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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题! u3 {" r; b- @
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
$ W$ {" L( A7 j# d/ g3 KWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
2 Z/ R% w n$ d" g; X' Soperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that* t" l. y y% t- d6 ]0 v: j
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
8 R1 I5 B. C$ d- ?: M1 Ssolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.2 Y- p+ u! M$ p) a
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential5 Y& n/ h& ?& g+ H* h. J
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
) x/ P6 L) G4 q* _: @7 XHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected2 ]3 _% i. f" J" Y2 ~+ l
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and2 l& b# t9 ~/ P9 J2 O# k) [1 u# [8 ?
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
: w4 F3 ?- o/ p; t' \! Kmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
4 g; h% F" e$ l8 d/ @/ M: V: {; NHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
8 D* `* {: F, o- @0 b6 o5 |! N8 {and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
( F: V0 L& T3 V+ Scriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
' K9 c0 Z) D, ` Y! X8 v" m+ }1 }further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could6 k1 b# X4 b- o. g& A2 H: w
not stop her runaway Lexus.
$ _; \/ ]7 m7 |1 C! o' D, v7 E9 b"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
) I# {+ J Q Q4 [/ L3 GTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
% K( b2 T P6 I4 U8 V"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.8 Z4 ], H- x' l8 ]+ F: s
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues e+ ~0 f. l6 p7 ?2 t! x
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said k. k# l$ \+ x
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
+ Q* R$ I" @# d0 Adone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway# g q# U8 i- h6 m5 _+ w4 P; t
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
- s+ W5 n5 c; D/ |investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
5 Y) v1 B7 S# D0 x8 dLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an: K9 E2 @+ S& I5 f9 e( y# N
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
7 G& C8 b2 q) f: K1 R' j; t) O* S3 Jthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a+ | u# D1 K- F: @ ?
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he, H; N# A$ P' N# ]
said.
* O/ _7 F( k' w6 [+ \As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what% f! q' F/ A8 V/ J/ [. t
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe6 r! B L% q" N2 @4 I
about driving our products," Lentz said. q6 m% u& d9 N3 k( G3 q4 f0 k
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's: H T( m3 q% e( R) ]
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
$ J! ^- c- B# G9 m- ]3 Crecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
3 y3 Z6 [+ X+ p( Y' W2 \million in the United States -- since last fall because of4 t, \3 x* l! Q/ S' A
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking. y, n2 |1 b6 \! L' Z a7 z% z
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering0 x& E# @& p( J- D
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
7 @; n8 f& g. \& T5 m7 |4 l* K7 Ntheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow' t3 x( f- w; G2 G# B9 B0 x6 @5 @
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
! T. p7 S! S9 M7 i, q8 }% Y" G# lreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration- O6 g' K. ~ \8 U
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
; F1 \8 y5 Q8 \5 e1 w; \6 M- ALentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
8 M& X; k, D. [, S, {- K& \brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
, E6 G4 S& f% Munderstood the pain.
) w( N& ^5 m4 x* l6 f8 W"I know what those families go through," he said.
' m& K1 ^9 Q9 D jLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
& c1 p+ S5 d4 o' R4 R& W$ L9 efixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
. E& m2 V* y- }1 W" IBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman" b7 l6 ~8 t3 q5 \! m. a: N
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
; n! b' F% v. i7 C `" Nin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
: g- `( h: Y0 f9 wLentz replied: "Not totally."
6 V- j9 n4 U% J& e! l t: lStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
$ e9 ?6 P7 K! E. ?"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said/ ]& ?1 N* C$ U8 x8 q D
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas0 r4 \% a; R; i1 p2 g% a8 G
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
/ [, c% r6 i% Q+ fvehicles already on the road.# \" y, z, O9 y y$ K0 p
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify7 T1 ?, f: o9 e1 y4 G
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full2 {1 [) D+ _! Z2 ^$ S6 S* Z
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
P, ~. M! w9 j% r2 Ooffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were2 R( E. g9 e$ O1 [( ?1 P) X
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
8 e* G* \, D. c" s* t# n) l"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
; t9 p$ w$ w, U' L+ b5 Itragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
2 Q; C! \; d, j2 {for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
# e7 N# t4 m" \: T# d" D" SCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal; V/ s+ s, T0 l( o) Y- ]' P
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
5 H, J1 I* t8 y$ m( o T" J! x) Frestore the trust of our customers."
3 o3 `4 Z3 Q& ?, w$ ZLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
6 b3 v: y4 v- f( Z1 A1 H' ]0 ?Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly0 b4 }: x! d/ H$ T, Z5 F
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --$ n* g5 W! ^; b
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and6 K+ s3 `2 ^3 Q, G( Z. u) ] B5 D
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
: J" g( S0 r U0 X& cthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and- {' N, O6 q2 s" U6 s: v
turn off the engine.; z6 k9 u+ r3 A' {4 F7 M
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
+ f* j$ L& X1 ?, c0 g3 ^October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
' n q3 \4 H) F"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
) t& ]( ^. O0 h9 ~' Osaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond6 q! a0 l( l7 ]2 _& {+ |
to her complaints.
, M0 x; E# x( \2 K* BIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
8 u8 y! y* O, i4 v7 }( qreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic9 _# ]" ]0 u8 ~9 V& O9 j9 V
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.6 t8 O* t/ w% |
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
, P" g j ?2 Q+ bthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited7 I, ]/ q* [! t7 O( U* S- D i1 A
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut2 w( ^7 d3 F, J4 h7 d! {4 `& G
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."0 M. M& H; J" l b
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
$ L( m* u% F, x/ t% e; I: x7 ?prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were1 T, H4 b- V# J5 F( S0 S" x0 i
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
1 J9 X0 \5 }* c0 g8 n; ^were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
9 Q* L+ }. }; L, @every question."
% H0 Y# s4 `) i' ]Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether) i% k7 r+ M- B# K2 ?% J
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
% t. J: u/ w# M/ qfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
# J2 c% b9 B n3 U! Vcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small+ |. I1 a5 {: ?7 {. w+ `* o
number of vehicles- l. o) u! Y2 o: p
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more1 o' ~8 }6 I* I, y' i' I$ q2 u
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a/ A" C, j, {" x8 Z7 U( h
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one: [# }/ w% I: w7 M: _1 z
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
% f5 T( L. @' jMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,4 F0 [" I7 S! @
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no+ ^ B* S9 b9 o' I
trace at all.2 h0 Y' t* q4 H3 s/ H T
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call5 U; H. k4 A% Z. j: P4 {1 O+ B/ c3 }
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
) E; _4 {; E: }4 Y; Dacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
/ {( a! r( l# I& hrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.& B' P' c* l; n4 r- k
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,1 S) ~' F+ l5 A! n6 ]
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
, T) C- [7 |1 ]# oother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
$ m6 h0 _3 X5 a; Y. @# melectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
, `: Z. p5 m8 B# Y9 h2 Vcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
9 J5 F8 U( K( j2 Fsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
4 @ R! \# H: W. X2 m' u9 D; p0 g6 fby Toyota's lawyers."
" r8 }1 i% ~4 M( k) {( w% cLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of, O5 x. j7 A+ y6 C1 w
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our# N! {# D2 u0 s
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he. p; i H2 U1 B" R% F
said.
# n# D/ B; K& T7 C7 E7 G& X1 J"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
$ ~, E/ S$ w5 A0 m3 Sa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our1 [- j6 _- N- t+ d* E+ w2 e
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
. B' j$ k1 Y n2 \0 r% Nofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc. y: I* \" ^/ x) B% L ]/ K- T" p
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
0 z" R4 m4 u, j6 Q: dmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
. d x& P( T1 H$ n# b$ D3 v4 Yrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
+ z: H% l6 _/ ]. Q0 O! |automaker, at least in part because of the government's
$ v b3 D. `8 ^- U% G+ einvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and. ^- l3 |. v) S. V6 P4 P3 b
Chrysler.1 G9 }. l! O' P+ X4 s1 E
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax6 u6 h: s5 \. z; a' K# y
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
/ Y3 X1 t5 ] ~, w9 [; [; QHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also. r6 g- C9 b$ c
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete- V0 r; l' }$ ^% A) x# Y
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
/ q7 w' S/ N' }1 K4 x/ K( k: etough."
7 X5 F4 v, A8 o; \5 j---5 l' {9 h% e4 T3 B. i9 ^5 _
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
# }: j% n$ ?+ v( c' K( [Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to0 P$ b& o L+ U Y, F( I
this story.
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