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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
: P$ ~8 G( R: H# VBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS3 i$ B, l8 I* a; L q( m% t: \
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
" i1 G3 W$ F3 R( Foperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that5 Y$ l4 \' @+ S! a/ w/ e* v$ P' Q
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
8 k; ~1 A6 I# k9 z' a3 Psolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
, @( E! v* Q5 C+ E: N"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential# O, s5 r( t& @2 |
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel. u( E5 o; ?( r2 ~% t2 O
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
0 @+ {8 F+ T& N. O1 Qacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
& w% Z( t5 \9 s {trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor" R0 o7 {$ w, P& s% ?0 t* c
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
$ m0 { D7 C5 q7 h+ _" UHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal% a) s5 F) z- i, U7 V' G5 a
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp9 Z. i! K, I& s8 u' L( r& k7 O. l
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
& z& h+ u: H7 {% J! {further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
; ~3 y# q( w% |8 f3 Unot stop her runaway Lexus.9 t) c% J3 }" q' j2 c
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,# `; I# n- k7 s. U* ?7 w1 ?
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
& Q- s: q# r" o( L8 u"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
7 u% E9 b% i6 ?! Y+ W6 tTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues2 G' a; G) B, \- J7 E
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said) u5 ]8 A2 n" \6 t* z
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has+ ]& V4 j" y. J. s* i3 B0 R
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
- L! x+ J$ F! b0 @through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
3 Q' ^& L) [3 h! Zinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."3 H! R' g' i7 ] m% j" K! m3 [) P2 E
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an ~9 [+ U5 W3 A S2 S) G
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
?7 C$ o; u8 T1 p% Y5 T) ythe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
" a5 |( i; a9 G% I! p5 T0 u6 Tmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he- |5 X5 U) G; }; M
said.; H2 ~! ^6 i ^! D
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
$ j/ {% v4 @2 Dhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe+ v9 t( f2 l# W5 F, z
about driving our products," Lentz said.' ~* D- M4 v3 Z' n7 o. v5 _8 J
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
4 @2 E# C. o/ Hproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has I3 r( Z( E1 U$ I6 k# F0 p8 ^
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
7 k3 \. k8 U9 z' Pmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
* i* C* p7 Q# C: gunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking1 {5 l4 D8 O1 v* v5 ?
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
% q+ H Y0 `+ pconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of4 v, C3 u7 Q: l/ ^: f
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow- j! Q( ]; e1 N) D( x8 T
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has* R" x' |+ n4 r, H! [
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration' s) S) O2 y: K+ m ~& M' _
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
, h, N* z! z5 L& n3 z3 _2 FLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
4 I& V, E z" x0 P( k. |* C( U6 A! bbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
3 H/ o8 a1 J( M! k6 lunderstood the pain.! }3 y: X+ V) G% h: X( p
"I know what those families go through," he said.
% Y5 {! w* ?; W. B* T6 _; yLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's3 k- ~6 ?) m6 N0 a! a. l, O- v
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems." ^9 H# w+ v$ X5 d: b
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
% c9 _% `( U3 Y! H% q {Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put' \$ s) z' G, ?; M
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,5 c0 ~* m3 |' _) l2 a" ]
Lentz replied: "Not totally."% c: A5 F% Y! f% f
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were: S: n6 {$ }9 H6 Q F
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said( I1 C" E% I) v) u8 ~" E1 y. T9 O
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
# v. F3 a/ \) I* E$ Ppedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its/ g+ z7 ]& r: d" h I6 V
vehicles already on the road.
: Z4 O5 f7 ~6 Z# @/ }Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
$ y7 q8 }( n) fbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full% M: R6 z+ [& g& C [ l$ E. T: v
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and) r8 \' B) L, k+ k% H
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were7 Y- Q. L2 C9 l- x j
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
, y+ q8 z2 ~+ P5 u ~: `; Q3 E9 x' w"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
' |1 E# R, U$ y5 K) T2 k, Otragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony- b0 K: e% _+ J: p- m2 D) R. h
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight4 Q" z. A D, Z) L
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
7 G, A) v$ P" L5 bcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to6 J& t6 D) }# w0 b6 X
restore the trust of our customers."+ l/ A" K% w/ Y1 z- o0 ]% R6 ?
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
. e4 w! W: F. d, [) }, \+ \% h) V$ G* USmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly g9 A; ^$ [5 C6 O7 {1 `$ b' h2 _
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --9 D& F" B! D9 B! ~
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and. E- U- t; T# r8 ]' f. I
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough1 m" }" ~, N& c) I; k; _: Q
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and! B- W, b8 Y/ v; ^/ @0 \
turn off the engine.
8 R3 W8 p# \# G6 F8 eFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of' J/ r" g8 I: ^5 u# n) ]. u8 I
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."8 v+ L) n$ }2 Z& M$ P
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
' z+ h' r1 e* b0 b Fsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
! `) }0 x/ T) ]3 y3 r. Yto her complaints.
0 S! l7 Y" Y. Q$ c0 J; l J) AIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers* @. Y* D" [% ]0 h/ F) E* d& z9 j
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
4 B3 |, k! Y5 `3 `# L5 z C9 Hmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars./ ~0 I9 _5 _' b6 o% U
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
0 S# U6 Y- v6 V) Pthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited2 }& G; n* H/ ]
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut3 D1 i4 y: V# _- a) E/ {* ?8 o$ N
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
0 o J8 P3 B" F: V) A6 P+ e/ U; bTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in& P& u5 l! Y$ m7 u) Y
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were+ s; N# [! Y, N. g* e
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls2 Z" B' u* F% J( n9 Z) b: m* m) L8 S
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer3 ]# p2 s- @) S6 R
every question."1 Z8 x: L" A/ \; p
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether: a$ I% D& d% q) [
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The/ g9 O: v1 h' s
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But% W$ Q( m1 t3 o
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small! g4 k1 q; ]8 W& }/ _1 X; |& j
number of vehicles
. w4 P0 [+ w; ^& WTracking down an electrical problem can be far more# a3 W3 R: l# \5 ^" C) {
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a7 C) x5 m. A* r! y* x, f- P
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one. h/ {2 K7 m+ V1 A
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
% s& S# I V; \: a. AMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
. c: p G4 l" @where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no" T2 w2 l. E4 D2 G
trace at all.
: `2 G5 y' _: L* p* ~House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call/ f' e: J' C' b1 ?1 B
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
; J/ t2 e- P! |( g1 v- t% c- s i; Facceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the* Z# m4 n$ I! ^, T
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
" {! G: B, o/ e2 TRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
: ^3 y5 J: V$ w# Z' |9 F; Tsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
8 P$ N5 c' O! P1 Kother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
5 ~ X/ e5 J+ b% C, celectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible4 {& J! G7 ?* C* u% g1 Y, i _
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
8 z- L9 E3 [$ F) p! x- {such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained8 E0 I2 m0 q5 V+ r% {. F! g
by Toyota's lawyers."
$ k5 _ A& n9 N- [Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
2 }) X' [7 P/ C* [5 {problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
9 ^) l+ E) w! h$ n5 W( ~! b+ [& b$ }customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
% S6 }; Z6 b% ]" b* s1 u' L4 Qsaid.! Y3 R7 [6 v# o( C; g
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with5 f2 p$ {* }: y# x' m; D# G
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
/ S- t' X, o$ t& N8 jgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
4 n! |! r3 C) Dofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.$ F! A3 z0 J0 ? }
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
3 l7 g# F. h. U8 ^ o' ?5 Rmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread* V, ?7 i1 F) O$ ~. V9 U3 M- A) P9 O
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
& Z. S, T4 i% X* Yautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
) s+ n) J/ M/ ?9 u' {0 Oinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
* Q/ P6 V( v8 F% S& yChrysler.: c' X( h: s4 y" \% L3 |
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax2 f* \! a7 t* U5 c+ ?
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
2 r, o* q# y { w$ I" S) L7 ~Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
: K, q, g0 G- |/ Z: m: aserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete+ r4 R7 ]3 ^9 {" T/ N3 p: n' b/ V
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty. H$ Z* f7 [" M! A) j3 w
tough."; o, b, X, Y7 ]9 m2 o/ t# D& I
---
2 }! c" U9 h6 U7 d ^9 O3 Z0 B* KAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom5 [# o J6 f7 u* t# n
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
( c" w6 O& ^3 {) G. d- l8 H* mthis story.
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* N+ @+ C# U, C# R( N$ |; N-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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