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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
* q- r+ N' @7 o! r& xBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
8 }/ s' I1 s0 v) [ M$ k4 mWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
x( e0 L- L# y7 c8 c- N5 s" J8 d7 Q, \operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
+ I2 R# v# }, I6 f* k5 a: S6 b8 G- a5 a$ nthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
* s% j! I8 q# J* @ b& K4 g/ Gsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
8 K. L* f0 ?" m" x2 g"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
, f# p! \, D8 Q2 Ocauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.8 |; h( R( X* S! j8 p, |
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
2 J, L8 S! Z; A) {acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and3 W9 G; P% W$ i# K+ O5 X* ?
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
6 v/ @5 g) R5 `4 `- G2 Xmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
* z" h, d6 c. v1 Q$ p' \# sHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
" W* Z# Y) E' u% A: z0 m* s3 i& {and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
! v, k m1 S7 ]/ Y. E& b* ucriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be) l* ^6 I+ ?+ R# M& C4 H
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could- Y* |% d" D. M3 K7 J$ u5 F
not stop her runaway Lexus.) D# ^! H0 y9 {4 {, X
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,8 S& r K% p' b2 e
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second, V5 ]7 t' I& x: e b
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.+ d: W& G2 x) H2 O1 y3 c- _
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
& D0 J0 D- s* w5 ?, C' Learly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
+ `, U+ D9 _; @( _* D) H"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
7 j. O5 I) I5 I; C9 Tdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
( D/ J% n" |8 N* U% I1 D( ?, kthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
% a- `2 [( V- X2 y2 Binvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."" T- s/ \) @: Z
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an: z4 _# E8 V) Q {/ a: Y( A$ D0 d' ?- J
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of9 s2 z j& D: @7 m1 X
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a% | ?! Q) y) r+ m. x, _
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he: g/ B. s5 k i* Q& @1 ` @
said., `) P) ~5 k' q# W$ L9 O
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
9 s1 D/ }' U* |happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe. r u2 t: M! p
about driving our products," Lentz said.* t* e' a0 z- ]4 w
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's( a; p! a8 \, ]9 l
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has) @7 b1 C0 X0 v* K; K+ A% \2 c" N- e' D
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
. h8 ?7 H: c3 k8 F! q* p2 v$ vmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of7 t/ \$ U4 ^6 V' x+ d
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
! X o; z+ j% o6 p3 q" L- r8 cissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
8 g$ A% z! z6 D6 Y* Mconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
8 u8 y# J3 F! M# f1 Utheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow- Y: j; E% G D
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has8 ?; \- \' b9 g) j) \8 c
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
0 e8 m- v1 F4 i9 J. T4 X* i5 Mof Toyota vehicles since 2000.! b5 c- P& f* D; [0 b4 c3 G
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
; z2 G( l& l& {2 `brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he% K$ Z" ?; J6 ~! i; I& }1 {
understood the pain.+ d$ q! u# f9 M
"I know what those families go through," he said.
) U2 m& q- o' F0 z5 m" O; @Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
; O) ]1 ], X' D1 s* bfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
9 ?1 n2 i+ Q- IBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
, m3 m B) j1 A3 UHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put6 y. S2 g$ z! S% z! m/ a+ |. {
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
8 x" O6 D+ l, R$ N. y( E2 \. VLentz replied: "Not totally."& e$ n1 Z7 K7 v& h
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were* G9 x! J! n1 t- m- D: W: k% M
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
( W( w) p7 g( V/ b. P8 s z# L9 v) ?Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas) P c- b" `; j/ @3 g* e& h
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
/ p, E6 l* m. F/ ]& `( f; z' Yvehicles already on the road.3 G2 H/ f; W* j& ?
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
; M( s1 @6 R1 B2 r+ Vbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full" K% d1 p# F2 w! e
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
7 ]) O: w! ^+ Voffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were0 x' Z5 z, V( X4 Q. h$ M3 d7 C6 ?. s
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
6 L. V% H3 ]) y( b% K"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a3 d6 [9 e" I9 p& u5 _+ L; z% b
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
$ X+ l) T' \: z' W; E: A( m! g3 p3 lfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight6 U" ]+ V; o2 `8 y) t0 U' A
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal; a+ N' W+ A# G" U& I# A
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
% Y# g, ]) W k' W3 Y% M, _+ trestore the trust of our customers." R5 G% o" k8 P
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from G7 {4 U) Z# X1 W7 w" _' E
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
( [! F# I. ]8 f) K/ ]6 `zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --6 f E' B5 L; M8 G" z$ @
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and7 }4 j5 F) O2 `1 T7 g
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
& T, t9 p; M1 O; F, cthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
( _: y0 {6 L9 _7 D Dturn off the engine.4 G- t a, f6 {" T9 @
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of6 B# u7 l/ k% a' P# P% u
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
# U8 |3 c! k5 I4 F$ v( a5 N/ u4 ]"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
: {1 s# F3 R& ^! I% }; Qsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
3 I2 L* P/ |5 j% `* jto her complaints.* x* o6 R- }$ p' V: \
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers/ W7 ]$ W- T$ I: a/ b
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
! \4 m C a( c' U+ r" k# [: q9 Wmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
3 J$ T$ P6 {5 g: D0 j"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric; l( R3 O7 E+ H, }' m7 M
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
4 B# F; ~ n" h) h5 N) D' s/ ?"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
W3 Q1 J1 E3 `, Boff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."/ B& ]2 b7 Z5 H. W* Z6 Y* o9 r
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
! m2 P- j/ a" Q% `' c* Yprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
" P( R8 C1 q. n& l7 V- Ybeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
$ W! T$ }- F6 z7 q6 c* z0 mwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
( b5 _. l2 |- L: d y, Y; v& j% @# Pevery question."
4 ?. E, E4 \, X& x" _5 XToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether' `9 `- V: }; X! O R/ |) k
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
" G, N6 |+ o+ qfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But0 u1 _/ {: [9 V( o- n
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small* R$ }+ y1 }5 P7 l* b. [5 s4 Z. {4 v
number of vehicles
: q$ S8 X3 g3 V# uTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
% u/ S7 S8 A% e# a8 Ldifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
" x. B* i q% r L0 dmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one' X$ F3 v' x% H+ s$ j. e! X
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
5 v' H8 }3 ^' ]& BMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,+ P- J2 A6 E7 O
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
" y% u% N& Y; I# ^: _0 htrace at all.
9 d8 ^. Z& b8 d$ bHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call" R) K) e- i" O* W. t0 Z
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
, f/ v/ h5 ~3 }' w& ?acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
7 m( C7 L: u- Nrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.* y g0 C$ E" w
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
; b' } ]' ?, X8 qsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and R+ f/ |$ B% \ R
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the% f* y( _/ L5 U a3 ] a
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible; K6 f- \- \6 B+ W' K& O& R
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only' ]- ?$ g; \' @7 @3 }4 ? g& K3 E$ g
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained4 [# Y1 ]- T6 X- l
by Toyota's lawyers."1 r1 N" U! F7 ]* \8 @# g" U* V) A
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of, f" R5 o7 g3 c2 s. A
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
8 q+ W# E6 ]' y+ n" V Icustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
& ^, |6 B" P3 Csaid.+ v( s" R; Z- |5 W* G
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
) e$ X! Z. }0 L3 G2 c, }: l$ \a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our' `2 ~% P1 A0 D
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating$ O, U% M& w2 [
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.! C- @7 n. Y" v& P
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
1 V7 A) |# b: l) `. Q/ qmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread" V1 }, z9 Z& c/ J/ F2 L6 u6 x
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the* ^" G5 O8 M1 }) E
automaker, at least in part because of the government's3 E* q& c1 K* O b s+ R. v( b8 @2 M
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
6 g" a7 |% f1 Z5 t; w3 Z" ~Chrysler.
& L2 C- M5 k. d% g( H"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
2 D+ R+ d: O4 u" Zdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a% v3 L0 h, f' h: A9 U: U5 |
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also$ H4 k6 i" A4 a, w
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
/ F1 t4 s3 @& j3 R" u8 ~with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
7 O0 \! s7 C: _+ \: {, B5 d0 [/ ktough."' I# @% x* G9 v- t/ `$ t( ?5 ]4 {
---* @, g( z! l+ B9 B) Q# R$ M
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
8 ~" e$ U. J0 ]) c1 G4 }Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to4 {# d `* x* y7 V; z% O6 j
this story.4 L! {6 L' R& G* }. a) {9 G
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