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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
3 x1 s- l$ W# ^% P) [By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
/ O/ n6 I* o2 w+ `# \- wWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S., [0 R3 M- U7 y2 s" N5 J
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
$ W$ w* w5 A. Y2 e$ [4 d. C( Mthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally": O' |6 h% h5 A. |/ M5 T
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
9 _5 D6 X- ?8 a8 @' F$ I, M! H& S$ \"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
( \' Z5 G- P' u( hcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.9 j8 N+ k# {* x0 k
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
- {; P. h3 I1 N0 v3 \' \, Gacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and) O ^: {4 B% E7 r
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor, |- |1 s7 D/ C
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
3 m& ]6 k) a0 w% P! gHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal: O* I) b) |: c
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
- N4 M5 i" h( l$ zcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
1 | W$ J2 h1 M* Kfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
$ K% A5 Q7 j2 n/ t5 E* Onot stop her runaway Lexus.
/ Y" v W {7 d' N& O7 a) ~"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
* t% |5 N# x6 N5 wTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second, P. M2 y# A% H9 y
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.7 l# v5 E& s8 W. D" B2 Z
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
& t, \8 N% ~7 g) O: R8 ?' Vearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said" v' M$ w$ @% N2 v" _
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
) a* C' H& L. G9 j: d7 |2 Q9 ?done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway) { H, Z I0 O) N# {5 a& g7 }* r
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's, w ?/ {' C' {, y* `
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."7 T- G: f' A5 b& {/ y; j9 [
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
( D+ _& a/ r9 @electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of4 h5 e' {$ y2 v: ^5 ~7 H0 U
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a! `, f+ W+ b+ J) i
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
; Y% m0 J) B4 a: Rsaid.
* H+ b% w3 m# s$ w6 T, \As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
/ w+ H' _6 d7 k4 ?! _happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe% p+ R; _$ ]. n1 x' t9 Y
about driving our products," Lentz said.( ?2 ?- q7 ^( g4 j/ q. Z
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's) w3 f1 i# B5 Z1 c9 r3 i- I5 \& }
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has5 t3 m% Q0 A$ B/ S
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
' |" G6 D' ^: d- d4 zmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
3 t: i; @ Z" D- cunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
8 I/ B5 C: A$ T" `/ E3 O% {6 Q [! Gissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering& r9 l0 D' K7 P
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of" N* h- C$ N2 Z( o9 o0 _
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow' ?" ~4 w q( u; u
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has: ?% g: I3 P0 T% k) W$ m
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
/ D; j! u0 ?7 }of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
1 |; R9 m/ f3 u$ Y8 z) E" GLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own( V8 O- I; k! U* `+ \2 b7 F
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he' ]% F# E- l, A+ c; a
understood the pain.; g. b7 l8 H: `3 D- D
"I know what those families go through," he said.6 b" A9 |% K; n$ c3 e7 S
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
" n- Y- n9 r7 k# {. Vfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.' q, D% }1 b" g& h
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
, g: C/ B4 V2 G, A: SHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put$ N" s/ e4 q0 D# C6 J. N& Z9 U) r
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
( Q& [- J/ i8 g3 a9 pLentz replied: "Not totally."4 S k. r! z+ V) t: d
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were+ R" A* m* o6 |2 p) f$ l" j
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said8 F0 f( p! j; `4 L' |) L# i3 c
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas) |+ ~+ ` u I) O# S: Q
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
8 G: M2 O6 X( d' a# N' {+ C7 rvehicles already on the road.
. z. i8 F( k' NMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
" P3 f" k# Q+ C; {* kbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
" z6 v) \- i# h6 H$ {; X9 Q& l' Sresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and7 x* T' p; g" u1 U6 {; W+ E) H
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
; `9 R$ q- i( J5 S. xkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.$ Z- [& N6 u. b( Z
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
' `7 P' F7 N$ `, W0 B0 ^! W. W; j- utragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
, Z2 r- w$ L( R5 S" dfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight# `7 d) n/ m3 b- k8 k
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
2 j! D; W8 t7 h. ?commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
9 b w4 g0 b' t" x J- R* h. {restore the trust of our customers."
+ I" ?) e, w7 f4 U+ Z! r+ m( r0 |Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
7 g' }2 U# q- H5 M; ^1 s+ G7 J6 V _Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
1 I! k ~& D' I5 F; Nzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --$ h4 \6 z* a D4 h+ |! m
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and5 o( J: B, x. ]! r7 x. P
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough X1 f Q/ Q7 F. }: S3 }% ~
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and. h3 O7 t W% q( |
turn off the engine.
7 a7 B( X. h" \) ]/ K0 k5 ], m, sFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of, \" O* y. s% W
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."+ l7 h0 ?5 Z) ^* L" l+ i; a, }1 I
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
( e; V, V6 c: |. G5 Csaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond p i$ P% |7 M
to her complaints.: U) c3 ^+ m# }* [6 d
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers! p; ?9 `6 p5 u4 H% G6 R- z
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic3 I# I3 ^& }8 p) z, a
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
. Z% z5 X& {; z' X6 w3 t"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric7 K/ v9 R* ?' T1 l: i
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited& Q5 a! A' V+ b# {) o% g
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
. `# I$ X1 O, l* O; e3 Doff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."* s! p4 h; W9 J
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in- P1 o+ _, {6 H5 [8 S
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were" O" Q( y/ m9 `8 ^3 P& d
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls! d3 w9 e4 y) v3 q% Y6 D5 a7 u
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer$ ?" {6 _7 f3 C( h7 [% D$ h
every question."
( y5 b6 Z7 `) _Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether1 Z. d9 @ e7 w$ B
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The& q8 J: Q& S6 o( D
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
& e8 V0 M! n5 ^committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
# i) _ J: H/ Y* d, ]) J- Hnumber of vehicles
4 B2 t( c# q' O. J) ]Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
0 d1 @2 \" E7 D3 J! Xdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
5 u0 [, q5 D2 O. L, ]* imechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
/ r! |$ g- P( \7 d) ^% @( N) X: Tsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
9 H9 V& Q q) w" w' fMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,: e& d2 T* J5 x
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no* q. Z& c! N+ K. ^6 \* C
trace at all.
1 @5 \( T+ H- E9 |, SHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call1 E% m# E, t. D6 z
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden9 N! a- t; W4 r
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the- N; Z8 `! J3 r
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
# j8 P4 l) ]0 Q+ S5 YRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,% l. H; `! i" H3 t
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
/ M4 L, {& t" M, h, Zother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the: y8 L+ o( `4 K, |$ L7 ?
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
9 H8 Y) H0 _: |& C4 ?" Z, Ucause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only* S+ w" q9 j* d" h; f4 U
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained6 P; ?3 U( A- ~: Y$ i
by Toyota's lawyers."6 J+ L6 }8 B5 V0 m
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
* G! n: I7 \/ l& A+ D: k) dproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our6 k0 h" i" |! M5 }- _5 @! J
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he; s0 r; F* p$ z' L7 c0 ]; M1 [/ ^2 k
said.
" u5 W5 a `8 x$ \: w/ r+ |"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
3 r/ o$ l* O- x" va rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our3 Z; m4 w% ]* R2 t H: G
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
( |! C' _. g* V. M9 fofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
2 ^9 w4 t; n/ r" K/ CSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
. D- i2 Q- \1 \) _, r% v V" z1 pmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
0 a% M8 ^. w4 ?$ Qrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
D% e C7 Q7 D# y% hautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
% R$ K9 ]) }4 F- W6 U3 E' Ninvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
& W f6 b/ t9 g3 S9 u3 PChrysler.8 c: g5 t9 N% g
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax( ~/ a) E7 x3 M. L/ _
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a# H$ U% Q9 R0 @2 Y3 J
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
4 ~% Z7 |3 ^' Mserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete# R' Y9 h) y5 I4 J9 y
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
% y0 Y0 X' U$ ?9 itough."9 o0 ^, {5 S- Q
---6 M, W% x) c# H" O0 m$ l$ E
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom0 P4 t8 a3 U( ]" {* }5 k
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to: E/ |! m; l; i- z5 S/ n- d
this story.+ w' k) \( v' G/ P. L
& }- c X" X$ i) K) a7 b
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