G0 m+ M% fsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
. \# p4 D4 {/ X- \' n& G+ vother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
% ?- d& o+ v5 M' j: ]3 o5 Z$ ]electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible! S. I, P1 K4 M. O# d, B
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only6 R* O2 G$ \0 O: `0 A5 E8 t$ b6 r
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
) t' G1 r3 S4 |3 j4 t4 i3 d, eby Toyota's lawyers."1 `8 o1 ]. v2 U. G2 L8 l! Q
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of3 V2 s+ e* X& \& h8 y& y
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our$ X/ n5 O8 X) h9 G. m5 r3 H
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
& H' Q$ c- A8 u( P8 Lsaid.& Y% B* x# }3 g9 G( Q4 _
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
, ]3 ]6 @4 E! b2 ] ]0 pa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
6 E. i* h- o1 x4 |1 c" U" ngood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating2 R9 U' l z# U( s% w
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.( R; q* |$ Y% k* p# X
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying4 v O8 R6 I4 v7 P, E
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread5 D( T @( s* l9 U- N# P
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the3 y7 _; a; \ I
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
) U5 k+ c# K2 @( T3 `5 sinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
8 _, ?7 `8 W, g5 u' F4 eChrysler.
. B% N* P" O1 R3 G0 Z5 a6 N"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
: ~* a# V! R+ Z: f" E9 r* Mdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a. E9 z& o4 J2 O+ C. U( r( q4 F2 \; r
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also3 k% u6 A5 w+ h0 z9 C$ p
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
: Q. q8 g, e+ I, N; ~2 f* lwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
) f6 g1 t+ p( Z& otough.". n! D3 t) @% e" f0 x6 m q
---8 d# T. x" B9 P$ n x/ {5 C- i
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom( C+ ~# {% y5 y$ e
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
! Q* M, p' z5 e, Hthis story.
9 t) K0 E. g- b z, P- b: v( U4 l
9 ~$ n& h" M4 |. m) Y-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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