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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
" r9 J+ |9 l6 p+ F E* \& qBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS' O" ^" S% M. A! A0 l6 C$ B
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
- D! d% M, t v A+ {7 O$ Poperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that1 ]" H( o; ^8 Q4 f1 |4 G
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"8 @1 z& K+ w, D8 @
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.) @3 z$ |/ a3 ]. t1 q: f
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential5 y3 M" r0 Y d! G5 C. O
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
6 ~ C I/ H1 U9 HHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
" {( {/ d/ Q% \% @) }' y3 kacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and2 O+ w/ Y/ W, S* H' Q9 ]
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor( Z9 M' o m: H2 o# j
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
* \& N# i4 D5 d# @8 h5 Y. gHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal3 ~4 p: Y" b. G+ x* i7 l
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
/ E P, x# w; J: A6 A# \criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be( F: V0 M3 v6 y- U, ^. U
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
* |9 _4 v$ I. y8 unot stop her runaway Lexus.
" X/ a4 N$ H- z x"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,9 k) i z( O$ |( |$ ]
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second+ `+ u( ?7 Z& @
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.7 a2 s& `& ?+ L2 m+ [
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
5 Y5 C& a6 X/ q3 dearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said7 [& V1 S% m! |2 h \! A
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
& i* [' k1 }# l- Rdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
8 T4 U9 i7 T4 ?through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's7 C/ p+ Q9 l: k/ i& `
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."5 v+ q: A. B2 ~3 A5 G$ U$ U, [
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
: W% |: o2 q. Y4 g9 P2 g, nelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
# r, \. p; }. }7 r; F; D M6 w% nthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
+ P. v9 f7 Q- K% Y" I. nmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he0 N( u5 }( I6 o7 G) M2 k1 ~' U3 d; U" l
said.
9 F! [% u# K, F/ J/ i; eAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
1 z, C9 n! [) xhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
9 \' ^; p' T3 m! v* \! [( P8 b1 `- [about driving our products," Lentz said.0 ^* R- s% O3 A5 Y# b' H4 y4 f# w
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
, m m0 q3 C/ j! tproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has; X/ m3 b& L) H% {7 B8 B. @
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 61 I( v0 A1 c+ ?1 u( b
million in the United States -- since last fall because of* b0 f- Y e9 _2 Q% o
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking% _- J5 i! q8 {" j* d" _ a
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering4 k! N1 U/ E6 |5 A: N0 M
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of* H# n) w, s0 |4 ?) ]
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
) @, ]! ^, z0 A6 U x# U, i4 adown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has& R [$ o8 W; r# J- C
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
+ k2 `( g! v0 r @of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
4 s. J1 ]) [% |3 eLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
/ ~; a" e2 _5 Obrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
0 M! d/ P" L+ b1 B. X/ Junderstood the pain.
/ z H I3 t& k! h' R$ b"I know what those families go through," he said.
8 ] z- A2 y3 D k7 r- g9 `! G$ B% ]Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's6 O0 @8 e6 H) b7 J
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
9 i: y& K& u4 d1 R* f3 xBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman" k& V& I) G6 G2 o" n" p$ }
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
/ m( h* F. B o( {, y ~, bin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
& `3 I" c, c. ]* \$ MLentz replied: "Not totally."
& i0 W9 \" v% y8 A* gStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were# j! {1 o. q$ w
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
9 ~8 K9 b' l. K; ZToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas- j4 D: O8 t# [' P- r1 _
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
5 ^3 J1 P8 b" L4 I" v% P a6 i' k* ?vehicles already on the road.
# d+ x4 o. w2 b: B1 F! ?; S% l! y: TMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
g+ G) e6 Y8 ~. P3 cbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
( C- Q2 z F S6 @responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and6 m m+ U8 z I* I0 d
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
& y7 i& E0 O! X% X& I6 ^* y2 Dkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.: ?5 o& }8 _6 f3 c" g( Z$ Z% c% L
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
1 j" t% q1 p: J0 K7 ?% Dtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
# h+ O4 F) i& Gfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
; Y' \: T: r' Z2 o+ D# MCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal5 _& K( w6 _, {9 z5 m; h2 e4 w0 G
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
- B) c. f3 v" `6 s% t' Mrestore the trust of our customers."
4 w& _1 N: k) ^' H% m8 ]Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from+ z4 A. N, Z& v+ x
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
5 e/ ]# @3 ^. u% f" {zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --' G3 \' ?+ I) y( ]( P
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
9 k( @) J8 U. H$ p) uhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
% Y# s' s+ t+ B$ `% @+ uthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
8 T1 I& o; ^+ Q! r7 r9 Q Mturn off the engine.
3 L" ^( \! F) u" X9 b- JFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
2 B2 ?5 J) X( V$ BOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."9 n5 o+ `7 K6 _6 K3 F
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
6 H" l1 q* C: q& U0 E8 {said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
2 g, E! Y9 X/ f- r0 I; {8 bto her complaints.
8 u3 I1 R& W/ ]3 UIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers: G( T# l) Y) \1 Q
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
a% y9 L3 J0 j J2 ?4 Lmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
" H6 P6 `$ X' r% s3 l"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
: J, Q) |1 G2 Q0 \& R N9 Y" Cthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited* {/ }( b5 J8 G, C
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut" p0 _0 E2 U2 |* [
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
" j4 ]' s* R/ P7 K3 HTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
+ o k/ B3 A" `- ?+ [. l0 [prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
9 B0 H7 A+ v! S1 f5 ^being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls# `# I7 s) ?+ F/ s# n' w
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
" p5 L- o6 E) ^) [every question."# [4 D7 ~( K/ \2 l
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether: v" u4 X: x1 z$ ~2 @1 l
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The5 b, T' f/ l, H( [; m- b6 p
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
) f- p0 z. u! Q/ a8 ucommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
% c1 _* s L& A' ~number of vehicles
: c/ D5 v1 d+ G K. G0 H) CTracking down an electrical problem can be far more8 r7 D$ N# Z; `9 W8 L. Q& q
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a. w# g; u* o+ q
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one! i- @. S- ]9 H' d5 t& e% n8 g+ V
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
f8 }( M* I o" N! t- c6 L9 @: w" lMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,; ~: Q8 W. Z! ~! A' _* i
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no$ S! \/ ` x9 E; ^
trace at all.
0 g6 f; P6 |( }House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call' n1 c* O& i: Y; r* d h, @5 Z4 C
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden, m/ [& _. C' j; ?
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the( k# m3 y; b' O$ _' A3 c" {
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.3 E m. m$ c6 n1 a* L5 O2 Z! X% T/ S
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,% o% _' J v7 v v
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and# C2 S' E# w5 I, I" L. h1 w2 s
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the F# O8 S$ i! }7 _; g
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
1 t$ L1 H, h2 |9 w. Ccause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only* [# C. v M1 j; W2 y; s
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained' b+ Q7 r/ W+ C$ j3 M& q
by Toyota's lawyers."4 l1 P: O& M) s" ~( c
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
7 J c j8 K% N! [- X g4 K1 I) z5 |problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our9 g; X2 R, }$ e2 {5 W8 p a, L
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he3 Q" a G/ ?2 L" @6 d8 _
said.
& j: V1 ~+ q- R8 m l$ y"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
k s: w/ O: f& `- ?3 `) O8 a) Aa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
2 B9 D5 u7 k& ^$ }0 g5 o1 ogood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
. [- [- t1 J8 d! K! D6 H* Fofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.0 ]) D- ^+ J: s. L
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying' R& ]" I" v7 z4 x
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread0 Z2 \3 E: C$ Z: u
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
0 p9 @. B, J2 h- Sautomaker, at least in part because of the government's- A9 p7 Y( S/ [3 y5 H) c
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and( n; W; ?+ W- {8 d& [* X! S/ x
Chrysler.
+ ?1 g* G$ ~# `4 Z- i. u"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax. r+ }) m9 f! C& D
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
. p) Q8 n, x% G' y% aHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
, ^2 k* U D P! S& v0 sserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete+ c; c/ |" F5 U% }& C% G
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
+ ]1 r- n8 H! e, l& ^" otough."
/ I4 y. x, ]7 ^1 C' C- W2 H---
5 v2 y0 F. G; P. w0 D. c, _Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
9 f+ S: ~" U" ~$ pRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
" p0 n. m$ _" |, O2 ~this story.. e, v( e/ {6 e! J1 u
% \- S9 F* G2 ]3 N1 O+ F$ }- ?
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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