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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
9 a: N$ Z) o% yBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
/ d$ M4 }; s8 }5 R d# u5 zWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.; R* d& N% Z0 y; s- K: W' u. ]! q
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
/ ~0 _4 v$ M- n, E& z4 {; R4 dthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"% m9 \9 p5 b# [# Z
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
' [! G# }, ?# W- n9 `"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
+ @0 l* v4 K. V; O7 Ecauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
/ I, ~) o' R2 A) v6 K- yHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
5 Z( S @9 y- Q1 aacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
7 Q8 y- P% W3 _) @0 P7 d1 Y) x2 J; y/ Gtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor1 T K& j" D7 {1 I3 w) S% q
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
8 W/ ~) z8 e( S0 t+ e. MHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal1 `* R5 N3 E+ R$ K/ o) u/ _1 ]0 g
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp9 C K9 t% y. H+ v
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
; M. f) N7 V% V% g$ }/ C5 }( f7 ~, I8 yfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could. a1 q4 D9 v% W' w2 L3 b
not stop her runaway Lexus.8 @7 o! D, n6 S9 [) o
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
& W$ r) b" p2 e* L r/ [Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second2 z. u0 \1 J% v' @9 H& M; q, \
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
1 ~: Z+ ], q5 U, O/ w/ H4 ETexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues' y8 E A) b+ x; k5 M# K
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said' U+ F7 l, O5 M0 t4 w! Y
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
7 E' B4 h* j- R2 C2 B8 Idone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway. d4 v3 @7 Y! i2 X
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's+ ^5 D8 L# F) A1 ^
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
$ j: ^4 a6 x0 n- Y2 v/ vLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
4 Q: f$ d1 c* N" E" Y/ A$ Xelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
) h$ i0 \, y# Dthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
" n# U4 S v: r4 f. D1 }malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he1 u! g3 L$ l2 m
said.
: h# t: ^6 p- R; OAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what. Z7 b+ W' Q8 x4 R6 y% m
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
/ I, o& ?5 i. g* c! d2 q. F( oabout driving our products," Lentz said.
# C% }4 f" u& [/ W9 vThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
7 N% f& c$ M; r2 U" {2 Z2 jproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has7 I. h1 f) Y9 c% Z0 S; K
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6 P7 B5 x# \1 F. P
million in the United States -- since last fall because of: }! s( |0 N0 y0 k ~/ e& X% e
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
+ C2 J7 ~1 Z& W4 S8 Y) _issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering' m& {: Y M; V6 i+ t
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
) V+ H* `, c% Q$ O0 I" b( htheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow4 v% q; g. z6 D6 M$ ]9 R) G
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has- G$ I! R$ ]! l: r3 ]6 j2 y. f: a
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
4 Z/ Z4 d) s; Y7 ?, vof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
7 a; h' ?9 n$ s6 a' hLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own) s; U2 u! G6 ~3 ?8 @
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he+ W, D |+ V6 G$ x( F
understood the pain.8 R; F& F. W4 U: m' l+ F+ i b
"I know what those families go through," he said.
+ r+ \! W* q( h9 g3 {$ w. \Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
& O; ?! y- J9 Ffixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
( R7 P( K2 I; ~4 cBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman7 ~1 [& j* N5 D O1 m6 m" o! @
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
7 Y5 T+ S" z; Kin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
6 J$ H$ g' n% d3 ^7 F* I. ^Lentz replied: "Not totally."
# T" J4 f2 s, s7 n) J3 hStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were2 T5 \( E' C5 m& V( X% v: {
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
. s8 @* h% ^+ i2 MToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
+ u: x2 F* c9 a( U* u+ j- Q+ upedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
5 V4 k2 [1 N# o6 T8 bvehicles already on the road.; J, T1 r" C! W) G& [) ~1 ?1 X
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
?4 {% e, X" z2 i3 j# |# h4 |) b! nbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
- X% \. | M; l$ x6 P* ^8 K( nresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
w( P. }# @! G- i9 }& M& noffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were2 t* j& U q1 z4 S
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
- \1 H8 @6 P* M @% g- ^: f6 T"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
M ^2 J+ x! [tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony* \! D, }% R4 \, r
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
% ?1 `# |; E8 v% h- z# Z5 H) y* `Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal5 x0 J U' V; Z9 A0 o7 W+ Z
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
/ B) Q7 G c$ Y; Irestore the trust of our customers." C7 A3 M8 A( p* L
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
! O( U" n& i/ w( N, s3 rSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly" I5 [9 ^2 u+ A/ w" K4 [
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
. p5 H' r) V9 M( oshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and' I2 s" u8 A# l4 H, a5 z
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough y( ~* }* ?& I4 I
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
# P0 a9 Y0 T6 g& Qturn off the engine.
3 T: _( e! I8 E* z5 y2 t3 _5 VFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
& i* @$ K5 E+ C$ AOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
9 n% R! E- E2 y _9 O+ }"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she' y R% d d6 ~5 s
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond; D# l1 Q# T; Z+ t4 ^! y# Z
to her complaints.
$ T- s* v+ r( X8 D; fIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers c- O Q7 ?8 w2 p* e0 x- }; i
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic# _, v1 F* {# |# u( a" B7 [
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.3 k! w+ \- G6 w) L# g
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
$ y& U [0 Q2 d6 Qthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited; T% b& O* H- Q+ D& o0 i8 d
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut7 t( y" o/ e- g0 B6 V+ G. Z5 j/ L
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
; o5 J) M% f9 S1 a6 k fTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
% p6 L* W: f5 r1 zprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were4 m5 K0 [' M. k1 E, [$ L2 ^3 V3 d% \
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
# n4 t S# D$ u8 Rwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer' w8 W8 M3 [5 ]. u
every question.", W2 g4 p9 B T$ z: k
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether8 x& ~$ @9 o( n
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The% g6 W* y& F! J' I& a% e0 d8 W
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But/ H- @4 q6 O- s1 y9 D5 k% y0 I
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small$ } F( C9 n, T6 x E5 K
number of vehicles% J/ `2 o) h( J# j- ^- S
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more+ f0 o; F9 `* L9 M4 j* U; U, @
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a: t, f' g" E9 I& O7 x% ?. o
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one/ y1 Q- W0 k5 ^8 t4 T
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.2 M( [: g3 @! O' F
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
. G+ [ C1 U+ f/ {8 y& h% ~3 |) ?where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no! ?( o. O* D5 g
trace at all.
$ z4 }- p4 U! q. M+ }9 H, H2 EHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
* O# }& s9 M l6 u6 K" N8 o6 K* ^database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
- a6 d; T8 H; {# | {& T2 Iacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
- U/ R. v! p1 ^( J: g, rrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.: m+ c' O/ D) V$ _1 A# b* f8 i& N
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
& Z; S$ p( q: O4 ^4 Isaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
/ V6 ~) j! a7 Q8 c3 Sother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
% a! A, [; C/ q) Q% ` telectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
2 ]$ l( Q6 B" m9 O! u% S0 ]cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
/ N7 T- q! T4 N* T; Fsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained* r0 [7 b$ B: \- Y
by Toyota's lawyers."
6 h' s. h& w& y4 h- V; d* q/ qLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
5 a3 s* u7 V. kproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
9 ~* E/ g) C# q8 ]5 Qcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he, {8 S8 S- F! G, H
said.
' G( b1 e0 b3 \$ g( l# x"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
/ Q+ o* Z' l5 m0 d4 Y- c; la rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our5 A. M& T/ h8 a3 h8 _
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating& K2 f9 Q- Y' q, ?. h8 d
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.+ u) W( l3 R1 e
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying4 x& B1 F3 {- f3 s4 |6 m
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
3 k1 H4 s6 [( v7 X( \rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
& P. e( g# n3 ?4 U% h _automaker, at least in part because of the government's7 k' j* f/ |$ c! X( C9 s3 b+ ]0 O W9 ?
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and/ n( t+ Q# B& w" U* Y
Chrysler.( ` t* B! [, ~/ ~7 E
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax+ |# A; F2 `/ R9 h7 O' r% ?
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a* d$ n ~8 _5 d9 w8 E) q
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also0 k( g* `, a4 h8 P/ b
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete& y4 a( t/ g, B6 p q0 x1 A
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
, ]) n" R: N7 e6 Ltough."' k% {, `+ E' J3 n
---
! i5 X4 ]2 X' m# Y( \ SAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
$ u8 ?6 k# \8 o& N: W! V4 XRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
% \5 `/ I( m- y, |: A9 l# Pthis story.0 D/ H) Q/ |# l+ t4 f4 Z/ B
$ k9 C2 V3 I2 ^7 v. w-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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