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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
3 }: v" c( s/ q5 ?6 XBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
/ }: W# t4 ^2 ]Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
- t+ s, Y4 {& j* \0 Woperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that; \$ k# w X; p5 O
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
6 {, N4 Q+ ~5 h4 Z1 xsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
) t% H6 }/ E" j8 q+ U' b8 q% f" f"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
2 J; B a; k* J/ m# L) ncauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.& O+ o( a+ s( b& m! J" F
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected* ?5 ~9 |$ s3 j, s$ _" {) m# P5 L
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and! g: u4 G6 o6 W6 n2 r
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
$ r/ E% @- ]/ z6 kmats and sticking accelerator pedals., j+ r' \; Q$ [ J' Z) {
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal# r4 @# `2 A2 D2 Z% _. v- K
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp. S4 _/ w1 f) e- e: y r) A- r
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
/ ~8 V9 y% g' n6 Q+ Qfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could. W ?! o( Y% Z0 H! w: O
not stop her runaway Lexus.
0 `0 S+ u. _) M, q2 l! |"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,- x: ?+ ?) `+ I: \% p2 {
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second' H. j9 Y2 r/ b
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.. N/ Q7 L2 m+ Y {+ s8 Z7 t8 k/ p
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
% U L! y4 U9 k. bearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
4 @! E# `6 K' t; L0 }"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
( M' x. U4 x2 z0 H% R* ddone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway4 R7 ?1 L' ^$ V# U) i
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's3 L$ g9 c2 e* b/ h) y+ I
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."5 L% \, ~8 b+ X/ f
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an* {6 C& l3 {; q) @4 N
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of' M& ~# [4 r+ R0 S; P* v) a/ T- p
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
* T M A7 m6 b5 M( xmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
- u1 |3 [2 k9 |' |7 }said.
9 s5 A$ [# A; g- z( C8 dAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what; `; I( ]: H. }9 X T9 x0 n
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
K; q W+ D& q0 j% B* dabout driving our products," Lentz said.4 z4 G' k6 l( ^7 P9 Z" \/ C
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
. _0 t( {6 v) y' I# k6 X' i' xproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
! q4 n% x% q4 {7 S4 w6 ]- `" nrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6+ E3 g1 a/ c+ F2 b- h
million in the United States -- since last fall because of* K) i1 U- O. e- I9 K# j5 z# C8 V
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking+ j( a& ^2 _0 t7 `
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
" m) g2 V- B2 q5 J- G% Cconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
% q V* ^$ c. r; Z" ?7 H; [their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow! j& h" v2 E. x; Y9 V' v
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
8 ]( n9 }# D. c" x! Greceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
# j( U& f) F# F' nof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
; P) X/ b" m- yLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
, M& B4 R* ]2 w2 F, j" gbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
4 K, P& R) x* |6 Runderstood the pain.
% M# K$ o2 p6 t$ _. R2 L# T- D"I know what those families go through," he said.
! v g* }! Z9 q: C- KLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
4 M( A) A# W- ]" \fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.; D5 w/ m0 l* B- @ q }+ J& z
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman. D8 U$ Z9 I; a! L
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put/ V9 \' y0 Y9 J
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,& [$ A9 J4 O- o& v4 {
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
& w# h. ^0 R1 s- EStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
" k0 Q$ v$ a% O+ ["very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
& x% h" }8 g9 A) [) nToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
" X3 G9 |* h3 c6 l. Spedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its' _% h8 F( e! E. ]# Y
vehicles already on the road.$ B2 M* S! v" ? f# l+ h" m$ f6 Z
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify$ L h1 Z; V) `
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full. A' V S$ v" M* y& r1 D
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
* b. B: Z, K; d6 G! Zoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
2 Z; w$ M& Q- u4 z! L. E5 ikilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.5 Y$ }$ R9 Q# q& v0 A7 E
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a: I2 `) ^4 O4 `5 g1 s; n$ C% Z8 }& e
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
+ x7 m3 S' R4 D, ?3 ofor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
4 `2 f6 f3 `) [2 c! cCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal" x* o/ Z0 G( z# ]+ j7 t) u
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to# n' Z" g1 l, T% Q/ I! t
restore the trust of our customers."
6 {5 [' ~2 U+ T+ p+ |Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from, {! M1 h6 ]+ t& ~) G
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly7 ~9 ?+ W s% x( U
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --. w4 b$ s# g5 d7 g- y
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and( a0 Q! a# Z$ k2 U3 I
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
2 t4 a" g! B" U- }' ?2 fthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
/ {4 [% Z0 H) B& T5 M/ eturn off the engine.- q7 L6 w, S$ g
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
3 v- Y% m7 e/ H) dOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience." a; b% o' H/ X1 Y( n$ [& c
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
6 ~4 X" l5 c- m& q0 rsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond1 z5 H) [1 P4 d2 Q
to her complaints.7 m3 p( L9 u: ]9 N% U4 H8 D- ^2 j
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers, M) S: X1 p2 w: t: W
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic8 q5 ?9 |4 A: G
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
) s8 @# {/ b6 n% m$ [) N) G"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
1 g2 r) i, S$ x2 m% j4 g; I# R6 Zthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
% _' q( @' J' a, T"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut5 ~+ v5 V4 A& c5 k( s, N# K& v
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
: \2 _. ~4 f& m2 HTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
3 Y* i( i, s' Bprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were6 k% e% P( s" D$ p0 f7 D7 t
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls. r' K7 t* q. Z5 e" i( u
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
( M6 G7 T$ }- Bevery question."! ]+ q5 Y3 }, T o6 M$ [
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
: ^1 T$ {6 C! g; F0 N- ?0 A7 a6 ^+ ^electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The1 E! d- }! I3 E: }7 k( B' b0 f8 d
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But8 N8 U7 ^0 w H7 C' P2 o' i
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
9 `% {! C. S, v$ g; c/ Cnumber of vehicles# I! Z7 F; ~; F" V
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
3 G1 }1 V9 Z* \* Y+ v& odifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
2 Y# x! r# [& cmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
2 ~5 i0 ]+ k. B' Dsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.* ]7 U+ ^( V4 B0 h1 ]# k
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,6 q* R/ |8 D+ |
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no$ e& }8 G6 g7 \6 o' D: g L
trace at all.0 c2 a# ?" D8 Y2 G
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call# H5 Z5 n% d& k) V+ M5 e
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden) ^+ F' X5 u8 T; I1 E' z
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the F9 L+ A2 G- @# F
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
! p- _( G U3 X) z) uRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,$ _# t/ [0 W: r- E+ p
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and- B1 e8 H8 G2 B; ~8 ^: [! Y3 x, P! h
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the, y; q0 f1 N- D: E1 x
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
( \1 b' Q$ I) O2 Q5 d0 N/ G# [cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only$ x- J0 L! z/ T. y1 o3 x8 p! w; r
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained, T) q, ?1 c6 p
by Toyota's lawyers."
. u, W/ D: x' _2 C) v5 rLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of4 D& e3 `% Z9 M5 a/ z2 c: Q
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our6 X0 c) d: S0 f% n' H! d. I
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
. \8 k. Q9 P3 d$ Ysaid.
3 F" y; U7 B% U. X7 ]8 P"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with- \/ w7 |9 W4 o3 v) j! U1 @
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
6 i' l4 z; H# H) m# g2 |% F6 x7 cgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating! E+ H' G3 r8 h& c6 S: N& F
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.% x n- j- Z# Y! D) B' T0 k2 e
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying+ z8 o$ s7 T# \2 A) k4 c
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
j* D2 S/ w8 o2 F: H" i! z( Irancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
2 R* R+ \4 M, j( C; Cautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
; w5 A- ], j8 l- k$ M! Minvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
) u; Y6 X2 p- a6 V' ?2 A! |3 lChrysler.+ o/ l* y" w0 b# H- | ?0 m
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax/ @% B; D" i4 ~# i: @2 y
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
8 A' X% }* A" N! j i% V+ HHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also& I& C6 J+ [3 o6 {% F
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete% h$ s9 Q/ D8 `3 u3 u
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty0 X. F. B. s( S
tough."
+ Z- L1 Y% _, e2 o$ t( l---/ Q# Q! E. w5 e2 z
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom4 R# b( V# N& R) H2 I1 Z
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
6 h; r2 V; t+ d. Y! G7 ?# x: Kthis story.
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