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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
l" z! c9 |* RBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS/ ]3 e) u; Q1 o% i# z
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.6 y7 `0 X3 H3 Z7 U
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that8 h1 W' s& Y) S6 B* |0 r4 J
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
+ ?9 p: s8 m' x* c2 [: Hsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
2 q+ ~9 `" m; v4 ?. b+ V, l"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
: B/ o$ V1 {8 z! b5 y4 X( _causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.' z3 U( \: C! @7 V' Y8 c
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected) h+ |/ E. C4 K% k
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
r2 \& x- t5 e+ X6 K* {trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
2 e8 ?) h/ ^4 J: h8 E# I: h7 rmats and sticking accelerator pedals.9 `) S/ v3 |7 u& W- P* ^4 b7 s
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
. U6 |. x8 G3 C1 N4 {3 J) Gand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp1 d/ t- S5 _/ R4 @( D/ D
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
. c8 ^! j2 H4 Z0 G) Bfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
5 M% g" y% r9 znot stop her runaway Lexus.2 o Y: I8 G" K" m N4 Q. M" W
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,' N4 N5 ]/ F9 k$ r1 s* e
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second7 t" U# O4 N8 {
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.5 |5 G, H1 v% W
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
& w2 {' d$ ]/ w4 {5 Q# gearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said8 E, x* ]" i! f* N: ?& J
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has- X# ~7 t* _1 `3 X, o: G
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway4 `: {! p A% S4 V
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
: X0 \! {. m; I3 Q+ g6 c7 M: \investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
& u; W4 P: |5 C; S+ pLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
- Z8 x7 f' Z+ R& _& _$ D7 jelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of, ^0 i; i6 }8 o) C2 T; p
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
% @8 ]; h0 Z( L( K$ Zmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
6 F9 Z0 a3 i; o2 l( Dsaid.
$ _) O$ j. I. m7 s+ ~# LAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
8 X: i5 e ?1 |. O1 H, ~/ Q# shappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe1 J; @/ ?" T5 s4 w1 Y
about driving our products," Lentz said.
9 Z! z( V3 q( S2 u$ {4 T) y2 `, Z/ ZThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's" j4 U6 z( E; E# x( K; G3 ?; o
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
4 T) a6 _2 u5 q( d3 erecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
! L z7 [2 }) Kmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
$ s7 u, X2 ]4 f3 W) j: gunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
( b( I( n. V2 Q5 }6 s$ ]issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
* i+ M1 F# d. O& @! Lconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of [8 E8 L# G \. G. D7 `) Y
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
1 ~+ k9 I- d( B0 g8 N6 T6 ~: Mdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
* }& _0 [5 u7 {received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration- H1 u' \' ?8 l4 Q4 I P. v# j/ _
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
3 t' ^9 l3 z2 {$ J# |+ Z1 xLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own1 z+ h) w* c6 |7 V& s: n+ z
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he" [6 Z! f# r+ F, D
understood the pain.
% {. P" N$ N$ S" g2 x8 D"I know what those families go through," he said.% Y7 T W1 x, d, v6 c2 ]
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's' S$ e3 @6 f. X' k$ d
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.9 a7 m" a5 q$ @* m' S; O5 F
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman c% c' z4 T |& \& _" N& p! K
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
2 @9 j6 M3 J& jin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
- M1 R" e a8 l& u$ h8 c7 ^% [Lentz replied: "Not totally."
2 v2 y; F K1 R# C8 ^6 Q IStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
. |7 j2 k$ @ E F6 X! h"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
% ?: n$ w' h1 ^3 O0 Y2 w1 mToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas: }- i4 d8 l4 h" u
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its+ B( H$ z' g S
vehicles already on the road.9 e& f. S9 ?4 @$ K9 z5 J6 K, P, U0 V
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
1 S: d7 o. I2 t) \' Nbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full4 q9 `/ K% Z: P# L2 {
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and8 v& B. G3 O3 m$ h9 i. n$ u
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
. d# V$ d! ~7 N; ]0 [killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.# d' L& O& w" H: \1 D/ O. T; V
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a/ k7 z0 p1 e* T) W+ i) X
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony$ p; @) V) |# Q2 R
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight# u1 v. V. \; t" D0 p! u
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal& {2 O0 _& p# m0 \# @9 u* i7 S
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to+ A! I0 n/ W! N1 D7 E* w
restore the trust of our customers."8 y2 ]% x A) Z5 _2 |7 c
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from* L; P1 _ c2 z
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly! ~; L% \1 E8 E) {4 z( x$ x
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
' \/ r6 e4 _- M3 K pshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
. Z+ j' d; A; ^0 Nhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough4 B; n2 u% ^1 X6 ?; w
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and4 a$ F4 M# a/ Q5 m1 \3 L
turn off the engine.
1 M, p, }' d. x0 Z- ]6 r6 @Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
) U: {# Q+ g0 ^0 B7 h: }October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."$ C; G! t. m0 f+ n
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she* |& x: }3 R$ K/ C6 Q
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond3 c/ ^0 y4 z- |& b J; W
to her complaints.
7 G6 L% G) @( ^" ?, |9 o9 oIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers0 A2 P+ Y) z8 j$ N8 d9 R
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
8 G5 s" K+ Z8 N( Xmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars., z1 h+ `8 g* X9 [8 R* A
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric8 D/ K7 w- H/ j% A; Z
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited8 U7 b* x2 u* A% i9 c' b( ?" s( N
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut. e- J% H3 n$ b9 b- Y9 M% Q
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."! D5 Q0 l- k8 f- [
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
7 w$ i+ V2 m7 i4 N5 n vprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
& d: @2 o( ~; G% r/ Ubeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls4 n2 E+ ~7 _6 V2 r& x' ^
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer5 s. J4 G, }) [' M. m) p4 O
every question."
. X, x1 X: _, z9 z7 M' E; r- x' }Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
: H; {% o" ^3 ?1 [6 ~7 Relectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
9 [5 `3 N$ A& z, t0 m3 M1 a; lfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But( O/ `# T7 B+ n: n
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
9 I" h0 ^ ~0 L7 vnumber of vehicles
/ r8 d9 _4 Q) p( [: Q0 wTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
# G5 F" P+ \& _' l' u) p" N3 Y9 H; o% Qdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a2 K4 S, q6 i. K; ~- t
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one! S6 y5 e- P0 H7 S
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car./ k! ~& p9 |, c& J1 S
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,4 [, V- p9 w, j+ l' S- V2 `8 I
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
+ ^. i Y6 ]! L% n# \8 Htrace at all.! ^ X& L+ W9 x; h; H
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
7 ~5 r3 H9 K6 l T- z ndatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden# F+ ]0 ?$ M( [$ s$ Y
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
/ `7 z$ j+ l0 C- G% g' ]recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
2 L6 v7 F( }7 ]7 J7 j0 M# kRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
* y' `% E. Q% k! Tsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
2 G" q! r9 ?% q8 Uother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the/ a/ A6 f+ N; Y1 f) e
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
3 u c& Y2 x; ^! [5 C4 z' Lcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only8 I2 i. _5 b a$ M/ \
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained2 [9 s: ^; ]) y, e6 l
by Toyota's lawyers."
. L2 j; i# R+ e- |Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of5 ^0 I! C; M: ]3 K: Z
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
6 ^9 ]) Q+ `: H' w/ Hcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he4 K5 X* l! g& H7 \
said.
8 x' ?" c4 U8 q7 [6 X" J/ I; a"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with# t4 n' p/ g* k
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
: L' y% Q _+ W0 Q. ?0 ^good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating# t H0 i0 A( O+ N8 B% |
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
# g8 @+ U- I5 O8 H8 s/ [4 e* bSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
; G. Q% \0 b" o' D9 ^members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
' \' Y6 |- t' b) a2 grancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
, T0 w% }. [; Gautomaker, at least in part because of the government's" g3 E& R3 \) j: I( k7 B; Y
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
+ o1 S0 r# ^* h$ kChrysler.
) v6 n! H' X3 w/ e$ ~: Y& H6 \"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
: i9 t3 ^6 }# k4 x( }dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a% [8 {2 o( ^, s: [. d
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also2 s4 b& N: j3 l- E0 ?
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
F2 i5 \1 V v; l7 ]! F" Zwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty4 d _# D8 D" C0 d/ z, _2 b
tough."7 Y. A" S0 @' C, S4 L; a9 j! t
---9 G- s; P4 b, {* b4 J* E4 y* F) K2 o
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
. b$ ~, d- R: u, l5 C' `Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
6 |( R, z8 m/ dthis story.! m" S- L( h- D7 ]- ^
$ k% ?( t n) Q; }0 ]4 K/ b3 ~, s
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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