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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
8 m4 I" B. g/ FBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
4 F9 w) k) [7 f0 @& X" G8 DWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S." G2 s9 v; J* k$ d5 \& E0 z1 v
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
7 Y/ W( h) V7 K- @the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
( Z5 C& P* j- y1 ^solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.! g3 g+ w0 ?4 b, r% j( n; N
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential6 I3 {, H# f- o/ v; J
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.# S; W: O0 I: |# H4 g. w& T
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected5 }: }3 E6 z1 Z( e) L# j
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
Y( q" z) J3 I/ N; [+ }% d; b* |trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
5 c* B C, `( _) }mats and sticking accelerator pedals./ F0 ~* g& c8 ~9 D* W
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal j5 y0 ]" S3 V" x9 }% I
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
9 l* C7 R( k6 [# b' Ncriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
3 u3 U" ~. K6 ]further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could" u: J3 P$ W/ K+ l: o& G* G
not stop her runaway Lexus.# O: C/ z+ V3 ]- r
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,9 H, g7 D! F1 y! b5 H
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
$ @$ W: J+ ~2 B: }: O: B9 S"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
0 U! R6 H; g& [- v9 [Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
8 B& Q" L2 t+ S0 v$ i3 i6 N; Dearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
+ S2 t4 S7 Z+ l( ^+ Q"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has7 \" O: f) W5 |# u9 e% r
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway2 s# _$ F9 Y) Q8 g# R% x* W
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
' A& B1 y$ J% y5 }% F+ Zinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
% F: E! E' K5 r. GLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
# t+ z. A5 \% `. U+ e2 gelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of( }1 J9 C/ i \& K
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a# K0 u/ Q) i4 i! s8 s( Q% J
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he4 K' D3 Y4 t3 H4 c9 {
said.
1 |" K+ W: l/ q7 n5 dAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what; R. d% u3 K) G! O U
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
) G/ k, f8 } Q( ?& C' p& {& Cabout driving our products," Lentz said.
+ B% h9 O; K. S0 h7 B$ B0 eThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's, S+ H$ I+ n$ k; J% s
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has- q, O# X5 a& P; C& w- M3 S j( h
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
+ k( x) k" u' x6 W) b% B+ h) ]5 q3 Xmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of( x, z- Y$ U6 @. Z- a8 X0 u
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
9 s9 {' }1 Z+ i$ K' Y( lissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
6 [" }5 ]2 z% `+ Z1 z" Mconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of0 q5 Y% M% W: b% K, A4 y
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow, u9 G9 i6 Q, }
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has- A3 N- k( g; F# Z& K
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration* t0 J$ n; h5 T- S8 u% y
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
2 N' O9 {& A- ~1 sLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
' c- O9 T2 O9 W1 Z+ P) Z, ebrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he5 s/ ~* o0 u. p# K" C
understood the pain.; l- q8 R: r' V7 [
"I know what those families go through," he said.
, R4 E/ C) E$ t, R( HLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's3 h& z8 a3 W7 n d: O/ O z
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.3 Y7 @# W8 e& _, c0 P2 V5 R
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman D( g: E4 F6 _6 a$ r& u
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put3 H0 B& V; S/ i7 Q" D- H
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
8 d& D3 }+ T3 o" t1 ALentz replied: "Not totally."2 O' b4 \- {$ H9 S" m! E
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
1 g5 r8 j% h% v3 l( y( J"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said% m, L; W8 \3 w0 k1 f
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
# l0 z4 N! M* e, R1 A5 b) Q- Ppedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its0 Z6 R$ C/ m$ A; r; ?
vehicles already on the road.! D: F# c* ?: ~! d
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
5 \* [) e1 c; Q! U; k tbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
, }$ ]* o* E' L0 S( Bresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
' K3 G) H" p. a/ C! q$ M6 hoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
- N* s! ^0 r# U/ s Ikilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.9 |1 n9 ~# g. W/ y) {' M: y
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
) i7 T* s: q: p Z5 T, C+ ^, y8 B) btragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony1 f0 o1 S9 t& }1 x' U ~
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
; X( z7 Z0 Q/ ^3 W0 qCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
7 Z9 A) p: L0 tcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to6 z: J, S* R0 J. L
restore the trust of our customers."9 L9 S. ~' C3 I, a7 D
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from6 x0 M4 n5 l5 p2 H
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
5 ?5 P0 ^7 N, `" w+ q a6 ]zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
8 J- @+ M' C' x: Tshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
& K* I3 h" A" `. _2 g- s7 N9 J3 b Qhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough6 S2 _6 u P: T& Y ?- y
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and) I& t- m4 }9 n! Y
turn off the engine.5 ^# Q. M- k* X% n0 E' L6 m, r# ?9 h
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of# p9 \! E. p; N9 n1 m. O
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
$ M4 R% s9 I: D6 H8 q3 h2 q9 b"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she- o0 q; h! ?9 u" {+ R
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
3 K; }. l: R& o& M: Bto her complaints.) X7 |& g5 P0 e/ E, ?, h3 e) Y6 t
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers9 Z; U- j; r! j0 ~
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
; q% W: @: S+ M. Qmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars./ z. r4 D8 m9 M
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
5 |' J) g0 r5 a7 z( [. W/ Ethrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited! M4 E' E5 z( i& l+ I
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut3 j! X! t8 }' w# E, Y5 h) u
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
, C4 x p. Y0 J* M! p1 GTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in1 Y Y/ | L ~" Z: y/ }
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were% A" v, g/ F; S' x
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls- s @8 R1 {% q9 e
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer) k" H5 W2 A; x1 A/ p$ x0 U. f( g" Z; G
every question."
0 m" ]* [/ O: H& lToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether" B e* q# C; s6 }! t
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The. k; |+ V q& ~9 z0 h/ `: J0 `
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But. q$ v) F# t7 i2 ^+ E- k' m
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small" V. ?# w9 X2 U1 M
number of vehicles
4 ]$ h) Q0 Z1 Z4 Z# |Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more, [ I) q4 m$ W. v2 F8 l+ w
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
% \3 I; ]4 V6 S Tmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one/ T. b% T) c) e2 Z0 K
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
1 |! E$ F& t7 ]" F# D6 MMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,4 h5 {( X' W- y9 i' a3 ^0 t& G$ q
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
/ S/ D) f8 V3 e$ ]' @3 ptrace at all.2 p" Z4 u' y9 M9 g7 y2 [
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
7 t6 [& K. V( B' D- K: mdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
' x0 f9 s( _4 |acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
; [. m6 A6 T1 x& r& frecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
9 G3 C' m, I7 K) ^+ P1 ?) a: ]Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
( d# l3 E2 d8 ~3 Osaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
# ~0 c; q8 @( e' rother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the) X; i0 p& b' @* w: y
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
5 `: Y1 K7 U. K# T$ hcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only* p. V# f: F1 q
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained" |: ]0 b) G. @) X% o1 e
by Toyota's lawyers."
' }$ D! U; X1 F% ?! a5 K1 U% S2 ZLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
, Z# F' d D- z6 [& `" W0 [problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
: W) Y/ t! N0 vcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
/ O" ^9 ]: L7 B' }2 o8 W' |said.
# P7 I8 `& h. j' j, F& p$ D"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with1 Q. n2 N% }. N2 S+ a; s2 Z
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
) d7 ~& P$ e% \, X4 E- Sgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating& \/ Y$ f1 G7 Q( H. J2 x
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
/ n# M: C- b* b+ i( X/ ?* dSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying. i: I/ r# {. x, i
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
; l! k6 k; D7 K2 f& @, m6 j1 Orancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
' o/ \0 I" y- }/ U/ k6 d$ U7 r3 A: oautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
1 x8 s! P9 R B7 a' z( C5 e: I$ kinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and6 b0 E& {6 K* Y$ k* r0 ?0 j- |
Chrysler.
- D7 J! B) Z! q7 ?1 c4 [- F"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
& j, }: y8 M; M, Z- q9 E2 j+ Ddollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
, k S% t( c6 zHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
, X# t" p- \, R# M4 S0 L9 e+ Wserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete. w" J. \& C) \ j \
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
8 g) I; u0 k# i: c9 otough."
9 a* l2 l- a1 e U9 u! e. s---% [" A, ]$ {0 n ~8 v& e
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
% h. v0 Y/ l& S. Z" ]$ vRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
7 Z: V% C$ v: V- {! fthis story.
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* T) n- U0 z$ p' H; U5 O7 [-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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