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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
6 R g+ Q" ~7 A( UBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS+ T- c8 C6 w9 w- a3 q
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
. i5 k& Q9 U, X4 ?* e; poperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
( l' U0 I; T8 s& R: w. cthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"# w2 I) \$ _6 ?' H% O
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
3 O6 K H' b" x: H2 L! H"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential( Z/ x7 j8 I9 ~4 t; E& P' }
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.2 Z4 Y! Z9 ~2 d( I+ S
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected! \) ^$ c- @$ x2 T
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
6 @2 m7 R: b2 @' v% q2 Strucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
W- ~! O) X2 Y$ x! ]1 }2 Wmats and sticking accelerator pedals." D& |! b9 \9 b9 z. a; U( X
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
: a/ M( C. G u0 J# Qand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp. u% _+ l7 [3 B4 ]
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be K5 w8 Y1 v* @9 G
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could4 T$ y5 q0 V0 ^5 K6 S/ d# z
not stop her runaway Lexus.( |1 [/ ?" m$ N( R" z
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
+ n. R# R' F' V; gTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second3 h* P( ?( \& b7 {" w# I# E. \$ m
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.# k5 J6 E/ r- R3 y# y" i
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues* G0 P8 C- y; L$ f
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said( P+ W) o5 }- M" ?" X8 C
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
& D# L% `3 t6 edone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway! A9 y( Z; C6 H1 g. b j$ l
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's+ H# M/ P2 L/ Y3 W+ ?5 x
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."* u0 b4 F5 x2 ?8 l
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
+ D! F7 k5 Q" g6 qelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
# k: K; a9 D9 a5 Z8 Ithe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a( I' ]0 [% h+ p& p
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he( C, Z( _+ g: W* |8 k3 P3 a4 L
said.9 X! P1 ` |7 _6 a' J* t& c, `1 d
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
2 M7 i6 S( [* L/ zhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
; j* n, N5 i8 N; v2 yabout driving our products," Lentz said.
# p; h; V+ D& ?/ _# XThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's/ f5 g& e& \* e% z1 n
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
" H3 K% o, M3 L" Irecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6& @' p* i) I! y
million in the United States -- since last fall because of4 A& d" L4 X* m# g* q( n0 O+ {. h
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking" }" G; A3 `; o, B. N: y
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering4 s s, P- {) K: n1 H
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of! ^/ p5 d u! a7 Y$ Y2 W) `
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
" P( t: |, p! [" w( C- pdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
r/ v! |- F. r& s, oreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
- L3 F2 m2 l. j% l ]2 Yof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
- ?% p) F& i+ m+ R. A5 o" GLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own) O; l& b% a3 `! V
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he+ ]9 Q0 m. x( E' |( _
understood the pain.
! E9 J0 @! I2 Z# @, ~( q"I know what those families go through," he said.
0 Q/ k4 ^9 I' m; i" a- B/ fLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's3 U% Y1 U* c4 ]0 a ~& z/ U' ^
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.3 Y& o8 E' p8 B# S. y! y% `
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
2 A1 c: u/ ?" e6 PHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put+ _2 O( \+ v F8 C
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,2 y/ p' b/ L! I1 S/ |7 K
Lentz replied: "Not totally."! n/ n4 R" n+ t: Y+ ~ v% i" f
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were" ^" U+ L$ J; V; s
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
% K9 T" N6 I) V8 ~" I3 ]Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas' R" h5 V, z& Y- ?( p5 Q/ T, ~+ q U
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its3 i4 @( V1 ~$ c3 a$ W( G2 n( m/ [
vehicles already on the road.
0 S1 K0 a2 f4 o/ l. u' c3 qMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify/ C3 ^$ E' y( Y7 y0 q
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
4 L! f* z; q- r# J7 F& Aresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
! g% I" N$ P( u, c7 e! woffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
- M- l2 S+ h% _' ~ p6 Akilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
* S/ s- {8 g7 P9 X6 n2 Z"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a- [# D3 H5 \# }( Y& h# P
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
0 F" z8 q# B: |1 v) ?for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight+ `4 W5 q* ] P/ X% H$ g
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal; i2 v9 y" O- e _
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to2 \# Z* s, D0 O2 }: F. ]+ w2 ]; M
restore the trust of our customers."0 Z6 x% u% _ z, m/ R8 H, p- ^
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
' b; [3 o/ n3 eSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
9 D- p) h5 D3 W( i& P7 Q8 E4 uzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
6 { }; U5 G M r( s* H! |shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and. Y$ z! ]7 z) ]" j k% w
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
& M$ t6 p! M+ R8 W$ y* Athat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and; G0 j. }6 l( F- ]8 c! x# k% m
turn off the engine.% M- W# k9 E9 J/ F+ ~9 [: I
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of4 X8 W+ i- q# k% h
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
~( x1 e1 j p, |9 L"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she* T. n, I/ ~- C* r2 S, C# f5 w' S0 G% w
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond- d' i2 F3 Z5 l% m3 v8 d% D
to her complaints.& L: ~ t1 E7 ~) `0 C8 G2 {
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers( n3 a9 }: I3 s1 s7 |( p
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
2 I+ L! b% D: n) o, Fmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
1 t9 l/ m' H. F9 k: q"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric. k1 t0 z5 E, x. c0 A
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
7 a% p4 }- ?$ Y* {9 k5 e3 g( S"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
: w' l3 @6 E- \/ k/ V+ O- h4 ~) noff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
& S' P1 y7 d9 CTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in" H! s- r' W# b# V- N; g& A7 `
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were. E. p" p/ M0 r W: }) B9 T$ W
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls& J& X* L1 Y3 G$ [# z; k7 a
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer: {, B; g; A8 b" o3 ~3 j8 E
every question."& X, d# M( X& E6 B0 v1 O: I
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
5 z5 @ q; x* `. m7 a" helectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
$ a0 N6 I/ q0 k. Nfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But4 O/ } _" X5 g& X
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small" `3 q9 j9 `7 |$ G" R$ [2 A
number of vehicles
K/ C0 s/ ]8 ^) I- Q) ^Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
0 X. f2 |, o4 U) ^difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a0 ~2 O b$ R0 u! W# @; Z# ^/ s# D
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
& F& r; A- l& {) _; P9 Rsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.& k9 G" k% s3 Q s$ B7 s2 Y0 g
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
2 T0 z4 w* e ^, |where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
: `+ e w- E1 k3 D- I% a0 @trace at all.
; ~% i( Q0 l- Q' H( WHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
# P t4 u8 c9 Edatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
$ K' F a4 {, G2 h6 V bacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
" @& Z) ^$ K4 U1 s' ]! Krecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.3 B; a9 E, ]( `$ {7 s1 [
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
R( O+ m) M: {: p8 \9 psaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
8 P* A2 T L. fother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
6 A1 x7 o8 c0 Ielectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible) t# ^6 d9 N/ G% b
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
& L9 V1 [/ J V" P% E9 Xsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
' @' C& t7 ~" P) x4 Bby Toyota's lawyers."' l5 J4 l. A* @+ u- j# A
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of( C- f3 g" x4 o6 K* m5 H h' c
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our }! R5 z& [1 Q, j q. T; V# u& M
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he8 e- V; Y& I% {- @
said.
# R0 g! a2 x3 I, l; ^"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
5 N5 e' Q' k6 ra rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
$ {3 D3 Y& o1 N X( l: j: L/ z! ggood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
8 k; {& d7 K2 ]+ f; F, W& gofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.% `6 h: A" [/ p3 F- C
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
5 w& p" W% \/ i& L! x/ b& qmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread, Y$ ^3 f: m/ M* B
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
" T+ R5 p, k4 @! L! p4 B" Cautomaker, at least in part because of the government's& l6 f. l9 Q: p* o, a* z
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and( R. ? o* q* L) v/ K
Chrysler.
# I5 H$ W% e; I S; I"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax: P7 c. O- ]# L7 n Y* ~
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
7 C& x' n6 Z7 b% R4 y' M3 E* H) ?Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
+ ^: X8 {+ W2 O2 X0 C3 Vserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete5 Q% S, T9 [) h( H
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty- E# I5 b8 k6 A) s" O
tough."7 a2 _$ \4 ~& z6 P8 \
---
5 \% J, p; Q% y B4 t6 j$ cAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
6 x K0 u' r1 h& y8 }Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
0 f8 r/ j8 H8 `% J1 @6 c& M9 o& g9 Uthis story.8 L2 s. o9 a; C- E' v) l) Y' ]( P
7 A- u/ y* i3 T7 Y. }5 A$ l# o' V
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