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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题7 o: u+ o. k5 k" k
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
# z: U/ t' Y7 W M4 e& W0 sWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.7 m$ e' u, p% a
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
5 O1 S m+ N. ]* d! Pthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"1 @; I( U3 ?2 p$ r
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
4 M( \* Y) ]8 u4 S T! ?) p( j"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
$ V5 r# o& N% \8 Z3 N) Z6 S& Y$ _causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
& C* S0 S+ \, [1 o# V2 nHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
% Q' v9 h! {- J% iacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and2 T1 ~2 L% N* _. r
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor6 D) e# i, C& X; s
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.: m, [; E+ g; r* e+ d& e6 L- ?1 b
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
' B6 L- J. k! b* t' qand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
( L# N) `$ ]4 i5 c: @& _ D4 rcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
* J5 b9 L: t, V; a0 Hfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
' `4 c: Z0 U3 d* R; _ U* |not stop her runaway Lexus.7 e8 Q7 o2 d) M% D# J. T- w6 }' Y4 @
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
8 n1 N9 v0 c: b3 g$ _Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second, i# d, `+ K! Q" x8 ]
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.- s1 y) g& l+ I, O6 }( ?8 [& o
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues5 o; N$ n, [+ k5 a2 q3 H: _
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said; P2 {, \1 X6 j! s2 V+ G {, {
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has" W8 s6 {! H4 z+ @
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway, }( Z$ B! \; o1 p# Z, e9 m/ l* d
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's+ Q& [) T( ]' k& w: \
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
C/ f' A3 _5 u5 C. `Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
) i* S h2 s* j+ uelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of5 x. Z2 \ B* b; E5 _" O
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
/ S4 J& Z4 w0 ~/ D$ Dmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he" ?6 d' j6 O! S: x9 i; D
said.
' h0 e! E% c& mAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
$ G8 n" r0 b& F! g H( C, M! f$ P, Ehappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe; O, x+ _8 Q7 y2 o& c+ |9 Q
about driving our products," Lentz said.
- K- h+ f6 A4 I! W& I& C7 t) hThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's: t+ U, n6 @4 p
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has! h4 p8 a6 }. Q$ U, P+ v" F9 z* }
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6. o7 p7 X7 @8 k8 P# S7 H
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
) G7 [& L& A' vunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking, F. M* |$ P o' L
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
. [7 u4 b( ^; a8 {0 E+ sconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
( U5 P% t% [3 B8 v; Y2 Otheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
3 M9 w7 L0 z( ?8 d; U" L/ Idown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
- ^- I+ ]& ~# u# Treceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
5 m) C8 `, E! W: W4 ]of Toyota vehicles since 2000.9 }6 X- ~( `% [( C4 H
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
* _( P9 w' P8 p7 W0 |8 Dbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he( p. ]6 y: \/ S$ W
understood the pain.
, h4 Y- [$ Y* q# [$ W( e8 B( x"I know what those families go through," he said./ w& ~1 A- `2 z) W i
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's+ ?2 p8 S2 `6 r9 B- s+ x/ |) _, ^
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
- _3 g" g: g; W3 G# e! {But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman+ N7 a4 n% j$ t4 H! Z# G
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put. E+ B% D, N% {# e3 ]
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
8 X1 X" L6 f, @, x0 Y0 d8 pLentz replied: "Not totally."
& l9 I7 a; E2 x8 b+ DStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
% Q: E9 R' k% v4 K& {& g"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
! q5 r8 X- W! [Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas- p' q- L I2 Y4 h1 G0 I
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its" y* t& A' l4 _; R* n) ~
vehicles already on the road.6 q+ r v9 M0 g
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify" e0 D' i. W2 [; S4 Q" h: A
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full& \* r! F/ Z: s$ H
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and( @, ~% v, A4 U) z N1 S! F
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
- C( U, `6 m" F" p9 a/ k7 [, ~killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.& R- ^2 a( |0 q0 n7 a1 v
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a+ K' k" M/ `4 z" S, @+ ]! E
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony2 h: C. ?1 N* @& \: r* L9 _
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
. |6 r9 e& n0 D, ~) j$ ]Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
' s% t$ E! f' V5 E( Vcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to3 s1 X$ g2 X4 Z6 K4 y% P% ^
restore the trust of our customers."& Y+ ?+ n9 u# U) s+ e2 a( c
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
. C X, Z, U7 U/ e" PSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
6 z o$ Q3 u& a# H+ d2 vzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
1 ]) T! u6 n& M$ K3 x4 A7 oshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
* G; j7 b8 V4 B) P$ a5 Phitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough" h ]" G* g# _/ L3 V
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
5 x' n* f$ Q$ R6 G' gturn off the engine.$ m, \- D D; |# u4 e2 V! P; W- i
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
+ L/ u$ F* Z+ r. MOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."/ ~ K, n- ]% p. }" U- U
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
" P0 U. K; O# l: tsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond1 q) r; R7 W# @8 T# x3 ^! O, q' p
to her complaints.
?# U; z. @) s1 d/ \2 I+ B$ tIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers" E( E/ J8 [( k9 |: H! }6 ~8 C$ I8 K
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic" g: v0 m# v; B. U$ }9 P7 {
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.5 I9 `5 r. v- M( p2 }( t& {
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric! z/ m; ~7 W. X5 C7 E; J; X" }
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited& c$ e6 p" I; V# a
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
7 E9 ?) M% r' U6 j& ]# Noff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."' J6 Z3 r& G, k' ~
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
2 s+ q! Z- q, c( E' mprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were# ?1 u9 `2 X' ^/ c
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
( E! }0 V h2 hwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer& r# W8 @6 v) k+ i0 H( |7 |
every question.", [1 n- p( s* B
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether- D {, q4 `6 `2 @$ ~8 {1 M
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The: e8 W- f {9 o/ Q
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
4 V+ e" f7 `3 [( ? B- bcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small' U7 Y7 ~7 V0 n/ b
number of vehicles$ A. e6 k8 I1 Q: T% V0 P
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
: L) u4 P9 B' Idifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a1 z4 H, V. |# B1 X: R
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
3 k. Q2 F4 t+ E6 ]* m F; Q' z9 O% j- Lsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.* b5 F& K4 ~5 Z6 G( _- W# X j
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,5 f- j0 [( n( p: a
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no4 [# ~7 G& D( Y* }2 A% k# ~
trace at all.
) `/ T( N: r( e# l/ z! a- sHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call/ X* M: U4 v6 p: _ p* ]
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden3 Y. ?0 f3 D+ E4 ?, N! y F, L
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the* q$ ]; G6 t2 N) d
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
$ R" [, q$ d( h% U {- b- ^+ u) e9 LRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,8 Z+ O- [7 ?* h; o
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and) s0 \: W3 {9 P1 f
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the& K5 h$ P, u9 Y, G# Q4 O" b. k
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
0 m1 Q2 l/ ^0 ?# }- @+ Lcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only2 k$ _9 u- l h0 z7 X) l
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
1 S I( q& k9 H9 xby Toyota's lawyers."
- j" h7 x3 w" r9 u. I8 V# r8 }Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of" ], r+ B' n @9 [
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
7 a. n8 m3 e; c6 O1 ncustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he, J0 |$ n8 V+ ]* W9 {1 u
said.9 r/ f: { Z2 r1 V. W1 `
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with8 N% L; z& M6 L# C5 \
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
2 i7 M' r* W& ?3 B. O5 Xgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating- U ]& i9 a8 ^8 _- k
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.% m1 ?8 d1 Q% w | e8 }
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
( G J2 }) m4 t5 A" I% \, @members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread) \4 n3 B3 m2 k( ^' B4 G. c
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the/ e6 n u5 P/ D8 @" o
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
7 E8 h0 y& O4 r' b3 }; S: y+ sinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and9 {3 X% L# V0 k* v: L) O! \
Chrysler.
+ r) e: u# Q+ \8 k7 W"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax* s) N T4 l- ~4 d" M5 T
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
" j" q3 p! a2 t7 L- GHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also. ?6 W8 M' W( {! U6 b3 a- F
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
9 W k' Z% ^& }+ O1 f d) mwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty! D1 F2 Z7 w- D- {
tough."
1 ^: n. c2 V6 E! {! i9 W7 X3 \---- ~& G- v+ y& e% f/ D
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
; P) H8 D( f; y& F. Z. l- ?Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
' u5 f9 G: X' _" @9 u! C2 sthis story.( ~! i. n) A i2 d8 ~: D
, |7 g- Y8 {: N6 S, b% P# P-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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