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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
0 g( K( S, m0 }0 l0 o; x% fBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
2 @7 E# k9 \: C; J- w5 M% @3 H( jWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
' Z; X; Q; E' g, s3 y; coperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
' a6 E* w7 n5 q0 C! E9 ethe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
% P/ V% ]" U6 _# H0 p8 \solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
W" C5 d2 z; g" E H1 w& E"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential$ O" J k! [, M. e" R
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.( `, @/ Q$ s% f H" }) n! Q; h* b2 _
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected4 E6 K1 X5 e; d
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and; j$ U" @" k; c8 ~( ~# n2 }& h4 u
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor& b6 B: v7 S" L$ x6 b
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.* T4 ~& X% e% H# k# A' I7 s6 N2 G
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal" u" Y6 ^! k7 H, S1 g% Z9 P8 n
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp, K s: q0 p5 h
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
) h7 K2 R1 ^4 ~' a9 b" efurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could: B2 l9 ] [9 ~: ~3 y4 q
not stop her runaway Lexus.
& O. h# h6 u. x"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
! o; g6 a' }. i$ V- D' K' Z( STenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
1 \1 _" b9 c7 {% E& L( u5 z9 l"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.2 Z5 n, m) f* {' k
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
& w. W5 Z+ W9 t7 q" U. Jearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said" X1 t1 s9 w* S+ [8 A1 ~
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has; g( x. j1 W3 L P) V6 ]7 E
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
3 g0 O7 V2 M% `. lthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
# P7 \: c L& `4 C$ P1 d* _3 g0 `investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."6 ^0 |9 s6 e) V3 U' r8 i L
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an+ ~5 d& Y1 r* v. r+ m2 w& _
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
8 N: n, [$ Z' W: nthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
1 I- @ B3 e0 E. Y. O* ~! S1 X$ amalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
9 {- R1 a, A: I% f" h5 b- o' gsaid.
, t2 b: A' d8 Q7 q7 O" ~As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
) L% \, d' R. ^5 w2 A/ @8 o" @happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe$ G. h1 F# b* ?' |
about driving our products," Lentz said.$ t5 D8 A! h- T2 S8 F8 u; a1 p
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's6 f& @& W4 k& O2 ?
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
, F$ X2 d+ c3 K6 h3 t4 r) P% `( w; Qrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6" T0 j$ `. O* y P
million in the United States -- since last fall because of, I7 ~7 P5 c: |" w/ n1 G
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
7 l% q9 v% |3 aissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering5 ]. v q8 R3 g' o$ e- F
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
, |' }0 F2 ]* ?0 K, {) j- Q4 Xtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow7 C# P8 O0 F: D. u2 d
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
& t1 ^6 A- a4 c( q2 _% breceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration( {9 F& S# \2 e" j2 k% @5 Z/ b
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
( a `; N j4 t4 @' E' }Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
3 m7 t& f& L4 Z/ G: Obrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
1 ~! [0 Y8 z/ {/ p7 lunderstood the pain.3 U! W1 D) \* ?7 e- V/ k! V- t" i
"I know what those families go through," he said.
6 h% q6 O* G; ~- G0 ?3 y5 @Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's' [7 l% Z4 k' A- I+ A: v0 D
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
2 ~. R' J" F6 RBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
X! J( x2 ~0 W7 Z& yHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put1 r" W2 A0 \9 @) e4 G4 S& A
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,9 i3 @$ f" {! p. O0 Y+ T. P6 U8 v
Lentz replied: "Not totally."# I. |- Y4 Y- o: u9 l. [
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were/ t, }6 m; e1 e k* W- U. w( ]
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said! S7 D" T; |: j0 t% X/ S9 \
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
" e* P9 i8 ?- Q9 p# Y8 H0 |pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
" P# _$ [% j* _6 c0 Ovehicles already on the road.' G& D( H2 L( D. k
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify& _1 u8 j Y' n5 d. J5 C% d! e
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full* v" n3 R1 |$ f; V9 C9 A: R
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
& H0 L& q. S" L+ {& woffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were0 C: q2 J% ]+ `: Z8 Y
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.( n( o! C8 s( `% p
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a) j% d: D4 {# t
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
8 B) ?6 T+ E/ L) A1 j! |/ P. w! qfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
1 F9 T3 `" t7 l* {1 Z8 u. |3 U. NCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
* o! S* B! `( Y* H* M+ e" k4 ~: Pcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to3 o0 r% Q2 p; k2 T5 R: U
restore the trust of our customers."6 v9 ^4 G, c& l0 E: @; W7 c" c& r( D
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from$ P$ a- `. c% O2 ?
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly0 H, \/ m( u" a- \6 |) f+ S! d
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
; n6 B1 q( L: \! a8 Q/ ^shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and: v0 _3 J C/ R) u! A
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
7 f' `9 l0 b" S: p% U! Fthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and4 Z6 u* d* F3 w
turn off the engine.
% _4 g1 ?" y6 DFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
1 O h8 ]" `. \1 BOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."/ x. j) N$ E. A
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
- T3 y# J7 s; Ssaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
; V/ V5 ]6 r. ?# ]) P0 fto her complaints.
3 F- ~) ^, _9 V3 T2 PIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers( {* B# F7 M8 F4 C0 r
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
) o9 I4 M5 T# pmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.* S. A" h0 b; Z: J- X. P& u/ X
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric$ U; ]* O9 ]+ X) g
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited1 |/ W( o2 y: @! t$ {
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut% E0 [+ J4 P0 R7 \7 I
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
a4 Y6 _, o% c, Q" T( uTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
/ E& P. F+ N1 O4 H9 G7 @prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
+ I) U7 O5 a; o; Wbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
8 ?8 x7 i% A, F+ g2 p( D+ Ywere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer2 o& j! Z) Y6 j
every question."1 h3 E9 | ]: |
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether! f3 u6 x' A: q+ I9 @
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The. Q& _& W+ c, q; ^* K4 J' G! z( }
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But2 }( f- o( c& B; C; {1 o* Q* b! j( `
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small/ S* u1 m* u1 I
number of vehicles
7 H8 [+ e& a7 X/ I' u" a! v- fTracking down an electrical problem can be far more/ |! n& O' W# h5 N
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
[2 L6 K. s2 T" A0 I+ V j0 E, \mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one! x. a% [: o* |# u
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
# n7 p4 I. x% d# H9 V1 C2 C1 S) zMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
! x% C- l# Y7 o. w6 D$ I1 hwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no( G! G8 }1 p0 [
trace at all.2 B- r b) }, p8 f
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
( r8 `7 h: b& {4 y. ~database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
$ A& v: G3 ]2 z9 P Iacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
, B2 o. o: r' a# Grecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.$ e) c' P8 E4 q& b+ w& s- q
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
9 l# N' B. V: b$ |said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and, N3 S9 L! i8 F( v/ U4 v: |! u
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
5 Y) }8 { e9 Qelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible* d0 [. W" _7 X2 `0 Y
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
% m% Q" f+ G5 ~' d# q- Ysuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
# J; o8 U. S# C' dby Toyota's lawyers."- E8 Z" k7 G4 {! h. t7 P
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
& u m5 R) }* Uproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our/ o7 [; K( [2 ?6 A0 K O- C) M
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he0 p4 K' L3 `5 R7 F" V+ M; {
said.
4 u; l9 E' R. t"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
' |, W" C# P4 c) a+ M) D/ Ka rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our5 S5 Q& i& o8 Q
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating# U' L# y* f# d4 X. D
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.) H. B* W6 H2 a% t- {( `1 L/ C/ ^
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
: E2 `6 o( c I: L; |members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
2 }& f6 p5 @5 ~: R. qrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the. ^' E( i. n2 f) G2 @
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
: \$ g' T1 o, s' X& yinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
8 y4 ^/ {0 S; g+ CChrysler.
$ y5 P( N3 T" O! N; q7 F"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax; q8 d% X+ D0 K% d& B( R
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a( t% M' M1 h+ f9 j; d7 n
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
) o3 `9 [+ v( _( F; @: ?+ ^7 p% z$ Xserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete/ W% l3 U3 a; R! e! y7 B5 [! k* I
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty0 Q8 q: j5 U0 ?* x/ X+ j
tough."# P3 v& U1 \+ `6 I
---: a9 H4 }) M) G. C4 c. S
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom# |" S6 |3 g6 m% N
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to6 ^' B+ H9 q8 q6 i3 B3 v2 H1 j
this story.
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