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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
% M: U( e5 G# j7 iBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS5 {8 j2 M% a; u$ j: o1 z8 I, K, a
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
# L) `7 h# y- b+ Boperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that2 n) q2 `+ G" d! a: P$ v! e
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
, h) z T }* msolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.4 O1 z5 Q" d3 L& Y& b
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
' F) S, p E6 ?% l% m* fcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
( w" L8 d% g, E* b$ ]3 QHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected1 I1 Y, k" {" ^9 O0 b" F" k4 d
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and7 I- m# P$ F" b; J/ z$ R: a
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor- S. D. q! Q, {$ p+ B( m* t- L
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
# N" i% R1 k6 A% bHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal* j0 J7 }8 y$ ^; i. ~- i- x& U
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp3 n$ T% A) M w5 g' b
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be9 b5 J5 @" z% u" z7 ^0 Y
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could& ~9 R% A/ r% y" p
not stop her runaway Lexus.9 m n' y: m4 M
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,0 c) |6 d& Z# a0 i4 Y( f1 t. G
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second) P% K1 _, T5 `! {7 @7 K
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.4 ~8 f4 s. H8 n' d7 x4 o1 I
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues0 q8 k& v g1 Q7 ~* ?7 j
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said" A* O7 q7 G% s5 B
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
& _; P; \/ E/ c$ Edone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway% ~+ a% P7 Q6 F) j$ \
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
) u5 v. m1 j0 g4 u- binvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."3 c' T9 C/ x9 v2 m H1 w0 Z1 V
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an7 O' I2 O: ^, l# f7 U/ B3 t6 v
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of* |; [6 y/ s$ T5 u* E
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
9 c8 w5 X9 j+ s& d! W9 ?malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
9 i. q8 p2 z- y2 E1 T) @$ p+ ~( tsaid. Y$ e/ }' N# C( g. Z
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what' x" h- _* Q2 J; H7 n
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe9 N8 @+ {/ I( l- q/ A& i' y$ Q
about driving our products," Lentz said.
7 U' h% M1 ]! |" h" b9 CThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's0 x9 X* Y* [* u& E( r+ f! o7 G" M8 \
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
& ^2 w( E) {8 t( t; Lrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
6 z6 L. x H+ F% kmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
) ^- `! `6 I* s0 R( r0 k, \# cunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking6 A4 |/ a0 Y( V5 M$ |
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
& `* J& |2 _# i' N a' aconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of/ ]3 B) n, f7 m8 U5 {) i2 U1 [3 t/ a" F( g
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow) Z" A' K0 x8 [! c _9 X/ @
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has& H, I( q8 C9 j9 p5 H
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration1 Y# K) f/ j$ b& p% E* q" z" `
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.& h# X1 b, a/ p2 ^) Y
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own# n" }& l# V$ y1 n
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he/ i6 f+ I; X d4 b! K
understood the pain.# T# l$ D; D4 ?9 ]; e7 l
"I know what those families go through," he said.3 d; M9 x6 k8 s% r
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's7 ~1 W& E4 H+ `. E
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.4 Q8 @) u. O* _8 {0 V# b
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
, k2 u/ @9 f8 K( v) U2 F8 PHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
. `, x5 h/ C+ ~8 jin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,; u5 \' m J% B/ P( q, ~: o
Lentz replied: "Not totally."/ ~) x: Q4 m9 G: h# t* ?
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
% ~4 F1 l$ z. i. y5 a6 O"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said) q. U0 M9 H2 y+ q' b2 R' r, {7 Y
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas; O5 p! w) P6 V! S$ P" |
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its5 m, Q0 F4 w7 z) R1 H; U
vehicles already on the road.
1 I6 O0 X: \6 LMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
5 R( s( ?6 {* y$ _* L+ ^before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
$ K3 a i$ w$ b7 T! B7 G5 Bresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and" _- y8 f) |: m
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
5 G0 d; r6 H6 y+ Y2 dkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.7 \1 h5 h; o8 h" p1 I
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a" t' {/ j' D r( a% k
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
( t \2 F: A% R$ s lfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
2 @3 t5 p( X; o1 T9 S& JCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
) w' p0 [& i. N' ]. u! }* icommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to. ^9 P. e2 K# W. g+ N+ D
restore the trust of our customers."
+ M& }+ h+ L. q% Z. K2 z" ELawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from7 t2 }" t$ [0 B3 A, k
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly% Y, M( w1 C5 c* R* Q$ F! x
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
' x* {0 v: x1 ~8 F3 Oshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
" w% X3 O6 P9 i3 P0 ~ vhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough8 \9 }3 t4 L! }, S# e
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
- J( u' z; H" t% p; g. }turn off the engine.2 X4 K; C% i5 w$ G
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
6 V" n2 O; ]! x# |+ xOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
5 N h0 O: B) |" ?2 ~"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she w/ f/ b2 d( V) z+ o* C- {
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
d* o7 u: G0 _. l( R) sto her complaints.
8 N0 M6 i! `* Y& T% @, X/ YIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers1 N8 z9 Z( \% k
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
5 f/ Q8 ~# u2 d2 xmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
2 v& \( k8 U+ x" E ?"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
. f1 O) r* j. Y( G" Fthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited! \; u* y- ]' A! g+ V
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut$ Q# w# V, k# w" O, Y" ~# w& [. N' U
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
7 B1 I9 Q, L% }Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in- Q% D7 M) O" t J) G, H
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
8 i3 z3 s2 s& F$ Hbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls4 x, h# q! m- x/ p& w# d6 R' w
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer P8 k( J4 |' Q6 d; n; c8 E
every question."
9 |. U# E+ A: u! i* [. UToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether) k4 ~, s: l4 ^) W
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
* X7 l- T0 y+ cfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But) ?% {! M: Y) v" ?, k
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small4 [6 S& w' `5 R& d3 D% A5 I7 r+ R
number of vehicles
3 k+ a3 Z/ X, sTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
% C( r0 O+ o, R% b2 v. N% Fdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a6 y# T+ a+ I7 c2 A$ e# i
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one' q: e1 |: K' n1 f! X2 P0 I' b
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
3 q* b+ `6 X1 L' F8 JMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,1 R( a: B# o2 \
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
a6 C1 h" v' z. K) Mtrace at all.
0 ?7 X; r. D1 n+ F% R' ^House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
6 U3 h% y- ]* i Z7 F1 ?5 N& o3 z. }" adatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
/ d. O1 a6 V7 t' G: N% ^acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
3 o4 E: V \2 x4 z5 t3 Orecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.7 y( R$ E8 h% \- r( y
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
7 @6 {9 X, N) p( u. c! [6 @6 I, lsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and& R( n# P+ {0 W0 C% e
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the" C9 `7 b4 D, P" f7 G, _
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
( a! d) P5 E, _7 k1 x' ]cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
8 B# c9 z* u% P9 k; c5 gsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
: z. w8 F3 R- j9 l5 ~5 M- }by Toyota's lawyers."1 W, t- C: P& A6 W) v2 @9 G6 ?
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
: ^8 A/ y6 k2 G. [% l& bproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our! Z! z2 P0 {3 P9 d
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
" o C5 U: t: X! Ssaid.
% a5 i) W* Q: i6 u0 k"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with/ }% l: c2 S4 W; o4 P& H* v
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our! k" T! f( `! n) P
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
7 }# f+ W3 N+ iofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.+ N1 b2 n, T& c3 V5 A7 Z
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying) P! t1 w% L) B" q
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
/ q3 \$ L; Y6 F0 ~. ^0 N: N- J/ v4 erancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
4 `* j) c5 C# W7 t# t& a& ~/ Hautomaker, at least in part because of the government's6 |; G7 i$ i* G* L) H
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and' k* |; ?- t9 e2 `% ^0 q
Chrysler.
0 N" ]( w! D) v3 ]8 P7 q% G7 r" D( Y"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax p. @$ U# s+ `
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a; H8 H0 b. {' z7 {
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also8 w5 U+ } c* ]; h3 R
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete7 _: G: O5 y$ h( T9 m. b
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty, X- x6 R" O. z- U+ s
tough."
% T; y- N6 L. G---4 m1 Y1 l% V1 [. _: S/ {7 g$ [; v
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
: c7 a$ N" h+ I9 RRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
1 R I' w$ L6 r( B8 {) P0 F& X/ sthis story.3 |4 `4 G" {) {" ~) l7 p7 r
# q; `* g8 C8 @+ `/ G! Y4 w" l, k D-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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