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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
6 a& J _# m* i9 RBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
$ z( X+ a# Q+ H8 y( H8 C& iWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
0 Z" H/ t1 ^* p9 y1 W2 {' Aoperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
( Q& Z$ {8 G) {& [8 I! x% m5 ?the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
+ s) S/ H0 w5 ~4 F0 tsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.: R; @- A' y( i( i; q, V& U" [% g
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
" p2 B- v0 ]' n& mcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.% ?" J E4 U) m$ C$ F) R, W9 S7 R
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
+ \0 |* N* f+ V; t8 M8 D6 p4 @* wacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and7 ^) G, I& y# i! L; ?8 r% L
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
W+ l! F+ B2 Y/ ?3 t+ jmats and sticking accelerator pedals.0 t1 [8 g4 W0 d: V: E9 k. e
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
3 l2 _" }5 z: Uand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp# ~) Z) f5 w. B) s
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
8 x- s8 _* W0 ?* L: O( s/ e+ Dfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could4 B2 U2 X5 `$ j* H! g
not stop her runaway Lexus.: G3 Y7 o2 F. y
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,% C8 K+ W+ ?& N
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
# S* Z1 K" |* ^8 ]"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators. ~) {) R, j9 b% v
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
* i+ J% H5 H6 U! p' wearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
# f3 G) S! n# _: M/ R9 [& K"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has+ Y6 I# x: j1 q4 }! Z
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
" A* G) c" m3 I: u6 ~& a9 ethrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's6 x" L) r" v: M9 Y, @
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."* K# x3 }1 h8 q& S2 |4 f: N
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
8 S0 q- }* Q6 ^# \electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
# k. r' K3 z( \* t {9 ithe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
' y6 r$ `, x- b* o! Xmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he9 r9 l3 a% F; v' }9 d! G7 \4 M9 J' q
said.
- B* b4 y n2 S1 |7 c' pAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what B6 L9 j0 p& O) k* F5 _$ b
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
, @& D* u" V) [' X6 `about driving our products," Lentz said.0 g. x: z1 K; X7 C% B l5 @3 k
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's0 A t; I) z0 X6 v: D
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has; q- e% T* g* S% o, |2 f/ ^- t
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 64 i* p8 [- Q5 O9 t0 v1 J
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
1 {& R7 ~! Y$ E, F3 B% r. R; l+ tunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking; `$ r" h6 ?5 ^+ B$ y q, O
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
$ c! t0 w4 I3 F G& ^/ O+ `2 gconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
4 C: k2 Q! B, b, f9 t& ^3 {2 Stheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow, f0 V4 V7 N/ x% V# ]1 M
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
8 L0 p3 N% _4 m5 vreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration- Z" O# p0 _" @* A4 Q5 D
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
1 Z3 D! X. z& i M$ e6 U9 f7 GLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
* o/ P2 E& Q ? P6 Wbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he3 @( }/ b$ Z3 e8 ]1 R* r
understood the pain.
5 ^( e* Y/ Z9 a"I know what those families go through," he said.
- O" P! {. q4 ]* d1 c( rLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's _1 {5 m* h* P: H g! B; j
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.9 f1 ]! E0 |+ J0 G8 R- f
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman. l- Q: W# J* f$ `( t; p0 d/ @
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put/ R- J) B% ~4 {! ?) F9 K `$ }
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
/ ^) k8 w$ h. ]. u/ XLentz replied: "Not totally." ~4 g4 j2 F2 n
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
! l& v5 o. y) {"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
! Y4 u/ C. d3 q" H1 u" P0 cToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
U" Q- c q& y4 I4 e0 L7 Ppedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its& j7 x4 Y- t1 h" M# P/ C5 v
vehicles already on the road.
7 N) X; k- A: U! T, s/ m% fMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
. ^/ e; u; r" z& L3 c! b2 b! zbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
' a. T! w* Y/ g+ I0 J: r# `responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
9 \: b# Q% u8 ]! t8 L: Coffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were# n; ]5 K2 U) f# s" c
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.8 I3 c+ b$ I0 i, x; g
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
" Y2 l v% Q) a! x# ~% Wtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony. O+ V$ r: n9 m1 g, C( T W, o1 `
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
- F6 Z' b2 U! i3 X& wCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal8 g5 w. m- a$ M2 e/ b0 Y5 X: ~
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to- y/ m9 f0 S6 k# K
restore the trust of our customers."
; e2 Z% m8 p0 qLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
) N2 f, P8 \$ f& C! p e6 gSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly1 A& X' S Z7 ]% E
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
8 T) H a% O. N% n( qshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and4 l. J: e B" d. \; s
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough. @( z. O' w+ j+ @/ I3 g; u
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
: E: x. z/ h* }turn off the engine." O% Z" h, w. H3 z* U
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
' Q3 k& ~# R% e8 \October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."# O3 w) @1 m3 X5 w- ]; _) s/ [
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she4 Y. y1 p3 ~( r; J9 T
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond& g+ y+ J6 p+ L' k; l
to her complaints.
4 W; }( _- Q) ?" j0 O) q$ |In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers( v9 a D) d0 G
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
$ j& Q. S7 K1 N( p, n6 z1 Wmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.# b/ I6 m% l# h. B1 w5 p
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric5 h4 U! M0 y) C" c; i3 c2 Z
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
4 C! M' I) X8 q* b( l"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut( s8 h( W! O1 t N+ H: R
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
1 G! Y2 N% K6 ~Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in) V4 N/ q) s3 A$ J) r% n, I
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were0 |" i8 r0 ]. D ~
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls) W9 T: ^+ e8 e$ | {
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer, u' P4 i4 G2 B+ u6 t/ }
every question."% e. B. ~$ [) o. X: g) }' r5 `
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
+ _5 U; S. p! B0 A( j6 {& }electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
+ k/ i! P \ t1 yfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
% T1 {0 z% g Q6 _( I7 P% \4 wcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small' T2 k: k" L( ?2 d' d: g9 ~& i8 s
number of vehicles
: Y$ T S& Q" S' K* y% {2 p5 GTracking down an electrical problem can be far more) D3 n! t9 L: z# f0 }, a$ p
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a$ V1 E' q( J/ ^! z2 N6 |
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
, I) n, t, y3 N3 _5 g8 `' {* ^! Ysource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
4 u8 D" z7 c8 ZMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
+ x- ~: B# D& ]$ y+ `% p! xwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
9 U- y; {- d: itrace at all.
! y& |; P! w3 I+ dHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call W6 X5 x; {8 I1 H8 o& I+ k
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden0 \5 R' m. X, N _* x
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the2 h/ W! d! f" d5 Y6 r' e) ?9 n
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.( K( c9 {; C8 A' `) Q0 S
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
! f3 g$ l& D. f, u9 ksaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
* m( V% g' T( g6 }6 w# J) uother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
9 O- ?; `. T7 g( y2 [electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
' u2 o4 T( C: Z, P+ d2 k: ecause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only+ i; Q8 e2 A" m
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
/ [9 f2 G8 w% ^/ yby Toyota's lawyers."- d) W' x$ T2 H3 I- R
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
1 w1 G1 U! c# P2 Mproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
/ I$ O7 Y- Y+ T2 t2 G9 T/ C; N- ]customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
+ i. {5 @1 v4 S3 ^3 O8 a& Z& xsaid.. c* w( N7 f0 s, S
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with3 z; u& h5 N8 H& n9 x
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our4 L$ U/ F' x: Q7 c$ z) y4 H& x& l
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
2 \0 e& s4 K+ k ]# L0 eofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
$ Q2 B* {8 I( ySeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
8 P! S4 N* I, a* b7 emembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread2 [) {+ |+ I; h
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the4 Y) B _, E* n+ ~5 ?4 U& s
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
+ N! ^/ u5 i; o7 `: c5 v5 tinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and# s# o2 N. {; h
Chrysler.2 ^, ^" @3 F% l
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax" `- b! R9 |1 D( y6 `; C
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a: O/ c6 X4 T5 S4 o9 j
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
0 o. r7 z- @; d/ `5 @" yserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
4 C, m, {& t. N _# g; O" g: b- \with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
- f* o% H: a- wtough."
+ ]9 i( r' U1 L$ f3 D* H! ^9 e, x---
9 _6 U5 X3 A5 G* U, lAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom* q3 l1 d8 `; j3 X" T2 n
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to! k8 Q& ?8 t4 _- r8 f: J
this story.# V3 c% |2 x! |, X
' c5 Z# p* G* m-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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