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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
5 E/ c8 c5 o! G- L, T! x# C: KBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS# Z$ i# {, c9 s( i: h
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
. j. W& y0 H6 s. koperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
+ Z, |3 P ~& N" x; jthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
. Q. G& k6 Q* v6 Z* ^- e |solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
; l7 f( x% n0 N"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
% v, B. M6 ~! B' ?; ccauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
: H% c; j' y f& CHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected7 e/ x! ~5 @, U
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
2 |) b& ?- o0 Dtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
! P! ` T5 r0 D7 d8 X3 Fmats and sticking accelerator pedals.. S' r* `: m1 S" `* I
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal( \/ u& ^- `" \& _; Q2 v
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
4 @ k+ b8 P( O* W5 ecriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
4 y9 C' E9 H, D; Ifurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
* ~) ?; m' x% w3 vnot stop her runaway Lexus.$ D, M' p V$ q( e$ n6 ~9 O( s
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,$ t/ l" I: w$ a1 J4 Z" [
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second$ M, U6 h ^+ R6 A: @- M( m( M4 @
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.4 r% \9 x2 B& D6 @2 V h3 u' O$ _- ~
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
o' K; q. S5 Y- w6 e' tearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
; c# K% n* j4 z/ ~3 U"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has; t+ p% E0 j3 x' J* N; H( ~
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
' L' a j$ ], L p1 _through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
: O# Y7 n* ^$ a4 b b- h6 p) Vinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
% ]1 ^+ p8 j" r; U8 V& b, ^3 DLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
" K' r- z" J/ l) l' V/ melectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of% S8 _8 B( `% } H1 s: C: G
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
. l1 ]& {! Y( |- g* k" s8 m! @( Zmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
. c7 c9 }0 e- [; f! ^said.
0 C+ i; A8 w) o* w9 M& fAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
) c6 C" Q. X( M" }2 N8 E3 g, i2 P5 lhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe9 |+ M" G9 M$ w# c2 ^, R% V
about driving our products," Lentz said.' s/ b- J% ]6 Z0 m; J
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
( r* f; \# o4 b7 Yproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
( _( L8 D8 C! nrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6- P1 u9 [. i) x5 r. z2 Z
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
% S; f/ j9 R s. W+ Vunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking1 j7 {5 U9 G$ _( _; @* }' n3 z' L% N
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering$ L4 H2 R8 Z7 W% o2 ], B+ Z- ~0 }
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
* I5 }2 W+ U- j0 h) q/ W3 |0 qtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
7 G6 E) r+ J r9 C" }& S4 mdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
/ H$ n! R' z x+ ` f, y, D, Qreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration% l8 z9 W8 x+ a! u4 H3 m
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
' y6 }$ t9 D! w# T) B! OLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own2 \1 _" k" G9 i. q) J. H
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he" F; W6 @: i% I5 h3 K
understood the pain.# N. T0 A/ p$ @- s4 B
"I know what those families go through," he said.
8 Y' a8 e8 b8 B+ D) {: K; M) dLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's" a) a2 r+ u! y% b7 g! l
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
2 v! Y6 u- n- r& j) @$ v9 c; i# eBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman/ H$ [) Y6 f' c1 g
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put1 B I1 a! s/ z) N+ P
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
9 r$ o! U, n5 j: ~! n3 Q1 s. |Lentz replied: "Not totally."
2 s- Q' i3 w/ A9 ]+ F. zStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were( k5 F% M$ W! v: B
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said, ^; }+ v2 h1 @8 t2 h9 k
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas! S3 P: a2 X1 g9 ~, b4 |
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its* [, V6 | Q4 \1 V z
vehicles already on the road.6 ^- S* G& D5 Z0 j
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
* P1 m! C4 ~7 j9 t# Nbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
0 b$ G3 T9 U& ~. `* oresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and+ Q* q( ]! \& e+ p0 h$ O
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were+ L) m/ D, `" q$ E
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.: T6 ~! ~6 h& F8 Y" v" F- S
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
! P9 W; b9 C" J* K/ l. I4 Qtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
5 R4 Q* b6 u' G6 B$ c/ Pfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight' \( @: J- ?: j
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
( M& c) s' H' M# a5 T4 t. D) pcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
/ ]$ Y9 x' H! F% N2 frestore the trust of our customers."
1 H* E! R G: K# gLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from2 U) q- {% K# p: w W$ j
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
: S" Q! D4 |# y1 Zzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --; F0 i: K3 A) g% u3 H
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
; l, ? C4 Y! V3 \. m, h4 _& [hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
/ q, U/ \) O* K4 Ithat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
9 s9 i" m2 q( c0 Rturn off the engine.# U$ v# e% l% E: s" J Q
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of& `1 E! J* e) K6 N0 _
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."3 U' e3 F) }0 V9 S0 Y
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
/ J. e/ T F% W- osaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond9 Z, `9 D5 z" L2 \4 K+ j( J1 @" \+ B7 |0 w
to her complaints.
1 `$ ?+ q% Z( S4 E8 X$ x- b/ D$ `In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers8 A% D* A! v- a8 y: j: U( a
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
( r9 a6 v9 G: B1 I5 dmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.5 F; Y2 M, H Y) m+ R; X
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
. E% H$ X5 T: [- othrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
6 X% P: p1 e6 Q, X, } @. b% {"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut; w; H. a( w7 p& T0 P
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."0 h$ e7 n4 w- |% E; R' g
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
6 W' p. F1 M0 H+ Lprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
A. h! s. H) H+ G( gbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls7 Y: Q0 g' d `
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
0 p9 R- E6 ~0 U1 m5 J7 L% devery question."- Q. H' j' b3 l2 d- N! P) F" n
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
7 X" T' u7 {) Z l1 W% zelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The& Q2 m' w3 I9 F- [
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But" R# y0 r! x. z& D, N
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small8 V* A) \5 ~; }$ ^+ ~. S+ Z
number of vehicles E& k) Y! l2 d F# @4 Y: Q
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more5 B# _( r* L) u* e/ a* |% a8 R5 p( w
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a5 y" e' c* I$ E; @ }
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one; L" j) D9 i7 _7 M
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
: h4 L0 [( @/ }2 L, a6 IMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,6 M2 P% c+ k3 I" P1 J
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no$ c% M$ j' e- t& P' I
trace at all.) V+ T1 q' ?/ h0 q7 x- G4 M- i" R8 c
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call& r. R; k, S+ P2 \7 d, J
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden$ o$ u4 v7 m, M1 T5 {
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the: w% C" a+ n5 p
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.2 D; w1 {2 w' }! R: ^; s
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,& b1 B) O* Y" p7 r
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
8 |6 \3 I+ n* \4 y5 R1 ^other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
6 I0 @) I/ x' W& j8 T7 y3 W+ xelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
6 F' ?9 J# o) Ncause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
6 f3 y* K) M, F5 n2 \such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
, M A6 r% y- a: n" v, I; }by Toyota's lawyers."5 d+ R1 j+ h3 S
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of% F- l' x) o+ }
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
$ Z4 ], l) c9 M/ H% ncustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
! m. {& ?: D7 i, b" Osaid.
1 y. e* b0 P) T T* }6 | ?"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with! p9 e1 Y* q. c" j' U/ ^
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
4 q! Y @5 T9 {. Rgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
! b* l3 {4 F, I1 I0 G( A1 C- aofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.& M0 ]0 e. B! h- E8 U
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying8 v' A) \; b. F2 [% O
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread, Q* s- U& g4 _2 Y2 O9 d+ Z# P
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the- |* S3 y% @, g: j9 g! F/ ?8 c
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
7 g! t' g' ]3 ]" Hinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and7 A4 ~# J, E! t; N
Chrysler.
& ]! {. w9 {- z) w"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
/ y! X9 s# i5 d4 h% _* L$ pdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
0 ^2 K7 S1 V" c8 n/ e# Q, u# ]Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also7 _# O$ t4 [* ]6 U4 {5 E
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
' C8 R0 C! j! j( hwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
9 ]/ X7 X1 M$ R+ _) m! Ytough."# j0 M% j+ `" C, o( z
---
# N |2 _# a. ` [Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
& n1 n0 |6 Y. SRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to% w0 ^' f) b0 r
this story.* k/ b" x/ y3 z D* Q
/ O6 F* a2 x1 ?" Y- R" Y
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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