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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
' V( F- V$ D2 S( M; j. [By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
2 {! {6 G$ w8 k+ {. ?2 g8 n5 aWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
' l) r" t9 f7 M& G9 j2 coperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that+ K4 j( K0 [: l) F/ i1 Y' [/ {
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
& h$ s- N' d" ?* a# F3 Xsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration." t% Z6 K, b8 g5 A6 b& O) Q
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential' l! x9 a3 {8 _/ x' [: C; E
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.+ S8 Q0 e* {4 M, c \; Y4 M) Z
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected) e- {' k% }7 z' G' B: a
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
& l+ `/ W/ A9 T/ e" z# i mtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
- [# m( z' w7 K$ d0 I$ mmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
3 _) I. g) a* @ lHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
6 G2 o4 m6 e/ n( l& I2 `/ ? Cand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
5 W1 |* D+ a) M$ K9 f3 kcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
- w7 w1 ^0 R7 _# Y Q2 C6 J. Tfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
2 Q8 L3 e1 j- {not stop her runaway Lexus.
. n5 u! w0 O/ k" E+ D2 E: r% n"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
' k! ]) @+ f7 z/ J% q5 KTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second$ B+ k4 `; j+ L+ _! L( G
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators. x2 R- ~/ A. e5 J% ]' `) R H8 s
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
. j1 @/ v% b6 p9 vearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said( l0 ?8 U; z' {, O1 H5 |/ m
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has1 e2 T* K. _, `# l4 P
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
! a# K r7 P0 `% F- C4 _through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's- I: i/ T3 @) q- f$ D5 X
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."- }; p6 a' H- | F& P; t( L) z
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
* s4 `6 O' G+ G8 {" Y& }* k! O0 Y# D+ ielectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
$ |: [2 q0 r0 g: w$ i* lthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
0 z% s9 D) ?2 Rmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he R9 ?3 p+ a2 t* |$ i3 o) p
said.
8 z/ w0 `0 i* W+ MAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what# K$ ^2 C9 l+ [" i
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
, E6 [9 ?% U$ `7 @( uabout driving our products," Lentz said.
f" H' e! I4 OThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's2 [ D5 O4 a2 P& x5 \! U
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
( ~ ^& ?* }1 J* {7 Qrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
: g1 }% F9 ^% ? I9 M0 {: I$ ~4 ~3 Zmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
v& u$ h, y; w7 H7 s3 u7 Qunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
2 P' z0 O9 b* H/ L5 t( C9 ~+ Missues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering- s6 v7 f# k( m) u `+ h& l' _
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
T; c! D$ c" I$ X N Rtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow% N$ D) @9 B# _
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
$ E( `. C! f. U0 X) q9 Breceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
& c- L( U4 s6 P$ D& zof Toyota vehicles since 2000.) Y% ~; Q: O# W3 U5 R2 b
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own b# L4 y1 i V! P+ l2 D/ P
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
$ d1 O- s' r4 ]2 X9 w+ e& Vunderstood the pain.
( {6 s ]2 v% N" h2 f( y& E"I know what those families go through," he said.
3 @0 [8 \; P* ~$ ILentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's, V5 C8 n$ h5 N- ] ?) R# N: x8 @0 h
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
& t/ n1 \5 O5 ?# Q+ nBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
# t0 L0 ^6 L* m0 N$ }Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
% @+ d0 e5 x2 k6 nin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,' N% D/ J* y) m$ F
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
8 P# t9 K9 f. D7 X iStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were% r' y7 ]$ B$ P- X6 Y
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
6 E: L, E0 S$ @5 p: M# f2 HToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas' w P4 }; N" K* e" N
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
# `7 w) S% R, T" h* U2 P/ Bvehicles already on the road.
9 A8 R1 ~% C H2 L! ~+ DMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
- ?9 }' h+ x. w" Lbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
2 v0 t! m( a, {5 x$ j8 T" Jresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
- o3 O6 I) \5 F. yoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were1 [1 k9 l5 |/ D% R' J9 t7 g7 e
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.; \9 }" ^: @- U/ j7 f- b. M$ U3 L- Z( c
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a& q4 f O7 @+ K% I3 v ~& e' |
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony* |% W& V* v# D# s4 _
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
/ Y& l/ I' A0 h: j6 [% L) W5 Y! jCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal" w+ z! R! h! g$ v! W4 n
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to! h' N& O. N1 a- v+ a/ B# K, m
restore the trust of our customers."/ l; P8 C/ j/ Q$ j" y% W
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from4 k* l6 P2 u& K5 t6 _- l
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly8 H8 I: @7 n7 E- O/ ]' o, a# A
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
( Z; r! S- h; j( V* g+ Ushifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and6 u! y8 d; ~- u2 L
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
# g4 o4 I2 l6 b& othat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
) ~& @- Z- z [2 C. z: Hturn off the engine.. [+ h+ [3 y- C: {
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
0 Z' C8 x z6 B' K0 jOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."- _) V* w- H+ |3 d {" z
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
* }% Y3 |# ?7 @7 B. Gsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond0 |8 b" k+ u7 i& g3 ~, _" F
to her complaints.
8 j* p7 i4 ]: M% W! P) Q- KIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
, T/ y5 M9 A: ureturned again and again to the question of whether electronic! K4 d+ r" ]# l1 f E6 e
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.) N. S. J2 T' `# g
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
5 v6 n# c/ I% i2 y0 f5 ?throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
( H3 J1 w2 k! q& t5 {$ _1 ?"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
$ y$ z# x$ i/ W5 J( Joff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."5 w$ o. Q ]9 x2 p& C
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in! \- a$ |" S- f3 R
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
0 y: {8 C& p4 }0 T$ fbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls3 b! w* k6 S* i1 }) H3 w+ c$ Y
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer, ?% M7 P; j+ ^+ C
every question."
2 u- c& G3 a: ^" bToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
( A0 `, ~9 M+ f; ~% ]4 Z% O velectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
8 _* ?( C, F; u/ }' @) S# G ]firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But9 w& t# G7 y4 ?, s4 R" s
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
" m" z0 o' i6 g: fnumber of vehicles
1 W" g: F4 a) X% q7 U7 J" L) r; \Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
4 s" ~; z* [7 a3 T' n& \1 Vdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
2 C- | B# H% j1 fmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
, k) f: v! n# hsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
, x* W" B( x* n7 b7 xMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage," Y1 k, F0 `1 v7 I; {" }( k
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
2 g. R( `) j% P' l0 Z. B0 C9 M8 V% Btrace at all.& _; f6 x6 Q8 ?$ O8 i4 m. K+ O
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call* S F, v% T0 z5 l) R6 N C
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
1 v( M/ o8 S' iacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the' u# t$ J6 g# t/ o1 O, X/ q7 z
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.: [+ h+ _+ L. ] k
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,7 U1 X; e1 ~7 O8 u! E4 Z$ O
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and, m5 D& d9 P# U2 v; Y5 E
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the! T1 z6 h3 l5 L' s4 ~. @# o
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible) m g5 Y2 b4 B4 ~
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
8 E x% u- l. J( Csuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained! z3 X0 I8 u( G8 H# v7 v
by Toyota's lawyers."
5 U- U! C. L$ }5 D$ L6 {Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
7 i' [& P8 V% S$ h6 o Z! U$ V8 Lproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our- `8 n3 t: x0 J5 M/ \
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
* Y7 ^4 n+ {7 V. c7 Xsaid.
, [! v2 C) L6 K3 k"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
' g$ G# {1 i/ h3 I [+ l: b# X( D2 Ea rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
S( f9 w+ ^% P7 W tgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
% ^( A4 B. _9 g# Bofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
- W5 k- C+ d# k/ ~7 MSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying% V7 F& W8 m% b" D$ B" s
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread: J- r$ k8 t) I0 H) K, f
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
1 T" I5 ]% I3 D! Z2 n+ fautomaker, at least in part because of the government's5 f( F7 x% D) ?) C) f
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
; i$ m9 \2 R5 J, pChrysler.
" y/ S* j* l! n"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
( k/ g6 Z p2 ~+ j7 ]1 h. f6 g+ qdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a! E. x+ m+ A& f z( \
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
% }; U7 `) b, y: h0 {, fserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete/ J& {6 A' k* ]; @; R3 }: |' t
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty: x# S3 ^& L* ` E d+ x0 P
tough."3 G+ u2 L" t4 O2 w0 k$ ]
---
; {6 l: W m9 g }) OAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
& ?. E4 `8 {* J) G8 KRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to8 u% U! ]3 X2 W( M2 b
this story.. v9 H/ c# t( c. j& i# n; u: b
# e9 [/ k# x7 i. B-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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