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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
R: O D0 s8 u ]8 C4 L* i# jBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS1 d1 v4 E/ c+ Q: S3 V
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.! B. ^( a8 G3 v G% ` @8 a e
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that' B! G& p2 i- v9 C# Q' ?* m9 I0 X
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"4 N# I$ {: s: S( q2 ]* I3 j# h
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
# |+ v* M5 Y- s, H9 w& U0 l"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
1 ~5 v* ~( L- K$ p( {- Icauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
) Y: x. C# g5 a( L% f6 IHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected @2 f, K3 r# b0 o; M
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and+ `9 T, E A1 x) X k
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
' w- Q6 p0 a/ Z! v3 L5 H1 Rmats and sticking accelerator pedals.: H: t4 Y% |# b6 _$ D8 h
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal. b; D. q3 u& h
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp: E% U+ n: d5 \' l7 Z% d1 ]% V
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be& [8 O, i2 D3 {! y4 |
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
3 H6 W0 y* ?2 q, ^not stop her runaway Lexus.
2 u# M- s( I6 ]$ W/ ^# s. ^, P, u"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,+ O- x l. ?, m; a2 F# I
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second: S k- n. N! P- t9 k! b$ @
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
/ u" g$ @" N( j% c( d3 V" jTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
9 t) l w5 m$ m G" Yearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
- j1 m/ Q0 P) G* b3 c) J( \0 ^"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has _9 v+ L0 q# T+ \: E( M/ |
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway( G d" m$ [' Z
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's1 {' k0 x/ [% [% q/ x! Y) m0 y
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."% P" h3 w/ d' ^' Z
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an( T# R9 _# X! u* f
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of& _: h8 c( C* u$ X3 t5 D% a' x
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a- v; D h+ y1 x8 C8 ~
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
# c; {& m1 |/ W# W; Wsaid.5 C* D. T( l; Z0 o" N. \9 ~0 r
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what( ^ K J* R) |- W! x, i# ?0 S
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
; G* Z9 N6 }4 j% ]about driving our products," Lentz said.5 \7 g% @& @3 ?
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's6 V* ~; j) X3 r3 X& ]
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
4 ^, n) w9 I) D2 Grecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6, _9 x* e- L1 _% c6 t+ x
million in the United States -- since last fall because of M1 L0 N5 k) o3 G; P
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking9 D9 J- ^' z' q$ J3 r8 M
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering% s C* |' G$ K, {6 `
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of; N$ N( d7 c9 T2 z" U8 ~) H+ j
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow$ }% R1 h. S0 j1 H8 q! e
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has( e" i: {$ a1 _ A8 C ~
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration8 T0 c2 @6 R9 p$ U; W
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
+ U3 y$ `0 }+ b) t9 C/ iLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own# u8 W/ G; p, G5 `2 ^9 ~- G3 t9 G. }
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he0 ^' ? `* q& Z% w
understood the pain.
2 r# z P2 D/ d8 x! i6 w% b1 H* S"I know what those families go through," he said.% u$ J8 U3 g0 b& N0 ^
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's, G/ M0 ^/ h6 O( z1 u! Y( @! H
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
- G! ?3 b- I0 x0 kBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
8 F+ R# @, c3 J* k, a3 P- Y, f, lHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put2 _2 Z& i2 f# X: g e0 Z# D. a8 j* s. |
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
" M* p& ]' S6 YLentz replied: "Not totally."
4 m. O8 { r- p; |Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were K$ U3 o1 `( i
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said' m, J; o6 C+ {) L( b6 ]% b
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas8 z. a7 G. I1 t) }: j% B
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
5 l2 N. l' V) @+ F# E c) xvehicles already on the road.
/ f q7 i" d" P% |. X( I* HMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
$ j5 A7 U7 _' `! x5 s- Tbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full7 `% B" W/ X" x6 k) r- @& @3 r; L
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and) h& ~5 E: T& E8 K* r) \% U
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were$ x# ?- b3 @; D+ ~+ g& b
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
9 v3 e$ L+ O) f' B"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
j$ |, Q. d- L$ ltragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
9 S" v4 o& [, C/ A0 K3 [4 efor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
) D) I+ G/ r. o! I3 A$ ICommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal* ~' w& Q2 l% F$ v
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to: L& F/ O" t( b5 t' w% |3 R$ t
restore the trust of our customers."
: `* y0 X! K A/ t% n4 r. qLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
) j% C7 d9 q( O6 w! x7 n& R/ T- lSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly; l, r4 D% o v: n- S0 e
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --9 B3 B$ F% n% `7 }6 A
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and5 v$ e/ l0 q. d
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
, C9 J9 b O9 Z& w' ?9 Xthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
P5 {( R2 Z/ }/ A( I- Gturn off the engine.
; m4 j( T0 d( i! Q) ]/ n. }Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of( A# E' X5 }8 s) w( r) q
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
7 L" a0 \2 M9 |6 a+ k+ L5 b"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she! y( k2 F! i( M* h3 Y
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
( E6 a+ }1 ]4 E( \; {: U$ e9 Jto her complaints.
! K5 C ^: Y5 c8 \' QIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
2 z9 G. m3 ?& k8 y4 h2 Greturned again and again to the question of whether electronic n1 _$ z7 Q M2 k! q6 z
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
8 {, u* c; k; p"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric, i9 C+ K/ w+ R
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
/ v1 o+ N% K; h"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut2 b8 W4 F3 N7 k5 Z
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."5 R$ u$ Z, {+ q
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in r! Q; g& b. M( L
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
& @ J. K8 m6 g6 {. Ebeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls0 y4 l. W7 S3 u0 \+ E7 ]3 L
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer8 p* x0 R Q5 V: `8 q
every question."
: J* W; b7 ]9 P/ n/ l) R' cToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether5 j. R: g, G! S" j" v0 a" t- G
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The! A: J. m3 P1 m2 _+ D5 A
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
6 a$ l! k! A/ q! }# y* k, E7 ]9 Scommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
+ O! S# v9 N4 mnumber of vehicles+ a0 e2 N& f+ I1 |9 G
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more5 k. i: d7 T/ q
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a3 D( m. b% u- E) ?
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one9 z5 A" }- s, Z5 J
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.4 J+ V* O# x" e: J- V9 ~6 |
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
[; N% c# H( f7 a, ~4 Pwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no) j6 z7 Z; I. ?. a: P( I, l+ |
trace at all.& R" X' S( {; Q& N6 z9 Q9 P3 v, j
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call r- X1 X0 K) t, M2 E8 C
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
. N" R' b: p; s9 Gacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the9 q; d" F- P5 x- O
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
! D9 ?5 b% e# m, s4 ZRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
* C4 g' o5 L6 T& o7 Isaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
1 ~2 s/ T* c$ O( t! @7 wother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the9 f' P3 K8 F7 X, y& o) B4 U
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible! T, V7 s) Z! q5 T2 ? F$ p2 U: G
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
( ]3 j* ]& F4 H& \" _; j/ Psuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
4 ~$ f# s: P; n" u2 oby Toyota's lawyers."/ B8 z$ M: ?1 k7 ?
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
! k: \1 }2 F! ?) Oproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
y, U- t; h( \1 e4 Zcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
" D J6 V$ P, F0 b! @said.% ^* [& I; a& `$ ~! S* Q" ]7 L
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
8 B- g: g' |/ K2 L4 Q# r1 da rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our, n6 A0 w2 U+ |& H
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
2 U* z% b% t. z- @0 ^% C8 t/ u+ W6 Zofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.& i# S- s% D7 f+ o/ {1 Y8 Q
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
( N3 {; u: {) e/ @* nmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread6 R, k7 U# n. K
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
/ s" _2 h7 E0 r7 R5 [1 Mautomaker, at least in part because of the government's6 [! ?+ N, C+ w. k& J% G+ d; N+ i
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and4 h) ]" P# r) V0 f7 o/ ^0 P
Chrysler.
$ E* E# |- G7 H# C"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
5 [$ ~9 A0 w8 F# {% T5 ~" Udollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
- }4 M3 [2 r7 w. w4 [$ i8 f# ^& c/ W& OHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also3 c( u9 d/ R$ G* R- {* ^
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete6 r# {1 d% f" n
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty ~* U9 n. z( s9 [ c
tough."' P& ]: V& Z& h. o) \6 V
---' G. b1 M O2 @ p* q6 v6 n
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom3 d9 y6 W+ e% @ O5 h- z
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to% a5 d8 t( m) X' {, Y& Y0 x
this story.* i$ w1 M% t9 M3 {+ Q9 R+ U
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