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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题" Y5 [) c! r5 `# B4 i! Y" q
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS2 `; X5 B: X3 E( [- _+ V$ V( j
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
. P( z# |! k! O6 d2 noperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
! `! P6 ]$ ?8 f# D4 _4 ethe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"8 X: W$ {" u2 E+ v# a2 H
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.( X% m! q, x5 f3 p, R& W- Y5 v4 A
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential$ t$ K( {& M5 G# n! l0 p% U
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
5 K7 o: r2 d8 O' k2 {+ Z9 f Z! gHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected$ t& K( Y5 V$ S7 \) L
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
, o% y( ]9 ]) \, e6 { qtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
5 C" X0 h( ~4 E1 Z9 _) ?9 x' T& hmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
* a& y9 |6 U% \: W7 o, IHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
5 }# l2 q! `2 `- zand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
8 s* Z: Q- X: u$ ]" F( M. Ocriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be, I& ^+ d6 T* A, w
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could# r! ?* b9 U0 p* Z5 ^- h
not stop her runaway Lexus.
/ _" g" k( P! k: y+ i: f"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,# \' d/ }$ r/ f. U$ ^4 U( y# J& S
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
" H+ ^" n+ F1 H2 [: L+ j"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.8 f% z1 w& |7 i
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
' J1 G7 G! c* l# D: c2 y, {5 K0 `early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
. r; Q" h9 l! t( f"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has w: B7 j2 O8 ]# t: v% {" p. M& r
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
, Z) a$ f) D- @" s9 Ythrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's0 ? x8 l5 L% T, w: f) K: s% a+ m
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
( q0 E2 C) y/ p/ D# b9 e0 LLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
5 [& d8 d" S1 M; ielectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of6 \" w9 p q; e( N2 j
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a9 u8 T% s% n6 g! F
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he* g% `$ c1 ^7 ~; }+ T" \& R7 ^5 q
said.
/ y' v( \/ K2 Y# e8 mAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
& U8 Q3 B8 Q: nhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe$ @7 O5 x, z9 |* v- `& B, J
about driving our products," Lentz said.5 F! U% Q* t n, r! T
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's7 }, T$ Z1 _$ g: h- u
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
1 g! k& \2 H% f2 K9 L- ]recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6! p" L! `8 O9 U8 j+ O1 Y0 \& B
million in the United States -- since last fall because of8 Q: r0 A3 i* y6 ?8 ~
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
2 _ @; ?" J$ V8 Y6 fissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
6 C0 a1 r; I! s/ k6 b/ G% \concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of( @6 p$ _; Q$ U, n1 L) a+ t6 g
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow/ \, ~- a3 \" s% ]9 D' A
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has# A" v1 g c% B r6 U5 X6 n, _
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
0 f' m. n3 c+ e, s8 mof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
8 y; U7 F, v U$ E, P* ^" y) \4 dLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
( s; C% i, W& O4 ybrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he( x$ @& C, f8 r- x$ a
understood the pain.! N) W6 [2 s+ M( {' X
"I know what those families go through," he said.
* V9 q* m3 x. N' Y/ P/ A# j& A% ~; l" eLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's G1 J0 P& ~' h0 W* ]
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems. {* _) W5 K$ G5 F/ e
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
5 s z8 Q- |" g$ R- {& VHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put/ @3 n- K. { ~1 p/ k& @
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,. F0 A+ x' E& r( F* ^* `
Lentz replied: "Not totally."! ^0 W3 u& t: }* R# P
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were S" \( G* T3 C p- ^" Z4 O% D
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said$ N1 ?2 e1 |! U. {
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas4 u- n" b4 Z2 l: t' o
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its, i: g3 o g: _* M% e( i
vehicles already on the road.
e4 a7 k) j, B, t# |Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify- K2 e: i _) n% [3 v; V
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full3 y/ `# K0 E% U
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
" x! Z1 G5 e3 t; x% uoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
% b! X% n) e. c) M% u' w( U" kkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
f! d! V& Q( f$ i7 z"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a) z( N! w7 z! j* B- @# R2 q
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
! Q9 ]2 o( O2 C" F5 V nfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight9 {, T( W( {& c5 ]3 r' ~( V0 u
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal1 U5 Q ?: |& o. ~' L2 `# S4 M
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to: n8 m9 h% t5 x( u# `
restore the trust of our customers."
" T# M5 M, I/ eLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
4 `' A& P' A. Z( \+ ?Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly! n- ~- A. u7 J6 l9 }+ w: m( ^) N
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --3 V) J: S9 |9 R7 u
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
2 n8 P# l; i' H* H+ P/ O$ mhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
2 K& }5 `3 n5 x/ ?that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
6 }9 l$ Z! L% K6 D Bturn off the engine.
/ U7 j) Z& R/ e, o6 i$ jFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
6 T8 t' P8 k) LOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."% M1 A! j( p+ Y" J
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she/ D+ b, }4 f( [# A
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
2 f3 ]( r- r+ }0 J4 ]to her complaints.
& ~/ m+ L/ O3 {1 v3 |! KIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
( ]+ H" p) n) \returned again and again to the question of whether electronic' Z! [2 K' t% D* z" y
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.5 i1 ~5 q" i: H! Z0 [4 [2 n
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
m, S$ f4 L3 G- N5 i3 Bthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
6 O( X1 K6 G- v* R( z& |( I"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
0 O9 W+ V8 R/ foff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
2 K7 j4 M$ K7 T' z }3 w& V4 \8 j9 tTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in2 O( A; M, N9 F7 L2 |3 x0 Y
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were% z0 i) I$ Y, O0 G+ _" q- [5 K
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
x" u2 o+ M1 u8 f% Wwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer4 e3 f, r3 S) f W# T3 d( m' s
every question."
2 a* [+ q- s$ y2 y/ {( T. |Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether( R3 o4 k; b+ L# Z" H% f! K" h( l$ |
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
0 h$ w. m/ l( y, N2 y/ g- s0 Rfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But) ]. j/ ^8 Y2 @& X
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small5 ]7 ?' }' Y5 s. v) E; G# f6 @
number of vehicles
7 @5 d" F) x7 A8 ~3 kTracking down an electrical problem can be far more1 @7 D- y/ e& S
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a* S9 F1 P8 @0 f& z1 @$ V, @
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one: J9 h" j7 i' M8 G& R; n: T
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
# M* q) i4 X4 P5 B. |9 e: O+ eMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,3 s7 {8 g) P8 J% y" _4 k3 n3 T( |* i" \
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
0 s9 x0 w; Y5 P/ ^: V: C' ` Wtrace at all.1 N) G9 W* [: D
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
& a5 x$ i, o2 L) Tdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
. y+ q0 u) y$ bacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
* k5 h& G6 F5 ?! K2 [" Rrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.2 ]! h; t0 _+ B2 J$ M0 H- i
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,- E5 n! B/ H4 ^1 i, ^# R* S5 c
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and0 g5 c' D: O+ Q: v9 B
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
5 u" t. e; J w9 ^electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
/ a e: x; q: h+ t0 c. \6 ]cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only s5 @% @" |( c
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained+ y; m$ {; a0 b
by Toyota's lawyers."
' L% w# N; Y7 Z0 D+ b, aLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of3 C0 Y. Y! @0 C: ~. L) I# ~
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
+ h" N. q- ]7 \( B6 s% Dcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
. a- @' S3 K# ~: Tsaid.
1 L( a9 R. @! {2 V% X"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with$ d* Q3 ]+ y& I! p
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our7 R5 P5 m# o# j, b6 b
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating4 _8 P1 f0 @2 W& e' g( D- C- ?. d
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.' I& r, q m8 L% ]( v) J
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
) ?% T4 } K. p2 J% o* H& rmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
3 X* B1 t4 R3 i; Rrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
4 m- u+ X* T W2 c8 g# ~1 Q0 N+ tautomaker, at least in part because of the government's- A. b7 d' F& u8 r! `. `8 z
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
* Y( m8 ~& g. Z0 l; a G# E4 TChrysler.$ t2 h' E% ?) X3 x
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
8 B! o' M& ?/ B ldollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a! T+ W n( w" S
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also P$ ^5 i* c9 B
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
9 S! W6 I4 L- f4 `9 N4 hwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty3 g0 f) v# d) {1 }* @
tough."( a" M0 d6 Q, l" P& n1 g
---
9 N+ @) k; h5 n3 p5 m4 U9 F; j9 DAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
: x# H9 ?( \) O) I0 Y E; I% LRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to! Z, Y% g" u3 v
this story.! j( C" G% t* N0 t
3 i% X+ A' _& y% I# k
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