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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
" n X& `/ x6 e: ^By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS* I7 Q+ J7 b! W m Z/ }) H$ n* S
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.3 C* m1 x. ]9 {: L, Z- v
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
4 A$ Q0 Q# k9 e6 dthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally") L. B% T& Z) x# \5 _: `0 [
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
! t' w/ S! d& m* t: v"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
& k8 U3 r7 Y, Q! q* qcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
2 X2 o( u5 l# _0 W9 THowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected9 ~2 O- L' J P, V: q$ G6 q% o
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
& [5 `$ s' Z- `! m4 Htrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor9 X9 y$ L5 @7 l2 r0 R
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
& C, o; f* {' Q0 ^; j- e4 KHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal+ g' w# O5 Y4 K2 R1 ~1 [
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
9 z, { E: d9 q* w. o, e- Rcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be3 \- R. h; W b# J8 a
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
3 w. I) _8 o- p. Z' b- unot stop her runaway Lexus.9 p2 v4 b5 W s' _) w
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,/ @6 a0 u' ~5 }* n$ D
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
$ x! `+ u: x5 j( z6 p' K. h"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
. |' R8 p5 b. e) ZTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues8 g5 `( s4 @3 f9 K2 u
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said) W' V8 q/ j2 I3 |
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has5 j; z7 b# u! x9 G* W" d" Q! s5 `
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
" X; ~+ f$ g9 j, Athrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's) |# a* v( H K. {
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
" |0 Q- ]6 w6 Y1 MLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
9 h5 d; |. r+ ]0 |electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of- K6 _: \& z6 V' d2 E( C/ \
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a- \3 R) y& e0 V2 }$ W M
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
" H4 m8 c, O, V* L% [said.4 F3 g1 M1 u1 w* e
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what4 E v( V9 [8 w
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
% a" x) P" r, e. x) mabout driving our products," Lentz said.. u, h8 X' D+ ] B
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's6 ~1 ]% [2 G i' g8 ]' Y: R6 t$ l
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
, N- v5 v3 |9 Srecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6! x0 g! t2 C: E5 W) J
million in the United States -- since last fall because of0 y7 Q1 R; @1 U- L2 g0 h
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
8 o. Y3 A8 j( E# R$ T! s7 pissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
# ^3 n( j J% j6 }& _; q; pconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of E' E3 r( k7 _; s! B' I
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
$ ^/ N9 Z# N, z* fdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
d9 d$ U1 z( u" l" H9 [9 T* ireceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration( e6 |8 P2 k+ v' J
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
4 _" D6 |+ q* ?! N& Y3 l2 W6 w! [/ G# zLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own) A+ e8 A1 z4 ~5 Z4 g0 Z
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he& X, K' m# Z- x% {# i$ S a0 f
understood the pain.
0 V( Z, L$ r6 M7 r! V"I know what those families go through," he said.
3 b& s$ p) @ { ^ `Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's) v' U3 d# g3 b) w/ \' q$ g
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
$ m: t8 m4 D6 p" t! C9 I$ kBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman. Q/ g; D6 o4 E. T
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
4 l/ t# A. p3 }in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
3 I2 A4 T& B/ t4 L' sLentz replied: "Not totally.". T( d: e" }# O2 F P, a% ?
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were$ D/ M% H0 C9 ]2 E1 Y' G" q$ X' B
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said; g" \$ d" U7 c+ \& a$ L* z0 f
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
; [1 ]7 n7 u" l4 y% zpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its% v$ D J1 @# ^
vehicles already on the road.
* p( _. i9 ]9 Z2 V/ m9 E' ?5 DMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
" Y6 ~5 l* Y8 x# Ibefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full: o1 w2 r: o7 ]6 O, Z, r
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and$ J% P. Y4 W; @3 Y" v' ^
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were0 R5 W- z! Y% q1 Y) ]: |
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
, m' V" M. ~9 @# t' k$ V K"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a# E: K, I. L- w- i; h
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony* c) M3 K) b! {9 _0 |4 }, \& Q
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
; A2 P$ {9 h) G* ?0 [6 x1 uCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal- C/ f, q) l1 f1 C0 N: }1 X
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
% |7 o, v G% lrestore the trust of our customers."
0 J7 E) O b( \! L/ {; [/ sLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from% i8 y, j: P! Z) q, @9 B! Y! A/ M
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
7 Q, J9 k+ O) @. ?zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
. M% `( u& d7 X( F- S/ B! ~/ Jshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
' @! j2 k$ t3 l- a# H# chitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
- A6 ^" h) X+ R/ q, a( Othat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and8 S3 a6 b0 }' Q& `# V$ Z
turn off the engine.2 }2 `! ^8 E0 x4 b) M
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of7 }: D- @ R2 M- x0 V" D
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."+ k/ s1 _- D# Y" ^5 l
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she/ }6 Y: U2 B' e5 S1 u8 |
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
: \' S8 W+ B: r1 ^6 ^9 A1 n% Vto her complaints.' I" L3 u: a( w' q9 z
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
2 d6 ^) |9 V6 V; n- A+ Y1 Kreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic9 K" g. h$ V: D; i. _9 H5 x1 `
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
0 O9 z2 W) r- c( b- r& V! [- A"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric; v+ I( `" H6 i$ v! W" h1 W' l& f
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
$ _0 `. ^0 { t8 a* H; p6 |"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut& b# f/ v4 K, Q; Z
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."7 G, Q! b0 I5 n3 b* b; N- Q5 t" U
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in3 D2 q f M+ h, [
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were0 M/ t, I' H( [# S" K
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
O' w+ }- L' O+ Gwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer" R( O0 v4 \# K, |! c+ ~* z2 @2 c
every question.": {5 e5 U% {6 V$ q
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether& t- f7 n) G. {, a+ I
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The w/ E h6 P( l$ h0 s
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
, V6 g* `2 p- [5 [- [2 @committee investigators said the testing studied only a small v8 Y9 M+ [' Q W* C
number of vehicles& M: Y6 }8 N6 g* L# m& [% y9 j
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more' u* X: M. U, w9 ~3 K: `
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
; ~8 F" O8 C2 qmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one+ f \* M) i8 J, |( e# |. D; I' y
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
) B& S5 I2 y' S6 kMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
) p6 o: k# a" }- {% C: kwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
# W# Q4 R; p2 F2 `6 n6 I! L' Rtrace at all.
. @ F4 o6 C' z% H! `7 DHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
' R1 d( {/ F- S8 E3 ^/ ddatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
8 x. p/ ]: [$ w/ hacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
" T" Q. E$ X c: h$ u8 P; Srecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
( N+ x/ k/ a( T$ M" O" |! cRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee, F5 [( \3 z6 f- S E- m9 O
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
$ j; F8 N( ~% V, Q8 Pother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the, w$ u' F) l% v5 b6 J5 J% |* b
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
$ z q5 ]: n* |1 Ucause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only6 h1 n* g, w& x
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
) V# F. z/ B) y7 R9 vby Toyota's lawyers."
0 K) f3 `2 x- R& NLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of/ z% h1 e' z5 N- v4 f
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our. F- D( E2 |# d- o, Q [: T
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he6 z' g* p7 B; H" S7 y2 s/ _7 e$ d
said.
) d: H* e1 x3 F' L# g+ u"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
4 g, Y7 M& _* w8 ba rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
; Z# f a4 z* o: v) g, P: hgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating& h6 r9 r; u) Y4 n
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
4 c3 R; [- y! `; a+ Q9 dSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying# m6 L; L$ {) O! `$ A
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
a X! A3 R2 q- x9 Q8 c! A; francor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
T$ {1 {/ }2 p. N" Iautomaker, at least in part because of the government's2 ?# [+ E8 N% W& ]
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
& i" N8 L4 T# ]4 p W! b! nChrysler.
- S6 o; {8 I2 M"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax3 B( Q i7 m0 d; m
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
# T! L3 Z8 \% e% q/ h, MHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also/ Y& {5 S: ?' ^" K
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
; x# T& ^; j% [& O W2 E& _6 d8 @9 g/ N. owith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty6 j% R7 T, v( N
tough."
1 D: f- o. N: e8 j* G5 `1 y2 y---/ A5 [+ F( d+ q$ D) n9 h' X
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom+ o, y7 ?9 c; E6 E! E- d
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
( a& m0 x7 {7 |9 g5 N/ k6 K* k0 {4 @5 vthis story.
3 b9 E0 [; e/ q% e
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