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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
+ `- G+ W) _6 a9 I5 EBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS' _2 [. P3 x j$ S8 C7 w( ~2 ~1 ]5 u9 J
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
1 f0 W/ z5 H; E: H9 G7 l; Z$ Poperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
/ y4 l" N$ m# K5 G$ k5 D9 `the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
: |$ ~- h/ s5 b, w* h$ s! M) csolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
2 m; W% c. m0 v# W& Q4 J# y2 p"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
; A4 u5 z J# b4 kcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
: }5 ~% j/ d1 _8 v2 R* CHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
2 ~8 @$ y8 {$ p9 q K( w: |acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
5 H8 `- t2 I7 ~' n! ~3 o3 Jtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
6 W* c% s+ J! }- p* t6 C* |mats and sticking accelerator pedals.* j0 K, u3 m- b1 T2 E2 M0 J& u
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
4 k2 `' c7 T( q' i' T! c5 w# @and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp8 b+ v$ S e$ `+ v* j( L9 [
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be! y& E( r. ~* ~8 M: `
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could% M" P) f0 L6 A5 V8 _
not stop her runaway Lexus.
7 l0 F: o. R% m# ~4 z! T6 _+ S `"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
8 I1 [' J( Z1 yTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second! m9 b' e0 J6 S+ g/ F0 F) b
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.1 T$ A9 }! G6 x" B H' D/ J2 ?
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
) }+ i) N/ S$ d, Hearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said7 M$ ?4 }. \4 t) X( u+ K' N
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has9 ?, D# n0 e8 T6 e+ N# N& A
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway6 B8 J# f- m+ y5 l( T+ I: f3 f, V
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's; [# X0 B3 q4 K( _! x; N# r; r
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
" R' L2 o/ s1 C1 l$ pLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an0 O. V% M8 _$ p, s* P
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
( J1 A6 b; @) Dthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
/ }: X( n, I9 D6 w- x6 F! umalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he1 D/ D2 F3 w/ T6 C+ j: E0 E! _
said.5 D2 [7 |2 L0 _ k
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
% I2 G. d7 I* ~) V3 Dhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
; {" L+ ]5 Q: o+ L/ Gabout driving our products," Lentz said.
. i3 b: B8 S. n2 DThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's: A4 f3 [. B# E! H" B: x, ^- E
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has+ h. Y0 G5 I S9 T3 o1 z
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 61 H4 W( j' l8 ^; V: Q& W/ u2 H
million in the United States -- since last fall because of6 |( g1 p$ o' D
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking+ a' H( f% S% h! A5 q" b* M
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
6 q7 \: b4 e2 B f9 Cconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of. ~4 y. I! o( A3 s6 H0 u% _
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
r$ l' C0 i" g4 [' `9 u/ t. ?down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has( H. Y) ?( C4 T9 v" C( d
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
. p' s9 V6 z2 K; `of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
" Q K/ F! U6 i' DLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
$ z9 [, [7 w- `: hbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he, ^: Q; R- l1 H7 F: K& s
understood the pain.
0 u! I) [' q4 w3 c3 }2 U3 c' `"I know what those families go through," he said.- \+ N; ]2 M) i7 Q, v, N: G
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's0 k4 u9 ]6 i7 a+ K4 [
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.0 e. q2 V& Y! Z* o
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
& N' ]6 B/ Y3 K/ l$ N* R4 i) UHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
/ W) C1 A P3 t4 m3 Q. e' rin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
0 s1 e# \9 D7 p8 g" H# ?Lentz replied: "Not totally."
' Q, H' p9 O# P/ BStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
7 `5 N' D T$ r8 a( R2 u: P8 ]"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said& S/ n4 y3 B1 m1 R* o5 N
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas( B" t* i- {5 P. f' t
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
2 X- v& i& O- t! C7 a8 g1 gvehicles already on the road.5 N! v* U4 u; B9 a3 I) M1 `( |
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify3 x' ]# P: d; T( R5 W0 B) ~
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
4 ]9 G9 ~, K$ N5 a" |% M0 A1 Nresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and. q" x8 T* \# K2 d2 ] a
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
! z! L3 g/ R' @6 d% ckilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
* `% i+ q3 V" b5 s/ M% H8 }7 x"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a" ?+ [/ E7 K& W3 v: _1 d! U% ]
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
, l9 z, V( m* n4 p' t5 L- ?& B2 {for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
8 T6 t5 T% }: W" u; tCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal8 S5 _4 A9 @& S1 d$ y- G, Z
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to& i$ O# i7 Y. ]' ^4 F0 m) M( k* i: F
restore the trust of our customers."1 k$ _+ V, F7 N _) l7 R
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from+ d' [/ h* e3 O
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly5 P8 A z# X) x7 O" a0 N& [
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
0 H- E7 r/ N6 t) _% A8 Zshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and/ Y N* k: H5 [9 o" ^# w$ V5 Z3 G
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
) n5 ~) ~1 P6 H& a5 q% K: Mthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and: Z6 }) R+ h1 ?) d. E* E, L
turn off the engine.
2 M. t* n; ?4 T5 S9 PFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of2 n9 k5 P: h1 H! C
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
. D) D; S9 D7 ~( c4 B"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
4 b9 r$ v+ b, ~% @+ [said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond0 F" z! y9 h7 {! h; R& v$ y
to her complaints.
7 O# F, a- ` @6 J0 PIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
4 ?/ t! y: q8 h! M C, Vreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
/ {+ R6 h: p1 I# ? T C+ cmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
$ z p- H _/ ]" a"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric2 e' K6 T+ W) O: z, R- ~$ O! ]
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
9 K( D2 p/ {. {0 p) u"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
! |$ l j1 s9 a ?# x# _0 R+ `off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
5 d; v4 p. t) Z; K* M) C Z+ fTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in8 I) o+ c2 n5 n8 V" @
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
% R$ k4 Q5 A& Q: H% l% ?being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
3 \9 b9 X9 P) k- P" v/ X9 ^( `0 Nwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
: G: b' z+ b& U6 G! w7 ]every question."* T- _, P# I. o1 z) Q( M4 b2 v% v+ P
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether, s2 ~6 z! Z2 c. q: Q3 }
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The- u3 Y x. f7 p
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
, Y4 t! C- J% b6 x |( r. b! Tcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small7 ]1 x2 y! w+ {' I! z2 J$ C
number of vehicles# I- W4 f+ [. |5 G* }1 w% |
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
- f! |6 `1 D% F; odifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
# ^1 W' X# a7 s0 Q: b* [mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one+ s9 ~2 j7 G0 ~ o& k! ^' m5 e
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
7 z; p) F( l$ q3 I! _! ~- {Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
! n6 n% L8 \) ~! ]4 K- }& ^, ewhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
( N& \7 u: Z8 x# w' ntrace at all.
- L) t) r! L: p8 UHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
4 D6 w/ W* L K3 _9 Q+ Odatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
' B% p# Q4 ?# {$ |acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
: D- l3 { M" a3 Mrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.. d$ x8 O+ e0 m% ]" m' J0 I& E
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
% P- P/ Z" q- ~said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and3 w. _- b1 h: s/ {# l
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the1 H* p/ p- w) e4 H9 t- v
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
! D1 W! S$ C- b2 H. ?( Z8 V2 \cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
* d. T* p5 Q: _such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained* t' X7 `' k3 y& D' b
by Toyota's lawyers."
5 Z+ e) W* ]$ Q9 D" |Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of1 h# O8 p& [: D% _) g
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our9 Q& f! d# q% @# [$ D
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
' P8 _3 V/ {. @& Usaid.
& Z; ~6 _. P! l8 J9 ~1 l2 V8 `"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with* E/ o- G) i6 ?0 J' f
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
% \' p) s1 [$ {( F, Z2 b {good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating4 x/ z5 P9 }: O4 O6 j
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.0 n' D* |7 P6 d8 I5 O4 ^9 d* k
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
" b. S" h7 g# ?* r$ Lmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread* M& T( w0 L. s+ S" d
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
$ O$ a R& P2 @6 z. sautomaker, at least in part because of the government's: l! n7 J! {' h4 g7 `
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
! E/ u8 c( H$ q, [" o) h$ NChrysler.
& f; D/ {& b3 g8 F! H3 x"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
: \9 Y z' d; u, k: x0 jdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
4 b; S* V) t: L( |2 Q6 b$ EHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
3 v1 M: K7 H5 Eserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
4 @( p* U8 v g# Cwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
) B+ u% e9 [- i/ h( D" atough."
9 P6 L% J: y$ H7 B8 L1 U---/ D, p% X. q% Q, a$ ~% g
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
, ~2 |" B \- u3 MRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to/ B9 X4 v- m" D& q: M, x; b$ v
this story.
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