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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
( F+ q6 A o2 h7 O9 KBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS: a0 U& \! c3 U# R
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
1 A+ O1 V9 {! U5 goperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
6 p, _; m' Z# V, w# s' |& Athe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"2 x6 G+ h7 ?& W
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
; K( V! k/ ?+ E- H"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential0 i. ~' `% d! k a/ l, W4 Q
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.7 T. I1 ]5 _4 {( s5 |4 j) {
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected) P* T+ u9 `- |$ w, K
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
+ }. R/ \ c: @ Utrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
5 v! V; A4 E- F/ kmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
3 w( n' |- {% H& p! U8 {6 r( dHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
H+ p3 |5 n" w0 }3 t1 g6 Pand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
7 I& l! r6 ]5 x# g- kcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be& u0 T& |. Z: l* b2 A
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could, Y& `2 o- P( L* W7 t) @
not stop her runaway Lexus.) x, `$ u8 U2 r0 v! e
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,; N; j1 ^- E, B, p$ R
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second# c2 g& G0 c/ Y. u/ R" s
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators. O3 N* `- b5 ?6 f9 p
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
6 |) c4 z: i( r+ c) @( u- H, Uearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said* y' \; n! q0 R. y8 h4 \) R8 e
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has# [0 A% I1 {! F( ?3 c9 {; D. p
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
& Z1 p9 D9 W I9 p& x: o; S* Y+ Ithrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's1 O$ P4 N% T5 H2 F
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."- {: `! }$ ~/ f& u9 j; U6 d
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
# R3 ?0 _/ t$ O1 N1 Z celectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of+ }4 B; F- T9 L# Q; S
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a6 I8 R" a" ^# n: ? k# t& Z" A
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
2 M: o, Z- ]" p" f/ Hsaid.2 m6 v- k8 Q* ?$ [2 U2 j
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what& `- x7 Z% d/ h. V5 y8 }
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
: A0 I' V! I) l/ C; T; q% habout driving our products," Lentz said.. ~/ x9 h4 h9 y% ^( v3 e
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
* s4 |0 {0 x5 f vproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
3 g* I, b' J: A' `* J0 T2 H( `recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
- X6 R+ J) O9 \+ r! p/ x5 hmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of5 H4 q+ ?9 m- X, f! _+ q; C Z1 I
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
& {; t5 Q8 y { b# I n! G, c6 ^issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering1 n; c0 _/ x! K. p8 e% h! J7 v7 ^. B9 l
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
' v2 g4 J( U" D, ttheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow, G2 j5 J% P5 y
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has" T6 u% r: Q9 d- c, o6 m \
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
+ {$ S6 O% N( W6 gof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
! U& _1 ~, K. |, P( f {' }Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
" J( E: ^9 X' B4 Y2 _# y3 V$ nbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he/ t, X$ o, f5 B6 k& e. v
understood the pain.
6 X6 ?4 s Q9 w: T8 `8 R; k"I know what those families go through," he said.
; T. G2 r" P/ L' `2 @# ZLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's- [( ^6 Y) s! ?! n. L
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
5 Y9 D$ l- g) s' _# TBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman" f/ T! ?% j4 `5 e: x5 p% q
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
; o2 Z9 {7 L) D( H* c: `in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
& {6 K& t8 X3 m; ? H$ O3 SLentz replied: "Not totally."
# e) `8 w& L0 |1 M, x) nStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were; `4 ^, r/ A; u/ q0 T# }: U
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said- R" y) H; n7 V
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas. i2 }4 V1 m2 m# K/ F
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
! i1 ]+ X& Y" Dvehicles already on the road.
8 d" G1 {0 ]" d; q: g# V, B6 IMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
, S$ d0 s, G( G/ o. `0 J* P! Abefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
; r% Z* A* h- Wresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
3 K9 ]: j2 B* \' M! P9 }: D: A7 toffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were: z& Q& ?/ ~% g. E9 h! W6 V
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
% F2 l, j# q, N' p( t! c! T"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a7 O$ \8 X9 S4 Z `
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony* r6 l. ?' D; q& k5 [ h& C
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight% ^# ~; O$ ]3 H2 x: t: F5 p) l
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal, `' y, }+ B( O @
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to' E8 }( X* z, N, d& m6 s% F* _# K* o
restore the trust of our customers."2 U% r0 d& B$ _; M$ e) \
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from+ E& ?. Z( Z1 w2 p, J# U7 e
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly# j* p$ b% d# ?+ C, @5 m
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
9 v* c- i! X2 J+ \- G+ Q( Q8 |shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and, }' c2 ~0 M" l) I
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough9 m; m( R4 \& E1 P* }. L( O" D
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
% Y$ K6 G$ z) [3 X( k# g8 Mturn off the engine. t: l2 t% n) `0 T) D. v
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
4 C; O" h& L4 s ?# Z1 [ ^October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."# ~" k, A' `- q6 I
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
" r- q% ?2 p- K+ i3 p# [4 P3 [+ I4 esaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
, H$ q5 G) o1 k; H- C3 lto her complaints.
% Q8 d; ~( M1 M# L/ n) L+ p1 hIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers! Y8 [) L5 H) ?1 x
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
& V+ S2 W- i) }8 bmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.1 b6 }- k6 I8 O5 g. P
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
( [& C. H; H& k$ h8 x5 [throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited$ d! r6 t6 J% p$ O3 D6 {
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut& {. @; f( V- E( L' E
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
d( s/ q0 G% U N. ?Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
' G" ?$ M( ]2 o% {) W1 |; W2 c: ?prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were, C8 o/ v& ~5 G; a& ^
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
, c: G* H, \4 m- \5 z* Awere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer, H; u6 I/ a4 F7 v+ z$ |1 M
every question."& U8 \" D: d- G
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
u+ g) U% C" h7 @1 `0 e( }# Ielectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The/ c/ z* G3 f; S: ?4 u+ f
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
- Q: h) t- K' n5 pcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small$ \2 n* i6 C5 W* N
number of vehicles5 S! W: x- w5 Y; T' w0 [6 m
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more8 S# U# s& r6 z" \+ v" D3 F/ @9 ?
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
, C7 R% z$ F7 \3 C" P: l1 wmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
& `2 h( e- i& tsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
& w$ B: x8 L7 H' eMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
2 T7 M; M& Q" m6 c$ awhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no2 _* z! d# Z5 f8 i! ~% ~
trace at all., |4 w% ~+ |8 r& f
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call- Z q1 g/ ?" [! S* \& k7 t
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
; v, K/ b, i4 D* ]5 R Cacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
8 S0 N( a9 n% U' H# _, R$ Erecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
* @8 v; I; j' g1 @! a8 {+ O+ lRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
0 i; P; N% _' C& A: v3 p$ e( `said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
8 X, s2 P+ V& v% z' y$ P6 w8 I) jother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
: q* ]; X. [4 {0 @% Xelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
3 Y7 D0 v' v2 u# x2 h; Ycause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only0 L# T4 o7 v- \" k$ \
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained. u3 J) E; u/ B# T W& C
by Toyota's lawyers."
0 f% q# S* Q' s5 |* N1 O3 wLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
* j$ t8 C; o+ J; z; bproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
/ s2 t4 f& ]$ t) Ecustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
+ w+ M" n! \- ?, ?: W& P3 q* ysaid.: O6 N4 v; D* I' G+ U' J! x
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with) g/ G/ j" U$ U: A) O
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
- s; J& X, d. o- f) ^4 W- A# ^good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating# ~0 U d) r5 j& V
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
7 u- `" z/ Q' A9 _# |% ~: L( rSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying# R9 Z% ?$ s8 {' l; C7 W1 {
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
; q! Q8 L0 i5 [rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
; t- Z* X. p dautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
+ W. |' j+ i* ~* n+ v9 U2 Ginvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and* K, ^- J" O4 o" u
Chrysler.# g6 h8 w4 L; @% _- r
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax3 @* ~5 P, t) _' `
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
, |" X, m0 L* G1 h+ o& g& YHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
/ z0 T% o; T$ V# Kserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
7 C" _! D9 f( {2 a" {with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty6 w6 a& L) {% Q! M" W- Y1 ?8 D
tough."
7 @4 y# l0 [6 x, E: e0 u---/ ^2 N$ S9 G( o4 ?+ w4 P
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom; D$ m5 r& N j! K
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
6 p$ C, J* i- T) W7 T) o7 ^* b% Othis story.
" v/ P; u8 D8 A! v1 \7 o- c# C( {" U( { o+ k$ t2 ~
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