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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
1 t+ b% C* y+ v/ y/ @By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS. w/ l* U- }9 \' U( @
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
! h8 L0 z) {' E2 o0 T2 Woperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that( x) S3 V U# f* c4 ?
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
% x! k8 l# Z: [2 h$ }* q9 S" Fsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.9 g# d" g" x C5 g
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential) k+ z6 l* L8 u7 e1 g2 \6 `+ Q$ {# v* [
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
0 p3 R& k& \: \However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
" \0 r$ t0 M* W, L6 t( @3 V8 ]/ ?: hacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and }6 C4 W1 }* _5 k: T+ v
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
% h- `& K( s; Rmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
* G, w* b# x0 z% wHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
- M7 [2 G6 A2 b5 i4 x. D- dand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
) \0 k2 ]% d5 Rcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be6 c$ C2 e( r- S, K8 l
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could( t1 D/ ~/ Z5 @' {; k* ]
not stop her runaway Lexus.
: z8 T& b& J& }9 w, s4 X4 y$ Y6 @"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,0 ^1 q8 T2 X. T' w1 i7 Y
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
- X* S! ^$ o3 w9 h; K! @4 t"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
5 _7 A. H) [; I8 I0 ^Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
; r8 C' Y" y+ s8 V2 Nearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said% h- P+ M& z, u! e' H( \1 V+ G& ]
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
$ D, K) L, Y ~ I0 N9 @done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
$ d! v# D0 L+ u1 v" {( P mthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
6 O( c: Z) w; n- F5 tinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
9 }/ q$ V8 E2 C& E9 LLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
6 }; A, D+ O7 G% _- |8 B+ @) S, velectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
. Z" [8 n- {4 a' dthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
+ F, E& V4 q9 `2 R) e( tmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
& f. M4 E( {0 A I& n0 `' @said.
$ X' ?8 K3 W# A- ?5 T1 j1 P5 ]As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what2 R" Z$ l. u9 n& h/ k% I7 c
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe6 D' y/ M" [/ ~0 V! l6 z
about driving our products," Lentz said.: ?6 O1 n& [7 }
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's' R ~5 C) B' }) H6 e0 W6 {4 j9 M
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
( ~6 p/ v; k6 K j% n2 m7 r: Rrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
, Z3 ~3 {2 j" _8 |million in the United States -- since last fall because of
% V/ y {) V. bunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
3 }4 i. a$ S: z4 Tissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering9 D: `' Y/ D$ u& A5 n; l j$ a
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
# B$ O0 D9 B# Q! B3 Otheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
" l% U9 Z# y6 Udown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
4 [, E; T2 T) w) t- P1 t; R6 m4 kreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
+ m6 F% k. |9 ]of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
' f# U4 {- k4 j, |& |3 OLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
, g Z* f% T- a( v* wbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
( w$ R2 ~4 D _understood the pain.
" q5 F; {+ |& l% L4 C"I know what those families go through," he said.
/ D3 I S, c$ bLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's% ^0 v3 H; q: k3 @: C. S: @ j
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
% S& E* K" ?3 u9 _* P6 K* sBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman; S# c( k( I0 i6 }0 s
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
! ^: w3 a- J/ j' F$ ]3 e5 O0 f4 oin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
/ D/ _( {5 B5 I, D' SLentz replied: "Not totally."
& F) K, l& B' o3 yStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
/ |& D5 M9 M/ o( Z"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said6 Q" t8 ~+ j; F7 p2 K
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas1 V( E0 q5 ` S7 M, F8 g
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its( G1 q3 W w# |! p, D. U6 K
vehicles already on the road.9 u. Z/ d+ D, u6 W5 C( w& L! q
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
6 C; M5 ?) E+ B# Ubefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full7 l q: T+ j* o! q
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
( d6 ]6 V5 K7 f0 R7 G. ioffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
, u# P: N* y x7 W O7 u0 ukilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
7 u8 c7 B5 N% I# Y5 ~; r"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a$ F' c$ ?, V6 y: _; P' J
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony3 }' P5 D" Q, E# F
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight1 d: o# z8 w, |& d
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal" o8 L0 t: Q& s* {/ T2 U* f* J
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to, c0 [1 _5 G- p0 [9 h. A
restore the trust of our customers."2 B2 i0 o# W* p Q) r& W" P! D* H
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
3 U, I0 q4 D9 |Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
, f3 t$ V. J* E$ q4 W/ j/ bzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
8 i5 B" |! D7 S& u6 a, cshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
, m: n) L/ }3 Y6 G; Thitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
3 Z+ l2 `- b7 c- M$ Qthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
, A! Z" g9 w+ A! ~turn off the engine.0 W9 {1 k" [7 I: ]5 S8 Z
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of' o* J+ G" I# a3 s% R
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."$ l+ O' l# P3 ?, w7 z# w! e
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she2 g& u$ ]* I; F; k8 a) x
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond+ w4 W" p3 c+ y6 U/ H: {
to her complaints.
# P. [1 J1 f* } VIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
. K1 D' k2 ^ H6 ~% J# Q$ M8 Dreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic! U. r( q% Z" C6 l
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.+ v9 M- U! M7 M$ t% M2 t8 {
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric. u6 n# r& r) q; ?
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited+ j8 j1 Y* r5 p( g$ y# q9 u
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
. g! j; b! ^5 m% B H# foff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
- D* c. Z$ m1 j DTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in" H3 i/ }! M! z5 z
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were9 y: F8 n- U! K* m% D
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
7 J* C: L3 E2 t( W8 M9 G. |' z, g/ f! mwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer# P. @2 \# V& w3 o
every question."
! K) S: C! Z1 q7 ], x; I; QToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
) g3 z' k6 S7 k* y5 y7 \ e- A5 X% uelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The, u L, V! e: p2 ^
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But* q0 a; P) ^7 m! l
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small4 X: D* [$ w1 t1 r; p. K$ x
number of vehicles
1 H8 h. U Z/ q/ A" F/ r) bTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
% q, D% ?, M$ A, d1 \2 Pdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
1 f$ V& F/ k G$ {" ymechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
# C, L% J% Z O5 J$ C: m0 Z: k2 Ysource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.' Q0 t. E" i9 n, z
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
& Z. f& o$ ]9 I# z# wwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
* n% E/ |1 \' M- n- U5 Strace at all.
& M( J; f1 F n/ l) THouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
7 H) |, f% n d* d$ n) V, odatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden' C5 E0 h+ B( u6 n0 B4 ^
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the; D! K" W! ]2 }6 _1 y0 Z4 W7 [
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
* W/ G$ V* u( mRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,* d% O+ i/ k! l5 x$ j2 j
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and" ^& D! {$ C$ o
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the/ l$ m9 e0 g8 p$ D, K/ c
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible( T1 f# c, A, I2 ^) W" [* |
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only; \0 Z! u" p0 n9 |8 W
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained6 L) p: |7 r% z! M% e9 L F' `
by Toyota's lawyers."
; m. [' B) B2 ]- k: \8 @6 V/ A: BLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
& R# `3 w: c$ }! l9 hproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
# L+ {' }5 _" W. C& x. J/ zcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
& h+ n" x: N6 ]3 h5 C! J+ m6 {" gsaid.
& P' |* L+ X! E+ k( f"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
# g1 D F# i, za rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
# j5 t# }' M3 O# V$ j7 }! xgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
& P# J5 Y& V& H9 qofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.! [( a' K, i$ _$ S
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying- |. W, N' N1 [* Q
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread- a: q+ [/ o9 @9 ]4 P5 M6 P5 H( Q
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the, s$ C5 W* E7 a& x. l0 M
automaker, at least in part because of the government's' E& r' h7 e2 b" |/ P
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and( T8 C `2 [5 D; s; `- S
Chrysler.
$ f) @% ?1 U. ]( B# n"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax4 ^7 @. o) g2 p$ E. N, ]* `" t- N- J
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
! p) `* e+ L) {( v; ^Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also8 f3 k" A. }, A. r
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete) B) O- y3 Z; _3 k) _( {5 K
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty! U+ t' Y/ }# Q
tough."7 `- e' Z" d* H" F( g
---) w& \/ ]1 V0 J3 j' Q
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom' |% k' q/ D' @ h
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to8 d: E) y/ w1 |# S' A3 n. Z) `
this story.
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