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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
5 [' u4 C9 s4 l9 T" V1 ~ k/ z! XBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
9 s/ ?# O1 N3 D" z3 {) QWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
+ W, v& }2 F1 e9 t @# Doperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
2 P0 S6 P2 Y" o9 f& a7 ithe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"+ w0 i6 Y2 C$ h$ y& A
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
; S3 J1 {8 t9 m4 t9 V, I$ `"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
, T- v0 x2 w' e( Y" jcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel., D; B' I6 R5 S6 r
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
; {/ f( z q8 M- c% V7 g3 Tacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and. J B7 t1 f6 j- z8 ^ v$ v
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
# m* d. m4 T9 f% j& f7 ~/ kmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
9 C. O, C! H; A% z3 V) cHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
( X8 l: _" P1 C( a3 dand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp3 d1 ?6 T" C/ X9 R
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be! P! J% {7 ]5 r
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could9 }' [( k" ]# O5 l, D# N
not stop her runaway Lexus." Z9 M- w" Y8 n; S! x K+ `1 w
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,& [" ^; ~! b6 ^; S. `' b
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
& g/ t6 [; _- v+ y"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
5 K5 ~: B' l8 q* w* tTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
: c0 `* y1 ~( [% J, @, h/ ~2 O& y8 Uearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
' R" t( N" F5 Z2 i5 ~. [; u"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has4 b) g9 S* V8 c6 y0 z
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway% A- v s7 a1 [2 E/ o! L
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
/ K% D! }5 B# B+ sinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
- i6 _$ `! |9 h6 Y% E5 w$ D) G2 bLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
) y- S! g2 m5 b% c; X# ^' r$ ^electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of/ s# w" U/ S c) _. b( e
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
# V1 U7 G' M- B. _, V- {+ Imalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he. N" w: \- j1 E7 F5 B5 t/ f" m
said.! m2 H2 w1 q6 Z% E; R0 }6 S+ O
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what+ J/ h8 {# _: N3 q, S; ^- W
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
5 E$ `( m. Z# {! k8 R7 Labout driving our products," Lentz said.
+ H) W' M# V2 b5 U, z4 }/ cThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
) G+ p9 m" S: r1 z. Dproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
; {& V( x% f2 l$ Nrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
/ p4 p5 X3 d8 L5 x! G! ~million in the United States -- since last fall because of" ~& v7 A; Z; d M. n/ n
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
`# N) B# A! \9 [issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
7 ~, O/ E+ n2 e" V" k& wconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of5 } \5 t: J% A9 U) g9 I: i/ N
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
+ U- a! J1 D1 [7 ydown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has* p/ @# J$ V0 ?; F
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
2 N4 r9 q9 Z1 C, H+ N0 Gof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
" q8 X5 V8 _! S9 }Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own+ Z, X( A x, s; Q! H2 B7 _* o# M
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he8 h) e1 r# I q' a
understood the pain.+ r) a1 z0 g2 [" ?
"I know what those families go through," he said.
& J# R: f8 _$ w! j3 O' }' {; ULentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's, t$ h4 P8 J: e& _8 J
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.3 U7 g0 Y& [7 z7 \
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
% y. J- u2 X. x3 `+ b6 p6 z* WHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put" ^# ]# d. t2 s
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,; W& {; p* D( T# [
Lentz replied: "Not totally." U7 l6 \$ S) F5 V
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were3 E2 W6 ?( e1 \* L) |& x& W# C4 e
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
L- Y2 u/ s; k( a" q2 ^0 ^Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
8 T1 K' O2 F6 M1 E, K1 cpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
% V; s0 \4 A, N, E! K! mvehicles already on the road.. a2 F4 M- T& M+ o+ d& C4 J
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
' j5 f" [9 _2 L+ kbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
/ [' B$ J. w7 _$ Z5 S5 Z9 D+ Rresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
$ b: P5 R: w( @' V: loffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
! A; T& p8 G( S- w( N# i Ikilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
7 N2 |0 z- j) [( ^"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
2 k* p) X+ c1 U# y, B8 gtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony% w0 I* h. s' r! V
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
2 r5 ~$ C7 g, i7 ]/ } @3 gCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal% p$ z M, k1 ~
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
, u7 V6 q: y& I& c% t1 b& F& @3 C: prestore the trust of our customers."
/ {- z9 `) o& @# E4 j ]" a wLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
) m/ H! M' X4 y! W. rSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
" K6 N9 }+ O7 Zzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --5 E/ g+ O- S5 K2 _0 s% W0 O6 N: |5 |
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and1 t* y' c; @4 Q2 b/ u, I
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough# m5 P5 x- r5 j' \: G
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
4 m" k$ F. V p6 fturn off the engine.
2 s" ?: @9 b1 [! |( X3 R; |Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
, t5 s8 F. V0 X: r4 D% y" S1 OOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."& ^7 J( F9 x4 I$ l4 }& R! p6 s
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
* v* m4 ~7 A! Csaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond! X( j$ ^; \( V. T
to her complaints." f) E( z8 P4 V U
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
. ~; J+ Y1 v3 S+ y) o0 n' ^returned again and again to the question of whether electronic- X( T w$ _$ |+ b+ i1 e- M
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
# ~- n E M& b2 z0 h5 u3 b"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
* x" ^* T" ^2 A5 ^$ Z: Hthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
( a! N( K: D, q; A# b* M* F% W! F"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut$ X7 z% H4 {2 ^7 m" q* s
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure.": K4 [. V! P/ w- L
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in3 ?" m8 Z: L% f z; p3 p5 s/ m
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were. ]9 P8 i! f6 a8 A
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls3 p3 u! `. Q7 @: ]
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
8 s& c O" i: I2 U7 z P$ S) m" Qevery question."
& K U. i- S& ~7 j( E9 j- vToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
0 m4 q( E! `6 x7 k! {, nelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
+ z+ Z1 N7 U; u5 B0 ^+ ^6 V% r2 cfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But& i h2 J3 P' L5 r' u3 B, `: @
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small# M: m C( A1 v/ @( Z0 N2 m# Q! f
number of vehicles2 o: c; o1 m' M0 z' u
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
8 {+ [* u: r" h# j3 c- ?) |1 Y! a/ kdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
# [' G# Z ~7 S+ u+ imechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one0 T1 ^9 e5 ?" c
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
: ]* ?" f. P& M. s1 zMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
7 U& [4 }6 Q$ O! Z0 |8 B/ `where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
4 P' A/ _$ s( s! Btrace at all.- r( P* k5 N* Z
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call" j* H2 O+ ?, C9 y+ ]+ `
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
' C! F7 o& z' D. Vacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the( C$ a5 N# v8 I* l6 Y, h4 m& b& x
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
% K9 A+ L* o: }6 H' Y& K* {Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
- l& {, I. s( Vsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and# [+ m! I2 R" F/ N' v `8 x9 v! N
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
6 F1 O) e& t7 L5 D9 ^* s* nelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
0 p* u0 D E" [cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
/ @0 i5 M; ~2 v6 U% W) T' F0 tsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
2 C$ Z" ?$ w8 L Z7 y0 _by Toyota's lawyers."
6 T) |" r3 [' ^Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of+ H3 N& u; F$ X5 L6 E! X: |
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
! C; X& c4 D+ l9 A' L6 |customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he( h4 H( m ]) Y$ y& p( D1 e
said.% ?$ \5 l4 v9 y- Q6 M6 `, F R+ B# D6 y
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
) q' I7 A0 f; ka rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
, p5 S: `- P7 t5 e. tgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating7 }& z, G3 `* j4 v
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
! n: N j) ?8 r+ SSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
6 N& F- ]( W# Bmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
4 q! d' N, e8 @* r- Z4 drancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the. {5 p# _3 w) x8 Z, a H" ?
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
, V+ n9 ~' c" T; F; n7 S. \ e/ Y3 [5 }investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
, j3 \( P3 j/ C& D* B z1 TChrysler.
0 g( i" b( R0 t! B4 W/ |"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax% m8 O N% q$ U& q* c/ [* {
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
0 e4 q( C5 [: T& AHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
" B7 W& Z% I: s! k W0 d, Oserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete. A: w: T8 Q {3 l1 s
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty9 q& P: e3 S* K* k, g
tough."1 ]1 M4 M6 d/ o2 Z& z
---
8 R1 n% k. |# {* _! V6 k) J3 N3 BAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
; @0 ?! B) o) w y+ {5 P' VRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
0 z, Y( F6 H; M3 R3 q4 E5 mthis story.% l- t0 D$ g7 o- E
0 `; t0 M" V/ Z- U( T, {5 z-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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