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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
3 U" |2 N% ]3 C6 C$ @2 h' z. pBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS7 L4 U& ]" ?6 d D/ d, g. F
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
' e/ k l& H8 B: `' loperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
: ]+ R$ P% n* d9 ?8 H9 P8 W5 bthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"& d& B% |, N3 g' M2 g! L
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
" ^8 X/ c" j. ]" Y"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
: w' \4 \" c# p: ]- Fcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
: D. R. W7 B7 S5 \1 z- g0 |1 {However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
9 C& H7 n# ?0 j+ _: ^acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and# B& q! c: s- u* I9 |1 i: H, a
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
% W' P8 J1 e2 ~- I4 wmats and sticking accelerator pedals.! I- I4 B, Y+ K/ L" o4 w
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal: x' R! x9 R% k
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
0 |" k2 H' R. g. j6 L2 ncriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be2 a. {3 l" k+ ~' M. J; k
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
/ o7 L& `! B# lnot stop her runaway Lexus.! N# K# u f8 i0 u/ C
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
% Y/ c5 p( j r/ t. H" _Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second: ?+ G. u, ?4 s9 i6 V% [
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.) l3 _3 Q C9 f* {, }+ d/ S
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues+ Y2 j5 K0 b* R7 _0 q3 E) i5 {
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
' c1 W$ j2 C; J q"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
; v" {1 w+ S" Pdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
- G2 R6 {1 A) u- W7 Ithrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
- N- K/ p4 M/ \investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
6 _) R% Z2 d: V2 q4 f( ^4 A# BLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
; i+ W0 @, m# G& w5 felectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
% b% e2 b* t: h0 T2 g6 Gthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
& _3 ^- H( S# A( J( wmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
5 n8 _; r' i# R5 n9 x0 L* jsaid.: |/ K" M. k" X: t y# t" F5 B
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
0 y& k- V7 V" @, l5 _' }happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
9 Q8 f0 H# m( Q$ x/ c4 Cabout driving our products," Lentz said.5 v, @# |0 a" S8 ?% c. s
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
6 P9 U2 g! J# o4 y5 q6 Zproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has2 Z/ A9 m8 ~* Y
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
0 ?" r" ~3 C. T9 _! w% Hmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
( x* k- U# G4 n' P2 _unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking, K7 p5 S8 Z) x6 P4 V% T& b
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering. N+ _9 ]* |9 p! a6 T9 q2 [
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of: `- [0 o# ]. U4 @
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow7 M& Y/ X( r; ]0 r& o& d' c( s
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
/ f% q) U6 k* p3 b+ L9 t& S$ `, t5 ^. Nreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration( x+ f, Y+ V) O
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
% R' E# f: m: j) d2 DLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
( u, q& A" G+ E* o3 r+ _brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
! i( j# d; O) W; M( @+ j3 Kunderstood the pain./ a% _+ S# v2 A: n9 p: R
"I know what those families go through," he said.$ c' B) x/ w: _1 n- v0 o( Y7 x
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's$ t0 R- P$ O: }' d& l
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
7 y3 ?" K- n0 \* ABut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
9 R P9 R, O5 \$ H; C( D! {Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
- L1 d- R6 G% o) G8 @- Z" F6 Nin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,8 z/ p2 i! ^% e3 N, s
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
, G; D' W3 ]9 w: _Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were; l$ e5 H2 S) h# }! J
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
8 o& h- n) M) ? PToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas, F% x( e" Z& f
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
3 R, J+ \5 w1 I W2 L/ r1 |vehicles already on the road.
) S( p" ?* r8 E- KMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify2 P4 I& e" T4 s: J+ O( f
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
9 x) @ S; | m) L+ i+ ~responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
- J" v1 ?* u' d w: O& r* Woffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were7 n* ?7 C) Z" _3 @
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.; x9 W8 X( T, y/ h: H
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
; }/ l7 q- i4 J( f+ U' Dtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony7 h# i7 K4 ^/ T0 G. J# A) H
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight* \& N* o- I9 `4 U \) w
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
# L6 Z. A* G; Q! M' \commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to4 o5 w# v7 l% j( z3 Z
restore the trust of our customers."
$ Q+ ]) ^* g: T5 }6 f! s2 d2 z; k- cLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
) j# g& u1 ^& C' q- P2 W$ SSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
( ^+ p' L1 |1 C( }5 c- hzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
0 p& n7 u4 d0 d1 {shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
1 m o# G: l4 O* z* p( Uhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
0 M5 ]! I& j5 l& c( W/ ?3 d Tthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
; J5 [: [3 z: G# G% ~turn off the engine.
7 _" i" Y/ s/ Y; ^- f% V9 ]8 X% t, dFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
9 W; H, m& A. Z: t8 L, r5 A0 AOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
2 i+ h7 Z. R# E6 w' ~"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she& r. d H) ^) c8 e! r
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
- W! M7 D, o$ T8 m1 B7 _3 Cto her complaints.% X( d/ R1 M8 a" |6 m, A1 G. H9 d
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
2 {( e! w; f7 H7 P. yreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
& d }9 r# l# }* Qmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.0 J+ s8 t$ L# b: E' g, ]
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
% W+ D9 D+ e/ } W' T6 K5 bthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
2 Y, S1 B. ~5 U$ x" s8 ^0 ~"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
% B, a: \4 } u, |9 I+ Koff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
2 f0 \- P B/ U: \) G! GTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in2 V. q/ D" |2 ]5 S! G# c6 z+ t" }
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were* Z# S% i) e" `
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls! E) ^9 s: j5 O0 t/ x) p
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer$ R9 ~; I( O+ @! ^
every question."8 W4 U; z' P, B
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether5 M4 ]5 j' S0 B/ w) l& `% _
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
5 o; {. s) M1 a1 ~( a4 \, Efirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But: w) A7 A% S3 M
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small4 u: @- B+ R! V! w1 }% L
number of vehicles
2 L/ J, P) e1 m$ ^, s4 E8 dTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
' N1 r+ ]' R( Z8 b8 Hdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a( U6 K8 n9 ^- D5 {! ^7 n
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one: X+ F. a+ R: G3 G& R
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
3 I5 q. P8 Z& qMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,. j+ k$ t( y9 z
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no4 u$ W5 f4 J' m: v2 a
trace at all. Y) V5 c2 x; Y4 W; k
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
# R* u/ U$ N7 U* c0 jdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden! @2 f; M5 d" N, _( t d" E
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the: [5 {, U+ ?9 ~/ ~
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
3 |: f4 ?& W. |0 v9 _+ F. \Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
3 i* S, s$ [% G o! Jsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and! \6 c0 H! p% r' |
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
" p3 U- k/ ]# w4 Xelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
1 _9 r/ i! `( u# t2 A# ~2 T" q5 Ncause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only/ z' N h V8 `$ F
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
% h6 N) t( g* n0 A( cby Toyota's lawyers."
: M5 \$ o2 I3 |) Z3 A$ H! O B" |, {* cLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
& m3 c0 k; F) H3 H" N+ |: Dproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our7 x1 \. A6 f5 B2 h, ?
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
7 t- m2 V* S& x% `said.4 L) `8 x! m& X8 U$ J" m
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
( r& }$ Q2 s/ `. ~* fa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our8 j- h+ X5 S4 v4 M
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
, }1 V: n# G G$ P# S+ P) Pofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.& o& l$ a8 H- p) O) ^
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
$ O: r" ^3 R) _ h& D' z& n- V+ |members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
0 [; v8 H- E* L' r" y0 ?, I/ Yrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
- V. R+ \3 J: X$ x1 Cautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
; h$ E$ M5 R. x9 D u" n/ }investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
9 i0 n7 Y- S: y9 P0 FChrysler.+ K* p$ h' D% }7 a* k* T3 V9 v
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax: d; l# e2 }: l5 ?
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
: H" l& P! S% @" ?5 nHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
) M; W+ e+ e; X# @) q6 @served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete* D; }2 ^/ W, x. p6 {8 @
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
3 G- s/ J! H8 Ktough.") X5 E' ~ }) z2 m
---
" a' B' P3 H6 O+ Z/ a4 t# PAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom( e7 K/ o, k6 y. S9 e, ]/ r
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to* y0 [( \7 ~8 L! E8 k% E
this story.2 w9 o& c! K/ \1 S+ P2 ?
3 C0 W" H# T6 q# ]8 g" v
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