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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
- [% Y3 p! a, m7 G% n DBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
1 |# V8 t% i/ [% R6 HWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
0 J) P( l) A- \' w, D* l6 goperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
2 w+ u3 t6 O; O% `$ m: t( tthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
/ A, Y7 P' @+ Msolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
) m$ i- F+ D& \! H7 H7 E; W"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
. K# U+ y: R) X" G( \ }) Lcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.% W' x4 P9 h8 X- Z: @
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected3 O; o0 r! p1 O) w. r. U' N
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and( a7 r* ?, n$ n3 t! k
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
7 Z- W$ C* ?8 Q- j7 Dmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
7 S8 C$ I% R9 U8 M4 `/ t- v6 s; u' I6 aHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
( Q5 U# o; N0 D1 @( Q) O) Eand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
3 h' A: K* C5 ]3 b& E3 u+ acriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
# x. H- Z, U* @" o$ \further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could* t# s* b) A; ^' q9 J! B! }
not stop her runaway Lexus.
8 T7 U: N0 l6 ]. ?"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,+ T# t* U* r3 y, ^: T0 v
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
& c1 X0 S% W; X0 H"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.! b# M" K% R( P, C( O" o
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
* v& q& s# G. jearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
# K5 Q9 C: b! Z" x- I) v"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has9 n$ T8 z! `( \, i( k! r2 V
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway$ A8 M- H' i5 ^ g/ P: K
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's/ O) D' H3 E% }
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."9 }3 W* t- r; I) Y" t+ t
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an9 j* X- e2 J$ Z0 I, g" y
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of1 H6 R6 Z& D8 g8 a" e
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
0 v5 `* c" {8 R. u% h, C2 Tmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
2 n4 M4 I/ w! `* J9 T; I" H3 F4 w5 @said.7 W, |8 f e+ r) s5 z( D/ ?
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what" V" x( a, M: Z+ h. h$ [
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe/ E2 R1 |6 [* I8 }( q
about driving our products," Lentz said.( t0 ~, B7 x8 e" [" y
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
- K5 r2 K% K7 l O Qproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
" |- d) b x2 erecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6" [- T9 }0 E3 H7 X5 d- r7 i- S0 C
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
9 Z) q1 l/ G, g( U* ?unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
, [9 o* Z; Z. f; _' ]8 k6 k$ missues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
. P H0 E7 d* l# p Tconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
* ?% r$ U. k& U/ a, Ytheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
6 u$ \/ }, ~; D' M+ _2 |down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has- O M2 H- m: f9 i
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration" R* [* K* h* X% _7 \
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
$ \* j7 u: {7 _8 s2 t4 {3 OLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
- }) l' A9 w& o0 M4 y# gbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
' \2 h& v& I! Z% Z" q- dunderstood the pain.' ~, r$ p! i9 H& ~: r) K$ }4 A
"I know what those families go through," he said.& j8 i |: `/ I/ z
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's' x: K! ^) j6 c3 f
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
2 _( f& W4 _( o9 TBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman9 ^+ s6 s! G0 u3 l
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put9 Q# V/ H$ d1 k
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,# P; @) H9 p0 [1 L) ]
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
- T: n# j h" _1 g4 E+ uStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were! z5 {# j# r2 e) Q
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said! e' I1 z o! B. s: ]" h
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas% w8 Z' N- T ~3 A* g
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
6 k: H# m& E. A* \1 t* k# S* ~) uvehicles already on the road.5 i- E: u+ ?/ S) q N
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify3 R4 G9 c0 q& K" q
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
/ \& n P8 y! j# @" |& L, t4 W9 presponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and, a! z# K. C) q- W
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were* Q p! y) o5 Q$ _& E% U( B) P
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
, K( d) w/ {7 Y0 y# x"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
; ^5 U+ v+ p4 O3 `' I0 z* p% w0 @0 ltragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
6 ?3 a9 T* z# I% Mfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight' Z& ]8 n4 U R& Q
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal `, z' \! b6 V7 G3 }
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
7 I; Z& u M! X7 ^restore the trust of our customers."6 p o' k1 ^# \7 G* \0 Q+ ?6 Y
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
1 q- D' j+ [; P8 V2 H |Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
( l) _( |# S/ P% G- L) @zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --; G% I, V3 }( ~5 q9 U8 Q# D
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
\9 F( {8 W) Ehitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough6 q; l7 k7 Q5 d2 ~" {4 U/ ~
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and7 r- B: w/ I1 q1 s/ x" l8 @
turn off the engine.$ H j; E, t; l8 ~9 ^$ ^
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of5 j3 B' {2 A; b, J' Z, V
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
2 Z! P: K/ K' e0 h4 u: k# D" E"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
+ J8 G. V& r( I3 `* O- a4 Q( nsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
$ A5 U/ R* R- q0 `to her complaints.- m, O' j( F T* w. n
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
3 {+ K( I; j# y5 sreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
; X* e: I5 k( M8 G9 j" umalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
8 ]- {/ w6 \4 L2 I. X' f2 i% `"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
6 ?( a3 `6 Q( i7 Sthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
( }: @& E% U; k+ f1 Y% ], G9 W! e"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
Q2 l/ H/ l& G6 y' \$ l( |! doff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
1 ~* `: F" u% f1 L& `6 ATransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
9 j3 {, i3 K# {, jprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were- o3 E4 I* V, U- t: P, J
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls t: g d! J: j; [. ]4 K
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer4 Q6 u6 k4 G' M7 N0 p; I# G9 W* N
every question."0 z X! K9 k2 O1 M& T
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether* n! Y% ?3 h n! Z
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
( U( @* \7 B6 F) H+ B+ ^9 R8 Pfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But2 q. W. c+ v3 |( z8 n0 x9 k
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
) S+ i% z$ D3 n" c% l9 C8 k' \number of vehicles
3 E2 {( P+ k3 i Y, r, q' N, hTracking down an electrical problem can be far more- `$ R& B( f8 J" H: r& O
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a. x9 b; J3 }' e* l6 t& f
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
- d2 s& D1 ?3 i% L$ D$ h+ Vsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.) K1 f" O! q( j8 z) Z
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
# G% h( @& o* O8 X/ v- ?where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
8 T; a& f5 v- y6 U4 Otrace at all.
: R- R1 @4 E' F X& iHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
; E4 R8 m& N. g* ~- V( Z! L7 mdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
5 V! l( J4 @! \* I2 r5 C& Nacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the* A4 d( @. u2 x2 j8 k8 `
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.7 D$ |. _6 K7 a6 E6 ~- n
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,, e* ?1 k' [! d2 D4 \9 i2 O
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
! r. w1 W F, k" ~, x1 Rother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
+ A, g9 G- N5 v7 O* S8 ?/ h5 a5 jelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible& T, R& r, \; A/ [& N4 M
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only! y- ] T. @/ d. v# n
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
; w: V( {+ Q8 _6 O% sby Toyota's lawyers."7 F% O7 L9 E: N$ g' }
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
" Q% U, e. H2 c5 p+ k2 Gproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
7 L. V7 Z, C, F# d8 A+ ^" pcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
5 \/ N3 _! R' `: M1 h; Lsaid.+ P; m# E g+ d! R
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
5 r3 z7 i1 O& j/ ha rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our$ n& J8 ?: \- I0 }
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
7 e) `$ O7 P- ~. s o6 F6 lofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.2 w/ j" r; K2 Y7 ~+ C2 n
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
5 \, U+ x4 z+ ?- j5 N" e1 ?members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
5 |) G; {, }" I# W, R* k7 drancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the. k4 w2 X9 M3 r& {8 `% G
automaker, at least in part because of the government's, }9 ^9 k7 n5 d- M) o. w# w4 p
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and/ A' @8 R! _& B; k# S8 u) p) R/ v
Chrysler.
( p" i- }* j0 ~4 [) i9 W"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
" {( R7 O: L& u+ X9 i) R* kdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a2 R3 q" p1 Z- _+ [! K& j/ [! d2 J
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also" K: r2 }! D$ O& o
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
9 Z# O; r: |2 ?8 Z6 B. Uwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
* g; \9 R: w1 M4 ytough."1 h7 j# Y3 B/ {: i" L* [3 L
---
4 D7 F4 A. L+ T( D' U! G5 H& }5 [% kAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
{/ q" s9 O$ w. [8 n9 y6 i8 _2 SRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
1 G7 ]: N0 |% z& y1 x* ethis story.( \0 u( [! p% I! n, b, s2 W
7 B4 t+ N& a0 j; b0 @! p; i* M
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