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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题7 D+ z2 W( o4 v# V9 s0 V- I
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS3 x1 x# x" v& q. {+ l$ p1 l* j: k
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
: E k" ?- i6 S- H E. a+ joperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
9 I. ?& o0 B" a) a. y+ p! ^the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
% Q3 [# d* Y- x7 r3 _/ u) l1 Vsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration., |& H: H' b0 i! g9 Q- i" g
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
! `0 \0 A) b' P; \9 hcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
! y/ Q) Q# A9 y* b: ^4 X. b0 j3 rHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected6 l# p8 j& B k4 B7 W9 e9 G
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and( m2 n, M: G8 c( U
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor$ j$ P) e4 Y0 p% P* L6 z+ x
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
2 H9 H8 R9 p) M$ N/ f! k& aHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
9 A& ?- x2 u3 z# Q$ p& k1 }and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
6 @. r0 T) o2 k. F: Dcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
`( _' p4 Y& p: q9 v! U% Q# Qfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could5 J5 d9 W7 a5 o+ u
not stop her runaway Lexus.
; a4 Q7 ?: a6 d( Y3 P, t"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
: `. Q% ^. n. N% T1 M; X% YTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second3 C3 m( S7 z# g. Q7 @/ F) \
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.& b8 ] X& x/ m! q
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
* M9 Z4 y6 U+ w9 }/ fearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said) h; ?, g2 k4 \" y" ^
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has1 ?) a4 O" E0 X
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
' ` `4 `7 s) ~* Qthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
" e( C- D x5 m6 n5 winvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."+ {9 Y" u/ a- ~, n4 w( q ^) r. B
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
+ i$ y- q; z6 d* U4 }electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of& e- ~7 Y7 e `7 r" l* \+ ^
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a" O& a& j# Q2 x" p+ `2 z
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he$ h; Y p9 u# H2 w) R% Z3 b! O
said.' h0 q* H8 H$ Q% r% ~7 z
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what5 m S% r8 V3 v( m
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe. n# I) C. A5 q7 J4 H( p
about driving our products," Lentz said.9 ]8 u$ |2 `! x
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's5 d: B, M& N0 r- a" A
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has n% U: y: {/ f4 _
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6; o) |2 ~6 X; W4 N' ?, S1 H
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
2 Q" R f. ~$ g1 e% ?unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking4 I8 w9 q3 X( I7 V
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering1 L0 C! y( k1 S, u. U- g- P
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
$ T3 P! |# r, M; S7 atheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
8 u' |4 l( h% D: d& kdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has4 q) a# i$ m7 s' J
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration; v" c2 @% r( Z7 ~4 G
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.6 U3 c: T& V4 I* H
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own4 k( J7 ?. @6 V0 N* X. Y
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he# T( w7 @6 }( M# ~2 h# d1 H
understood the pain." _# d& }. ~& C
"I know what those families go through," he said.
: S' a$ M; j6 f) KLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's8 s. J- L1 c) ?+ m; g
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.2 q& _" ^5 x' j. ]# i
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman0 h- r C# h9 E2 ~4 z6 R
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put4 O& d; g/ X7 ]# p
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it, ` x0 I: z- s! u9 M$ G% z( r
Lentz replied: "Not totally."6 U' F, Q8 S% \! h6 G
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were) G# O5 s# g% n) v( f1 M% d& i
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said0 ]8 V | `7 w$ B4 t$ I
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
$ a: _3 I2 B. c7 S/ Cpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its8 w3 z$ w# B, u
vehicles already on the road.0 ?# L. F% v$ R* i5 W! D
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
! `! m' m" n& [+ V+ m0 C, [5 fbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full6 H4 x# P! Z& P, E( j+ q
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
% s, g& v! Q, O X4 r: p9 n. hoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were/ B6 Q) V; a' {+ \+ Y& U
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.% z. @" X8 d0 X& v
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a9 F# T$ p( J' W* p0 p1 `. l' a0 c
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony4 i% W* J5 \2 U0 x" g' a9 V
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
2 Y8 N9 B7 ?0 [9 kCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
) Z. b" D, [1 Z, y$ a- }- h) Zcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
, z# m5 U" v3 xrestore the trust of our customers."
4 I3 c& p2 R8 x I4 x" Y) cLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from# p7 Y2 P3 O$ p9 N+ z9 K
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
! m Y6 A5 r$ p& Nzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
; x4 C. s0 R* G% z5 e! m$ N7 Ushifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
& C) E2 Z k9 ?- g7 ?; s! ~hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
8 K% y% r8 |1 c) G# gthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
B" J" _1 q% m: f% \" I$ T2 Uturn off the engine.
9 J/ A1 @2 p9 V" x# ]: q1 x1 KFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
, K/ m, \/ S' zOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
[; ~' d: `+ J4 E8 z"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
( e# x, r' z. ?9 H3 ]said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond* v7 i; H: c! l1 H6 l, ?; S( U& p
to her complaints.
$ k2 i" S, E* K. A+ p9 {2 h. dIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers8 @ [) v7 M& w1 [ w' ]
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic5 }3 f5 r& X) J3 t
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.% D, C( m; j* y& P
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
5 y( _- T A$ Lthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited. j# O0 E$ }; [4 m* ] C
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
+ z8 C/ a' Z/ |. \1 noff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."1 w" U/ w9 k+ I& _+ b
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in$ \8 z: K& N9 I1 N$ l( ^
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
/ [: ^# Y6 q: e! O2 Tbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls- t3 h% |& i' h" P
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
- @- x) d7 I6 H( s2 r+ n" zevery question."
. b4 d. k2 N2 ?$ ?" ~4 j! }Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether. h, {, X) o- S4 U- v! K
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
' S- e4 X, X, [ @" Ufirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But: n9 v: K' O0 l# |! G' V
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small4 D: }" ]2 h7 l
number of vehicles2 S. _7 `9 U+ l
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more5 A7 z/ h! N' ^) \% x0 X4 T( |
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
7 V" _4 `9 _/ ~$ k7 N k' R5 Zmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
/ k8 {2 z3 o* T5 V. J; lsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.9 j0 ^* M6 Y+ T. u6 J/ K" m0 s
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
1 N* D( P+ o3 P; w5 S" i0 iwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no1 j8 W2 K( b3 q8 ^& w$ G! S/ l
trace at all. f6 R, g8 L& p, y
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call1 M3 C+ |4 ?; V3 G M
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
$ ^) Z. F. [1 p8 u$ y3 d& j/ T! Kacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the5 d+ T% `. |) L! x# V
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.2 X( z* F4 A* o3 x2 E3 r
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,: O* e7 c6 r! f) T8 Q; r7 k% P2 D
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
% g- P6 D3 }3 }other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the8 C6 @9 `% _! F M s U; H% f Y2 D
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible8 g9 d7 A! I6 F; i7 |: w
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
6 X$ r2 k+ U4 z! U2 q. Asuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
; z) m7 Q+ S7 Q8 \by Toyota's lawyers."
# D- w) v4 a: }& U: PLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
- W8 B% [7 a; U/ Kproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our/ ]! \* ]/ g5 ~" o; d0 ], |) C
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
$ c4 k$ e4 {* M( `+ Rsaid.
/ {3 W% N6 A% n- x0 V"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
1 c! s2 _8 a7 }8 ia rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our. g* d: q7 R% Z9 q$ q6 N% `' t
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
) ]* I( U, _5 u7 `officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
4 R( C6 @8 d1 f$ a% ~- bSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
7 p8 g3 i1 K( \1 D' ]members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
|3 s, |. ], ]2 Yrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
: d" n. J$ W$ }3 } n D7 v `3 |automaker, at least in part because of the government's9 q/ P7 h1 F" J/ Y2 ?
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
: }, a- `9 [ `4 c+ [; OChrysler.
$ @8 S0 D3 b5 U, \3 X. [0 k/ z"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
5 d0 t6 X/ N! S2 U% h6 R! Pdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a9 s/ t, _" K0 ]4 B, J
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
4 j# X1 O+ D+ R5 }3 Lserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
" N& k6 v4 q0 J' ?' m9 \with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty( N8 x5 ?: l! K
tough."8 g5 R% f3 t S1 g0 P8 B
---
$ w& h- q3 _8 l$ \" S9 t$ BAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
8 i" N" f7 M# j! H! a. N; DRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
; {* U* c" v( @2 f0 A& ~this story.
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5 W- A1 _# b- Q" z- z-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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