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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
4 S9 {* e$ R1 _" X, xBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
9 A3 K# m7 ?3 m" U% ^% KWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.: d# L6 \8 {/ J9 F& L+ i
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
$ i- ]. c, V5 X6 F; a" T. pthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"* Q4 o8 Z2 Q' g
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.' i: L% A; N. I* q5 U% O
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential* l3 d* { `: v7 ~) w
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.5 w2 d5 r4 B* r1 ]
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
9 U. e3 k) B! {) t$ G* [7 gacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
3 F+ k& e5 Z) g% @0 c7 btrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
8 s, x s, U: Y! h+ I/ @: m' @mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
9 D( Z6 i1 D# K# ?" Y' y: rHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
( p( @( s7 {1 F* o- u& k; jand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
9 @0 X- _4 v6 C3 G) Y+ Ecriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be6 K' }/ z* `! b% F3 \
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could1 d# _3 W) F1 F9 V4 p
not stop her runaway Lexus.
# ^" i; S1 g$ [4 r1 D% A X"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville," |2 g9 V% ^1 e, O2 Q
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
! f, `* ]- L: l6 u$ m; b"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
& N: d7 w- x! s# v5 U. D; r( wTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues& {; [; ^5 Q# x
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
m3 a" L3 U( L( ^9 Z/ Q"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has4 p0 h* ]' Y9 h+ L% \, X
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
6 I9 m8 W3 v2 I9 D. B7 A* d1 Gthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's3 t+ m0 @9 l. M
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."( C; w# d, v3 b4 X$ o
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an# d. F- Z* @1 B5 k
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of, W, T. l ?$ A1 R1 R3 h) a
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
4 f! f& X2 [- o& Fmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
; @1 l/ Q) @# G& Z4 f f4 }said.9 e* j8 [4 A$ C: s
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what. k4 x2 F! C, K. G
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
# ^& s; b s- O. O* a9 |about driving our products," Lentz said.
9 v( [2 y7 C( R' e4 y# u' a( ^Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's" ]8 d% W3 E/ x
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
" k2 x' c2 \+ W3 x: k( [; mrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6. Y' B1 f/ e' n7 e8 I8 z" p7 s
million in the United States -- since last fall because of5 H% N/ c9 y/ [6 b( A& Q" f B
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
3 ^1 e5 g6 I8 x6 B4 d6 |! @( Jissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering" t- M; ?: Z2 l) w
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
9 k [& C) A' w* ^. y' ]their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow7 _6 ~/ u' X" Q C
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has. R0 @3 M" G- G& @+ r6 e
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
' E# Q u8 e5 M7 S6 I! V/ Dof Toyota vehicles since 2000.& M7 j2 L' U' i) [& Y
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
8 a- w/ k, Z0 I) Cbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he5 s* K, V( I; I
understood the pain.
' w# L( M5 \) i4 l" i; A% Z"I know what those families go through," he said.
) j: S8 K) Y, Z4 K H# @6 I& gLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
; W) a: W! J. J" B+ @' j2 H$ Dfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.0 D, N p2 A* }' X# z6 E6 {+ y
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman# v+ [, i2 o1 B
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put1 p% m R; U2 p3 N% r
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,1 o: Q7 s4 e! x* C8 N
Lentz replied: "Not totally." q0 U/ X& D Y) T( }! z
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were m4 m N& v" G5 @
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
. X H, N8 J6 [1 f1 C( V* JToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas2 u% y4 ]$ A) y
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
( x- \& L+ @* R7 @* g' m" hvehicles already on the road.- g- s* q/ \$ Z+ L s
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
8 v# O" s6 z4 h, o& u$ sbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full6 x* d7 Q+ R( a8 \7 t9 [% q
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
- l2 d! d1 T2 noffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were4 Z) W1 I! c5 w
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.# Y$ A& S' l6 a
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
3 o! M( u* @3 \tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony9 y9 [/ H4 q9 n
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
/ { X: u! z6 {1 ~Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
- }2 Y& [1 a( V) x0 u) P. tcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
/ R2 p! o! h9 irestore the trust of our customers."
6 V0 s6 t2 \, P0 A% `5 e) GLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
! F0 W' P# f( l! `6 H. sSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
@* p0 [. b+ J6 Pzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
' w5 V8 {) H$ L U; D |( fshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and1 P$ L* p3 a# {% a" n
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
5 B* I" i2 ~" L4 G! D) s: v3 Ythat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and7 m8 q' q) j% i5 w
turn off the engine.( n6 J7 l n) A* |4 ?, ?( c$ v# _
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
9 m# u; k" {* \% B* dOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
2 i; s: e2 v; n& F# `$ ?' _' \"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she$ i* F \, i3 w0 B8 Z+ l6 [7 b2 j
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond+ ^8 K! ]" ?: ]; L; R# m0 U7 x
to her complaints.
- O2 s. q b" D g1 `9 ^0 ZIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
3 H* b1 A, k2 o% e6 D V& G3 ~returned again and again to the question of whether electronic7 V8 E. d* n* t% F. \* S4 ]9 w. V
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
+ t2 _. E% d4 ^# d8 {8 B; \"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric. g5 O0 g3 R7 Z5 _; R
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
5 @4 W$ Y+ b. A3 }( v. n! r% o9 L"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut* p4 Y( h/ ` N6 O
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."0 p0 `( E1 t2 Y
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in! h( G0 U; r9 P$ A. P5 o& n N
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were3 X2 ^' J" L2 ^2 V) ]9 t4 a: }
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
- h: g$ [% m6 s' z( n; ~: X: R1 Y* `9 twere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer; p% ^. A$ B. }2 _. z
every question."$ Q2 C# H( y& S' ~9 ^6 A" _. O& s
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
6 c1 d$ i7 {( u1 belectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The. a* G! R1 k# m+ {) ?4 I+ j2 h
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But6 r4 [: V+ F i: ^+ M8 n( p
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small7 @5 B* U5 \) i5 [) a1 s8 ]7 s
number of vehicles4 y8 V' r( F1 i; ]- H
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more- W; x5 M7 L7 B+ o! J- I
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a0 [( l4 _3 m& D6 k, k
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one3 E2 L6 ?, I! v5 D5 k9 ~* J# u& I
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
" `7 n8 W* {. t5 P9 u4 x: S) lMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,0 [, k# a1 H. f
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
2 x4 l7 E- H+ L3 {2 }$ ?! o Otrace at all./ t- N6 Q8 |! ^4 A5 v
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call, k0 }# j" {' u. r
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
- e B4 `3 ^* P' `* ]acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the2 F, B; h9 t4 S1 e( E
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals." B) U6 J9 {8 e% S- I5 z' i
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
e; a) ^! e3 {+ `# @said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
# U. l1 n9 ^7 d6 a+ v4 g# ]6 ?other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
- `1 L2 T% ` H& R. i3 ^5 helectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible3 }# d$ }, f0 v: G7 h2 q i$ h
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only% R: B/ h% ]- f6 b8 d
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
; c7 a- _6 U$ {4 h2 H, eby Toyota's lawyers."
' Y+ m+ I& D' C' _0 q3 `6 b* xLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
8 P6 D* ?' d; C; a; fproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
2 f: V, T1 c* M1 pcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he" `: p0 S9 o5 F* Z
said.
0 G4 f7 ~4 c2 `9 |# `( N"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with) ]+ d0 Q. }. ?' l( U# F1 f
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our! {- E. \. {4 Q2 s7 X
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
3 s1 l _& j6 @0 G4 p. C& sofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
2 k. I" R) F `* J- LSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
, T& i: B. ~+ @& I5 x3 l# Rmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread5 M; U2 ^, | J) z
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the: p% q/ l1 k/ x8 x
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
. ~+ ^% j9 m: ?7 Z* z' u/ cinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
9 P) |0 @3 W* a% ^. @$ H$ w: W9 }Chrysler.
5 m8 k5 h) P- V' d1 S4 r"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
. s4 Z. \5 Q% _9 E, ?) x+ Hdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
0 Z( r8 D4 A: P5 N/ v1 W: z8 nHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
{- V1 |" N# E. r' I t7 C3 Q9 W% v7 Gserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete; _7 L A' @ l* r+ h
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
& N1 Y; J0 A$ ~( H. Z/ htough."! G+ A' b: |* x1 P, T) l+ F9 Q8 w9 I
---
9 l* @4 ]! i) V* gAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom! A$ e. `9 f. d" Q; B
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to9 d& ^5 |! \4 H
this story.) ^$ v/ _3 u" p) c1 t/ N2 L0 r
4 v) c1 D; S4 g u3 S
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