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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
% y9 P( P' f# d2 K. m8 ]# OBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS& q. Y1 V( [! _- o9 ?3 i4 p/ i
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
/ n" o* a2 E, g! ~5 B; b* poperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
: u* ]* K! ?; p2 Xthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
" P, d7 Z1 h/ M8 osolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
$ B4 q: M; f: e0 ^) q; N"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
( {8 k4 B! b# e, ?% ]0 ycauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.6 P. t; u6 Y, w, f7 E; s
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
8 h( O: Y5 K. c2 h5 Zacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and) G5 W5 J3 | k- O
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
" v' C9 @4 i( R+ A' Imats and sticking accelerator pedals.! ~3 k6 ] p, U0 [# \8 @2 S( y
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
1 f; t" \; O4 z! R, c& Land fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
6 R5 r" N7 y5 {0 r, T2 ccriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
7 j$ ~8 B$ c% Sfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could9 }) l. y4 b+ l9 p% i* c4 O4 Z
not stop her runaway Lexus.; p' G$ P, `4 } U% F
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
8 k* \' `( f- E5 ]Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
8 w- i# L- x3 Z: f"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.; \$ q- A% _, a6 F& P) q
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues! y4 h8 |- }/ s* v V; t Y% y. x
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said5 U5 \/ P6 |0 C9 Y5 O7 n& S( j
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
4 u5 @: M g' o, gdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
8 B5 p+ c2 L& _2 B1 Qthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
% E: j$ Z* W$ Q7 p2 p6 ]investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
, `- A6 d! Q' {& F7 t0 `& xLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an2 L, _8 @. _6 x3 R8 q* J1 I' |2 W3 I
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
; l7 L8 V6 Z% i p9 f$ d, G" vthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a9 N) n) Z" r' x
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he, {7 X3 _& q; a7 t+ w4 H
said.
! C: X0 J+ ^; ]- s. S# rAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
# d/ I* }, D! \# A( g% E- Ohappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
$ t: c$ L, v) a3 D8 ~( Aabout driving our products," Lentz said.
) }( V1 P% \5 F2 Z9 [$ [' {Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
" c1 |* H X. B/ u2 yproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has+ {4 [7 ]: ?) H$ q `. G% O; g
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
/ ^0 g0 H- R9 Z- T, @million in the United States -- since last fall because of
: N. x2 N+ e0 E) B' v1 k* B" funintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking3 v$ f, q2 P+ h% c, H, o( ]+ f2 Z% B4 @
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering5 M: C- ~9 @6 l! G% T: Z
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of4 i2 x/ F8 W! Y. E4 I
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
, X* W: \6 J! g* {" I. Kdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has& C4 G9 r+ J; r+ y" Y0 \) I
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration2 r" H ] s2 d2 `% X# `# V
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
: J, N( W0 w3 q' YLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
: q2 @, ?# K8 y* {9 Lbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he, E) ^8 ^7 J' ^0 O% r2 P
understood the pain.
( B5 A' N8 M0 ?, Q, I$ z9 o, i"I know what those families go through," he said.5 e6 m+ U0 i% l* D
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's2 s6 Z0 Q- v P2 P' l' k; f
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
' H9 [/ l& Y1 Q4 E1 Q1 qBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
/ }9 P r8 i/ p; a" \Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
/ e8 X4 u, M4 fin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
- C7 i/ ]9 n# P$ xLentz replied: "Not totally."3 z7 w; N H! s7 D
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were% N! u" Z% o3 n' Q
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said% J+ A, f/ V" u5 n4 @- N
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
* }9 \3 f& K; G+ N1 R* J" R) C4 ]pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
; }3 o1 U$ {6 [vehicles already on the road.
, [ Z5 H% s4 ^# F7 yMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
. l# u+ k* R1 t8 {$ R, ybefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
+ k: W2 g8 M1 presponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
' {( r* i2 C% }% C. Q) D* toffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were j- H8 {3 ]" p5 {% }" R7 D
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
( b' p9 T3 L: F+ F% B* N1 d"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
6 J# N2 ^6 Y" Q) U& P' P8 Stragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony7 A7 O# C: Q4 }
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
4 k9 y4 b$ T3 c0 S! W# ^4 |* yCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
; n \: R8 R |commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to( Y" ~4 j9 L1 i {, \
restore the trust of our customers."
, @" Q8 X5 [5 y# }& y; MLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from# P9 s) }9 C9 \4 @# h) m
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
1 R% S# {$ ?& B0 w* I5 N. kzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --' h9 R0 ~' E" z
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and6 N0 C5 @! L" V9 N/ ]- }
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough$ C7 p v+ p) Z1 u) I1 y. I
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and [4 g, O$ `, O# y6 O# M% k
turn off the engine.
+ z, q! j J( e& {) q& BFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of! z( z( c! b/ @* d* x
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
) q5 k7 |" n" E* _" q"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she8 c1 I( ?- _. g3 @8 O. W- y$ C. ?. y6 D
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond4 ?' U+ b% ^$ o. c2 j4 x8 J
to her complaints.
0 G7 O9 B9 \8 f. R& g0 yIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers1 f2 m( w$ W6 @/ ~: @. F
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic3 o; h$ U: b' V% o* v4 m; N# n! X& O
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.$ Y; _; m3 ?1 b* W4 T
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric# } m; f4 n# N
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited9 k( z* x# N2 I0 I. l- K5 G$ {
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
# b; z' G, y( p, L) F. S) eoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."; m' J, z+ O0 S6 J
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
B7 F$ {2 E7 I" dprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
$ B' x, O* o/ [5 bbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
( g2 X! b' U' Z+ I" W9 m. Vwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
+ j W! `7 X+ J$ b4 K3 ~every question.": Q/ m' w( D. b- a
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether5 k7 l8 h4 `' K* Q% } l
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
* U: U; q6 Z' @firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
1 s# L6 D+ q3 W9 n" Xcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
z" y& S2 L) a) w# k; Snumber of vehicles. f" Q* h/ u2 N' R9 z- [" Q1 g5 n
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more0 k' I$ l% e- u: \+ c' N
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a5 v# Z9 r) y2 V
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
) I) D p# j9 K' ]! f! fsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
r1 o0 I, s; g) }! g* XMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,3 r- X& L5 R' {, b, N$ B
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
0 T6 c3 p( U6 s! r( w% Qtrace at all.
+ M% a, S4 z: }6 S2 _House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
! D. u' H. S) ^3 C' Gdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
0 S' h5 f1 Q e" l% Q# xacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
, a+ w6 ~: w: w2 {# t' K1 Mrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
2 u+ m+ w+ I9 l3 {. z" N: }: ZRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,( f6 m8 L7 }, a" D0 Y
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and l7 d/ l; b1 a! ~$ X( m. J' P+ R
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
; ^, r$ Z& ?. Z$ X) C" a7 celectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible% [. b; w) u4 y( S* X# j
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
5 s, `6 g# D5 O, Y7 j) Xsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained4 x. j* S3 } e: t- _4 w( j$ n
by Toyota's lawyers."
: p, e" h) l4 R' R7 b1 e3 uLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
$ E" C4 @% ^! u1 qproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our4 l) Z0 {' X. @4 m9 P' k% }/ [- P
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he& [6 J H- S9 y' K6 t( O1 f
said.
: i3 g d: i1 H6 m; }4 a& A- k+ w5 ["Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with- s& u* Q* h7 v A t, R
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
; S4 @ g5 K2 ?5 I8 O! y& q y, z& egood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
! M6 d% ?8 `( @) qofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
8 a1 O5 C( S; _+ ]Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
* p; L5 J. v3 umembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread) \9 Y! |- W& k7 w8 N) c
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the1 j" e" s9 r3 n& Q1 V$ J
automaker, at least in part because of the government's- \5 l( _& c9 C3 F& V
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
0 \/ K8 j$ `; ]* vChrysler. P% X. u. p% q( D9 W
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
5 w1 a3 F0 A8 W: _5 V" }6 Pdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a. k1 N; s. v) x4 f
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also3 q' c" x1 Y; ]2 b6 X4 M
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete" \8 T* G; s. f
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
- y/ N2 F& g6 g0 u* I& W+ t) ^2 Btough."
5 W% d: Q! p" z' I* r---
9 Q* u: \& ?: }Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
: P; E) o& E u2 |% XRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
4 c( c* M9 u; V: M4 I* wthis story.4 T0 N" B; n4 x4 f3 a
$ W4 V; t+ i' Q* Q, Q* f* W( J-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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