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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
4 G# F2 p7 m4 B; |+ @9 O, sBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS3 h% s9 T0 g( S3 I2 N+ b
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
2 @* ?# Z* x3 Ioperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
/ n+ t& B1 y1 m+ ], i5 S0 hthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
* v8 q+ ~) w0 ~* I" a8 f3 b4 Gsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
' U7 d$ I- e' _. N' x p6 {"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
$ ~* h8 F- F) X- ]) Q+ ]3 ]% |" Rcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
4 ^% e1 K# j, P4 R# N6 z, |However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected, a5 R, Q8 ^$ d. g4 R4 v$ `' H
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
1 H4 _3 s* l* E* V3 M! qtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
' b3 r A1 B* ?3 Jmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
' s& S) Y `/ r. g5 D: k8 E7 qHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
3 G9 U7 t% n. o2 p" F: Mand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp e0 q/ _; C/ b. t7 U
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
3 z7 Z- }3 ~" l& Ofurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could3 _ x ^4 v& ~* Z# e- S
not stop her runaway Lexus.
( E0 a1 |- `) d# ~"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
& V2 p7 y& x/ R) ]$ m5 W; ^Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second5 {' Y6 `0 s) T+ U
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.7 _/ O1 Q$ `- ?- a5 a% [3 @: w: N
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues# p V. z I# l4 C/ a0 a
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
$ V2 ?# v! X* ^. `0 L"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
/ ?' m4 b; S7 d# R- odone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
) o5 j9 T7 }& g8 Uthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's& O( D4 I4 y: R4 {7 ~
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
% @8 C9 @# c1 iLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
$ i& B+ ~: v3 U+ }4 c2 s8 J `( x- t% ]electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
9 w- A/ H0 H+ p0 u1 othe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a: ~ H3 N, `! C6 y
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he5 @* R7 W3 x+ x2 Q2 f+ h; b
said.
, \( |8 h% q- A7 a5 x( _- k( LAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
7 C# A3 E3 f# f6 Mhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
% n/ |; P" i0 _. {! T9 C0 N& x* p3 P1 Oabout driving our products," Lentz said.9 k A9 U) X, n) l) k8 c. C
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
& G% K5 N! j3 ^: G5 r' r* Pproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
9 L6 [% H1 g% C4 G V5 Wrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6$ D' D9 a8 N$ u5 w0 ^, `$ L v
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
: }0 k; ]5 j6 p* `6 Cunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
" y+ M# @2 f" V7 Nissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering8 s7 C) {( g- Y7 V! R
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
7 E& D0 U# M/ w8 {& ?their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
6 Y& Q0 S8 o9 F( m# E2 Xdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has4 t" U& U ?' [. X
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
+ s/ W# c I/ p; Hof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
' Z' l: f% z! u. ?0 ALentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
$ h0 O* E6 ]8 S1 ^9 j/ g; Xbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
# J D6 A; [$ ^8 Y0 ^understood the pain.
2 P U1 y: h% n"I know what those families go through," he said.7 ~4 r- P, \" a. a4 t" l
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
5 E/ u7 |4 N: q4 {# e7 M+ h4 M( Tfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
, G) {' \$ y& i! M" E' I$ sBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
3 B! a& n Q0 N! ] K2 u) THenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
: V5 h; P1 b! |( |in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,9 z- N! G8 x+ K* b' e6 Z2 A& G
Lentz replied: "Not totally."$ c9 k$ ~/ I$ I, B- O: M, [
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were/ w6 }' f, D) {
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said5 o/ v$ u- l- B$ c( f
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas( T' A# A5 l, D
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its- H I, c9 {1 A: \) M
vehicles already on the road.3 j' X; z8 {3 x
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
2 A& [- X: g2 F' i( B2 Nbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full. X, A q' V; i( m' G% C
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and G% ]! t4 z; L: {5 ]
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
) w% N" o/ u1 Y4 V& H- _killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.7 n1 }; p& k, m m. L
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
# A6 [5 @, G6 X5 {& ftragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
' [+ u) ?* |- R3 O- J; _0 lfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight. w+ F4 [$ n, u2 V- K0 y* M+ V
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal, X- F+ T9 O% [1 G9 m
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
, X( L$ q* o3 I' Q' p# {; urestore the trust of our customers."
5 Y- ?; q3 \. i& [Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
! q2 M z5 |+ sSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
+ [( ?% h$ S% M- Fzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --$ ~( d+ u1 F9 {0 Y$ r- f
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and' i7 ]+ z9 T, T# r( R d2 r1 ?0 ]
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough! ^: j2 t8 L) R) W9 R
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and* A; K* N: G ]0 A
turn off the engine.3 Z: S' w/ \ I
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of N8 W" w; z, `2 x
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
, o R+ d9 w* }( o* T"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
8 d* h1 O+ Z1 d5 zsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond. [; k1 |& B! `) T' U
to her complaints.9 C8 G% Q0 E- ]6 K: v+ R
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
2 r- p% T* ^9 k2 m, B; Zreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic! C: [' [1 T6 p4 p! T
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
; L- m/ Q9 g3 c! h6 ^5 i8 M$ H"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
* T& B. E) f# [1 u! fthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited; G% x: I8 @8 ?# F
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
. g8 L8 G0 F2 r5 Q V1 H3 Loff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure." W# k6 G2 o7 V9 k/ V
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in- P5 Y8 a& a- n. f+ W
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
( l4 x) D/ x# V) _being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls& @4 O" e5 T& U& j
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer- |( n6 w( d1 x% N/ R& \0 D4 x- ?
every question."
1 {3 M3 `3 J/ g! B1 P: X: uToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
3 \( |9 x; f1 B) P9 delectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The8 o9 g! q- I. y+ z# I+ y
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But! i2 f4 F! a' C# f& L+ z8 R
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
' a4 O* W$ } \" pnumber of vehicles5 I: Q k( o! P9 y
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more0 h; U) E# D. U
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a+ o/ L3 a: r& k1 @' M; u1 F
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
% g6 | ?4 D z& x# J4 qsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.5 F+ p. |* C2 Y% n1 A
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
' X# P& @% m) bwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no: w$ n: s; d; X0 I
trace at all.: ?- [- j& y* {9 E& r4 z6 G/ a
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
4 r& b8 t# K! f0 i% [1 Q/ \database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden6 ]' r1 U& ?$ ~
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
1 z2 t* J& x E c" Orecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
3 g- [9 m/ J- u( }, g7 d @Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,# \) c! ^! H) F0 I7 I
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and, P& a. |; ?2 T+ P
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the/ ~ [+ r. K B6 z4 O/ k" Z
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible+ `$ h* c( R5 i- T, R6 Y1 W
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
& I( ?8 {, D! Jsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
( T8 P' Z7 R# N eby Toyota's lawyers."& }( @5 F- I! r" c5 `
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of6 K( g, c/ P* l7 W0 B! P5 i
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our) y" h4 f1 h; L2 R$ ?9 Q# h
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he! ^3 w6 S: J4 g& ~1 e/ d j
said.
9 s2 x, s+ {; w+ T6 y6 u. M"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with2 `& W$ `6 l4 R" Q% N# [
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our3 m* @0 q4 r8 X5 g1 a- S
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
. s' S! y. C; r. l0 M1 L( @officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
1 b6 y& G. C2 [4 s# v' [Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
7 m" D( C3 q D7 P# Xmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread8 e9 s- ?1 J, t" }$ t
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
3 c5 ^. Z8 ?; b dautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
2 V/ B! W/ u; U8 zinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and# M0 X3 V/ x+ T
Chrysler.* r& d6 }3 n) A+ b$ P8 I# o2 U# B7 j
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax6 O0 B; d' R9 B
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a2 n% d' {4 J& _3 }
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
8 x0 ?0 N% v1 x- d7 I. pserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete8 W8 e, I: z7 R) n: K. j" b3 c
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty1 X/ T* O8 M1 w0 M! E
tough."
6 P/ c5 T# p ~9 I& o; P7 F& v---
6 e, P' ^! K/ KAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom8 p }/ J& ?, |9 e% J+ H
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to8 a* \2 R9 s- Z' s2 T& E/ y5 o3 P
this story.
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