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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
0 R! f8 J3 ^1 H! K. O* ?9 vBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS) m: A* s# b; C' N( U
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
' j- T3 C! b) @4 L4 }operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that4 @. `% W$ N1 ^
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
4 ?4 Z+ J! K4 b0 osolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.# T" c3 e$ E- |6 n$ X* k
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential4 ^' o5 K2 }' g0 K) J1 k" z
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.# a+ C, ~ M8 A/ x' l/ J) D M
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected c5 W* r7 F3 V1 {9 l8 O- n* S
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
3 [* }2 Q( m, `/ t% Ftrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor" G! T' r5 B( U4 s
mats and sticking accelerator pedals." k- w! ^. e3 H5 R" l
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
% O+ N0 h- O% n& W2 _4 Rand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp5 k0 {, y% u* ^) Q
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be: q; Q1 d+ P8 v
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could: K, C9 d: x4 E% j
not stop her runaway Lexus.
& C4 I/ v7 |# h! { z5 _) o7 S: v"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
' u8 f; x6 k2 H- x7 ^Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second. @0 W2 Z1 W* i; A* O
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.+ K5 L) N2 w/ q. D) c8 {
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues: p$ J$ M& v" I6 v( W/ s9 p, H
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said/ F6 p9 f% R8 R
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
+ S% k& ]5 G( P9 Bdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway3 P1 F8 F" G" D( r: l4 U. M, g
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's, `6 f7 r5 f+ y# u( Q- v, y6 m
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."' a: j( ?7 U, D @5 H
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
5 o$ Q' t ?& ?* @electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
5 @; L/ }- N8 T" W7 f/ S# J. L, ?the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
9 s# A' @* W3 `( n( Z6 t2 Amalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
0 z) F m0 b& y5 |said.
5 d# e# r& K% F7 o1 U$ V8 V6 C# aAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what4 { [% _( H( C3 O
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
; M5 a8 ?' [9 a+ E7 T& |about driving our products," Lentz said.
: s" ^8 M, ~4 \+ s: R$ L, W# D$ VThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's% w9 V9 R- v1 J4 W# J0 U, P O9 Y
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has. Q u( D( `0 ], z7 ?' m$ P$ E3 `
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
5 u, Q$ ?9 @; U2 w( P% n$ lmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
o6 g Z4 x1 [* P, n# i: ?3 J- ]" ^7 ounintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking5 c6 ^2 |/ i8 [ i% a
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
& | A2 r1 f! ` bconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of) T2 C9 b4 p, H3 `4 O% @. c
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow0 h" g8 Y3 Y3 v/ s. m( f0 U0 ^ a
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
0 K" c4 \1 L6 [* ]. Nreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
: L. x/ E% N' r# oof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
8 k, ^5 d, t( p( V. s$ C B) iLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own: w5 V% b' P g4 {" v% F
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he8 j. Z) N. g4 k* L$ X- e
understood the pain.
s; n9 {) [/ F5 B+ }8 Z* c2 @"I know what those families go through," he said." `+ r$ c1 W" P2 R( n- A
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's+ V# z' G2 v& u) ?. a$ k" _, V
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
5 e7 g" `" T# KBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
4 G$ x# u# Q3 O4 {4 }. c4 B. @Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put4 [: x2 ~9 K0 ^0 G4 w+ K
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,/ u' X& r0 U& M3 l+ y' w8 r
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
9 E" |5 e7 @$ F* U# z5 d8 iStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were4 `* `3 i+ |4 \& a: [8 }: Q2 p
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said6 z( W9 ]" E; \ }' m3 f" b, Y& I
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
# A- A1 h% Y O3 m: vpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
* E4 U. e: e9 m" [: D( [vehicles already on the road.# d3 n/ X$ O1 x3 D; c3 p1 c. q
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
6 G4 k2 V& C7 f) r6 L# xbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full0 x2 h; y( V( B+ g0 ]
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
9 Z9 Y @$ F. b+ i$ Doffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
+ k5 n% [% {% c$ e+ f) Wkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
$ O9 F4 C, k/ ~- `7 L. u# |3 k"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a) O: O, n1 Z% p; _' X
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
" ?; `, i7 X! W( [% Zfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight4 g+ ^$ m3 Y3 G9 a4 P6 f6 Z( t
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal# ~( w1 w. v5 R" {
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
8 _% V: e$ p4 D m. yrestore the trust of our customers."
6 [* E- G) y4 N7 K( QLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
a( `* x/ \% e7 }* j# I* H0 ]) nSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
/ ~3 T6 ^8 p8 M6 d+ W# rzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
8 y G7 {8 s% Zshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
. I% q+ R- \: |* V0 W) jhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
, x3 H# F& o: v$ ~1 }1 C" m5 o, Dthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
3 z! @7 P& x; I0 `# R4 wturn off the engine.3 e# n2 I, E6 l( X4 }9 I* |
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of, W3 D' m0 R0 {
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."; @- I1 R' [5 m+ S/ R% p; c% f7 {
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
; ?: Z9 Y3 b: w& n" n8 xsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond# h* T4 h( }. y8 z
to her complaints., @$ J* R& }* m2 B- z9 a
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers7 R0 E8 z- N9 q- u' e
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic9 @. f6 n5 n& X/ i" V. m
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.- K1 S- ^3 c. l' U3 A: ^
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
& o" d4 X& m$ q9 m/ Zthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
9 c0 D5 m9 `' ^; }( {2 E; U"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut8 I4 p) i- m5 V4 G4 k
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
( o" N) t' D5 A1 TTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
+ C$ Y3 h" d$ s% x4 h: @% ~5 Pprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
2 C0 O2 i+ b& R- g/ ^) K+ e0 Hbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls; X3 O5 D% r( G& Y2 s1 v' K
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
7 c. |9 K0 \% F+ @) q2 Q- Devery question."& }0 n' I) }7 |
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether) m, E) Y. L) g" Z0 U0 ?( k
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
- L9 S6 C% |# Y" n1 Tfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But9 o9 Y3 k: ~$ R- z9 O
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small& v3 [- N/ U+ q
number of vehicles
% a& A/ S2 e0 P5 K' zTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
* D4 P6 H5 I/ w$ G- Udifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
# L2 W9 |' V( c0 Z9 P& z7 ~mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one. h* E1 u. Q, v5 G
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
- D9 k/ ~. O1 r- |3 f+ F- p0 yMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,8 N0 Y2 o& m, q/ o `; T/ n$ p
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
* e7 Z! \; s6 m; `3 m8 Vtrace at all.
$ {" K8 e' e8 R, X+ T! |" oHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call4 v2 z, r) y, f( u: j/ E
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
) J( H+ @9 x4 Y0 Eacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
* Q; G. U* ~& s, K# Hrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.: Z/ h z! T2 l9 q0 H
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,. W7 {) M" @5 A- @- g! D6 y
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
) i2 r6 \2 H2 J/ `6 u2 p5 Wother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
% [( A8 \0 g5 Q: s5 N1 nelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible& W, N: ?% e0 Y
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only; U W2 H8 z2 X; @, c$ J% Y/ c
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
$ A+ V3 i9 N3 U# ?; M! qby Toyota's lawyers."
# ?& g P2 Q( G9 ?: |; ]% g; sLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of3 \: @- x* G6 g+ a: v
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our0 X$ [9 J3 B/ N; P5 \6 e+ @
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
& r, m2 x- e$ V# `& fsaid.
4 S3 `# F+ d" i& b3 J"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with2 S8 Q* n N8 a0 I( Q% r
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our/ l+ }) k d, e2 y: ~8 x2 E# B
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
3 |0 _8 G6 x. U/ ^3 nofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.1 B; ^4 j8 K1 G$ x' h, o4 z8 [
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
2 f W. W3 U+ |0 [* Fmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
9 ~6 p8 x t: }/ t0 C! S/ orancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
! Z' \1 `, U8 j; f" [! T% H1 kautomaker, at least in part because of the government's/ K# i, O/ ?0 ]% _
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
" g) w$ c% `5 yChrysler.8 v( E# N; d% ^" h& t7 n' Q0 t. n
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax+ O8 z9 i* n, }9 \4 k3 N/ M
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
! ~% _3 X& _: Y* ]Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also" M4 y1 K- E* T; |
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete- W5 n( c1 f! }
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty" ]& G0 p5 i6 X# g7 I
tough."
7 r, a+ _% g3 d, a4 A---
! P N* q3 K% \1 d5 }Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom3 B2 X3 B4 K4 J
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to+ ?* A" j5 I1 i# j2 [( a5 o" S
this story.
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2 { z4 K* j2 d8 }-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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