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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题5 t. z; G) z5 w( F$ M( U0 @
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
- V2 d* W8 X) _Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.8 e% O) y1 s! G! C" a. f/ f# P
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
' A7 \! h7 m, _9 d2 D/ xthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
0 G* p6 m- G+ K# I2 k! s3 L3 N; o" wsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
. s& r2 U3 p$ e"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential( f; g+ m, R4 M; \
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.; x! c, p3 f# l0 M/ W6 R3 [0 U# j- m
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
2 W! b; z p/ e5 ~* `& D$ wacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
6 Q" R, g9 {' x, L& Vtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
, j# K* W8 |1 V; m6 |+ K: U* hmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
! W# P7 W( B9 I5 O- A j, [He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal2 d: G! W3 `7 N7 @$ F" g) q2 Y U
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp% ~7 U( k# J; @ m0 N
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
6 U! N' C( L; ^( ~" N3 X6 Ofurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could5 u. @. V( k7 ?
not stop her runaway Lexus.9 u9 Q% p7 f `6 g/ y
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,7 S+ [2 c# j# M0 I
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second3 P7 C D. q9 e1 d
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.# C! r }! l# i4 O& ?! y
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
5 P$ v# p9 }3 v8 _) nearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said7 U, m$ W2 r* c" e. M T
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
/ L" [ y3 H) wdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
3 n7 n/ A( R& W5 O8 I4 c" q- sthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
7 t7 z, T$ r* G0 R @- U- }7 o' Uinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
3 K! J2 H0 Y; u* A! OLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an3 [& y4 K( n. n! d
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of$ A, V/ @" O" @ j8 |$ @) O& X
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
, }' A4 _ _+ O9 k: Amalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he- k2 ~! H' k# \1 k/ q$ K9 O+ X& p6 Z' n" D
said.
! S" L y [, aAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what2 j+ B( C; t" }5 _2 [( D
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
: O% a: G. M6 v2 [% G& X9 ^6 V- zabout driving our products," Lentz said.' M% i- E2 O! j1 [% e) b1 h* w
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's3 B# n2 U3 p. M2 W) C, `
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
* V! ~" @9 k* M, t3 s' z( ^recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 65 ], y! M& v$ M# l5 t& l7 ^9 e2 N7 `; X
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
* O6 g4 N+ ~' A1 z2 ?3 v8 punintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking3 }' P, C9 z' A( t I8 {
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering7 U9 R: f7 ~ ~) U4 S5 \ _
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of* Z; I: f1 f q- m% d! w8 o
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow/ ^- Q: @( r$ H% v! c: I7 j$ A
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has! a3 f8 Q9 L/ _! @0 h6 O) k
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
# \5 T* B) m6 O( R2 zof Toyota vehicles since 2000.+ ]/ m: T9 K7 h9 s2 X
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own- A8 J9 w. i) k- v, b y! S5 N4 U# ?* j6 u
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he; F0 }6 [$ q6 i x1 c
understood the pain. Y7 Z) a: N: _9 N% F8 J
"I know what those families go through," he said.# t8 {; l4 [- @: z* e: @
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
9 A4 |7 E* j9 C& R+ Mfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.0 Q2 l$ r4 P8 M5 T" s/ ?
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman3 }$ I+ k, A& ]9 i& |
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
/ Y5 Z1 L# W9 j9 }in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
, D; @" _7 \$ |) X: H% M- S: XLentz replied: "Not totally.") P& N7 i, y- e9 V/ J$ _
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were2 o& ]- e* a6 S% K: b) I
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
% h7 U1 c5 M" A) }Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas9 v9 p: t" P9 d6 i" q/ R% p
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its7 @2 L7 p# _( t7 N# f
vehicles already on the road.8 \0 r9 M% D- n6 t3 g t J/ x
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
* c2 k. X% w# }9 q- ]% Q$ R jbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
0 A5 K2 @3 V2 bresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
+ f4 ~; s7 B9 j$ ~- q Toffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were( [! d2 k5 U5 `1 W0 T' ?
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.3 d5 P* [6 V( g4 j
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
( p- N/ I% A1 _- G7 F7 {tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
2 B( h- P4 g! F2 A: K# M& V" wfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight4 @3 G% s9 C6 r( o6 j0 u% ] S
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
1 t4 |" y1 L$ s. u/ Pcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
+ N8 J) X: r- S6 Q- wrestore the trust of our customers."
/ O+ m) Y% c2 HLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from# o2 C" h3 x/ h9 t) m9 u8 |
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
& G; I, F8 X& Jzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --; @9 g- g0 [3 B3 \. z2 x6 m
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
1 _1 A0 S, Y% T* q6 }/ \: N O" {hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
: p; Y+ \; _0 l7 d! A' w4 r4 ?6 j1 Zthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
, E* v1 z2 s4 Q" w+ }# E3 Qturn off the engine.
/ n( {# g9 K8 T* \Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of$ _1 w& d% R. z' w' c1 W1 R: r A
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
2 `" Y h( }, j; ~5 g) F4 Q"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she8 e1 I1 d5 r: i1 ]5 Q
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond, k0 |/ h- U2 r' G- O
to her complaints.
0 ?. L# r1 \, g# b3 ]In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
$ T, i* n! @3 y9 g: Yreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic! Z0 Q& t& G8 ?; _9 |& t
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
1 i0 n" C8 [' _9 H; l"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
) m( @* j$ A* x$ g% kthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited8 T: w# q" v# o! D, Q) d- J
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
/ }( d$ {5 o# w% P: s# _! B% moff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."8 e& i2 K2 ?6 [! v1 W
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
4 V3 j1 W5 E; m: b5 z! F" o; qprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
" r: @7 g& H# o$ `being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
* d% g# \7 X; T& @! h# w8 @/ y5 Awere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer4 F5 U! B6 N) W' R7 a
every question."
r" I( K! d4 y7 ~, yToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether& d& T+ ~) m, F& ^& \+ l: m" v
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
( J4 b# ]: N. v9 ufirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
1 m0 N9 s1 g# m- V* K' I. wcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small" J2 a. p* Z8 G% u' @4 b5 \
number of vehicles! o# T2 k8 \2 I. O
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
% t$ E* J* q% {( a" tdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a0 C( E6 h- }. N9 M; x9 p
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
8 f$ Q% O- F* k- d! Nsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.# C( e" _* Q$ D* Y v) q7 I; T
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,3 s' B7 U5 z2 r; D! ~0 f
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no6 b+ p. b8 v# c" e
trace at all.! u7 I S- E7 Z' e7 o$ r4 F) p1 l
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
~! S {8 K: y6 Q6 n! vdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
1 L3 I- J; \" u% lacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the: a. r0 ]6 R' B! {0 n
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.$ u3 ` T& m5 w
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,& K+ l# s3 O8 h# n' A
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
3 y5 A: w* O, \, k4 [other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the* d0 Z) f. i1 S' Z+ s
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
. ?1 t( |6 [4 P7 o- g: c9 v& Zcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
. k$ W1 P8 w7 r) l' X1 Hsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained6 k8 n! F2 Z; W: @
by Toyota's lawyers."
' p) |2 [; w* \# s3 ?# ?# iLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
- {! U5 m1 [5 K9 }9 q. w. ~problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our$ _, @$ G% \0 D
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he; x! s/ T9 `# i
said.
) O# q2 o$ [+ M& n- R' J) V"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with0 s o3 K0 j: d0 H5 |5 h. {
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
% t! C" j$ ~/ b) egood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating9 u1 j2 W8 R4 U& |
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.. {. s$ T/ d, \( i7 i' t
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying. l1 ~: m. X4 U2 f% T' }2 @
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
5 W9 n7 w. v3 ?* P: Jrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
6 C* k: ]6 E3 d9 J9 N: z2 Nautomaker, at least in part because of the government's+ Z4 }% P4 Z4 U- {- r3 @
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
+ u/ s- K* o' m1 mChrysler.( | b2 W$ S* ^3 _: s
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax' X! M( P/ c: P+ i: M4 p! i+ e* w
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a3 | O9 T+ v/ e& R$ P
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also! P3 L) z3 t! b" C* G; k
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete* t r; S/ U2 R. d% V0 n
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty- |2 |/ }7 Z# S, V S+ O
tough."! f, ^" s/ n" r) {
---! ?7 {/ m3 K2 `: h2 Z4 N/ r
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
" v; G, g2 i% k! I( u/ L+ d8 V8 ?" g: ?* kRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to _' v% _" L( e, N3 K8 w
this story.) R8 G9 R( @& _: Y
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-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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