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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题2 ~: J% Q; \# H+ b
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
+ `! Q* J; m3 D3 `$ Z2 ~Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.' r' x4 ^% D- V' K. G
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
3 [1 {' x. A1 [. H; zthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"4 B/ o. y! j9 b, s3 L: [
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.2 I8 O( W) R* a ?0 h% z
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
4 Z6 p F0 G* U( g# V1 d* O1 _. Ecauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
) A8 [9 f0 L6 I$ ?$ `0 \However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected A4 L1 S: c- l0 W# H
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and |1 \# ?) N: p
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor4 n4 _8 K1 U' B: H) N p% r4 X/ b
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.' G: y! W J* C) i
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
5 w; b0 [# S- m& K8 [3 ]and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp% H& L3 M7 v* |6 {8 N3 @
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
1 e0 n$ H/ W9 \- v v2 Tfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could' o, `' R$ L; w8 E. `) b. J
not stop her runaway Lexus.3 Y m; l. l# y; L; |3 P2 @
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
; [% ~% y$ m! s6 R! |, I; m$ q9 a9 oTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
9 k) g* U# Z- s- q$ Q5 Z/ E% a"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.4 I6 m, G3 s/ W8 o, c0 _- S9 ?/ X
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues+ Y. p8 K) O# v' F4 l3 H
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
- H, S9 B' ~* `* Z1 v3 w"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
" Q6 L0 {1 Q) b7 C& p( Ydone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
; Y/ b9 f6 }: {& {3 vthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
# }" b, h; z- C2 U% k) |0 Winvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."% @1 u/ ^: {7 E" l
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
Y* o( \! ~' e3 s. a0 eelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
4 b) p, g' t/ [$ u; s5 wthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a9 u% h6 ]' y) f, Z0 l
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
2 A0 c& o2 y1 s; d1 E1 ~2 ~said.
6 e$ z: t4 ^2 m" Q* ^0 a! TAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what2 b3 I! m" X$ [- d
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe' k! r" h8 @. y9 i2 S/ y! r! F
about driving our products," Lentz said.1 n. e/ r( t, v' F8 W6 J/ L
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
' h: p* X( e' P3 a! z! l b- Pproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has" Y j/ X% X4 {3 H B4 x L
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6( n) `7 Y# `1 K( c- C& f5 G- K& a% d I
million in the United States -- since last fall because of; l( D5 A) [/ Z$ }
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking9 J3 W/ U4 v9 Y- n( O; g
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
1 l' `0 i/ H0 y1 B; a' Fconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of0 S S0 w& h9 ]+ }- d W
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow4 o) O* E9 k8 m$ c5 f" o8 w
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
9 M' t: i+ _! @4 `2 m4 ~. r2 vreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
1 O& m2 ], x6 ]8 F# f$ z0 zof Toyota vehicles since 2000.. ]5 a7 L6 y' {$ Y
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own8 H+ Q# m K2 U
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
( D5 c1 K+ v+ P+ S. {, _ y1 A4 vunderstood the pain.
3 l+ E* s) z. y/ N4 e6 E' y"I know what those families go through," he said.
' K+ `* i! Y& Y9 w& JLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's c: J0 e1 k" e+ ^- D$ Z ~
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems./ M4 Q6 H, }" |) [
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman1 |! H" q( A3 ]0 T& J$ j f+ _# Q
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
4 J% }+ q5 F' N# N8 s/ Ein place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
# u" ^7 f5 F2 D9 E6 WLentz replied: "Not totally."6 J4 S2 Z D! Q# |7 S. \8 U; c m
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
# P3 ~5 D" G4 x T4 e"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
* p8 `$ n$ S, M9 g3 PToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas: h" `8 {# c' `" m0 v7 K( r
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
. D* W4 J6 Y8 u( m2 Y: Wvehicles already on the road.4 [: N) B! y# z/ O2 K# | ]) ^
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
4 u3 B6 S) e/ W& V; qbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
4 y9 F/ M5 T; }$ ]" tresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
4 r5 a4 N1 V% `6 p! E4 ?offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were+ Z/ V2 X" Q9 [% e
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.8 d, w) J# W) G% s, q' W
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a! i6 L0 I4 [$ \. W: C
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
4 O' ?5 W( {; Z& \1 k! z0 Rfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
: v. N& H8 \) @Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal+ W" W* A# `/ Q% s& z$ ~, l2 s
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to' P# W- {5 X$ N+ S* I3 }
restore the trust of our customers."
. Q1 M# K2 x8 O$ tLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from3 S. i, b7 o4 h7 s& |6 b
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly& Q6 P0 b0 ]3 d* P5 v/ j5 w
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --/ _/ }! }+ a6 [
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and r8 a4 l$ Z- v7 Y$ I
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough6 j, S5 q$ N8 ?7 q
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
- q8 U" X& d8 y. w; e0 ~- Hturn off the engine.* M% t3 ~% d7 a+ [5 g
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of% h) a) y' A% P$ S
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
1 X8 x# s- ~0 z5 [$ D' }& l"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
( _" v: I" M P+ [said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
) d2 }" t; {, Y3 o/ L5 Sto her complaints.
7 X% O/ {) ?' sIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
! H% p& U! N9 O! F0 ]* C5 |+ ]0 l8 Ireturned again and again to the question of whether electronic$ E: \4 h5 B" X" n
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.% P7 Y. f& j* o$ K( U
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
' {2 a- u4 f0 @) Zthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited" o/ |! ?3 C2 T# W5 [
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut- F; ^5 V7 Y% ]- \. {) M! J
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure.") e: H4 i+ S4 H" k
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
+ H, N) q) N- Y6 W1 ~prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
m- b3 ]7 x" r* `* abeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls# N1 Y! O) i9 _# T+ x" ?6 |/ X
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer# f. ?/ o2 b* w! E y. o: g9 U
every question."
5 [, j: s q0 tToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
/ j5 k7 V. \" d8 |% aelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The9 Y4 e" Q( R% \2 C8 t
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But; _& O9 W$ u1 P1 z) S- ~
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small e0 B: c$ Y* | B+ T6 U4 q0 |# Q
number of vehicles* C# ^2 G0 o* B, g% B+ d7 C. [
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
# P5 W- x- t$ mdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
' r3 m2 S8 W6 R7 @mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
; S& I* y+ P4 B7 u7 d( r nsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
. A* Y! @! f) T5 M8 d9 MMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,+ f! f: P; q s
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
I7 e' A! d' ?! d5 {trace at all.% v }% u$ r: T* u" J" u
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call; W P1 K2 w$ x" A
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden0 @/ Q6 a% K! g) \
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
1 p# D9 d- }! s6 W4 Krecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
; q" X# K. ]: b" Q- IRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
1 E* U2 V1 D) P4 u* e% tsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
" X& {: m6 n) {' pother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the3 i4 i% D+ O- [
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
( \5 H! O+ b" m, ^cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only- Z, H% \% J; k8 D! s H5 ^
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained, `) F) D) O+ Q
by Toyota's lawyers."
0 j( D' V! d- Z7 b3 jLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of- T( v& h& U/ y9 Z/ n6 Y( n, c
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our: y! ~. t0 K7 Z0 m! ~8 S; ~* U' e
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
5 A9 ^# M3 R$ ^( qsaid.
' d% {5 q! f7 t0 W$ R7 S5 q) i) i"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
$ w* O D2 D, r: Sa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
9 c0 c3 A$ R- D. `" _good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating0 Z5 A" Y* ~ h8 Y% B1 v. e }: y1 W: t
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
4 M$ a: K# V- S _# ]8 C9 h% ~Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying8 M7 M; e; u5 q% W
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread8 g S( b. Z& g
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
! _, z1 k4 N! I/ N! v4 ] Y' Fautomaker, at least in part because of the government's/ J; N( \; a0 Y1 {
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and2 D" o. e! Z) w( f" P4 i
Chrysler.
6 h8 R% M: X* h3 d8 m8 c b0 H"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
! n; Z: q% b2 o6 j) L6 A! i, ~8 Tdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a. R9 f$ y& ?4 J- w6 v1 A; K
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also+ |# y S2 ?$ T j( |
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete0 N3 T( V9 Z! x2 I, R' g6 f
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty/ }: C: r( G( R: N4 m& ~% q0 Y
tough."' K; v" j7 l$ ]# ~- J6 I" `0 s
---/ ^# Z1 C7 t$ |, g0 K+ ]( `
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
' B8 K, q9 h* D Q. G0 _Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to4 {# a; B6 p) l8 {
this story.
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1 D$ Z' f7 g' m/ q% d$ G! l3 ~$ Z-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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