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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
" q& D; k D8 G, WBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
. n- D) G) R4 W$ gWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.5 i, U3 o2 k5 F. S4 O: e- o( m* v
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that( B7 \7 ? _7 g6 ~
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
3 A z$ V1 U3 Q) P7 u; N! o) f* \solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.. s& \% U% S9 u+ X
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential& i3 g3 t" y& U& W; k0 u$ B, }% I7 \$ F
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.# s% g4 v, T- S4 S
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
% A r, f3 n# E1 Facceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and/ |* A1 z9 O, s1 E
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
4 q* i+ ]! i8 P9 V9 m1 Cmats and sticking accelerator pedals.0 ^1 p3 q9 ~, W. H `
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal# J6 a0 o6 p- R) \& u8 i. m( H: ?$ |
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
8 t; U* \+ E' K# x1 o" Wcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be7 c. ?# v3 T. `
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could& y2 h: j! s; P& p& F
not stop her runaway Lexus.
* V' x e; M% D, G"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville, K, G* t5 P( {' Y$ x
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second# I' _3 m9 {4 c6 m
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.* \& c- @! b. }0 S# {% c
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
m6 J% ?9 W. ^8 y4 U; dearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said% W, j4 r( O. G9 V% C+ d% C
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
* Q1 f0 ]7 D) y+ {- Edone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway# B9 @0 v5 S. {6 X" G6 R- O, r
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's, i( E& b+ r- T* d) ?, ]
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."7 c1 V4 C) p' | k
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
% E8 B7 ^' R. p g; H) r1 U$ K4 ?electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
5 E3 t8 z7 S4 e- m. f7 @the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
; w2 }# i. E/ n7 T2 A' R7 `/ s9 J! Imalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he7 r! |) y- _ T3 G c) i4 |) i
said.- y& f, @- F4 h; g
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
' i# N9 _$ |5 j0 ~happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe% b3 `. F* ~9 f0 J. H6 v
about driving our products," Lentz said.. B2 s& r3 y( s0 T, M, d! e6 X
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
9 d' s. U$ {) j$ Iproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
6 x3 Q4 I% Y4 k$ k* v7 N) c8 R1 ?recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
t: v; x5 g% `' x! ?* amillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
' G. j8 {% H: t% Y' _unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
, }! z. T7 v1 d1 @! e; v6 k# t) H3 Gissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering% O7 o" J8 G9 m" y3 T7 N" d
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of) }6 e+ Z/ Z! j' u [
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
. q" Y7 d, d& B* c& l* k0 s Adown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
, k% O5 W; c1 r( Ireceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration$ X1 {# `& k1 Y, y) X
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.# c& v, H) M5 u! Q
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
- D+ o; S! }$ [& cbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he4 y( z0 r" _, t) B( I+ R
understood the pain.
, I& k6 i! a; F( _8 A"I know what those families go through," he said.& i* _2 |- f: V7 Z+ R* L
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
7 W% ?, Q, M2 {5 ]fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
6 U+ G! H( B- I$ l& tBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman; j( k( S/ ?" z/ y
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
1 s& p$ @' R7 p5 g9 Ain place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,3 { U1 J& v1 X0 o( j- Z
Lentz replied: "Not totally."/ k. B: N: n* N) q: ?
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were4 z# u1 d a, O# E: Z( ^7 H
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
1 ?8 V6 q; e/ G! ]% BToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas9 ?0 f3 j( j5 c) j: P) e+ s
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its ]" h2 ?- H: q8 ~& e, h3 E; n
vehicles already on the road.
1 Z- q n4 q) E% @' c$ N( g; TMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify. I6 j1 O7 a( @
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full. B3 h3 S" u; ^) S6 e' ]$ V
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and- N4 C2 s, e/ d2 F/ B1 P
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
8 F2 I9 b- P2 J- a6 W6 m3 ^8 G1 s! I" ^- Pkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.. n$ N+ H1 F& L0 ]% K* w
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
' F3 c# x$ B# C( q9 btragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
" d1 X/ w! o% Ofor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
+ j/ U0 r5 Z9 x# g% OCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
7 i; \; K* L6 w2 R( _commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to) Z; x2 Y; d/ N! f
restore the trust of our customers."9 a# ~! s% q5 o' c6 ?5 i/ k
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from" }! {, ~1 ?/ t1 j, k1 C1 c, l
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly) m' `" r# m$ p7 w. y
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --# p& X1 X& C% H4 @6 C8 L" c1 N' d0 q1 g
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
) n, v' i" w! k d* [5 Y$ yhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
" c; i$ K, X7 s2 z/ J, t3 b( o1 `- rthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and/ `0 g4 O' L. G; A' R# i. J
turn off the engine.0 k6 v+ K& p- Q5 B
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
: r" J; J# _2 z D" O0 hOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
) ^/ s( ]& r2 @, g"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
6 R& n* G0 T9 P% T- u3 ]3 K! xsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond9 N: j$ O. {, f1 w- s: {
to her complaints.
- n* @& [2 j+ I. @" h6 J* L$ bIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers7 Y6 c9 \2 C8 B y# g
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
$ b2 z7 R8 M$ g$ E* o; Wmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.3 B6 [6 a I+ j7 _1 I# _; [7 J3 D
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric ]% m6 G+ I1 b6 k& A6 H
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
" u$ k$ U2 t W"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut: S, v0 e; n* _. J
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
s9 [: c- u; ]$ B$ ATransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
. a3 K# j- s9 @5 B& f) Eprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were8 h4 K* T ^0 l3 x& w
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
, R4 ^: l% ^ t) F0 u; Ywere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
$ N( n9 }% p! I9 ^& _3 Hevery question."2 k1 s( n8 {0 s
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether$ ~; n( _, j+ G
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The' c. L0 ]+ j$ ~5 ]0 @+ O1 a5 A: g
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
; r- h/ h. R3 C; Xcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small7 k- P9 }6 _. L& J; ^2 t1 [
number of vehicles
3 y/ s) [0 h0 mTracking down an electrical problem can be far more9 K, [0 V4 m6 b' b4 g# n
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a' P4 b, t1 W5 N0 e4 a: s) W
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
4 U2 ^0 C0 C4 C3 isource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
: ^& f- C# q/ EMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
8 ~# W) u1 \9 z' ]9 k) l* Awhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
0 E, l/ A7 {- Btrace at all.
" U! `/ L, k8 u: {! r* l8 w+ UHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call- X+ ]7 z0 N' `2 ^3 _/ l# L
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
& P* ?# |1 \& y! Q' i: W, n lacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the' W) U+ o3 H9 P' I
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
/ m! \$ h, n) D) \9 T" _+ ^Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,* d: _7 f; J' I, K9 J# ]1 }
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
% ` r/ b" G ]# hother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
, \1 T) R1 C& Relectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible/ T! ]! O" a- [) V2 ~
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only" W! S) A2 T6 o! H; {+ Z
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained" Q& t% u a6 O
by Toyota's lawyers."
4 |$ u9 O% h- v$ i1 ?0 _Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
0 t& H4 m4 `4 ~" l1 J/ Xproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
- H1 V0 H9 k2 b M S2 hcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he& h1 c0 a& D% A" X; u- b( H' r
said.
9 l3 X9 f4 F& f1 C"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with/ ^$ E# `" K# T- @7 [
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our& f( a8 q+ I8 B
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
9 T$ M7 U7 }6 E5 \, T$ jofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
) o! C S c# G" w; Z+ G( aSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying& t9 J0 C+ O- A: F+ f) t1 z/ j! K
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread/ U" Y7 \' x; t9 \ J$ |, E
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
# ?% u+ U( x6 Gautomaker, at least in part because of the government's- f3 V5 [+ g- d% G
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
3 Q" N, ~; _8 _. LChrysler.
! r( @: ~# i: } ?"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax+ g* q$ |% s: @4 l+ ], ]+ g) B
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a: Z: R/ v9 X) V7 ^$ \
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
4 x1 T* z% b: z- P( ]served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
0 g: s0 ] R8 Mwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty+ z# g8 {; q% L: _- B: z2 E
tough."- s7 x9 L$ I4 T: I; X- v3 R
---# S$ S. a# S4 |7 f
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
1 k2 U, v- ?, r; `) @Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to0 y3 v2 y K) O
this story.
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