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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
: o5 T3 H, t5 J. D( T7 CBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
) V( x# e: D5 C8 |( G" VWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S. b! C( M% y. n! W" E/ ^+ q3 A! i
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
4 X* }- g4 n3 athe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
( [0 F# I- Q+ K! _6 w' k# j gsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.- w' F5 Q7 K( T% L) [1 O( n
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
& l) A4 z' E: Lcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
, J; Q; j0 d" mHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected6 ?* t" V6 R1 w# k3 B0 h! C
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and ~ G; W2 A& i1 `8 k% l+ E
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
2 ^4 N/ ]( F* O) I2 R( ]* Y& Zmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
- H% w; |6 t$ m7 h3 z3 `He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal q1 R* w; a3 X, e* R c
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
( m c7 u% o4 Ocriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be/ E, x' C! I( P
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could$ A- p) v4 ~5 K! K6 B+ m
not stop her runaway Lexus.
& h! R- l7 z' J' h4 G0 W. A4 o"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
* B7 w: {' X+ n4 C, WTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second$ a, x9 i2 a$ o3 U
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.7 Q1 R. p, B, v. E, d5 N
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
, Q/ _% w e6 j0 _early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said1 B$ O* _6 T+ r& f0 A u; Y7 l6 Y
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
& u( m+ e/ n9 d. ~6 i9 ndone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway/ P3 O$ j4 }4 h+ p
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's$ t) B2 O' v1 V+ T* @2 U
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."/ ^+ W' c, L! ]5 ^5 t. e( N/ Y
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
0 N) B! ~$ [6 ]2 }" w$ a' gelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of+ `. y: n) f) K3 C; ~ P" o5 K! B- D
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
u0 b) v9 ]; g0 P# n/ Lmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
2 E( ^8 [$ D" p6 G- f% lsaid./ e+ ^# z1 r2 S; {2 K4 [+ k
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what6 `5 F; v) t3 I) O- P I
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
; U0 l( f" R& l5 [! Kabout driving our products," Lentz said.7 Y# f9 i( s- y9 F+ b7 q2 B
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
8 k8 h! m8 C5 m4 l; k0 gproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
2 p: F$ |1 ?) g+ irecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
$ W& P! g; `8 @3 p# Jmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of: @% L- i% ^. b5 x1 h
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
; I& A; k/ s' r1 }issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering4 P) E: h7 P& N
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of9 R7 W" [. B# ^ c+ k0 O
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
\3 z! ~# A) C; S! K) C3 Rdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has# C% f9 ]3 ?; J4 z1 I9 ~
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
8 S) ^; f- W, Lof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
1 }, Q: a" W) w( J+ ]Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own8 u' `" @8 R: [! F. X) A
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
; z% w: t# J* D( t5 ~7 ^understood the pain./ F x4 u; Q$ o, U$ r% X% z- f) k
"I know what those families go through," he said.4 A. {% J4 V" o2 t: v) Z8 L
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
" {6 @7 F9 T+ {" F# |fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
2 o/ E. v7 U4 GBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
$ E$ d7 u0 x9 [2 S" b N. }, ~, HHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
& e& h& t6 [0 Min place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,3 q! E% \4 f% n* R; r6 m# B
Lentz replied: "Not totally."4 @5 [5 V8 {+ s. Q7 I& ~- ]
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
, a; n) Y7 t' p/ [& m"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said0 V+ L+ c4 R; t( B7 G
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas0 t/ E, N' l! x: d5 Z$ g- I
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
" t3 R$ z9 i; q. mvehicles already on the road.
5 C4 D, p) M; d0 K. A) q2 dMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
' v6 l% U; T) S# L; U* I0 ]before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full# N, q! e: z7 T8 M
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
! G# o3 K; o; ~+ I [offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
2 m8 d, w, Y& W; Y. d% o. A; |killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.2 Q' ^1 g q3 i, ]( Q
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a/ w/ ^# p7 F/ U& N0 D! c. G
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony% U! E0 S- @5 K/ y1 f7 S! t7 e7 s! l
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
7 h/ R3 {0 h5 U( FCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal) O, o; s: ]4 Q6 n9 i A
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to$ e5 P! D/ j6 \ V, Y5 Y
restore the trust of our customers."
8 b3 O9 G7 A) w% \$ V' Q% ELawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from7 t5 Q. i- s* R a' N" Y8 R
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly/ Q" `% N! s. k6 B+ e* @; r. h
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
! w$ Q P$ v* \9 Sshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and) Q; f3 v2 I. L9 T; a8 e! ]
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough. l# X5 |. _3 Y2 x% N: P4 H$ Y2 E7 V
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
( y) e3 u- N( Q- a( ^turn off the engine.% ^( K9 [0 m: h! o, ` j# O
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
8 @$ `8 |# X7 f0 Y5 J- q& Y- MOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."8 V# U. ^% _5 U: B
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she$ f$ [+ {3 q" r j% I# _3 @0 Q
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond7 e/ r7 ~# z# E4 w, i
to her complaints.2 x. q9 l( E c7 m$ ^/ ]6 B6 H
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers9 v6 p5 P; M2 n \2 P
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
$ h2 s- C- _+ Wmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
( y+ G% Q/ \* }- K2 {& m"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric6 A* j0 P8 V) x4 c
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited2 E+ V; k0 W' O+ U% a, K
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut6 `" o: B- Z' z
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
+ D* f$ d: M$ H: g" iTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in) g9 O% a# h% `2 O0 K7 a
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were; F: y* B3 r" e
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls z% _2 a) T4 _ B
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer4 r0 r8 |" r' B+ t3 b* G! i
every question."4 H" y) E1 e4 I0 k- h9 O7 K4 Y
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
" U! C, t( |2 s6 }electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The1 e% Q5 l' I6 u2 j. D+ f- M
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
5 s t6 h" R; M s* q jcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
& S$ F0 y8 B, Jnumber of vehicles: B/ [6 t7 Q+ N6 d. `) B1 ?; n
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more3 B0 ?* ]$ q8 i. B( u
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
' Y9 o2 C9 r) B3 _# v, b( ymechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one5 e' j& S. t8 Z1 a& z% Q. k" R0 ^
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.' Y$ F0 [" N+ X+ G1 v: K
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,0 D0 ]5 J% u1 ~) F' G o
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no) }% O2 b* c& m% N% t
trace at all." R; w* X. a: ^
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
3 Y1 A( I6 [. H" \) D7 }database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden1 \! E0 E! a% O4 ^
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
7 x8 v, v5 _2 @* {. @4 f. Mrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.' x1 u9 O) U7 g3 n
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,4 ^1 t9 W \2 X" i3 c; a
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and) Y( H: S" C2 d. e
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
) {6 e2 k9 Z2 C# Y; J) O A kelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
) b( o: B4 e+ i+ p* Q: |# M5 ^cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only2 b" {$ g$ u: t5 K3 m9 t
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
+ v& M9 s: \8 M mby Toyota's lawyers."- Z" ]$ H3 o7 \
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
/ T/ J" W1 _5 u' N f2 p3 S+ r* m2 Uproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
4 o, e# _5 Y! R7 ycustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he# c2 {0 L$ s) F3 j$ a% x: N
said.0 X& v8 q/ ^6 j& @& N
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
8 |3 s: q& |" J8 t B; @' `- Sa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
6 q8 `9 p3 D4 E8 l) [) hgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
7 G1 |0 A3 ?0 ]6 t- Hofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
| P2 f; z8 T, [; y1 |1 h. jSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying& T8 \8 d' k- \& s: c
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread: L( B& b$ P9 A1 N2 p
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
9 B# Q1 g- M# k! ?" u& a" g0 Kautomaker, at least in part because of the government's; u6 v6 {3 d4 z7 p
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and4 f, H% e( c6 A! N: K% o0 i& N
Chrysler.
5 s/ V( {: y6 t, a"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax6 }& ?7 }& ?2 |
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a' B; L$ W1 {) O3 ~- a
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
% |' N8 B9 |9 h; Qserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete6 J; {, U# ?+ L( N1 I; X3 }* j
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
2 p: @, x5 m8 n ptough."
/ \9 L0 ~* ^( N# @3 s---+ h+ x8 o5 S: m8 K3 E
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom5 F9 \& Q( @- p1 I# X
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
/ H, \0 w/ _' u- v( f+ g" Pthis story.' U/ s; I, r- k" N. l& E
3 f2 `( b! ^ [ C/ ?0 Z
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