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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
+ T& |4 ~( {/ d2 P! G' bBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS2 V6 @3 K+ H1 t% ^1 `( l
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
4 S2 i% |3 T5 ]5 q% eoperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that7 {: i f7 F/ K3 _
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
+ Q) C) V. W, u$ _7 O/ asolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
) [. J/ ?6 Q0 F' D \: l* {; I8 y: C"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
$ E* b7 X: u3 W t* h+ O) wcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.! e) E9 F, h% I8 p4 y
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected* g, [$ w5 A' w O
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
$ Y$ c( R0 I% E- C) m% n1 T8 ftrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
J' h7 k: h( L# [% @mats and sticking accelerator pedals.: s" \) W Q1 N( F% z0 i5 B
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
' o. E/ e/ J+ Q: F$ S- M! i' G! eand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
' r: h* g% X# J9 p! Icriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
9 h/ r6 D6 c" wfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
* C" D3 R& ~& |2 |not stop her runaway Lexus./ b8 r9 r! e T3 \
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville, K; a: }! Q. `/ i; n* _
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second) ~9 n, q' p0 |, [. ]
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.4 N% {1 S- w8 a; I2 P* L! |: U; f- f
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues+ Q) E- }9 G$ j% Y8 \5 J
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
5 d6 M5 F1 `5 E- D"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has* D8 w- L' Y* n( o$ ^
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
" q3 V4 k5 ]* I& t+ O$ tthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
* F- x" w4 y, o# H+ P" o& rinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
9 E" v) O2 o4 LLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an9 K: `* k; b4 c: P8 P6 m
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of, M; d% p. j: J5 l* a+ M, b
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a: W4 A+ P/ D! S( Q% Q
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
2 c3 ]% B3 R8 S( Nsaid.5 g. Q; H1 L: }- A- q
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what0 T. X3 O/ r. E+ r
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe7 a& {& {, _9 S) M& t) w1 r
about driving our products," Lentz said.6 |/ f. }' b6 i1 c3 g$ {' W
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
0 r( T' K1 B" c8 n, w. C9 xproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
) _* H; ?4 f" K; c! H5 Drecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
, v+ ^9 \- ~+ j4 [# wmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
' H$ g& V, E Z* cunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
* a; k% @ X. `& k2 O: Rissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering. |1 Q {7 y) r8 w y
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of! N2 L/ i8 J& \9 t9 S# \
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
! q$ l, R* T5 O# |1 g/ hdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
+ |+ o- N2 ?7 g8 ?0 ireceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration( z8 A: \8 ]% z; k/ A! H
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.( V9 _$ c# ?" }; w2 a B
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
8 B+ j2 l) F# L& [7 n! a5 Cbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he- u/ V$ B2 Q/ a5 \6 x3 B
understood the pain.! K5 K4 N/ @9 b% k: {6 J1 c
"I know what those families go through," he said.6 }0 x& l; f# ]- g
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's% e& d5 b4 K" K' y$ H2 ?3 l6 `
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.' Q9 s( B" c. S
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
$ K& ~9 n# v( X3 oHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put; m& w8 \4 I1 B% Y! Z8 _" M
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,' C7 H& R7 H8 j3 ]* D/ P
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
. V- J: W* ]6 C$ _( V4 s1 h6 WStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were, ~: Z% L- v L q
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said' h/ t5 \& M* Q2 F2 T% J
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
/ ~' F& J% N' g; ~pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
; q+ `# t& A2 Z G, mvehicles already on the road.
7 `* v# s; y* S/ {Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify! r. T0 U. q7 g( N! L, H% P& }) J
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full3 Y' N! s* Y$ o
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and# U- q1 v& C3 C0 I. b) R1 I# u
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were( F1 B* i1 o% O- t% l+ N9 d
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
* S* g ?" i, |& v5 a4 B"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
/ u6 ^; i6 z6 ^% Btragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
9 P5 U! O1 F+ n9 kfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight$ k) }& K3 [, X+ T3 k- N
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
9 {! l+ t# R0 x8 h7 C& U! bcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to" t" @5 D- S' ~4 `9 e: T M" @, e
restore the trust of our customers."4 O+ ~$ s: l% D, s+ ^6 J/ t
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
* W l: ^# \ ^9 p9 F- ]Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
, R/ I3 H; H/ z, `4 hzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
, R3 L3 B) t8 I3 jshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and) X; Q1 E! Y1 x& r8 D3 L- p
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough: r- }1 _' d% |9 y9 D3 L
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and5 ?$ m1 a3 D# z; t. n
turn off the engine. U4 A% \7 I8 ^* n; J8 H
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
+ q0 [& i1 W; P7 ~% hOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
# G0 h. {, b0 D- ]. v3 a) x"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she* R9 n- p" v; J" d9 R' [) O( t5 {) d9 f
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
2 [1 \4 P1 Q6 Y1 t; qto her complaints.
* V0 E; r: f3 K. [+ u' W" ^In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
$ f+ i+ z9 z& ^- ?0 r) A7 }returned again and again to the question of whether electronic- S' I% M0 Y6 f6 B! [3 \
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
' {9 O3 A# x- |2 Y# I+ {# q"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
i" ]/ f/ k9 b+ X7 ]0 }+ s2 o' U- Lthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
# p. f& ^9 ^4 o"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut' a' Q3 A5 _3 b
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."% u; q2 J9 X u2 [# p5 z! J( @* u
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
) W/ U9 ?6 G2 @: |" O; Gprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
E9 [4 h" x: V3 c" Pbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
% L6 \: N) t+ ~) P4 \1 n& w5 u+ A5 Jwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer+ s. b1 l, N8 s1 ^# v& h: d4 M
every question."" {8 y8 g: |$ t- J
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
1 v% w7 ] Z8 u1 @* Y3 o E! f* Yelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
" j; w8 P% P; Y( r) qfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
- G- z7 e8 \% m2 {committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
" u- @, c9 I0 Jnumber of vehicles ?$ Z' T# P4 l* K7 Z# @- J& H0 r
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
5 g* M" b- B7 C3 i+ hdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a2 D2 a# o: h2 V; N5 V) Y
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one! K3 e$ a5 c4 A
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.- ~ Y! q. U W- j% r
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,: A, R+ L4 @* a$ C
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
% f9 y5 M" k1 q; x+ c% y7 qtrace at all.
* O5 I; Z' G" U t/ }9 tHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
/ V+ r* ]0 k. c2 g2 X, M! ?' h8 odatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
. Q* K% L8 n; ?' Q& K- f" M* tacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
9 F1 Z, ]% `+ g& i R) D8 z3 Brecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.$ b7 V& N- N: p
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
( `, h8 i- J( d& Y, q1 R( v( Ssaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
# r! w% E6 k2 r4 y/ ]) J; q! uother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
; d/ @6 `) X, u1 i; K. yelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible5 e; f' b% l" {1 g9 N( ~
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
6 a8 F0 `; K% Y0 ~. X3 w3 Lsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
( ~" A- h# ~5 t7 \by Toyota's lawyers."
0 E( P9 E" S& nLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of( ?; u/ @8 b7 Y
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our n; b3 t6 N5 s) T7 P) s
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he- y" E3 p) \+ D- d$ l! R; {+ e7 q4 i( ~* T
said., ~6 Y& I5 u5 X! ~$ O( E4 |
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
2 m. f; p( Y3 { W: va rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our& y0 b& M8 X; A" A( O
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating# ]8 R& J8 r6 i4 I) ^+ A; T- q
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
9 t) w& `' W E/ M+ FSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
* n- w! F- Y9 J$ @+ h4 o8 x8 vmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
4 }9 u, q$ e/ R8 Brancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the" \2 ?& S* `+ w6 h1 s! z
automaker, at least in part because of the government's! D- i: ^( F) M7 f
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
9 Y; `; g" T: {0 k K9 PChrysler.. y2 L$ v: L" k. R' o" D/ ?
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
& O2 S( J- K) b( U1 e1 z6 O- P0 Wdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a! u0 A! O t3 h
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also" x5 T* P/ y0 \8 ]4 ]* V1 g% ]
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete _4 J' K9 a O7 L& B
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty9 ]# C* U! l% b* H
tough."
$ T9 N0 J8 [! L% ?( a0 E1 z; @---/ o7 ~' h: c3 V+ o7 }- j
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
" G. G/ h+ _! f2 _Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
' t l/ M) E4 B6 B. ^- bthis story. s7 P |" M/ V. l0 D3 A V
. m8 `+ P }2 F& Q. S
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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