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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
) W! M, z1 G" ~- ^( u& m* v9 D: J# f7 jBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS1 q/ m- \2 G+ J' L- I
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
: X. `! V2 ^* D6 U& voperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
8 L+ w; \3 {" U( e. i( Ethe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
& c) `% H7 H) ?8 c3 p7 U7 I' Fsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
" l% L) u$ y S" y& n4 |"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
7 x, f @5 k% _& M2 icauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.& x6 l% h. ?, z) L
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected, H' u4 w) Y) y# Q, `
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
5 g# c, S. c' btrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
" w; j+ X/ u0 S+ p0 _: Imats and sticking accelerator pedals.
# k8 c8 e% ]0 r9 a+ r* b7 [9 `He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
0 ]( b5 J( y$ D- E. t$ yand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp7 I4 {. D: x' \
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be w5 s1 h' s' h3 T( q6 E( V( R \
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
. d6 t; P3 z1 C, x/ ?+ m1 Xnot stop her runaway Lexus.. ~! T, J% I( o: b
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,; k, I9 f8 W$ ]: a: y9 _. ?
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second5 E- |8 X5 I: A7 }3 H2 p" @1 Y0 Y
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.* X( j4 d- R4 {$ |
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues G6 s: o6 M4 s7 i1 [ o
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said* p% ^' [) C% K7 S' o$ D
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
! q2 T4 B) v! |8 l3 [- @done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
; f. p# ]& F. i, v" o) vthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
2 Q& {* a; e+ o* S; d! W0 T3 jinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."" ~* Y9 d5 a z' M9 U5 Y5 B
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
/ J1 Q) @: ]- Z6 n5 lelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of/ W( y; o b5 o
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
/ W" I, `( Z, P2 u& R- B/ G# ?3 Hmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
0 Q0 p$ M& P/ }' c d2 v" u' psaid.
0 u0 [4 Z. q# d1 e: i! @- QAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
/ `! `1 | \8 X, D4 Chappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
2 E: n) X5 F6 {- ?+ R' eabout driving our products," Lentz said./ g1 A) Q$ A. E: Q- n
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
% Z3 C& S' C" |! xproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has4 O c0 b9 C2 B' p) y3 |" f
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 67 _7 H& B2 _2 S; ?+ X" s
million in the United States -- since last fall because of! N! z* P& z, e* q' x9 }" S% V
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking' v" l: G9 t- s* ^( ~
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering2 ]. ]* O7 [2 l% }6 `
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of% w j9 x/ ^8 E4 @- @; r
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
" f. Z% z$ v! ?9 }) e2 kdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has r( z9 H9 y- ~) o9 _+ v
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
/ b! p5 T8 U2 w7 A. x0 Uof Toyota vehicles since 2000.& c" e* c! J7 a: \ @4 f7 t
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
: ?6 z) W) o1 I% ], @. Xbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he! O8 e# f+ ~, P
understood the pain.
( H8 [- D7 X6 U/ w- M$ l"I know what those families go through," he said.
5 r0 O, |' b) P& A; C. KLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
# T$ P0 O. W" N1 n+ J* g& F* Zfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
2 z/ i2 V. J& s* S0 o: UBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman3 U' [' ~: S+ m1 G
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
; x8 R2 F* w8 ^1 C. C' tin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
. U( \. M' G, x8 w% W0 vLentz replied: "Not totally."' U% @: d2 J; @1 K, O( J
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were6 P5 D5 n+ H( x
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
( j+ @# f+ A' C+ \$ uToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
/ O5 r! ~7 F8 [' @7 `8 m% m$ i8 lpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its2 I, y) f+ b$ {# @/ i- t
vehicles already on the road.& N) Y/ `% q/ I+ k
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify8 i' o* g6 M/ W: W/ i+ k) e
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full/ C/ W. z9 ~! V9 g
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
" N6 y1 J/ Q L) goffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were4 j9 F3 V8 \+ h
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.# a7 [) F& J! F! W. Z
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
" z* p8 O/ A6 ]: |% F9 Ntragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
; M3 K! D: d5 d. n8 cfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
3 p) Z; D9 m1 Y bCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal* I( J$ M% I7 A9 g; S& o
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to$ W- r s1 P0 k( o
restore the trust of our customers."( N% x6 K8 _" z+ G0 M
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
% @! \& a, l+ [2 L) |+ rSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
. T2 h0 @4 H8 m3 a) Azoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --% C- y! n, K; n8 J; `# R* E n
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
/ l" \' s/ E0 O. ?- g jhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough' Z$ S6 C. c5 z9 ?& U; j L& X/ K. m
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
$ N9 a- |) v$ J7 F. j3 ~( @! k) eturn off the engine.
* c0 i& G0 p. O7 I5 S9 [: @Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
3 N/ E3 ^* G% j: I4 B$ YOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
* l6 |0 i- }. ?& {7 o; {"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she! R7 i, k- a2 H: O( K' Z$ B. E
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond5 T9 U: X4 x2 ^* _
to her complaints.8 D5 Z$ K9 I K/ x
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
/ C" v% T4 m2 O1 S8 \- w; ~returned again and again to the question of whether electronic3 u( i K, K- v! |/ C
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
7 H, F0 X, e" h- D1 U m"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
w* C q! s0 K0 u( n- gthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
9 W# p8 i* o3 }" Q5 q+ p"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut7 Y, Z3 S& A/ [& y
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
G7 { ^6 D/ a6 \* e( uTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in9 \' R4 I/ ~+ Z5 G# r0 Z
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were7 n& m5 u# ^/ t
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls1 s1 l6 P, D. B! V! D% m6 a
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer6 } w) h% T# D: T
every question."# I! R5 S7 T7 i8 X- e+ Q: Z, ^. j
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether G4 J4 E1 i' l0 J4 _' y' @/ S
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The+ Q( C) t. { Q* J" h; c6 H
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But0 f! `; o: v0 l2 i c
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small1 ~: `; p( e5 `: D7 J' v* d5 [
number of vehicles& O/ J/ T0 ~+ L1 W5 \- e
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
) n* F, n R! r6 o. ^difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a0 W8 m- Z8 O0 j1 A# P
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one6 \$ F! h6 C# @: M% P
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.4 Q% I3 J, t( f1 {- V& n6 D" o
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
; ]4 X9 }% G! S7 i" i% cwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no! p# J c5 T. D( e3 O: d2 p
trace at all.
& [, x- o" f) J) v' P" a6 yHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call6 D" h: I' u! T5 @5 w! @4 w, I: b
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
8 E4 F7 |- N7 j! E6 X! {' ?2 I( s' Qacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the) u( N" Z/ v3 f8 i. E
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
x3 v5 T% q0 H P3 Q. eRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
3 Z0 g! V) Z, c9 P& Ysaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
) a, C* h& [9 e. G! K# s% ]other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the$ D4 Q; F) O0 n+ c* G7 b
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible1 [9 c: U( T- C, V' N
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only& ~8 O9 p2 b Q6 B |/ ?6 b
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
) c" W8 D3 R7 n0 ?$ ]: N, G7 Y7 Z$ `by Toyota's lawyers."+ C9 S O V7 d5 }4 L
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of& w) x8 P$ u E) e+ J `
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
6 U8 Q. A( r9 @$ ^+ c5 d" v, ucustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he- h8 M7 B( A+ t6 C# g K
said.! v! U3 j0 z! `6 M! l8 \
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with4 H2 b: \$ t/ B# I5 ?
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our* F+ A1 T( E8 n' Y- Y; ]' i
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
) D7 |9 s) _+ P: E' \( d! _officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.* [1 B z* i& f* G2 }6 n
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
& N/ N8 T8 o/ i9 Z+ g+ y; _/ i lmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread9 O" Z/ X) X: ?2 @6 S7 o4 N" I
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the- ?/ l9 p- l3 Z4 G8 D G7 C
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
8 k3 B. O- y2 @0 T* ?3 Linvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
5 V: p2 U8 r4 {6 A; y' Y iChrysler.2 y% j, J: X: o: J
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax! D4 i1 C* x) @9 |
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a2 B9 E1 |' m3 @% r2 R2 M: O( e
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
* x4 y7 N0 f, Xserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
4 O' O' q- k* m- d2 O0 W; ^$ cwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
8 u0 |! [$ M; m6 c- [& D4 D/ Z1 e c2 k% Dtough."
# w7 e/ B/ V1 `0 n3 u1 V1 w---! v- [; T2 @5 y/ p9 ~) R9 d0 B6 x
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom8 b$ q5 W4 p$ w& l( X r
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to* y$ p- F% @0 M& c% c' q6 x
this story.
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