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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
- R+ K+ e3 ?7 KBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS; |* ~+ r" r3 @! K A; e
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.7 z) \/ H8 Y- U9 w1 K6 D
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that! c4 A1 e8 u; ?
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"( {6 G$ K. a3 |& f. |' ~1 I
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.6 S4 m+ ]1 Y7 m2 B% c
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
* r, F3 B) H1 h6 \; i, {8 wcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
2 V6 n/ O) o5 G1 ~9 G8 l% kHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
* _% j. q2 ?; v" n) }: Zacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and7 `: M1 s9 D6 s! Q) d
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
& y+ V. q; }: { ^3 w; O% imats and sticking accelerator pedals.2 d8 f5 K8 B- L7 W- c/ q* U, L% A
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
" y( O% f& L% `5 Zand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
" P5 g Q% ~' R3 k8 z9 Jcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
& C3 Y* a' g [* ?, sfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
^& f4 ]4 v0 ?$ I, e n9 Enot stop her runaway Lexus.6 y' T0 b" }% Q; K5 S( J
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
8 m+ P; z0 o' U" z! L8 o+ GTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second1 A3 n3 B( K- @1 k4 J
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.0 f+ Y9 I7 T: H* J# j
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues8 h( d/ v+ s0 E0 @3 B: G
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said: t6 G+ ]+ r' F9 u
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
3 j0 y3 d% a' O. w% p8 X# T9 Mdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
4 I0 d! C/ g. e$ D' n+ Hthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's6 q) Y* R% y# ^+ d0 \, ?& h# R* H
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
5 h" O \7 \! I& f) bLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an/ M' k3 @% f+ n: k4 w4 ]
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of& d1 `* c: z$ W$ ?
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a' z+ B. {1 Z0 o3 H( Y' F
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he- m5 a+ @' h) }; A# ?2 L
said.
" B2 y) j( @/ E0 J1 hAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
" I: ` y4 S% h. Ohappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
/ K. {# }' U h; Q% o+ K* m+ e! gabout driving our products," Lentz said.- v( o, a; y+ f1 U! \
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
% f* ^; {. e5 rproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has) [, [7 g2 o9 r! [7 I' d1 o
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
, A7 A' G8 u1 i: M6 k* Gmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of- I) H! z: [6 ?- _' I! w0 p
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking5 Y+ T; }, r8 m0 \; Q
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering5 H9 [0 j6 F+ P& u3 {
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
+ a4 h- ]# G! u6 ~their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
1 K$ L3 k8 [5 rdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has$ u2 w9 H3 G& u2 Z% M
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
' ?2 p* l* p7 E$ i) q+ T+ uof Toyota vehicles since 2000.- p' @2 k2 p) U
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
* [# z! B5 c. N( y7 I Z- g7 ybrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
) D) r, b( o8 V6 B0 } Funderstood the pain.$ A% _7 H' u0 ^ l3 P! v# b# Y
"I know what those families go through," he said.
% W" D( s; B, w4 `! q% HLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
P N: H: b+ E) D. @% M) Ofixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.! o8 N' K0 o2 Z9 N
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
" I" B3 a: _$ \Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
4 A0 j% V. ^/ D6 |: l$ }& Zin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
; h% i9 f: h# B9 q6 v! T0 k7 RLentz replied: "Not totally."3 X" U- L/ W; I
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were; i4 n- A8 d, v5 w ?4 L- ]9 P
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said- m' O% V( X: w" N% @
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas6 P) H+ r- g% y1 S8 S
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its% D! `/ v$ @7 E5 Y5 E. ^7 V) P
vehicles already on the road.( D2 ?! B6 h2 j* }9 n" o
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
9 H; x1 L. Y2 _! G8 O. K/ {before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
0 D, g& T# S' Z5 \+ O) R* Hresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and) D- V6 r, J# \, \
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were0 G. B: ?9 [, b4 U* j& B: N
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.0 r* y1 S: T: n5 k
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a- X" f0 i" J% @7 b5 d8 ]4 v6 L- t
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
; J, {& C' P* @" Ifor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
! [5 Y# D4 n+ r5 J% RCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
. q6 ~) n! P9 E2 Z# @commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
$ D% I# q$ V" f) y! f9 O Frestore the trust of our customers."
8 z; w1 j( i6 h: R1 \4 oLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from& d0 A5 z& E) x+ j
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
V6 Z) }7 R0 W! L4 Czoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
1 k' s2 f3 s9 ]# Nshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and; a( N% \: X, o( S
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough+ Z9 y2 f) t6 Y& a( {' f' x
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and: v: F5 E2 l! {, Y
turn off the engine.
" j: P. G, l& T1 x& G- M4 hFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
~" g2 }. J4 w. O# aOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
! L3 {+ y5 e( a. z! T1 Q* a"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
; Z4 d9 T, m" W2 q1 jsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
: g7 \% x& [! n" L# Bto her complaints.. I; E9 ~- c( z# `/ P, ~7 H, k
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers2 [- D: ~# l R# q
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
9 q; P B1 Z; b# x+ l- Xmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
% K t- ~0 J* _" _ b8 x"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
& p- Q: N6 r: l/ uthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited z' ^+ U! d/ J- v1 r4 N) v9 f4 r1 N7 m2 k. ~
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut. V X, W$ c2 x5 a' Z7 V" ]0 e1 p
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."9 L- k; l$ |% L
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in; M e0 m: s) s0 I7 v, y
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
7 b9 U3 v6 e* w/ P0 n, J8 _being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
) t* Z& n; s: C$ C+ D! Swere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
9 L& p! x7 S+ pevery question."+ Q$ V4 \# A" v4 R9 F' Y2 g
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether9 H4 u" Q- k1 n4 F( F! t+ f
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
8 \8 q. }7 F2 K5 o% A! Ifirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But7 A6 a5 a" S; R u8 F% n( [
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small* ]+ {% Z' ^* o9 ^- N) z$ o0 P
number of vehicles5 Y) c R9 J; C0 E" C, R4 G
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
; s( O9 Z; f% h0 p* Q; xdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
" } F3 ?$ P# ]$ w6 t1 ]mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
7 f* O5 d0 Z; {6 M# u. e Ysource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
. _- S1 k) g8 tMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,( K0 k- t. @1 `; m
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no/ @' b7 b. n6 e% J5 c, Y6 K% n
trace at all.
" Q1 |( ?5 {" D# H6 e+ jHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call4 ?' ~1 t! ~+ f% d% U
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
( F X4 O( @, Z! ~acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the% V$ V' _3 s, X$ X
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.6 K8 t: J5 A/ f* b |5 W8 _- b' U
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
t9 g& {+ C* [, `1 L5 q3 R osaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
9 v: N- @1 h2 S- N' Oother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
+ Q- Z) v+ ?3 B' \8 zelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible) [2 D$ c9 |1 X
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only$ I! X* H2 g% I# I+ ?' m
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
4 F8 ?) O1 S, l2 O8 R* Q5 Bby Toyota's lawyers."
: s, {8 o$ i# q- f. N TLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
# B7 i7 I& z' t9 N6 t# R6 sproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our' @9 i8 C. D% c* I; q& ?
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he8 X$ q: q" I; R! H
said.
4 w& J- Q/ `, r- K* F"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with$ V# y5 _) A; p. v& w% D: |
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
Z3 E, l% q. P6 H. Mgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
0 _1 y2 h/ c; ?officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.2 |) J# ~' j- T6 K5 S3 x
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
- P/ n) e0 J: W7 ~members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread8 S0 y6 |0 k" g, ?- ~1 _$ V
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
O2 C$ P& R6 o5 d+ k& }$ P) G: W& kautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
8 c. L- b1 G: @! d0 V. S& Qinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and2 d$ [/ G- i% k1 F! w* I
Chrysler.3 l( U8 T, q1 p$ N, l' L g
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
9 L1 X& r* ?! G% i1 P. ]6 A) D6 l, rdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a" t1 T! Q" a, A: E6 _1 _+ [! ?
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
$ `7 h# t2 x3 a1 W( Q% ~5 s/ g9 y* Bserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete, g" F. h# ~1 [; D& V
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty/ ^/ {# m* S& M& z- I3 n' U0 Y
tough."; C: i, t- ?, `* l" |. u
---
" C) ~" s# [/ Z% P3 c2 @9 ? k2 yAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
* g8 b3 X+ X/ G& L H9 t$ eRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
8 J9 q5 s! B1 B5 `; H! e# `this story.0 A2 p) p2 ^+ S9 W
! N% D) \) g/ z `2 F% U-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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