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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
6 Y- n( T1 S4 H( [( w* o: SBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
$ k$ U. } }; l0 ~" p! Q& K" L/ U# GWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.& ~' C5 K7 n+ M8 N2 ~
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
8 v6 b6 C) m/ `1 I6 Hthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
0 }! { V- E5 X3 p# u% ksolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
6 n2 o, n- \! \9 g; ~"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential8 r7 \# g; d+ K5 W( B5 C
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.( F2 W: w7 M8 P* Q+ l) H; L; X
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected9 o# E ?4 L+ ]) m% j% T
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
! q6 Q2 T- [4 g/ a; j8 Wtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor. n7 b0 ?9 h/ y) L1 K+ j
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.9 b& [1 F: c! h* Z0 e
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal' \$ [- Q8 d8 L+ L& t
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
7 }" ], X7 S' [criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be2 N) G- w8 L( B
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could( a% J5 ^/ \) S$ f! A
not stop her runaway Lexus. N! \0 }, F& T& l
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
# _+ c( H8 C d( M5 ITenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
- l& h# p8 g- l) m6 |( Y"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators." o+ Z6 ^0 H5 S9 Q9 ~* ~8 A
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues' [4 B) f0 D3 v. H+ L
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said* C3 q4 n5 x! U9 l8 D4 I
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
$ \# J9 S# b* w' K. c; I Fdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
8 C% E A# i! |9 V1 K6 d( ]; G: wthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's+ O' o0 F N6 i: d4 h
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham.". d) i+ t7 y0 C4 o7 ^3 _5 r
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
- S. r: ^# v; s: x( R' E" @electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of; C ?4 c* }1 {! A5 z" F
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
b) @' D5 U" E6 x$ g- Dmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
8 x* W& c8 l6 M( b. Zsaid.* v+ i; B; n; c8 _
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what8 V! b: S [/ a2 U5 i
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
/ t) M( ^' K1 r8 D+ Xabout driving our products," Lentz said.
, E+ ?' A/ J5 t# t( [Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
6 M, e( q( { R5 d2 P3 p5 zproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
! X1 r, ]: f# A ~: l4 `8 `recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
% h: Q* N1 y6 S$ o5 B$ _1 jmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of- F2 i. H% F) u n1 W7 j
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking m" v% o. [# w3 X/ j
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering1 w) p" P. F) _* u: O
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of7 ~4 o2 e" P/ m6 Z
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow2 C/ y0 L9 b! c( p- m! h
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has# I8 ?. J1 m* }- J( v
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration6 t5 Y& |* C/ I/ U
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.0 k% v" M5 g; N; {
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
6 E' k7 Y# U2 G( p! Zbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he1 m( P2 K+ H- V' ?+ m4 [1 g; q
understood the pain.
! y3 k# r2 g8 S1 n" @% _$ N"I know what those families go through," he said.
; h& N7 h$ x3 |Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
# j* V9 u6 n1 xfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
# w" o6 e' ]& p2 m# T- t2 ?4 zBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
u+ j7 H- h) Y3 B$ U6 d ]Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
" o$ Q' W/ }" ]! K% g0 Oin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
* K8 G; F# t/ m3 o& d5 O% hLentz replied: "Not totally."
4 P, [: q+ h% Z hStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
4 \! B9 \& R& W- Z3 b6 k3 ["very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said, L# o1 j# Z) H# k
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas) a. T' D6 ?7 W' o
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its$ F* z3 k4 _ a& Q
vehicles already on the road.
2 k, Y4 Z4 B) F/ F: O3 `4 UMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify" u; ]/ u2 }* P; ]. n' Q
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full0 `1 s, C, t8 f3 I& b: B t
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and0 U% s6 a7 f2 c$ ~( u9 ?4 W/ v k- u
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
1 ^" S6 a" s# t5 `( T! xkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
% A5 H8 m. i8 t# c"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a. D% Y3 s* o( @; W9 Q# o4 E7 X
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
# b$ L. ~8 l' g% L* Z3 |for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight2 X( T8 J5 D7 h8 }; p" p
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
5 l0 a% k* Y# m: g$ n3 ocommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
% o- D' _- \" R2 Srestore the trust of our customers."
4 q. J$ {* i- M% S! {" @2 u* r. SLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from: v& J. x1 M1 s+ ]; A- A a
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly$ ?% G7 R, D- ]
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
9 {/ g) \5 y0 ?" F7 H- |! _$ |shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
5 A- e. r1 j* v+ s' K7 _1 M& U; f3 Lhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough# N+ l8 h/ f: g. B0 a7 [
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and# }' D" f) g" i a
turn off the engine.
6 @3 c* g6 v: n0 u1 J& @Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
& X) `3 h, A2 \$ [October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
) r4 L+ r& ~7 q+ N0 r"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
* V/ @2 a. x( p5 K4 |, n" Rsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
9 r! n( i& [5 \' Cto her complaints.
6 k5 W- q8 ^! h3 N" A) y; [# o+ {# fIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
: j8 D8 g' D8 c, n! i Wreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic9 }' i2 @' u! W. `0 P
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.- c; O! \3 Q9 N- \, k
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
( F" O$ O+ s6 W7 a' f6 ^3 Mthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
( c( U8 z- K! k"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
$ u* K# p1 J" C) v3 w' O1 y6 Koff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure." r& \% a1 R5 y$ A2 s* ]7 {( x
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
) r1 n/ f1 Z) U i: b& f* g* fprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were' u3 K6 F$ U% _' ~$ k6 A- h
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls3 D! C) o/ M$ T' M
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer0 H) ^/ T7 H. y: `% _
every question."
@' I& {' `/ w- J) n3 L% P _Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
2 \6 @+ f! H0 H. U7 u9 Welectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The5 l; }% H1 K0 o0 {, i& r
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
) r9 k, B' J1 f( q, v7 L+ Vcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small, ?- s$ v" r9 u1 ~( \
number of vehicles. X4 I+ ?% C& g3 c" h/ {
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more2 F0 _5 i& G. w( E5 S
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a& E, ^8 u# B2 k' @0 P/ J
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one6 U7 S9 X3 x8 b) J% D! O( u" y
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.) t$ Z! h# q0 N% {+ _$ A+ }7 v% m
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
$ w3 w' N( W2 X6 q1 p5 |( E, d9 |where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
; L' C4 o% R/ }( b$ Q: ttrace at all.
% t: H) j8 e6 R0 _5 K* {& w& bHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call5 M) O& d& N$ E& b2 S% k
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden0 H# `6 Z+ T" v" i2 s4 b
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the# [/ V0 |$ j1 Z$ t+ a8 ~3 P
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
/ ^( q" F8 g. }1 i0 w: J5 X1 ^7 x8 M& \$ XRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
; \( J. N6 G7 z3 h: G S0 Asaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and8 g& l1 \: U) x* e
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
5 }6 W! }; ]6 o5 kelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible' ]8 b: [2 Q8 Y
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only( W% B. J. O; S" J! a1 d1 `/ z7 j8 e6 E
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained# p" {+ o0 ?6 b( A, y* o% K
by Toyota's lawyers.") _( G+ u3 D3 g! b4 A* o& `
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
, s/ `9 g' J" V0 r: w5 Y0 `problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
6 f: w7 ]) z ]; X" I! ]; ?# \customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he( X4 I3 F: p' D8 E1 i( T
said." |4 `; m+ p( f, e5 } k
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with( R$ d' j2 H0 z6 k
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our# _6 b2 z! j( E8 P
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
7 E+ h+ g( T# C2 ` X' aofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.( U4 C# i& x( i
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying& ?6 A1 L3 i# W+ Z& ]$ x9 R# u
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread' Z( W- B1 y' ^6 O6 `8 o: }
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the( V# x) @5 p# z4 v+ y& {/ r
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
D$ R# F1 b4 _) c' ^investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and/ `$ J& t8 ]; _2 [& N4 y: ?
Chrysler.- n! c4 Q9 k- b {$ U
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax5 X8 C- }" \- P6 Y
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a' p6 p( S ?- v4 t& |
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
$ m# }: i6 t9 Fserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
; @' h6 n0 ~ m* Y3 B# b4 b' gwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty6 Y$ P. k: ]2 e9 F
tough."
1 |. ?6 P3 V t, }3 G; g- z---( ]* y1 ?3 M- F3 ~, N/ n5 c
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom9 s1 F3 h( e3 _
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
$ j) z$ Q6 ]) ^6 P) @ Q# zthis story.
/ Y; Z2 d& R& k1 ~2 @
4 c$ M3 U2 I0 M: }: E4 n-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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