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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
; r! Z$ t( t& q/ b3 P% P8 BBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS6 h5 V) A9 t, A4 N3 U
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.8 m S/ R/ t: K) }
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that; C* r% ~* G% J- C% W7 H
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
( ~2 v; E2 z6 T) bsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration. ]% P* F5 @* |3 X) J
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential- p1 D$ Q$ j# B. ^
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
# Z* X1 ~! u; a2 RHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
, C1 w0 v2 R" Iacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
% j! y- x* L1 ]1 M6 z9 E' O" ?trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor* _& K3 a: s+ ?: s
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.% ^$ e0 E; z+ h5 z/ P
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
" I1 ^5 Y# Q$ h3 A3 F" A4 Qand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp8 w: z. `7 s. I4 U
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
4 O1 D" m* e7 C4 xfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
" l5 ]& [' c/ ~6 N8 G% z2 Onot stop her runaway Lexus.! a3 `4 p2 v& d& u+ I$ y7 z% [
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
% y/ l! j9 T! |6 Q# W- A0 zTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second4 z$ V. }& F- [" F: d
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
4 V+ |# i/ e& p" Y# ~3 u. xTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
$ o! z& t; Y5 r- _- uearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said" [8 T$ o/ h; |8 @" T$ L/ B5 a5 H
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has) [% L7 l6 y: u+ T# [ \. ~
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
" u" J$ C* b4 \) M4 O1 B4 ethrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's3 k3 ?: t+ P. ]! E$ S& q
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."8 Y! L0 F$ Q8 n0 L' z% ^4 r
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an/ y9 t$ F# `3 U' \* G& o x
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of3 D& F/ L. E' l+ U
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
i W0 h6 S8 `8 I. \; _' Omalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
# W# g0 D+ g* c$ Wsaid.2 Y/ b* B/ `" i7 m3 B! K( B
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what; k+ T$ k" P2 }" J& y6 ~/ j9 B
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe- \& v4 y/ R: y8 p' o# [8 R! v
about driving our products," Lentz said.
: X# }3 K, K3 t9 EThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
9 d$ Q# a$ e4 f" d q1 Q4 Zproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has3 `- Y# n e5 [" O: p- U' q
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6$ S) D- @- G( |( d: y
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
( n* }0 _* ]1 I% Eunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking' G: @7 C8 b: _( D+ Q& |4 u
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
/ S+ t$ G( G; X/ r4 Gconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
/ E5 N% k# o% g# H; b+ ?) Gtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
, v7 c! G7 b5 N6 H1 h( I! ~4 v3 F) {down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
- D9 {+ U2 [( y6 o" o# l/ Lreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration5 ^7 a8 \% F+ n9 y- t
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
* J; q' \0 i8 `) E) Y# `Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
( g/ ]: A+ ~9 [$ g* q. cbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he3 |0 y) T) `& n
understood the pain.
9 c0 }- O0 ]8 b7 E3 Z; e"I know what those families go through," he said.% a% v) e" L8 e. C4 Y1 _2 X# k
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's! k! \; ~8 p; s& g; U
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems." { c' S1 t3 k# A- T. M$ t9 F* K8 m
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman/ o9 P/ t7 t2 m: m& f
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put" t! v5 ~8 c9 v
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
9 @: }! E; t4 a7 N- q* T5 BLentz replied: "Not totally.". X R- V4 t/ m* J
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were7 V# [& U+ J& w1 q R
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said, ?. {5 o1 P0 f. l
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
, \2 l" y9 a% n$ @; Ypedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
5 ]# k0 ]% D7 ^% ]vehicles already on the road.0 ?1 ^: O6 s: {( m: J* [. s! ^
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
/ V) u" U! k' s! d! X4 Sbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
$ O! a; a9 K% ^ V- i) aresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and$ O" c, G* B+ K( x0 u5 e
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were& i I M' `. W$ S. P
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems." h M1 W% M' K7 c0 g& ^
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
1 x5 b6 z* q: l, C, \tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
; ?9 f1 F* t* Xfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
4 ]. W$ ~* X N1 g3 ~* dCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal3 X' J+ e1 n) R' c5 u9 s: ?
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
3 h6 k. Z/ K0 I/ Y7 w8 arestore the trust of our customers."
/ s3 q2 ^( N: i* @! J$ kLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from" L1 i( ?% B3 Z$ H0 m
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly9 [! c: ?- C$ m, G, A# M6 S; }$ g
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --$ @3 g% I& A$ A
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
; j6 y6 q' c; Fhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
" l7 {' }/ G! F3 W3 A+ n! \# }that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
) r: E( ~9 _" Pturn off the engine.
( y, Z8 N# M% {: v, N" P: zFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of9 Q# E+ x" O/ G2 X% e% b: e: D7 ?
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
% A2 d3 z( |9 c+ g8 ["After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she7 I* B* [+ I% ]# r7 |
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond# p( s( t5 Z$ h! t7 n. q: p, x! M
to her complaints.
9 T3 K+ U: K6 k7 `6 V8 M" iIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers) ?6 y; ?( D9 F: ]* W) _" a3 `- }
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
( q6 A; V ]4 M( \6 m' Mmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
& o4 H0 Y0 B, |: G2 r"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
/ ?" Q0 Y0 |9 ?) M9 cthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
- z2 n+ x1 K% }8 H6 A: [3 |& h2 z( K ~+ y"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut2 K s9 o- U4 a- _- r' p X
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
& Z5 g! F0 O& L3 A _8 l1 [Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in A0 D% t1 o- }. u2 a7 i' q) `
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were. X9 U8 F- y' a1 T" M4 G8 x7 h! S
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
) n) _1 @$ d& k9 v1 p% U/ X- V7 Wwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
& Q. u5 L1 }3 X5 e6 p% k' S* _' Eevery question." |9 j! b( M5 P: x+ N$ |% v9 I
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
, L- i/ D& R2 f$ `. B+ zelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The& G8 ^# f2 h A/ u3 \4 q P
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But. v$ F( d0 m- |$ k
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
$ M+ N& Y5 [3 Y' A* ` U! nnumber of vehicles" T% A6 h: d, z; L2 `
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more1 Y B" a b" p) a' v) o
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
) d) o ^8 i4 _& _4 b: u9 Imechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
9 A; g9 N2 s% u- }) x2 B3 Vsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
2 Y7 {& m1 k9 y9 KMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,! ?; n) R4 a' A. v' f
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
3 E, x* e; G! ?- t4 Qtrace at all.
. d7 {8 Q/ v; D* `; ZHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call* m, q( d8 A* S5 [' D; s" r6 S% [: O3 G
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden5 w: j; `/ n/ O0 V3 o
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
" `" b, f# `2 d) ?recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.7 {) n: I: f2 y/ d8 c
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,* n( q- a- ^3 l$ q! X
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
9 a* M" W: H7 ^# o# ]$ @+ A6 Fother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
" b0 m& G7 D4 oelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
; ^: t! l; @; e8 ] dcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only7 P! }+ c7 ]4 s# o+ ^$ p+ p
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained* b" b0 f/ g) e, C% d
by Toyota's lawyers."
/ K; H! [, C$ h1 p5 `6 D1 r8 HLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
3 c0 o* [8 H: O( @problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
5 ~0 B) ]7 I4 q& Mcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
7 K6 i3 `/ }8 F( ^ k- e8 q7 {) Wsaid., Y5 v, h. j$ J0 r# R, }
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
* _/ N# j( G: B- F. ka rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our. ~) N9 O9 @/ j0 a* c/ X4 N
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
/ M4 n. d8 |' ^officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.0 u! H* p) F9 H+ C; o: `6 a$ r
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
4 _4 H8 q; J! D7 Z2 Z& Hmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread. J; n9 W# k) a' t
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the6 r& v+ Y" r8 m
automaker, at least in part because of the government's+ i: _8 c/ L }6 x, H
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
: g7 k5 g# w/ F7 X8 M% c# c% Z) aChrysler.- o2 c1 K: O0 \: \' m
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax# m# `9 J L+ H; y. |2 N: C
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a' d J b/ _/ e( N: f& j7 l
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
! W: Q" u3 D$ Z0 K$ T- eserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete; y9 l% ^, o; L% q6 i1 ^; `4 H
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
5 L. T. |! N" K# _tough."
3 ?5 T; Q/ h! t) G/ q, a---
3 U: X7 t8 I* M6 w9 ?Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
1 S# n6 b, @1 Z7 k3 N# T hRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to# O; B6 ]; y+ u" ~" O& T& }( _
this story.2 E' u& h1 P& B. e- e
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