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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
2 m. Y% F( ~0 H% d: ~+ @5 HBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS4 F1 s7 r: Y/ ?( H' v6 e5 d
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
) R, q4 q+ I* coperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
* h! V' V( b4 M* l1 }the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
- g" s" ^+ o7 @ o- v% psolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.4 d$ p! e+ [" \- G
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
- b+ A! i' i- G3 S$ Acauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
& o* E* v- ^8 B" s2 WHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected5 k# A) }2 }9 b* J- i( ^
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and& i6 E [" H f& G3 w- }7 T' s4 v* g
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
. p' |& ~1 A3 J2 d: c0 [mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
, ^" r5 I/ {$ i! E; q" P& xHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
- w2 b p- @4 d5 i/ P/ f f/ uand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp) j) ^0 S4 F H9 v4 a
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be$ d4 j% f6 F4 m
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
0 S$ q: B& I7 r: `not stop her runaway Lexus.
2 n0 Z7 |; u/ X! G"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,) A [0 D& p9 `' D
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second9 V/ x; {8 v. L9 H8 ^
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators." H& K- ^9 h. r, E8 ?8 K
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues4 ~; L8 j3 J- W' R8 @
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
2 S0 B; p. T8 _: Q4 x"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
u4 E7 G0 J% ^9 u$ H2 i# ?) Fdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway; O9 ~4 h. `6 `* K
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's! [; j3 P( R, I4 E' h
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."; O2 G, j4 s& g4 c+ ^7 h; ]
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
K b o+ t4 Oelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
5 D; Z' j( V* O) `" f6 ithe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
2 v, h0 t: F3 W" p% Jmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
; u: E. X: R; \said.4 l9 ^; ^) w: V: z* `4 j
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what7 S9 x0 j( H+ F! ?$ G. t: k- l
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe, l4 ?6 M/ o9 H$ x
about driving our products," Lentz said.( R+ Y8 Z9 W G5 I. R/ x
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's) K- h8 o" T8 l" I
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has5 ]; \% G6 X; m! Q7 J) p( Z: {" W
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 65 s, u5 L, ~' O* g0 G
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
+ l+ b- H8 l9 S+ x% y) k, @unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
" L( q$ Q% \1 B0 o! ?% Eissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering" n* U2 j+ E% A5 h2 F
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
: U5 ?7 N& O m- g0 ]8 L3 ~their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow# H% Q' v3 s7 w1 Z, M
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has9 J+ T/ o. D; ^# l. R
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
8 ^: h2 q; M5 G0 q( sof Toyota vehicles since 2000.% l1 z% w2 A# |$ g( y
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
- K; X' p& S$ Z# n2 k. Cbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
: l1 e# X) A. \: runderstood the pain.
* k4 S( A5 v% V- z! K8 B"I know what those families go through," he said.# t, q' m, ], N% y. O+ G7 D
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
% V/ W! I w# R* D( b$ Ufixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems." y* e8 o) c- S7 f& D
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
9 w2 w. j' a \2 ?0 @; c# zHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put2 B0 X6 b- n3 I6 z5 |
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
. v: ]( O) H" J+ t. E& \Lentz replied: "Not totally.", ~( O7 X' T- [: c: S z& ~
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
# O1 Q- M5 Y+ v1 Q* T"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said. c: G! L: F3 U5 T
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas+ j( a8 j" F5 `7 |* S% b, i0 A
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its5 y+ @. _) n4 t/ R6 y5 [4 E# x
vehicles already on the road.
/ l: s& p' q$ i, V6 L, Q$ zMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
- F9 O$ U2 X7 _before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
2 _( e* G+ }4 P& Rresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
/ b2 j$ T- ]7 j* }# V/ xoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were/ Z6 I8 @* S" q& x
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.9 S' ^+ [% o/ S( T
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a4 u2 c. s# E6 d" s7 d/ J8 n
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony1 ? R% u% V) X) D
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight& h- W' k4 n2 f4 [6 r
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
( O3 v0 s4 U( ^! x9 Ocommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to& p1 L5 u: n2 V) j$ K0 c' e' q
restore the trust of our customers."
8 w& J6 J; e, a3 j: ALawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from' S0 o2 Q- [+ r" [0 s9 v
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly. w+ m% d! c1 a, ?' D' b
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
5 H* G( f: w% E" Q2 X n; K( _shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
% A; i; \+ I' O. ~# i c, S, j. |# Shitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
- n; p: K) Z6 G3 j2 O4 W' A7 k2 X* N6 D0 Athat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and) V9 R9 S4 \ }' L% ?% p6 O
turn off the engine.
; @) S: X, k& D- ~; Q" RFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of. e: O% r% J9 S2 c; M9 c. _* D
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."% k) g4 E. D9 _3 P' c
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
* Q0 E. `! F% T( T! ]9 Jsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond! K/ t0 R6 C; `9 ~0 k x5 J
to her complaints.
/ H# N/ n' U2 {% |In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
) q# m/ \$ _0 }, [returned again and again to the question of whether electronic, ^7 J+ U8 h* `/ J2 @; ]
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
$ x/ d. f7 L+ l. F4 `3 C3 m' g"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
0 T0 Z3 V, u7 D" }3 u5 }: J6 gthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
% ~+ Q3 B$ }% |, {8 i, H/ X: U"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut! u- v1 `" {, B: @" Y3 V
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."5 T0 O0 i; f) K
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
. b5 R! t* J& yprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
) A7 m( v2 @9 \+ v0 Rbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
: Y/ V% Q6 U% `6 U- o3 jwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
$ i2 g2 X/ M- n% W- O$ `6 D) S8 Eevery question."
+ t/ L7 b2 `7 n: l. d1 yToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
J/ x- n$ }* G% Q/ V5 X+ P. D3 Oelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
6 g$ q* b. `' b8 F$ S: _* efirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But d- Z% F# |4 T/ Y% N
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
( E' D% j0 o4 Q: Enumber of vehicles
0 B+ }3 B/ W m& i7 GTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
4 u" j, }8 Q' H! z4 \difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
+ M1 y) t) h3 {$ z+ l# nmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one/ U! r1 L; B; I- ?# |9 A
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
+ o7 |4 O, ]. |; ]. ?0 P1 v0 CMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,1 @+ q+ @+ E9 ?; q5 [
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no2 D! X; g2 p* r4 h9 a
trace at all. @0 o; K) P3 S$ f3 o& G
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
- X b2 E, O/ T- Vdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
: u, v' r& h4 z! k* O, Y! Oacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the; k' h3 m f+ ?+ s
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
9 r( b( [- W6 k8 P( _Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
9 k2 x6 F8 ]) K" N( B6 G, ^said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and" I; ^% a3 B8 e) o
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
4 k. R+ R1 R$ k3 f( Kelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible$ G0 z& k9 _$ v" ~" C( a5 W
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
5 {+ m, P9 J9 p( Xsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained, M/ \9 V' a. v) v# ~- X' O6 L5 T
by Toyota's lawyers."
7 K- ]1 Y, w& TLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of/ M% w7 {* s- ?- H% b/ c z5 Y( Q$ d
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
1 f: j9 I1 g* C" R( M' c: ecustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
) J: p! c! q9 J/ R ?2 K( [said.5 s4 C6 J' a$ `, N1 V8 m
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
# g7 y6 l9 _/ m& Z+ ~9 va rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our) }5 v% S1 _0 p- W5 n
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating7 V: \- c, ^, x
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.8 C, |- a" w& k5 s5 K3 y' ^* B/ [: I
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
/ `& |0 O" T3 d) k( O% s) [5 m$ Emembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread5 r" n- q& w! b' W2 v! L% I
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the8 n F- A7 Q9 c$ X" {5 @
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
! n& l; X' j- G yinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
3 T& j/ N% X! K! T& y3 Z( lChrysler.: b0 i* ?* D, |; k: u* Y$ B
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
9 f4 C& h1 B2 i) ~8 {dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
* p! J2 x, c: n: _: W+ k2 u1 ]Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
9 q$ w d3 j9 @3 }* xserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete& l3 j% Y- E# ^$ a* b% f. M
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
% t5 n# [ R9 Y' ?2 U3 Utough."
2 t) {1 Q; S# ^) |$ q- K" }0 `1 q' Z---" w) t) ]. u6 C6 O1 {. s- N8 I
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom C6 [3 s' f6 V7 {7 M
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
. w4 D7 @% G+ a/ K$ C: M# b5 cthis story., m" y! d6 \3 C% ^% X( S! v: n6 F
9 n; X3 d9 b7 [7 _+ }% p! f. h( R-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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