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发表于 2010-2-24 01:19
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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题8 L# g8 t, S# e! I6 s4 r
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS! _) P7 H( q; p- {, W7 ^
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S., u8 I: y1 Z+ [. V1 M: }
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that2 p5 b" W3 M, y/ p7 J- }
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"" E% v8 d/ I9 L6 _' b7 S9 Z
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
" q+ Z8 g9 Q- o9 x) @"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
- i6 U) u; F c' l/ O. c. ~causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
6 g/ A/ W) L# V, u1 p* gHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
" c3 g- b1 \8 H S0 y9 ~acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
7 a6 x: {% e0 [8 ttrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor7 Q, { I# F& r; _" c$ Q. B
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
5 a/ Q8 P; B! ~ h; j6 wHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal/ k. J0 C8 N5 U4 Q! U. S
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp7 j" I' y& }% u
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
( t* j: q) `8 {% [+ b S$ Nfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
# v$ f! j1 Z9 w8 I6 knot stop her runaway Lexus.
$ q) P( r: ]$ g5 ]"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
( [) C I% O) [8 h- S3 N' iTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second O* s* ^/ Y2 h% U8 l& T3 L
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
, Y/ S) G6 x6 g% u" jTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues+ u p! ^5 c) O- I
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
2 s. n# ~; z. [- t* _' L"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has8 l0 ]& |( O" @- g k
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway7 e; y' G9 ^6 L3 m/ C0 j
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's) ~' V+ Y/ L) w& o& |
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."4 O$ d' c6 T y3 j6 j& @# ^
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
1 X# w& Y' f5 W' F1 O! \electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
5 r3 E, u0 l1 r; @7 L: mthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a; Y z# O5 `9 [8 ?2 v5 I7 y
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he' e& p% @" J; J5 ~! O
said.
3 e; k! W2 ~: S: D6 \2 X' DAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what. i1 R( O1 a+ {2 D# H- ?
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe0 ]8 n5 S4 [; o# Z& S4 J3 h
about driving our products," Lentz said.
; N. v* C* Z& c$ L+ `. Y) S6 L1 \Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
) @& V6 n" _0 u# \( Pproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
' [& b; `9 {& Q. xrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6: g6 Q& {8 b& k- @7 n* Z) h. s
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
* |( g' `0 [0 O* z* M& Dunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking6 ]6 G$ [ j6 F
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
' P. V5 I, ~% yconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of3 ~# [0 K" a) w0 h% [; D' A
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow) y4 H' c ^5 x+ a
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
6 Z+ _9 Y5 H7 [. S; ureceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration# R/ V3 Z2 b- X1 O( j
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.% } K9 ?" _" G5 U3 U# P
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own+ t8 s( ~6 i" C* D7 P
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
! R- M0 K+ n1 B- G. T5 C" Zunderstood the pain. I- ^( J$ P8 g8 z d7 B
"I know what those families go through," he said.1 s7 y2 e( }, ]/ u- N: Q( g" n
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's6 k( z" y3 `, w8 F' b
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.; U4 x, u1 N5 q! ?8 V, u" {/ W
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
' p$ A6 e/ D1 l" EHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
/ X4 i+ {7 w3 L6 T- [in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,$ L# T8 e A! i, I$ w
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
* c1 F6 X$ _' {# d. tStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were) F: O6 e7 u/ W1 E( T, {
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
* z1 p# H, u' A- S3 L AToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
% J. Z0 ?9 M7 M$ \7 Upedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its+ c0 B5 M) B0 x8 A. c
vehicles already on the road.9 N7 l: b# h, f; R( L5 K
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
0 m0 H) }$ P# Obefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full- `2 i" Y! U6 v* d" C
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and9 s, l% t# c9 B+ w! V( C
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
^! z, Z/ T1 A0 d9 vkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
4 ~, ?+ M: \. {9 A# A# S6 y"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
0 m+ E: ~) e. _) Ptragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony$ q/ w) P7 d, H
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
. P$ G) ^# c2 ^% x' SCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal# Z2 _, B/ c" F. N4 U, J3 Y g
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to f2 Y3 V( P9 [1 j) K
restore the trust of our customers."
% p/ _) ]/ @! P, K* F1 K. kLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from0 Y6 p3 X1 m; z) }. N
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
+ _ } }( n8 b$ |zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --7 q' S" b3 {* ], Q
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
" _9 e( ^* Z4 ]7 N2 e- thitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough: @& [" r ]( \2 q4 l: y
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and x0 ]2 @2 P, q7 T* [, o6 S$ j
turn off the engine.0 M- X4 B' {! @1 g. M
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of, ~4 r( m1 }) D# y" P& X/ y0 @' B
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."9 r5 D" H3 a" }/ u, a. T0 @, v
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
% a, A5 U, [5 isaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond0 h, H7 W! }0 s0 e2 m
to her complaints.
# V1 H; Y. V9 P) E, p6 VIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
# e. x+ a3 D3 c# hreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic+ \9 t4 E, ^* J: B/ z
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
% u% k) E+ R6 J" H7 R F"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
- s6 C+ D- P( d) a1 F& j, jthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited. k A- X/ a! X3 [* J
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
( P. S+ Q/ D+ x7 H; Toff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."' X) u' L* ]9 A
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in* S9 C, g0 J* ?0 T7 n
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
. v0 _3 A7 [9 H/ N+ w8 pbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
b& ?% M4 z& q! {2 _were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer3 m' t! C* D6 W. X" r/ g+ G* J1 O
every question."
! I T) D+ ` E. z6 g0 CToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether$ k/ x* ]8 {1 x" `
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The; S B2 u0 ^0 T; X {9 F
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But/ V6 {* V# v9 v9 X$ l% o( b
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
" n7 N4 ?% V1 q" Y( O+ b+ inumber of vehicles
1 @4 Q4 U" p" U/ k! o4 `0 ]' RTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
, [" K% v4 j: E5 @5 Idifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
6 i- M- R; F0 imechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one7 I# E. }2 U/ f3 a' t. V9 p
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
' y, C, T: H0 S, L0 ? |Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
) B; o9 U4 c/ L6 Dwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
/ C1 D7 B, m: I2 l; _8 ~6 ntrace at all.
# C4 G# | q2 g6 ^& UHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call; O; Q7 j# h6 F: A
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
3 m6 {$ J% A& {3 g+ I3 L9 k! {acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the9 g( }% f6 k: ~! |) V' L( j
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.0 {' \6 [ H) j" O4 j2 l
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
7 k% m( H1 C4 a1 {. usaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and" c4 Y$ ]/ d, n1 V& M) u$ Q4 t
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the! `0 J+ P' \9 l5 C8 T9 N7 d
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible$ v |: y- B/ \ ^# @
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only3 u4 ^& ~' {1 J8 R* I. w( w
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
7 Y+ \ _, _7 i( w, n4 Dby Toyota's lawyers."# A c; h! N& E* A3 |
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
D# }' Z% [/ h0 P' b# D0 p, Bproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our) I4 y& T, w, B
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
" L3 l, ]& F; ~# d7 U6 d" Zsaid.
* h; x$ _8 e7 Q3 x$ I, Z"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with7 |0 |' O0 N3 _" \
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our7 ?- U) |/ u$ l9 U; }4 }
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating9 d6 j# ?! `, p7 `$ c. Z
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.6 L* A( v1 _* q+ _' {0 }% E1 @
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
3 L9 G) `' ~6 k8 b; A" d) Bmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread2 N8 k6 O+ O, }: D" q- [& n, b. v* |
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the0 y0 i; k1 I9 j1 L' Y
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
4 T- s% o4 ?! c: V7 Ginvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
; m+ `) n. d3 R4 ^2 [- _& HChrysler.6 ]9 Y+ i( H7 R1 }$ |
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
! r1 z' g, A5 [) w5 S% m. `$ G; cdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a- P, n) S8 X% \: [+ C
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also( N. R& U) j5 i5 P) _- x
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
1 D/ ]0 R9 B! v4 \with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty; F3 u N6 X6 `/ F J- \
tough.". a4 S) S4 U! W. K- s( k
---: `' X9 M: t8 ?( }7 T8 |
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom s. H; T! ]0 `8 E E
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
: E W5 k* U4 G2 U; kthis story.
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