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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题' c# I% v( v9 ~
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
# o1 |0 g; _0 K5 y7 n$ NWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
' S$ Q' c3 a8 m" b& x) Y& X* goperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that% l2 Q& p) _& Y. y. \. ~ P
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
0 w, Y& j' }. Q3 @$ y r0 Isolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.% s; \) v8 |1 t
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
: N7 q% ^$ w: m5 m' ^) x& T8 Bcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
6 |" {: n/ ]$ J$ BHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
% _5 M" T+ F f9 C: [5 v' o. Lacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
; b2 t. C7 L" m5 z3 w& p" Jtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor! y# M$ M5 ]. J6 s& A. E5 c: M
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
+ L: o9 @1 a5 E" Q3 h2 P' |He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
; ~% J& b: @4 O9 \& q2 gand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp, z: b; G; ^- ]
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be/ f' y$ B% n, P% y4 p7 _
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could& @8 N) X$ } L4 k! \* q
not stop her runaway Lexus.7 Q, \6 B; i3 u* \
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,* t2 w% V! N, K; z8 f
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second6 Q$ w T4 R* i) Z
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
1 R1 @& G0 g2 T5 wTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
' S0 E) ?" p! o* k# s: T; Dearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said+ l5 m& e- V) Z4 @# x B
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
: e! r; ~$ `2 H( D2 Ddone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway( c, A3 k0 F" S
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's8 P7 V& x8 d1 e
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."# Q$ j" e9 {: x+ E# N) i
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an( s1 N' s( W+ \7 z' i
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of* p' T; v) s% }3 I3 r# f
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
% n$ Y3 J" k y. Lmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he' ~, }: ]9 ^8 r1 t& }+ Q0 ^" [/ s
said.- L9 J, n- J5 Y- E$ _5 o% G
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what" m( D$ d K+ C& M) m' ]
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
% x3 t( U' ^- f8 pabout driving our products," Lentz said.
+ ?6 [' T, l% G+ v8 o, |6 ^- @Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's) D* h8 n" E0 A! m: ?" x, D& M
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
% N O* `* p) [# ]2 k5 Orecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
" f/ U9 {3 v0 \. w! {! N, bmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of+ s2 b1 E u, }- `/ r. H
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking2 k+ N# p' t% w; v- `( G
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
# k) I! d2 j) n. |9 bconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of3 z4 a5 ^7 P* v, ?
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow$ a/ H9 p5 Y9 x/ [
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has) l' {2 k$ n( w" s
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
: k" I* R' K. m+ \of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
/ M% m J& a* BLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
. ?+ O2 O, Y3 F! Tbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he& u9 s. ^8 t6 U8 z/ ]2 O$ C+ R- h) S
understood the pain.$ Y. `6 j* }% d$ W. P
"I know what those families go through," he said.
* f3 W4 I+ d( W- n' @# b. H& xLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's* N/ M/ A5 x: `3 A3 X! o0 M0 E
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.3 g4 x/ x; ?6 X; E% v" ~' A
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman6 X; H( y3 \* S. C& j9 H
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
! E* }6 ~- A- |8 K# Y+ z, Vin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
9 L- E, Q, h% n0 [Lentz replied: "Not totally."! A# |+ d( q3 [ r+ Y
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
( R5 i' k, T% L v. ^7 l"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
7 W/ `+ g3 |) rToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
8 d' P* _" q/ E' g- X3 U8 Fpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
7 D G3 ~& r/ Vvehicles already on the road." q4 Q7 l. A+ w u
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
8 h# z* a, C6 Wbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full/ \ O& g1 F2 `
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and3 I. m# m6 p4 r6 p* _, `; k. i I
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
& `1 z/ [/ N& s( `# |% Ckilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
: r9 s8 j0 t. a$ _8 ^"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a* | J" U7 b, q- G. l
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
3 v' c/ J8 R' tfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
$ Z# S: ~" a, l4 K* a3 X' \, kCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
1 G% a+ I5 E( I& n# Gcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
; g: s* r6 b9 D1 r9 \0 W, W# Prestore the trust of our customers."3 q. Y) Q) a4 q- p, `
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from1 ^" C% }: X/ j2 _: ~) N$ e
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
8 }( @- q2 X7 @; r: e1 Wzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --+ j4 \: d9 n4 O# s/ u- p& V
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and" B* G! _3 J) T, k6 w0 t3 w
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough# m5 q, F; J! b2 X7 |
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and* K* p7 ?& {' ~& B! G% c# K
turn off the engine.6 A1 b& _( ~5 u, W- j X. q1 d
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of# H, {8 o% j. J+ H
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
+ K# d/ C ?; x"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she" `/ U: H7 c* I) g
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
" D1 r' ^' l; w3 \to her complaints. r* v% @- D1 t
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers- {2 d9 B: P$ Y
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic; e2 @7 n: Y! x M0 w/ J
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
% ]% D$ S0 g2 c9 S"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric; M, K( V" t% _4 S- a4 n
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
0 @ t& I( z2 e; J( \! }"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut$ R9 G& U# e. k- H6 h
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
9 e# K( D# x6 m h$ d4 v* zTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in6 a- k/ C, f! O% R2 W
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
$ Q$ A1 L+ n& U$ K. O8 D0 Lbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls. m2 p1 l, e v! w. P
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
0 J8 ]7 I( x" x4 |, vevery question."3 o- F; @- C5 T' P8 F
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
6 E+ ^- h9 X" a) [3 r( Yelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The$ a$ H( W' D% W0 l4 U* }
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But: S2 }; W, D2 P `) _( `( H
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small" w: C8 L$ ~4 e) Y: ]9 j' h- |; [
number of vehicles5 K4 ^! K( K7 I
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more$ U# G: B+ |5 H+ j u: }# z' J# Q
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a8 j3 l$ |# @6 e$ N( X
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one u8 m# ~+ _4 ^& g2 {5 f* @
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
' }) G4 H( g! I* y/ k! i: }* mMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,: }8 U1 x9 G; @( d
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
% M/ E7 H5 ^* r/ Y2 A2 jtrace at all.
7 j, h8 C0 h" w( ]House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call; `, V# b W b7 Q3 ?6 j$ G
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden' h6 [! R- ?1 M
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
; Y" [0 N8 J9 _recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.0 B8 P1 D$ }8 Z! G
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
O5 X! R7 L5 }said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
6 N4 t+ H: W4 a* `- lother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the: u) U) o( z X4 l8 t6 t4 a- E
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible3 n1 ?2 Y# b( V- ~$ I/ \6 h2 T
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only' `# c) J+ N" _7 M) V
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained6 Q! U% w- m! `+ k
by Toyota's lawyers."
! I, [. T' N9 S' F9 L; L* B& HLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
6 L7 Y t8 p. q- W0 ?! aproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
! o9 U( G3 E* j+ V' Mcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he3 W7 h; P; r# u5 o- \, m
said.! u _- [9 \' h; ^, P( k1 ^
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with9 }. y6 F6 w* y
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
( g6 n3 z6 G4 ?6 @) f- sgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating, W2 ~7 t# R( U/ g8 F
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.6 ~5 d! x7 T z/ r' K/ b
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying B v! ^- b3 w
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
6 `1 P, c# J- g% x. u* S' ]rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
L+ I" z( G \- nautomaker, at least in part because of the government's; O4 C! f- E8 H! |1 c, M
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
' g4 q* B% T. kChrysler.: G4 F/ l4 `0 {) X! Q
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax* B/ I: g$ @& a) }
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a$ Y' Q* X4 T2 ?, [
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
+ H- M7 t6 R$ J, W9 Pserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete; V$ H7 ?% |" V% k' Y
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty6 Y! A" u% Q F3 w$ d# y" s7 p
tough."
! m# T9 W! v, g9 ?5 Z5 v---
5 H0 S1 _8 y: J" {2 S$ B SAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom" S( D: C1 I" W
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
2 {; u- c0 Q/ mthis story.
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% V C: p" [8 O; U9 x) e2 T-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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