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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
0 Q9 U1 x) C: GBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
& U z. y ^8 B4 [Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
1 a! Q- i& N6 ~/ ]* Roperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
" i4 ?6 q, N- M" G, Y7 jthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"0 ?* p" [; D0 x+ C0 g, s
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
0 r# M0 p5 `* H) ]5 t4 t% J0 \"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential6 e+ k: E x8 T, }. K- ~
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.- I* y% w# Z6 L" g( N2 I
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
0 Z5 F. B8 M$ Eacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
: B6 M: c6 X$ v1 u9 {9 L2 D) _( w. q) ftrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor8 W' r5 u" O8 X1 f# Y5 ^' k/ d
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.( x# v; L& |( ]2 C/ l+ L
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal1 ~6 t/ \/ m3 g! C
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp; p7 _3 z& _/ M7 E
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
7 l: [& Z. i6 T$ U' efurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
2 y2 y/ _ F# a( Xnot stop her runaway Lexus.
8 L1 B% ]2 ]8 y0 S0 j/ h# h% b"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,/ z% @2 z: [5 i+ C4 H0 ?6 y
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
9 X' q' Z4 ^+ @"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators." H/ k8 }! Q# N$ X- U$ M8 Y$ B4 b
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
1 D; w; w E9 M% ~+ Kearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said0 C* k! a* C( v* s2 u
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has8 \+ S# d4 Q) p' W
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
% o( {3 d+ g( g! Q7 Kthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
# l4 D' O/ c% _3 U5 minvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
0 k" H5 r' q& N8 |8 |! G; R" f( L+ ALentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
7 N' D1 M! e1 T5 ^* \( Uelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of2 ?& A5 E) H' w: N* z
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a& e' _2 `+ `' ~ v# U9 |# `2 h
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he& Z) p3 d0 ?1 h+ R) b6 q
said.
* j: T* m* m4 T! `; [* h' e2 hAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what) S5 f l: ]7 d/ {! I# Y3 j1 f% s
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe( t5 T) o- x3 h1 G. N/ b
about driving our products," Lentz said.% G( C2 \6 ?& b4 O2 S) E$ y
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
2 P2 @& x; M9 i( Zproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has0 F" n; U. B0 h8 |, K
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
* f% ^# S: C, ], z* n; y+ O& j$ r1 tmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
6 K7 h) [# `: \! N9 o# m; O4 H/ bunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
3 D+ V/ F/ R3 m7 P; Iissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering) x V, {! n. o' { A# m
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of2 \8 \# @" M* {+ I' o
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow* R$ G) @9 |; g; [
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has V, C% h' C0 O" G& b8 i8 Q6 l
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration K2 n1 [8 G, f6 r x
of Toyota vehicles since 2000., P" \) a6 _+ ]8 v0 p6 p
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
+ Z. k- H [" I: G) k' s$ G; Jbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
! K" T) [3 a& Junderstood the pain.
0 Z, E5 B6 m2 W" k4 e/ Y0 L9 X7 t0 \"I know what those families go through," he said.+ j4 J; f$ y" Z' u$ D( f
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
4 k9 I8 ` {( S1 t9 rfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.) v, l& d5 d% y4 q* k& ?# p
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman! \: D: V/ j. w% o& c
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
' L4 v% }$ i! m, cin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
) @) Y* H0 q }) q, K; PLentz replied: "Not totally."+ g! r- a" Y q0 S9 b
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were* t2 B( W& {) }7 M4 a. e4 }
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
; b- V4 g! ^5 t8 _- V% X$ ]. L# p& [" p5 qToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
* B# U) p$ r9 l# Xpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
! e, [) Y/ U# [, dvehicles already on the road.4 e# ~8 X+ @2 y+ m7 x
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
9 [) H5 ~( l8 i- K0 |# @. M# Rbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
7 O2 f( y: f, X1 f M u' L8 mresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and4 A C4 L) G# v& N9 a; x
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were& s. [3 X. a: J- Z
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems." R5 x! f$ _6 _5 _' V% Z
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
, z$ O8 q) \, G$ qtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
9 Y% [4 ]2 \; y: B# n" g2 ^ ?' Cfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
$ @2 E, R* ]; ~' E3 C a; o* ACommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
/ u8 Z$ Y+ A- V7 z4 u( Rcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
) a& o) h) }' \" }- E, xrestore the trust of our customers."' y3 {5 E6 ^7 v! R
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from' ?2 m1 q4 b4 X0 Q# \$ B
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly0 E# \. y! g% u9 c' i$ O- d- N
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
4 |; n) G" a' Z+ ?; K) Nshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
" f& l6 p) o R4 C( b3 s; uhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough- J; z3 z4 G% u
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
9 j1 s/ p1 y2 b4 q) sturn off the engine.: ?7 R2 w% [) w. i0 o9 b
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of0 K; [; n6 W" Q% l5 p- |
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
5 B. r) a- \# U" q) u2 D! E! ["After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she+ |$ `; p4 y8 e* s
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
6 _; e1 q! k) o3 W7 c- t4 y0 O/ Hto her complaints./ k$ I. j0 T4 H A
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
- d9 N7 S3 S; B6 S0 Mreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic0 [( m+ A, Q( Z& Y
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.- v+ R+ Y0 o6 b0 P2 \) \' D
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric2 S& F1 x1 c! M- i/ i
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited3 M7 i* p4 a8 b7 b! G
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
5 r$ @: ]* A) Q9 r% poff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
- \ a% P6 d- D7 l6 x3 m0 qTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in2 N* p8 f4 A/ x4 u* E
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were& i% M( d+ f% C4 U8 |" J
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls. J8 f0 Z) E5 m- x2 l
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
! v, U, d; A* h" C$ c# kevery question."
6 }3 K' C, `; U) k* jToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether0 d. V; `+ X5 {/ e4 H7 k
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
: Q0 D) H4 E" L4 w0 xfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But: k( M: V9 Y5 v$ I; n# F( |
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
2 p6 |& e8 Z4 d0 h# Vnumber of vehicles
8 Y9 K0 ]* h9 sTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
- t6 V( c, o9 ?9 l5 i* Ldifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a# n, d, }0 s4 h# d4 ?
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one ?+ m; i! p7 r0 w; P5 `5 Q
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
1 {& w7 j+ t# X0 S- z4 u G }Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,( P5 A' V: y, k+ T5 ~' S) ~4 w2 r
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
) Q% O7 ^" X5 s0 Y& ltrace at all., i) t8 i4 U& E
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call. v" [6 |( J% X9 W. X& o5 e
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden5 N5 P2 a9 P) l3 k
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the! L1 Y% b6 S0 ^/ f$ q R
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
1 U9 I# Z( k" T5 Q ? A( x1 S) Q2 QRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,' R2 @1 n& s& W+ V' W
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
A4 d# V1 _9 ^/ ^other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the' v6 E8 x' w+ P, H# L) {" C
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible* }% x) q; L- X% [) r# c
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only' |' {( i$ n% E: f5 P! O4 G5 O! y- T
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
5 J% }4 p4 V& y2 ?: Cby Toyota's lawyers."
! N5 ^# X/ L- s6 @2 C* ^Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
- K! R+ c* U* u6 X7 j8 o: A6 gproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our' U! \ [7 ^9 S" c: K- J; F
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
$ |+ d. E9 \* W) \1 o6 Esaid.; {$ E4 g+ P9 @3 R# `; I
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
$ |6 R4 Y5 b4 b1 z5 Oa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our, I: t. l" g5 D' F! I1 d% t) o/ i
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating! V. ~. V! J2 k3 w. w- W, x2 a9 f
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.. Q9 ]4 L' q @& ?2 ]
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying0 [4 p8 c$ Z5 K& S" V6 c5 Y. _' Q
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
$ ^) [6 X' u- R% H' Hrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the$ E& J, z1 D, |
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
+ i6 h$ C R' W; u" F) Pinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
+ f* [, v+ [# ~Chrysler.3 j$ M- t& [$ |5 D9 c
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax Z6 x" {( r: w& L
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a; g( v1 Q5 d' u& k( F5 b
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
. E; O4 `% C6 K4 [served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete/ ?- p2 r# Y6 a8 }6 T3 u
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
. [( G$ j% {# k, P( Q- J: Qtough."' V# K; O) ?; _* ^. Q+ r4 f, X
---
: k; h7 m) {8 W0 ~1 E$ T4 _Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
+ e+ @9 e- [$ Q" z& V3 w- q+ @8 QRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to! t9 N7 i. b* L+ \* j3 O
this story. {7 q X- P2 e: ?& C. h
) _$ R3 v+ q/ A3 b4 q: l
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