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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
( Y& I4 V; \* x; W1 X0 d( LBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS C, Z: i5 u* R! ?1 ^, i c
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.3 ]+ ^/ D6 x G7 M, j& q. I! ^
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
0 x; f& B* [6 Hthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"+ G- ~) M' Y! {
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.0 M- P; O4 I2 a$ b4 ~
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential' b5 ?* }3 A; G+ T
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
3 W* h& R% P4 n" a& `However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected& v% Y! m, K6 k$ k. S- ~) K
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
5 a0 M( E4 i3 Q+ q5 N0 o2 P; O& Mtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
1 R h- F |" I; i( imats and sticking accelerator pedals.
- q0 R: E. }/ [5 B6 cHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal& N# k$ w. f5 ?+ S ~
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp- z7 K3 w6 w; B; y) h
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be2 N3 f) z' @3 S q) O! w& \1 N
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
, P+ K: }' H9 V0 h; E! a4 q9 v: p' Tnot stop her runaway Lexus.
: T. S* X) `1 T% d4 }% Y4 K"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,6 j+ d4 z4 w, P; R; h( Y1 c
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second C, n& _4 B& h* c
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.( B2 a1 w6 _ O r" H
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
% W8 s$ Q- o0 E1 C! ~" @+ ]% \/ I- searly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
8 T: M( ?- c7 ?+ d" {"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has/ O0 L/ Z" G ?5 _4 f
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
! q: g4 v; a) v3 x3 ?through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's" E7 h; e1 @0 F( p% ^8 k
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
% r5 G, z& e" l( |1 BLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an# L$ E2 u: O$ R( A7 a5 O% P4 p
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
& G7 t9 \/ [3 n8 g1 \0 B/ Dthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
. [7 s( W9 {# |. s5 A$ _malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he1 \9 |$ t6 f- Q. F% D8 G! b" ^; Q. N/ x
said.5 B4 ?0 y7 ]8 g) R3 z9 ~2 h3 O
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what1 v6 G/ [- Y5 x6 k% n! Y
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe$ Q! A" \8 q* `" K' U; k
about driving our products," Lentz said./ s& X' K3 l3 @
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
0 n9 A6 w$ X: z8 o3 Tproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has4 u) S/ G% M2 W
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6/ A) `' z# L" |8 y. O# Y" U; _
million in the United States -- since last fall because of# g, {! n$ Q/ g
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking, \0 R8 b l" d+ G$ i, `
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering7 V7 t" W6 }) q, e
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of/ _3 g3 y m- p- q
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
9 W$ W U$ d- f" x+ q/ K1 w9 A- Pdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has* f6 o1 R% B& m/ Q: Z5 }4 ^- P
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration1 t2 h0 C. N5 l1 e5 o. [
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.8 |$ g9 c8 H% Y& u
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
2 ~2 k2 h. `9 w; z- Wbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
. @; H7 i" B) I' w$ t9 w/ Sunderstood the pain.
+ {/ o) x% O- f0 P3 D; t"I know what those families go through," he said.
$ p$ P' \* v) W; S/ E2 yLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's! s( F3 Z! x; x% u
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
. {, a( h6 u, X8 b. j, _But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
1 @, n* _$ B- F* c; F6 M! \Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
9 \4 x( z4 `8 K' e- z2 uin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
9 E) N9 P* A0 Z$ [/ x" [, | I6 t* LLentz replied: "Not totally."
; C8 Z( H2 g! z# M1 t/ e4 j9 F; IStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
/ @/ L1 n$ |- w9 Y Y"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said+ x. V, i5 a: |) E& y
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas5 X7 }% T- `1 j l
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its P5 X! G) b& P2 k! k
vehicles already on the road.* o" U/ B8 o. f% C( h) @
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify' r/ P; ?& L( _2 n% H+ T2 m3 n
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full0 d2 V0 D4 F+ F. X) m
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and+ B& M/ `" S& r0 p n1 x w
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were: |5 a* | r- c" ^& Y2 r8 n2 c
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
* L5 U0 o( b/ O, s1 q"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a2 k1 V$ C3 N" ~3 `* Z
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony5 ~3 d4 z9 v& z7 A1 ?. `4 c! t; z
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
^' V% r, v2 V" n, p2 C" t$ B- l9 rCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
! h* M5 b6 M4 W* Kcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
9 k/ [! ^: I; m+ R! rrestore the trust of our customers." Y5 }6 A6 \/ I1 w
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
, O2 Z) _( u2 ^/ _: XSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
+ X9 |7 ]6 u. j, p2 D. K' azoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --; a) z6 g3 ]% k/ V) W. r# b( k
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
3 K+ ]- i2 @% ?+ G: N- {6 phitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough& U' ? S" d- h N9 t& N, H
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and1 L5 h' t; N0 o! L4 e" \1 L
turn off the engine.
! g3 a: M: O0 a* {) RFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
4 `5 ?2 j) D: R' P; p. o5 `! dOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
5 }& l" L d- a* S"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
M1 _2 g" }& f7 Y8 msaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond+ f! |$ @3 m5 U6 {5 \: i' p6 M
to her complaints.
, S5 k- W+ p: e5 d+ J, {In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers- ^0 Q, l! u: M% w
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic" ~: V6 |9 ? }0 }" W7 a/ Q' }3 h
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.3 k/ v) _ B4 V/ L' _# v% e
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
7 I- x7 E: L7 h1 `throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
* @/ [- \; P, x H9 F8 p"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut8 ^5 v9 O6 S |1 L, @
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
" N* J; A! G; r) F; U" p( D, e& gTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in" x. Q( L- h' k. l$ I# p( i
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were* x* p3 j9 |. g4 L( l! z% ]" [) O
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls _3 Y* Y& P1 V8 Z) l, N
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer2 d! h1 H1 N2 | ?! n
every question."
7 ]) X9 t& k, y+ V9 o( M" C3 iToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
+ X) a6 g5 ?) m/ |( |2 ?: Jelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The- L4 }: U0 v Q8 E1 U% F
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But" D, y: h: C9 f6 v; o
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
5 `$ Z( X( t+ d2 ?7 Inumber of vehicles
8 M( }* p! w: v) o' R& K" J, sTracking down an electrical problem can be far more/ A9 `+ K+ x0 y
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
d5 @. I. `# ^9 S2 ~# e$ rmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
2 Q: G' N8 B; E+ W- d* Bsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
& q. u {* c7 B N2 U$ V( g4 FMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,* ^5 m! i8 K) @0 [+ V7 _
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no6 B0 N" U1 Q7 s) q0 h' x% F
trace at all.$ ?1 ?. E7 s( i. F- h3 y8 ^/ O- u
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
6 i7 d: z+ K! {% ^database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden" K( b( [* q3 e9 G
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the8 F" n1 M k! \, N! ]
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
0 K" g: b# ~9 T4 c8 x$ c9 \7 _Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
" Q$ S1 u ?7 d: o2 _& ksaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
$ A) c( U8 W* M' {9 J fother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
0 e& p: x+ Y3 y5 u& Q+ [: ^electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible8 |* r6 F* i* Y% k
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
# ~9 E- d* N4 s% k$ Usuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained4 ]% M) P6 F5 z! P6 ]/ c1 |2 w/ u
by Toyota's lawyers."
! Z) ]: G/ s. i: J; C7 FLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of3 I. f8 D1 G! I* V/ o5 Q
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our& l+ v+ Q4 W+ [5 k# n9 T
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he+ \$ ]) a) H9 L1 {2 y1 I
said.- O1 c* s# d- B* h) _
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
8 n( ~1 S- ~3 ea rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our2 C; ?6 L, j0 e" {
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
- n" t1 g1 Y4 Nofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
! p- g# I3 e* j9 V5 XSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
0 @& H( e2 g, N7 ^8 ~+ kmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
o$ }6 [' R: T9 J8 R0 R% \rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the# T$ X/ [6 y8 e2 g* `1 Y/ j) b
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
; v6 R3 W5 L1 {( V9 ~/ Tinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and# `$ t0 t+ m f; v3 p" N9 W
Chrysler.9 |% g+ \5 {; |& A# T
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax) U) Q% q* _# G" F! E y* r# A
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a- q2 V4 I2 V5 f5 r
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also c$ _+ W6 f6 {5 p" D& w# ]4 B+ ?
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete3 ~. W& O; T! y" N7 }9 f- R
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty) q+ M. Q5 N1 m# k, H: ], s* K8 Z
tough."
) [3 c; n* X- S; I, m' y) r( e. `& n---
, N+ n6 r a0 I2 M) K$ q- n, D/ sAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom2 W1 G- ^! e' t
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
/ {) L) e$ G7 z" ~this story.6 {, t9 X' c, s9 e
5 z( H7 F( u0 p& ]5 P
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