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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
/ z+ x9 ~7 B ?0 m! C" B2 z6 u* aBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
) }* T# b4 s2 j$ w" t& N& A9 tWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
! o% r! E% e5 u' H* @! c1 xoperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that9 `3 D( S) \( A
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
& w: @$ M; h% V' V {& E/ esolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
1 f& v, t7 L5 N- o8 ?0 {"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential0 X1 [, j5 M8 A0 d
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
8 y6 L. {3 O* j: mHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
. A( t! i1 M+ S' n7 Z, s9 @acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
, n* [0 C- d, s* Q {5 `- _: Z9 _# Jtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor1 e6 X) O8 @0 N/ g' v$ w0 u/ M; {
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
5 ]" G, [2 B% i, nHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
. M1 x. S K9 Z9 Q& vand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
8 ]" C4 M- _. |) j) S& O# d) Ccriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
/ J, {7 @# i) [7 j$ f- B/ sfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
) K6 {" g8 T% lnot stop her runaway Lexus.- F1 v+ `9 H _
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
f+ E) Z2 _. U+ G2 |8 u# I# N2 iTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
; w. c3 H' s i }"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.* f0 l- q* a7 z3 _7 j9 ^6 S
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
2 |4 c, C2 O5 j; @3 R/ m- Y* zearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
; F6 u# Z6 M0 u5 s# f"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has0 T4 B1 Q/ B0 ~9 U: k# s' T
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway% H' @, }# Y$ u9 ?* R$ b8 x7 ^5 g# z
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
$ s9 `" W. g8 G' s/ pinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."8 B T! n, I& t. f5 y$ m1 M
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an& N, b' F" r' N# Q0 ~. t; c$ x6 b; D' ^
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
9 X' K1 ]! f. ?" v+ athe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
8 w0 l4 D+ D3 t& t7 A' s ?0 Bmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he" L; @1 X- X: p7 z& T
said.
5 z% d+ Y8 A; O. e) \2 x8 s1 p# Z% O, UAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
& f1 X, q" h4 D, {happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe1 R7 a% b" K7 j0 u: m
about driving our products," Lentz said.$ A3 Q% V5 ~% H2 Q) Y- u
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's" w; d4 h7 F: F
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
. D5 q1 @+ A+ U/ a: |! r ~; Yrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
- h o- k4 l+ n6 m& L; Q/ lmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of: A: c! I' H7 E
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking6 ?. m. J. `( r, Q7 Y$ e
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
' o j8 h% t& C0 Econcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
" t8 K9 R3 P, s5 C6 z1 mtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow. r- {; K \$ ~) e
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
3 W) H% A& t3 B) P: v. `received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration* U# m( ?7 j9 f) w5 `0 Q+ b b
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
. X- Q3 V. W2 `! ?' H- |# dLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
4 Q& N9 w5 Y3 z M/ |brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he8 w! h5 t1 t0 D+ P9 I5 K) x' v
understood the pain.4 C* l+ k* e0 O1 u5 y
"I know what those families go through," he said.
- s; J5 G7 c$ U7 F8 yLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
) y: @) C% p- ~fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.; }& g7 W0 v7 a( ^$ n
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
, G% l# V9 S* `% n) d \Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
. W- ~2 g. K- q# p0 `in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
! H: I# `* S+ C2 d$ q& n0 B$ T' _Lentz replied: "Not totally."
& s& q/ z& g0 b' _0 j( W3 mStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were9 ]% F- l, V/ @+ L
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said' {3 }. C: L3 E1 R
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas* I& w% _+ `4 p; |. ~: w0 {
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its. e2 g- B5 _- |6 ^% r! {- L+ E# _
vehicles already on the road.
3 w& u; S2 c* e& L7 X7 {/ |5 jMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
. y; m N1 \4 T5 H0 \! H% Ebefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full1 w+ a+ O1 ^0 Z# @9 J1 a2 |) y
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
5 o; S4 ]( v* i joffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
' K( f! ]1 M) K1 gkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.( f5 ^2 c6 S: R$ Q
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a; | Y# H1 a% i$ C8 L2 Z
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony% {# Y4 N* s) _* y- P
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
% c# b( x& e4 XCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
- e0 l. V, m6 u9 s4 n1 k9 N Ucommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to* W( ]6 C4 B) O) V1 [5 Y3 u- p
restore the trust of our customers.") N3 i% |, F8 F
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
* f( q+ ~1 Q7 M: T) ?0 MSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
# C, J, f! c: }) L. O3 M. n' Y1 Uzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --/ P- f1 U6 d6 N' C+ K
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and% Z8 V5 y/ K9 w1 f; ]) f2 Z2 G
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
9 c, U. l1 z1 i- L! o$ Lthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and. L. \+ \$ y3 L; m+ q, A3 L7 T
turn off the engine.
0 P- i& S5 z8 c" |4 pFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
+ |6 Y0 O( j. S0 z( ^9 J; bOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience.") Y6 x( O5 `+ e# b% P- `7 O
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she4 d8 C- _: x4 |$ w/ `+ |) s
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
a9 J$ s6 L% S2 ?1 _/ j& z6 pto her complaints.
# c& @$ O$ W5 U' V/ F+ b7 _1 _In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
; j- D; ]3 j& U- ^2 h1 `returned again and again to the question of whether electronic) }8 s/ f0 e j) k
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars. ?2 ~6 G" l+ H3 e6 q- \! `' |
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric: g* O* w, m- s3 i
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited3 c7 V4 ]# m3 X. o# C& y" M
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
6 U" m- ~0 E- H/ p Z: {: `( J* hoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."7 a! O1 D8 Q8 V7 {( F2 G
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
4 o9 S" R- R; ~* }prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were" j) b4 j" f" l: E# p4 v. L
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls( c* g' t% N6 Y: ^8 ?
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
+ ?" X; V: C7 o" b Uevery question."* M# ^: v; Q/ E0 D% m# R
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether( {1 U* b* Z) e2 }/ K
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The. s2 R8 a- @) `$ y) n- z
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
& k6 A1 T- [, x0 L0 Y7 p ocommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small$ J! y: q$ e: L5 z0 K" ^( s( n
number of vehicles0 C3 s& R/ V1 @% Q$ |' w. @
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
+ o( p- m2 f* r% q6 Idifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a7 m, r* q8 K) y/ J% y3 C
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
8 O# ?4 H7 y$ ssource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
/ j% y- s6 H" H( S3 }$ M( JMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage," s* R5 e3 q0 a( H9 w
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
" F: }* j3 C2 z% j- y' o0 `7 h8 ytrace at all.
% K1 [9 K5 n3 x3 uHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call; Z/ i# U% G! l2 Q
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden7 h" e' |/ b& X+ Z1 z
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the; ]3 I6 p) x+ e; Z
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
6 h+ g& o) J1 k5 u4 |; t4 XRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,1 L1 V5 F5 s4 g
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and' [+ K; \! X8 n0 B$ }! Z) o6 D
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
4 M/ |4 O( y. w$ \. o5 felectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible1 U; y& }/ ~) ?# n! x; z8 j
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only) S5 F6 ^; ~& Z. c' U3 D( l
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
' }) U1 K- }1 C, l' xby Toyota's lawyers."
. l8 D7 l( p* h; j# OLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of9 }: U$ v* y7 A5 X/ {
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our& j1 `1 u7 H0 b+ ~
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he( ]: o0 l; b( B0 Y3 @( n+ C
said.% i2 l" v5 I! Y E
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with$ { C* y/ E3 M
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
3 Y9 B, N) r0 Q% [) I3 ngood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
2 Z: e0 B0 d6 ^ u- a" ^officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.1 T1 v- b2 l1 \8 m" I
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
8 ^3 t1 z: W6 b0 x5 |! S3 dmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread' S. N; s4 m) P% O1 m# } J
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the8 T; R$ v' ~" P5 ?8 W. j
automaker, at least in part because of the government's1 F0 m% a" z) w7 N! K( l/ h. K" L
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and' @4 f/ j% s3 S* B, ~, b
Chrysler.
3 }; d& u* N9 J"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
5 d: N& {& v7 ]7 ^" Mdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
( l$ j1 _- G+ {Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
& O$ ~) c. e6 a f4 `served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete- l; g# p1 Y! R
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
3 U V$ E6 h3 _* M9 [tough."1 J' ^/ w( [) K8 S$ v* [9 v
---
" I' n5 H U; D/ G2 B2 x; XAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
3 J) y* i" c% X V* NRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to k |9 O. q6 m
this story.- l7 H% s: a) V+ v& Y0 M: v& }
% [+ V( V; ?3 F5 g [6 _! h% U-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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