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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
$ M8 F0 E2 G% E* o. \$ O6 p _$ VBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
$ k; ?1 l4 z% z5 y( xWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
d) W4 @% U. F6 g2 E: Toperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that* u( {) [& B- D% P# m: Q9 {* F
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"6 v& C3 S7 |, w) M( M2 P" x
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.! t, N. d# V( u6 u$ c' I
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential* n" B3 F7 ~: h+ e( @) F
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
) d6 Z; Y+ k! HHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected& T. o$ H; K+ g& }3 t6 o& W( _3 z
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and& Q) P1 [# i( X) L% ^
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
/ T1 K# R$ C7 ~' f1 D5 Vmats and sticking accelerator pedals.0 b; t$ K' i( c8 l/ e# j
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal: l; ?0 O- w+ U" e
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
# m) p' z3 c+ J' `. Ucriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
! d8 p5 C1 H! @/ H/ W9 qfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could7 Z: M+ M) k; g! F) H
not stop her runaway Lexus.
: Q+ b) m2 z' S- N" K: B5 W4 n& v"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
) n7 V: L4 ^' O7 Q$ l* x6 kTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second" m, Z+ |) c3 P
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
3 J |9 i, K: m7 J- PTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
0 X+ V( a. F3 [! p% [early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said& c+ T, }! O7 |+ X9 ?% k6 I
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has+ B3 ~ \# m: \+ C% F$ N4 B
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway: U$ c: X( H0 K: \7 C
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's$ U, T% r9 P2 w; l8 T3 m" V
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
8 U( \8 E1 {: s& g3 z# jLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an$ j- w$ k1 k9 V9 F
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of' d# [' @- ~/ z4 P/ z( o/ W
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
' E: v: Y5 D) {4 ^. X1 ]malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he& _: {& o6 Z! S, l2 c B
said.
& \6 v5 W+ t# B2 H0 `# N& `As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what" n2 [2 V; p4 b
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe* ] ^8 ]4 x+ I4 A# l6 ?
about driving our products," Lentz said.
8 T3 x( ?' ]9 \6 d' i) RThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
/ v# W0 k+ }' A0 W3 Q) wproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
1 k- [; i9 [1 b. ]' jrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6( Q( [% V- d& W$ c
million in the United States -- since last fall because of3 W4 F0 R/ S) f8 d
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
- A) t0 a4 q7 m I. z% a% L( qissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering1 B9 @1 }7 D2 G/ o1 f9 E
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of+ |6 J$ X& V4 n, M# }& {- d
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
; k1 {7 r" H+ Z7 ~& Wdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has: b( e0 H& T7 C* c; t
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
. e" f G+ b V7 Iof Toyota vehicles since 2000.) t; _/ g* I0 m+ h0 e8 ]
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own6 u0 v) M8 d) n H" ^/ B* x
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
: V& L! k, |: H! [understood the pain.7 Z% a1 a3 c4 w
"I know what those families go through," he said.& V( {4 S: t+ S W% S
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
+ k9 [9 D) X: t1 ?3 Gfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
, O: j0 d- H; w# HBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
" } q) U/ g. ~# }7 tHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put# b! X0 [( M9 H: V7 p' X
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,$ L& U0 }" \* Z' C# d! p5 ~- l
Lentz replied: "Not totally."$ \. b$ K; X: t% j I Y% i7 e" }9 J
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were* t$ N; G! j$ \% y5 Z3 p
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said) x1 R9 ~8 f9 `
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
! t! u' [3 Y, W) K/ q; spedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its% q' R; `: @! q4 O8 N6 a
vehicles already on the road.
' L# ^" X) K- ]$ G& qMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
2 V, [3 R* D- ]7 t! L3 v0 B9 P' |before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full2 e5 b7 b% @( g2 X* ~
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and4 }! Y H" y; v% S$ q9 j; I7 ~! a
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were1 g: z' R% k" G# p( V/ P: l
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems." U1 j' I0 a4 ^( ^5 t- @1 \
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
! Z4 F# t M/ Y- V+ I3 {' A! Wtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony1 K( n" Z3 F: t* O% O/ Q
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
& L0 I9 |. _7 T7 k" f2 k1 p' k7 _Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
3 W* B, l8 [$ s" b9 ?7 f) Pcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
: y8 a" N: n8 a: u; T( E. urestore the trust of our customers."
4 Y4 H0 Y; B' o9 D- B- @' u+ fLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
$ m/ o: W3 a9 M' S5 e* C# WSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
% P/ ^, H, x2 O9 y* s% pzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --# _- z& {! [( ~
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
U+ ?% I) l! d0 {hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough# j- C6 n1 p% h' P! ?
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and0 ~ j& c/ F5 n. R# v
turn off the engine., W3 p+ m$ D3 N1 P) J
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of$ ^2 w9 G: |7 `( ^" d3 g5 f
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."! m0 R# [. y' \) E# t) h
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
2 ^$ O3 ]6 |( Bsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond" z8 r' I: {- t/ k' q/ L" Z
to her complaints.
2 \6 e9 E. |; Y. r9 N! U7 C4 sIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
5 Z8 Z+ N. {# U( o- Q6 xreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic2 [+ v- @0 f8 O: a% a
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.: b+ }- E w y; c
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
6 C' A: M* \% S1 O& p) ithrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited$ |: v! |& V' o- B8 H
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
" P: I+ e% D2 O/ toff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."* B1 T$ I& C' u, v0 K, C
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in- b" v$ a/ h! Q' V: W1 r0 j
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were9 l4 h! |1 G1 X% T/ {; V j, a
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
7 i$ z5 w1 u" t) P3 {were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer" p' r8 h& V- c6 a
every question.". |# n M7 g: @! T1 K
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
+ I! r8 z; }2 ]% G9 [, Z# d% Delectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
4 k; D; s) M' N2 d( Yfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
! {3 Z' I: b" P8 C. Lcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
1 c+ ?1 _6 j% \& t3 g# Dnumber of vehicles
6 S9 b1 r' }& V+ ^' {! L/ {* lTracking down an electrical problem can be far more0 C1 _5 ?" Z! B; \! f& Q
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a" D1 }; m/ w# v
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one3 _6 ^- q: g! L* N4 {
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.$ q! E( k% q" A( G8 \
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,, i1 \2 Z3 u2 `" S( E+ R6 R
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
; C7 Q9 `8 H! y6 P" m s2 ltrace at all." F, m: _9 t. u! g- P
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
- H; |7 n2 G4 G2 T4 [% `database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden* \% _& G1 j7 |4 D- r+ s) B, N% a
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the/ D9 U3 }+ H: t w; X3 j q
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.3 d$ y6 O1 x, Q1 T2 F; M) Q
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,! C( @3 ]9 A) w; q2 T4 y& q
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
; N, D* b7 F0 Z# Aother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the# n( D0 l o; B2 ]: L2 k
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible# c. H ]4 }. ~& `- @9 R" r
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only. x( D, P d% a# [9 S: x0 t0 f
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
d% p! \: v2 L* z% S- }3 o$ ]by Toyota's lawyers."" S# Q2 n3 k. p3 k" A" O1 \# Y# z
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of$ J% Q) T7 s. p5 }$ o* R- A' @1 |
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our o2 L: B5 Z' K
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
?9 y+ Q" H: Vsaid.* J2 h6 l5 h% d0 T4 f8 @/ F
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
" @4 U! R0 M2 B Da rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
( n8 p: l$ H3 Kgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating$ f, o8 `. c& v' q2 {* S
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.; ]) q6 }7 H) @5 r7 y' {
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying- v4 s& d! W9 o1 i# y* f. \. R
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
; a- R- ^0 o3 N0 m8 g1 Qrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
! u" f5 w0 c# }! {, T! K0 cautomaker, at least in part because of the government's/ t J* T7 E7 H) a
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and# b4 U' M( c, v4 B$ j
Chrysler. m" n+ p+ _* O3 a4 W8 V* S6 \
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax. Z. c Z0 o9 f* T& a9 i
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a: v# t& g( @+ F- H& B" N6 a3 D' o
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
u# |' X- R" ]% S5 B+ L9 n8 Zserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
! O2 Y1 j) N# O' e7 m9 _with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty) S5 E4 |1 B* u2 r
tough."# p/ E0 O0 |& E) g: X7 x9 S0 W
---
9 _3 n0 w/ H# _- ~Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
# m7 H, _& M2 s1 Q, p7 C1 J0 GRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to) g* X5 C3 Q4 Q' X. E
this story.
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