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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
, X! h5 j Q1 O$ G3 M4 Y" oBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS; R K& @! {9 l/ t
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
. h- t/ E+ T9 e5 boperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that8 r& h& e" I4 }( T2 X/ s5 s3 i
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"5 l. ]* P: d u
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
+ {* u+ l/ l' M" s1 A"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
3 P9 {0 p7 e3 Ocauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel. F/ D) s e/ j( G* ]; _4 ~
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected! s h* q, B$ Q+ ?
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
. ]+ E2 p* r k, [0 G+ L; Btrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
0 O6 _ v$ J \; }3 w+ Umats and sticking accelerator pedals.( O' E; [, g; w" N! H! X2 _$ }4 }3 l
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
1 A2 P" X2 E. Wand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
. ?# h. N; c3 ~! A' A2 T* Jcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be# f! N/ ~0 X1 ^2 g5 |( a
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
( x" q/ \& c0 q! {5 k3 j. znot stop her runaway Lexus.
6 U% U* h; A( `0 _& B2 h"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
8 Q8 k' P5 d- h! Z( @& rTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second, B7 z- K4 W2 n, Q+ E: q
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.% V" x: y: r f: ^7 v! L+ {# X& d3 `
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
' v" T" Q7 B0 I& Eearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
/ {: z" l& L, c. ?: |$ g"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has$ D" j" n! e- |/ w1 h. a4 z1 c
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway& b+ c4 u6 R9 G8 k- w3 G
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's" ^7 e. K3 g; l! P: S
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
" O* p: m" T6 h" x2 y& ^Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an5 ^ h9 f4 _: S7 A/ C; m
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of/ D1 g n: t2 Q) f
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a- S9 T& B; ~8 \
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he5 [" `9 t9 A. _
said.
) a" H* _5 d0 p' p' [As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
8 R8 L' ~+ q9 r, c0 F# Jhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
+ U* l6 L) b& B8 t) I) g! Qabout driving our products," Lentz said.
9 `' k, j. u E& LThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's* y+ D) K5 w! _7 a B
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has9 x) l9 t, c' @* c: g$ T' P
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6. B) r# S6 u; P0 @: Y
million in the United States -- since last fall because of! t- j2 h6 t( J' f, M
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking1 c" O4 l' J' j7 S( O, _
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
- J W$ d# K2 r9 @. D# xconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of% _( K# ]$ t" {+ |7 y& R4 {
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
9 A$ V. p' t1 T4 ?down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
+ Z! |# i$ ]6 p& m( ?0 S# f( j) q7 areceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
+ R( k7 ?% `; y; eof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
6 y0 [0 u: o' P1 h4 aLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own- [" D/ q6 {6 U6 ?( `! |% K
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he2 ?8 Q8 K) r: a% W& e' X4 `" t7 d
understood the pain.. q6 v1 _2 t: \6 }$ X1 w; F" C
"I know what those families go through," he said.# }- Z0 O' I7 A
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's/ n1 D: R( c) O z; q
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
, v* M: v/ x: r- u7 D, `: \' `But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman* R# X/ C% P; }4 A
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
$ E! }: B5 j" T0 Y, M% U! _in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
: c& E& ]7 N3 s( r) ALentz replied: "Not totally."
- Z$ W' v) R7 h9 D( ~# U2 yStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
1 P R/ `' @7 u! V' x8 X( q4 B% r! o"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
" q" d2 a" s: C. G9 c- y0 X7 Z& |Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
" Q+ m8 s; }. Y* {( G, ?6 rpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
: G& D* E1 l$ f& s4 r" f# _vehicles already on the road. Q) u3 p4 R% w) y. d1 I
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify/ G) [+ _& j: t* l1 _
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
; d1 r5 z% C/ O$ w1 e% Nresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and u' o3 e# |! H$ [* }7 P& R$ |
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
) ?: c+ l, J! T1 E2 i! f3 Gkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.7 g) G# K6 z3 t% @2 O; F+ X+ R
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
* {/ J2 {, @2 l. g# [3 ]tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
, Y) u- Z1 Q/ j" B- Y5 k; B; w0 nfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight9 Y5 X2 d: S1 e. D! q. N
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
u6 b- R0 g5 E. n3 O/ B% lcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
r" G' |2 V2 \( p. {; {8 hrestore the trust of our customers."
& g z# x" y7 K$ g* r; R) r' t, [2 ]Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from2 \; Y. \( V. O5 m
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
& {3 V: f7 o" p1 ^$ szoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --$ u# v/ h$ z! m6 o2 r
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and/ m Z6 u, [6 m1 ?1 ?# B$ }
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
2 ^2 U* [) ~0 {# a, F2 Othat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and% a: T" f5 J8 g: i
turn off the engine.* q5 |' t- T; T+ {9 @9 q
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of1 q# R4 n$ o" W
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
3 p! S+ [3 i$ W: L$ |" o, k, @"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she9 P: w; v0 O% \
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond. e C( e( O i$ E
to her complaints.0 K; @! `7 A. h' w( ?
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
3 v# x W* P6 r& H7 u7 Z9 Xreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic; W& o( q1 d+ [6 ]4 ?8 e
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
/ y* c! Y: k' p7 u" r"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
+ ~; i2 f: E8 ?: z2 Y6 G/ Vthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
' [" K3 Y/ c/ A, a4 L# @/ W* n1 a"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
1 d1 I/ n( ?' E, E) soff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
4 m' Z& E' n% n# \Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in8 c# g! R, }; p5 i6 F/ b0 i
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were1 B' W+ p0 V2 y/ F. t( [* `. Q
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls* s% ^9 B/ O/ I3 A' q, Q
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer E! S0 ^+ H8 t0 m& B; A; K4 d
every question."
8 K2 K z- A9 y3 NToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether7 Q: l2 j# V' C0 J' \' w" L$ Z
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The7 o. A( e3 d% z. k; E+ C: t ?
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But; ^+ f2 g! W3 W# p2 r1 a# ~& Q, q
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small* ^+ N7 Q/ h& K" C( D5 U# w4 n0 S8 F
number of vehicles
. p( N* g& a0 k- t# c- FTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
: T/ l% F" a, Ndifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a, U% \. _* J( f" R& g
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
. t/ v9 h8 C% ksource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.7 V7 p: X9 W& n* I- i/ d0 Z; r
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,4 w, H5 n" O. |9 F
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no. e" M z8 c9 d
trace at all.2 I4 U% T5 ^% H% S
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call9 F8 r. j( F4 g% B3 J0 Y
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
. j7 `/ O! }) c# r6 ^, V9 v4 \acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
2 z0 ~! r9 E4 O4 I9 z* j/ E4 O( rrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
x; g6 q% |9 l* `Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
. u0 J" x0 Q9 t( e% ^" [/ z3 h3 v: Vsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
* Z" Z& m4 o; s+ m4 e0 Iother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
6 b, s/ _1 m9 }" d1 s9 i* c6 jelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible' T8 B! z6 U( V& ^4 Y7 u1 i
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
5 E4 V: E2 d6 l5 I6 u* Asuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
# o' i+ [0 U& w/ k# \# x- aby Toyota's lawyers."
5 k, H1 w# ^, l6 O2 c5 gLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of% Y3 [; l2 P0 b2 ^" i
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our: t, n( n7 F+ S! ?. T# A V8 E
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
1 `; G+ H1 E& S4 I P* @/ L( ~, \9 qsaid.
6 @* u5 O% `4 A& R ?: L"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with H# F6 J9 S1 M
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
# O3 F7 H4 ^( e- c$ |, jgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
/ G/ N) _9 D2 {5 H( I+ f0 iofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.# {# z3 F# ]3 w+ R
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
$ y& ~% X6 \* z; T# F2 _members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread8 ]! @! R/ E: U! ]6 B, r
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the1 l @; z7 Z# J" A" `) \
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
7 U& R9 i* g, O: G, d6 Xinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and* u- H! e0 V L
Chrysler.' F) J5 \0 @# d, M0 ^" @
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
: F1 a; ?: ~( M( k4 Zdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
& E, i! T6 w5 O' |Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
5 K: {7 w5 U* k, yserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete: F: C. h5 f# i, K( W- b
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
9 ~% D% X; S6 l% _' r# W6 Q2 j- mtough."
5 o- s; q: T5 I3 G' Y---! p' _5 R1 {1 x, P u2 u4 D
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom) K( }) O& F8 r* \6 p7 `
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
! g0 U1 V/ |7 P8 B1 ?( f, pthis story.
8 O/ V) P* n2 W/ ?/ }4 k* o W3 S( w! H7 F( l; O1 ^& l, n
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