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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
: T; w' S4 C6 P) fBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
8 _. G& ~( c5 x8 _* b0 uWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
8 p/ X, _* `3 x$ |operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
' j1 V- u: R9 P% A: ?7 Fthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally": _! C' e* r0 v& f$ R+ {& A
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
* l* p; O6 r5 T" U! j) G"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
' d/ H1 J; k0 Z, [" H6 v5 |causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
# k! W: p9 ~/ d7 F% z6 l2 {However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
# Z' |$ O! n% I6 s3 J& yacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
6 J9 R6 c! `9 _) D7 Q* R" Z1 ~7 ]trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor* R/ Z; i6 ]' [4 Z; _
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
1 X5 }* |! M3 U9 B' Z1 J% i0 kHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
, c, p# _/ T1 p H7 Dand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp9 `5 f1 z9 f" r2 J, ` j7 J5 S5 B
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
$ P" e6 `) G# g% \further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
" a% O/ G- r) f; g. C3 enot stop her runaway Lexus., t9 W2 T# X- y1 @
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
8 }: h; `4 |- M+ t% z* {/ Y6 ^Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
2 {+ ^" E# i: M, g"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.. n/ e* P7 W! v
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues8 E7 y2 v" C. J4 n; ?
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
4 A& i V/ _; ?( z"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
6 z# |9 L' ~# M% A6 ?, zdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
. Q. j: o2 t n, [/ ~through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's8 `) i7 o7 u+ s/ Y7 [; D! L8 T+ Y
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."* }$ Z, ]3 }, r2 q4 {6 Z7 B
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
8 U0 t& i1 x; Q; v2 Oelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
' }. Z* u2 e+ R3 |' L9 S/ ], {the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
) }9 h* V- g9 g" \malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he1 O! s3 H% u% r- P: ?$ u* K
said.9 r+ W; s- ~5 u4 E
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
1 u8 d3 ?' Q' phappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
0 L$ o2 X+ `, R2 ~3 x! t/ Labout driving our products," Lentz said.
7 i# F( Q& w# SThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's/ c5 m1 S8 N/ t
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has7 c6 G) n, B" Q! A/ g
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 63 R& ^5 E9 ?3 c) C G, A! I: O
million in the United States -- since last fall because of. y4 d2 M# s. G( R# [- @: o
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking% t7 w3 }% m8 I3 L. Z/ F. J+ I
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
( A8 }, j8 m% Gconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
/ u- V% [) E4 P' c9 atheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
$ z/ f; S6 A! Cdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
% D6 ?) ?4 O6 v, A# L9 treceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
+ ~6 d4 r* i, U; w) Q; J) _6 Xof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
5 L2 f* s* R- l1 }; I* R( A7 ]% PLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own% G+ B, `& e6 p. X% q, f0 [7 Q
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he. h K5 ]$ u7 X( Y' f
understood the pain.
7 E* b, A+ \& m' t6 E6 X/ U"I know what those families go through," he said.
" Z& E1 s' v2 R! g( P( y. g2 ]Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
+ g0 z0 T" W# L* d# s8 k6 Wfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
: K- k! C% h0 s( S% F' r0 K: vBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
3 @/ K# L. ^$ F- _. ?- jHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
5 s- K" I5 q+ M% ?: x0 I6 min place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
6 C4 _4 P1 s% K) c6 B% Q; zLentz replied: "Not totally."
% a% j' u& o6 @+ C9 VStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
2 R0 p9 q5 S- D8 p2 n( C$ ^. l' `"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said% S5 f+ ]5 k) @# r5 R$ w8 D
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
* o3 L, s; p5 F) bpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its( ~/ u8 `& |% g
vehicles already on the road." T- E' d2 d) H/ w6 U$ g
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
$ X) \% \5 u/ p$ b0 {0 @3 Tbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full4 v6 W2 U: e9 o. A
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and0 S6 c$ I7 c q- |$ `+ O9 y
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were: `6 M; `" e1 P( G: O
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.1 j8 R' m1 \1 N6 h9 x
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
W7 Y5 J" s4 Y: utragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
) x/ `, i/ J( I0 jfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
9 A/ ?5 p3 O. f4 D. @Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
f5 J1 x% z3 m1 t: U6 O) ocommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to+ f* v/ V5 S7 i' I- D& B! N
restore the trust of our customers."
4 M& h, D9 l" \5 N4 }2 z7 ^: ELawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
. ^5 B0 j! ?+ l* C& m* A$ jSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
) b- h, ^$ N$ ?" M N$ bzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --/ X* `! S1 f2 P8 G9 T7 p, p! t
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
4 @3 w8 _* d" p. `( Uhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough( A' ~( n0 W* d4 K
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
+ x: v. {% z0 K+ [5 w: I' S+ J3 xturn off the engine.. |. n) f7 C. E6 D' |
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of" _ \: l! Q/ j7 w0 x- Y1 [" W
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience.": Q" k7 V2 i' n7 l% `
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she/ o' f' ^' m( g( O% \5 e9 n
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
$ O5 J$ t# c7 J) @to her complaints.
- O+ h3 d7 s" y o. ^2 {: uIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
- G7 h4 a( P5 |& u4 kreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
3 u4 d2 k f3 A5 h a4 `* W& bmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.1 w- w, @3 k, u$ O( s% y
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
% y% _: S! r o7 j4 w7 Z' q1 h" sthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited+ \' x. j* g0 i ~' J5 n
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
' Y& {& @4 u; N3 [2 K" y5 P. Boff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."* x; a7 M/ z. c$ b
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in: I% `" Z4 C. h
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
+ X7 U* p; F, X! `& Bbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
' n7 F4 [4 t' y+ K2 Hwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer7 n2 |' a- g+ y$ ]3 c! o
every question."
6 b/ t8 h# |* }0 A2 a4 XToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
X @- H) t( a8 b5 V4 nelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The; d. D6 F9 r: H1 D/ ^
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But8 E2 g w$ u4 R# j! B4 Z
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
9 L' P/ o- C% o8 g8 H. a' K- cnumber of vehicles
0 M7 {- c: B% Q: a' uTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
4 z, J1 z; b6 P6 B1 U8 E# m4 cdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a- [% L9 c i# U; u# J
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
3 A" z! b2 ~% y- ^source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
% |8 I9 P9 d4 N4 YMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,; K0 @0 g; E8 t2 v9 ^
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no! b; l: k7 P# E& m9 |6 ]
trace at all.
. ~. U/ C' ^ K- ^ mHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call. W. W) S i& U, _* b4 h4 v: |
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden- s4 S% L6 g2 T ?. P1 ?
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the2 S7 ]/ C4 P$ H
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.$ O: L8 ]% g+ v! W* |8 c
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
0 }1 t2 Q% R7 Osaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
4 Z) g |' u. [) sother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
+ Y( a* H# ], p$ v( V/ l; M7 v+ velectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
+ \% V8 q4 ?" d$ V4 [0 {- dcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
1 n- C4 w; e! g) v# Y3 ?such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained3 F; s- M$ E v8 X6 Z* \' R
by Toyota's lawyers."
4 R1 N! a% c8 d8 W$ oLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of3 X( `" } l0 T& I
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our% v5 {: Y1 l% x8 V# B
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he( T' ?( c9 {4 P2 z6 o I8 Y$ D7 i
said.
5 Y6 w% P7 B4 s) G"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with$ X% b' Y) |3 q9 o3 }# w2 n
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
u4 }# w! q, l* Ugood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
6 X) t/ `; ~; `, `$ c; |officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.$ j: f/ [0 Q- e9 L: y1 N* Q
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying, ]) Z) \ F/ E' R( C9 `6 u* w7 l9 k
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread+ E/ ?4 ~4 t5 X; k E4 P
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the5 r+ ?. y) T2 r* x @" }: `
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
3 r: ~* \# ^2 j: l4 a1 Q% d1 P& Sinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and- x' I4 S% Y' N( P& l
Chrysler.# I. [' z8 S# I5 q7 z9 w
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax* |4 R( o0 p6 o" c0 J/ Z* ]
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
( p5 j4 Z" E+ @Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also1 f2 L! r% z" ]. ~9 Q) U7 a
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
! \" o4 v5 ~% Z' B9 W* [with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty4 E% q8 a5 E4 R' e4 t- P: H: Z
tough."
4 H% e% A7 u5 \3 m. i---
6 y( a, }* m Q6 b) uAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
* z4 t+ @( A9 i, v! `+ x1 [Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to& x, \5 z5 c- I
this story.
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; @" I$ C( w3 {& J8 W, T3 F-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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