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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
$ O: H: {/ ]4 a/ O# PBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
; r% M$ m! r7 G) I6 o; B( VWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
0 O8 h* o! _3 N7 E, Q* S" _operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
; U/ ~; x: \0 P0 ]9 v% R% O( E' Jthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
# x* b' h+ Z" W$ y2 ^) ~solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.- j8 Y, u+ Q; M
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
" }! R$ q9 }3 \9 U" N* Ycauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
+ D; O% }% n9 \4 Q5 i2 j. JHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
& d) C0 A6 M1 `2 N2 hacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
# d" I: p; a- A+ q' xtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
3 t5 P$ v- R& `. _7 g( C1 W9 cmats and sticking accelerator pedals.: \5 N" F/ @0 V( Z
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
+ l7 Z v8 u5 {, z7 Pand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp7 _2 o" U& @3 Z$ ]* h" m+ c
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
# m6 Q7 I- ^. sfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could8 l& S: `9 \& C0 ~* k% I: G3 |
not stop her runaway Lexus.% E$ P+ m) r! m& h* M. j
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
% K3 @0 m- b; }Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second& v$ W4 I3 d$ R7 ^3 r" o
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.8 v8 k( k2 E$ b7 \ K* c9 l/ ?6 e+ i
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues9 B1 h" c( D# w
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said; T1 O4 U" y( S
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has. [4 }7 H! B- f \4 R
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
- _9 R0 {4 s/ A& K$ Othrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
+ b5 Y& b5 @9 W# z, | X6 ^investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
# l1 x1 t6 B; O7 W! K7 Q9 c. l- SLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
/ A/ H+ H4 Z3 c3 I# qelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
( K5 `1 T6 X( E; x2 Nthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a3 t$ z. P3 F/ A! p$ f$ M1 b
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
1 N4 `& V9 |1 K5 T) m& b: h. [! X0 csaid.7 {5 C: D1 A5 d8 h$ c
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
- X: l- O* H' {( q/ V% Bhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe$ S) c1 ~2 r6 ~% P# G, A
about driving our products," Lentz said.
0 z" U2 k8 Z" g7 v$ C& `Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
( ~& u+ {; Y+ _7 zproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has+ {& p9 Z4 W" n! A+ |( x
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6( Q6 G1 @, p" c9 w# ~+ e" q2 t
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
# I' U( h# g% I: |. c3 c3 y! }( J4 qunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking3 _% H" p) ?, i" f# Y
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering5 r0 T9 L D+ y2 ]5 O
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of# u& }7 S) S* L6 e
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow+ J9 m2 @! p* P0 F3 ?
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
7 N. m4 k! C# o& k+ y' S Preceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration3 \( l1 Y" c( b% o9 U8 {: o9 G
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.& m8 Q! B4 M- |" f& P
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own5 D2 K" k" n( J ]% u; e
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
4 \1 e1 m5 ?5 |+ ~, B' Punderstood the pain.5 N D N4 X; R, [1 u! C& {
"I know what those families go through," he said., E1 x5 h' E' s0 A+ o2 c( L \
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
v/ K5 ~- C0 T2 A; ~fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
1 M& ~; G4 f6 r- R. j* {But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
2 D- A4 Y6 C# T( I3 Z1 [0 k) eHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put& o" ~2 v- T" A* K- r4 |
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,& e' a# M! M: `6 h+ Z$ V
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
- G% `& B: G6 k" G; J3 eStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were$ ?5 W; v1 o! c9 U- E# J, g5 l
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said* ]/ ]" r# e" Z8 v* m t
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas/ a9 F* o: R" U# J
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its% }3 ]( E+ r0 @
vehicles already on the road.
: y1 K+ x* Z. n6 M3 u+ u: l1 W& cMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify: N: y" N2 a+ n6 R$ p; j
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full0 C& X# n" ?9 l! _! w
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
. C' i$ a! |6 ^) h8 x3 E' [offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were- W( e0 |- W% N5 I, `; U
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.& _1 t) }' K! M" D) K4 N+ e
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
' y1 Q& O1 M' ^9 C% z& ytragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
7 R/ {" `2 Z8 Bfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
: l# m* f8 [+ i1 \Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
3 \0 u( x8 d' j( f" Z/ s& @% Vcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
4 c4 s- p \/ Q1 x* P$ j1 h2 z3 Mrestore the trust of our customers."& v6 {7 W3 M, R" p5 {; a
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from( P) D9 E$ Y! d( H$ E
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
% X. h7 G" o# Q8 `( Izoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
# L7 L) B- g/ P! Hshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and" }. d! p- y0 Y+ u/ x" J
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough1 ^! B& ^% [3 U5 v, B
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
' |6 M& r& r7 G. b ^ V: A0 u: mturn off the engine.
1 b, A, T$ y p _0 B! eFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of8 F4 ^8 b( @+ ~* I* R8 W
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
' G/ ]3 M6 b8 w+ z"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
- M2 p4 I- b7 R3 @( Z. _said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
) z8 Q1 h. b, jto her complaints.' f# L% ^, _, |( G! B
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers ?# n: y% O& ?: Q) g/ z+ J
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
' l" S% A. \, ~6 e& Z2 Emalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.9 m" H0 j, H# }
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric, u0 v* W& V! B4 j1 i R
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited N4 f5 t% O7 W- y
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
% [# _1 T- W' B5 G1 H+ Eoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
6 o" v* J8 a2 D# kTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
/ K* j$ G$ [: z' ~prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were% z& x: l" j8 u6 k, O; A
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
0 y1 n& i, o5 l4 ?! F7 `. hwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer ?+ I& J* w& f8 e& W0 {
every question.", }7 a9 t, X2 `& d: |7 C5 W: A5 I! H( w
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
( k, u4 b! ]8 B! k* t: Nelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
8 r4 @: B" n5 k+ e2 q9 c qfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
! Y* F3 S N, R# w) Y, ecommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
& E4 d$ p) O, ^& V$ O& E4 Onumber of vehicles
( R+ Q$ L' N: k A9 H2 j) UTracking down an electrical problem can be far more# j2 l3 h7 ~4 \& ^/ j7 Q' D
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a9 }2 ?2 H' Z: }6 }) a7 H! i
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one" d! ]! n+ [( U% p
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
4 J; H9 R, D# a. R. i9 Q) YMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
3 p5 K+ t! B6 L5 \where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no" l$ }/ ?: x$ {8 O/ U, O: h
trace at all. L$ h3 G) t! O3 y
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call. e- Q0 ]% K$ @7 l0 P
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden4 a0 @" S7 s# Y" ]( u4 s" ~+ H
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
; W0 K8 K; K4 J* X$ C3 Irecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.; R/ F' e6 Q) }& [% W/ Z" K
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,& s2 b: I# r6 t1 h8 s6 X$ U e
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and. E. b' o6 y& H. c5 ?& W K
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the% E' J; q/ h- b) ~" ~9 W
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
3 F& m, n9 D8 l' Rcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
3 ^6 A0 j- H( Y& A' Z9 Xsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained3 ^2 o" N) }" d' z/ S; R9 ?
by Toyota's lawyers."
' O3 H$ X P7 y# DLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
# D0 G5 w; L) T* Y( S# E5 S+ J* aproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
/ a; t0 D" H/ f- ~( ucustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
: v) s/ k0 y9 d0 osaid.4 Z+ P7 u6 b! G4 H! o- m1 p3 N& v9 r
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
# ?3 `# y4 j* z( h" r$ za rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
8 m* @6 q9 t3 H0 ^/ Bgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating, X$ ~) x6 s, c2 { N) e
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.7 y; { h) e( C. t5 g0 G- i
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
% X5 e' R5 d" z. O: `members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
& |- @& z8 M$ u, @rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the! U+ ?. ^/ P8 \$ x2 F& i: P
automaker, at least in part because of the government's, s# d6 V& }& S. r. @
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
3 ^3 h% g1 U/ X: i T2 @! f2 L. \Chrysler.
, i& E- e3 S9 @2 D"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
/ P5 @) R* j2 u3 N" X$ ydollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a9 p( {- {* }7 d5 h. B( }
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also8 B! U# P* s7 S2 j) k
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete9 I7 H7 ?% b6 L2 b) _
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
3 d- o" a. w; W; J$ y1 I- {tough." c& a/ U" Z* z
---
; P# P9 s$ L$ K& MAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom1 @+ v& |) R6 \+ O3 u
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to9 i3 X X% L0 X( m$ ^' ^% t U
this story., o; R: _! x$ O: K5 N
+ H5 v# u2 J. G7 \/ N2 |* l
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