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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
; @8 m1 a: j u; K# n5 J: f8 LBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
. n% l) H# g: |Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.3 ?! K: u. Z9 H v, v n- {
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
) C- [3 Y7 J6 N8 \ Rthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"* K/ P% V5 i4 Y$ c" u- h2 _$ T
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.* e7 v8 j' V: r+ }- N
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential* l( M# q' w7 { b& v: j/ D
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
8 L8 K7 B$ K1 r6 t1 M/ ^However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected% ^* ?6 [! g9 `9 r+ S
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
7 q! ~: k8 [9 x3 Y/ Ntrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
# |4 b% V; g, ?# r2 emats and sticking accelerator pedals.
' m$ G# y* t3 |. i, ~2 z) J, rHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
. M; W3 i1 f, Zand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp2 u+ H' p; I) m, T) @) I7 r7 Z B
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
( k' O: E) ~, Z. P( L0 Efurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could& J2 x) ` M8 s, e# g6 f
not stop her runaway Lexus.1 T- ^& O1 r% h8 _
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
! k) J) m, U. ?% X3 J% k3 rTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
* s- N! V1 a5 [# U) @"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
4 ]- e3 k, i3 J! F+ g3 N6 qTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
4 m8 L+ {5 `. Cearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said, @5 B7 `4 Y! h3 f$ @: q& g, F$ X
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
7 N$ @& @4 S3 T1 {6 Pdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway7 @) \7 j" J$ ]
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
; Y/ P6 Y1 T' Q8 |# V0 T6 z, Winvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
1 @! j; W6 X6 h0 C/ v( c8 JLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
3 T7 `( u0 f; T7 G) [/ }7 felectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
9 T7 B; n3 x1 w$ kthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
9 I! \/ C$ i% A. k) A; x* c5 tmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he O# |) C0 I# P6 ^
said.6 A# g$ n* `$ W: }8 T
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what& A( _: B5 Q& x( ]5 E
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
8 `/ v }7 r0 n* f6 d/ V; m( tabout driving our products," Lentz said.1 }) F1 e. ^( b; R& ?. U/ l% E
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
& I+ [; u$ n% v$ H+ Aproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
, C, J5 e: c( }' k9 ]recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
/ G+ v2 O% N8 Qmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
$ ^7 \$ C/ a# b0 w& Aunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
1 K4 s0 F/ A- K x" c! Xissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering3 U2 P6 N N+ H
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of/ T7 t8 a* H7 S( S* L; ^$ d, |2 x( ~
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
% G& b! b4 _; k) G! G, Q& ?' cdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has7 z7 [- b! N1 g2 {
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
* }+ c, R& R+ _. xof Toyota vehicles since 2000.# g/ @8 u+ B$ N0 U/ F7 y3 ^
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own6 f% r t' @% c" a: K' r4 U
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
2 a/ u L4 V) K: dunderstood the pain.. j0 c2 _% {- `$ N& [
"I know what those families go through," he said.7 p# B1 d& s. r1 C, M& P
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's9 ^4 q3 ?! [, \' a( [1 t
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
0 O) \ X: e; ]7 \But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
9 K: i. S! ` K3 O$ NHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put4 {5 b5 h O+ I( X( t- Z6 ]
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
- M7 j1 C9 H2 t! f" l8 H3 dLentz replied: "Not totally."4 l+ ]9 f! k3 Q. I
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were) N" I% L s; z
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said# P% P; l a/ u% [- Z
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
4 K, s) P) z+ Ipedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
. l& F: x( {- g2 `. Dvehicles already on the road.
. L5 i* ?; j. Q6 @6 C+ f7 iMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
$ o; f" c, e+ k% J' T. r2 ]before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
4 \1 _: b! K. g" u" Aresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
0 z4 w4 t" z4 x; v: X, p doffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were! E- |& b u- q9 h q$ d4 T
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
9 Z* ]7 q8 M* G! ?# G"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
0 M( k" A+ u0 Q$ a! T( Xtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony4 P. I& {9 @. C6 d" u
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
$ g# p: Z7 I# i( c* u# `Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal- a; q' h+ V4 }& f+ R1 P3 w
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
. l2 i' o# V& a3 s4 N. \restore the trust of our customers."
: _9 B+ F. |3 `Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from* N6 U q! B3 C% g6 g5 p# X% C
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly* j" O) {. u7 u" [5 p" g% ]6 w
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --/ B( `. |# `' c
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and' c* q0 x5 h* U
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
3 _/ t' h0 a5 K( |that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and) D! ~7 R \3 f/ m
turn off the engine.
" K4 u/ b$ a% E( s% u8 c$ \Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
/ ^1 C' ^" D3 F* G% p3 SOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."7 J" f( }8 j1 l/ O3 U2 g
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
3 N R4 U. e! [, C7 F0 W% S5 X8 osaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond6 L2 c; f. Q8 s( ]) \
to her complaints.0 s+ _7 K8 |; U* R9 G0 r5 V; s3 K$ O
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
) V! d6 Q2 }2 Greturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
: z8 q' k3 ^: pmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.7 a1 H' D7 j. l7 {, }1 ~
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric. b* K& ~& V, Q3 X4 d
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
4 ~) j0 G9 E- s"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut! ]: Q0 r% M+ o
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."6 j \4 C4 ]9 l7 r9 G* ?# ~; l
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
/ [) M. j2 ]. W& c, \8 bprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were7 r2 K w0 N1 M0 ?0 A1 G0 z3 @
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls5 J* k4 p- \- E8 s! F* g
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
, u$ Z' I1 X0 A$ z n% Fevery question."
! u4 ^9 f/ D! M# K9 TToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
& N# a6 ~# h$ l( z/ y6 }electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The& W) y9 Z) k5 }/ ? a. p
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But' R" I0 x1 X& }- i3 X! _4 H2 L
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
8 I, X. a q, p0 b: _$ rnumber of vehicles
5 m+ n; X, Y8 V G4 k+ j- R, @Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
6 N, d; K) T' W. X8 udifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a, v2 N1 d( O; a9 K9 W0 B
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
( v0 A8 P! i+ `. _source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.9 h* x7 g# c) D8 D; U8 `1 b
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,% R, A- M; v- ]# |, z2 x
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no* o+ B: B! A: l0 X/ ]% z0 Y8 F
trace at all.
$ z/ R R% F7 SHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
4 X" Q3 @$ Y- [8 L7 Kdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden5 s1 Q4 I( a! e7 W
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
4 W. c( q! a0 R& r- precalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
" O: Y( ]5 T' A* uRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
3 o+ @, `( B6 Y$ j( Dsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and6 ]' a j) S9 P) Y& ^1 X- A* G
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
0 `! V8 g, b9 Q/ R5 v5 Lelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible% c1 u, a! ?' ~: `0 ~2 L) W; @
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
R9 w2 m# ?9 y' G* e" wsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
) G8 E: G" z9 ^* }by Toyota's lawyers."
: @1 o, w1 K% M) Y1 cLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
/ R T$ e; G) x: t, Nproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our ]9 Q, U2 P& H( o, z* k
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he9 U. u1 P. `+ P1 t j1 B, q: n$ T
said.! V+ f8 q- F! h7 d5 r* u
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with. Q( d8 ]9 P' D# T' a( L% Z4 L
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
! _( G* S1 D" e: M; \$ O- Ogood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating7 O5 h5 m" d4 f1 L0 a8 H! j7 ~
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.6 }: E9 J+ n2 P' l5 U0 B) e% f
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying# ]2 ^' m' Z0 T4 ~/ g9 ?3 P( U
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
8 v( n' ?4 K# l8 f2 nrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
/ Q" U# N' y S4 ~! yautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
2 R1 X5 y2 ~& a" j8 F0 {6 O$ kinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and6 c, d, z c" v' ]+ w0 i" m6 R
Chrysler.
2 j/ O4 B- W$ _ Q' O7 x A- Q"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
3 \5 S/ _( i: ?& O$ d# T7 s! n: l+ Edollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
- W2 E' w4 o% {" K3 _" O+ G! {6 ]Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also5 C" v" R0 R0 ` J5 p
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
+ p7 T5 e4 ?* n0 @+ P( S# uwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
5 Y: _! U6 P3 |9 G( o. F/ t4 btough."
" p+ z+ m4 G2 f7 P. _( v+ b---
3 V) C, |1 h7 h/ GAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
: C+ `$ @& B8 gRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to5 S- [9 m u9 w4 g( F
this story.
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1 `$ |! z9 u8 ^3 S7 X-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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