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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
" A5 q4 n# I8 F& |By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
: M9 A Q) f* m/ Z1 O5 w% K9 WWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
. {1 X+ G4 i/ w. \operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
3 I- q ~! H3 S }% [1 S- Dthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
* {5 Y: \# ?, ~# usolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
+ r% `. h& _! h1 r! [ o"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential% i1 I% @) t% |) K F- ?
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.+ z, ^& K; A0 ] ]( }7 v2 y; `. F
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
+ _( ^ ]* v- s# w: ]0 M/ kacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and% W, D& O8 C4 W$ ~+ I7 ?# K/ M- F
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
/ L1 h4 \5 R2 W% O" hmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
( e' b T# k1 T; ~& QHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
7 B( r$ R9 M+ L( ^; }and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
0 j5 W7 W5 ]% R! k; C, \# \5 Qcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
9 ^9 e3 V7 m4 I1 bfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
/ q" l5 G% T+ N5 [+ L- j, _not stop her runaway Lexus.% M5 t) W1 D! B) v r0 D
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
& X+ x$ M e9 |: V: k( W) g4 R3 L7 eTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second/ ~# G5 a4 ^+ L- W+ ]
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators., M7 e. ?' x$ x8 y# d# T& L2 Q
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
6 R2 Q' u) p4 M+ gearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
- I! x, X9 u$ H"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
8 \' }2 w. ~7 xdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway4 v0 M x6 B+ A
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's" G9 B9 s9 p! I- O& \
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
; ?# ~% c; R# O" d4 m2 HLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
0 ]1 I9 x6 J% D5 E, `electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
' o9 \$ V# [$ L. rthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a: P: C5 l1 v) i0 z, W: O
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he) ?( x2 _$ @+ U- S5 }
said.( `/ j; J3 u8 [$ ]$ Q0 n9 J9 m
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what1 R9 J- [# l$ N8 P* L/ B
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
7 u0 Y. \8 n0 {) a) f' Fabout driving our products," Lentz said.) g5 S4 W8 T9 k2 B" b. v
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
! d6 b, y* Y" v3 b6 }8 }- ?! hproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has# [+ f7 V5 b( L6 ]' O, z
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 66 O4 R; [6 s; V3 j
million in the United States -- since last fall because of: B1 ?/ s' x) T. T/ O
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking9 s& K, `: g1 w3 H3 W: D
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering8 m1 |$ _: ]$ L7 {4 k( M) `% |& {
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of( q2 ^8 ] L0 Z# j" {
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow3 M; V. v, l6 G0 A
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
* p [8 ^ u* t( P/ Freceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration9 y6 r- b: U c9 }0 ], n% s" c
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
# r1 v; d6 G Z Z0 Y7 E9 kLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own4 w8 c! h7 d% m" m
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he2 S$ c. d! y2 t a( h
understood the pain.
1 i& E' Q. n9 I* ^% r. Z3 U"I know what those families go through," he said.
) c# J4 K) c: ]3 y% ^! ^Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's8 ~" p) d+ N1 G+ W
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
, S( }9 U* p& |0 K! P8 g2 i) lBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
6 W+ Z1 v* U/ J/ v* k3 `( XHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put4 R& I% [: m0 T9 [& r
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
% y6 C: L1 V2 H) Z9 ^: c0 h* jLentz replied: "Not totally."
$ o* L- E x4 F, y7 p* wStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
r6 W' \: }! y& F"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said* T) F0 V# P, _+ O" B2 i( w& u \
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
& F5 Q Y1 C8 ppedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its8 z2 S7 V8 X* H# m; `# u
vehicles already on the road.& o+ }1 z i7 ~* E* z
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
& t: K& w5 T' fbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
$ A6 S' w( `2 p. h) qresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
# ?8 i! v& o) e; Soffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
$ J$ Y( I0 Q: [% R/ U6 U* Fkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
* [6 E, |9 V% Y& D. K"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a5 k8 M/ _( ]) w. H, }) {
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
: P2 f& E6 q6 C4 _for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight& F, m7 C9 y/ {4 o0 H5 k
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal4 D9 w' {) v$ \- e o0 l: x
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
' E4 H! k( O3 X8 c- K. rrestore the trust of our customers.") a) h& r7 C; s8 g$ } W4 Q: B9 s) d
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
! D) F- v; k+ p5 w0 o$ ?* [* B, F( o* ?Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly; ]) A5 s H, G- J
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
; H D& I* B; M" O8 N$ bshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
, q; T' F: z% u0 l# bhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
' ?3 c: N; O$ s6 {% l' v6 Lthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and8 B3 b/ M4 f1 r& I5 X# E" s/ T
turn off the engine.
4 T1 Z" P, p" e# y2 x4 HFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
# B* j* I+ H9 b2 L {October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
* R; K: `; O/ u! Y& P"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she& a9 X, I. C ~3 a
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
8 o, o ]+ K! B( ?; l7 |to her complaints.
d) H7 `& @. O u$ }In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
# T. [/ L' P3 W' d/ q8 n. C& I2 Xreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
6 a- w/ y, c& A5 x. f5 n K2 H Nmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.5 O2 V$ c1 S* v; a4 V1 f* N. M
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric* U0 `( L4 ?3 s8 z% N# E
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited5 s% ?0 ?. g9 ]$ l$ ]. ?
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut8 T1 A m7 I7 m
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."! v% `; n( Z) x! u$ |
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
; N) m3 u, F& L) L/ ]0 {prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were' K p6 [& J% J4 r6 |6 r$ l
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
~* C$ C2 b' {" T# ^$ q2 ~were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer$ Q: Q A3 g( N Q2 b% ?) n* l% `9 r
every question."
0 S* O- ^4 y# }! F/ @Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
1 c: c! N1 ]+ U9 c# A; d/ Y9 nelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
6 i+ n$ U4 A7 Z" Wfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But* ?' \; C$ w% `- H! g$ s
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
8 f+ J$ P# j9 o( Inumber of vehicles
$ ]. l3 [5 p$ G, \0 pTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
+ Z' n# {5 U% xdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
: }& p8 W6 }9 O0 |mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
1 o' h/ P8 Z( h- ?# g& v; @1 Ssource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
" d7 R3 d- @: T+ p1 @ M; ~2 yMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
- }% ? c, s6 w& V& h' B( i; u7 C% Zwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
6 n! z5 e( F8 O( W8 Btrace at all.: g# ?( U, d: e7 p" X
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
2 D$ O* I% B; H. udatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden8 L5 f5 a. F) }. Q: {
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the$ S$ e3 v9 }8 L8 s7 H$ Y3 P6 x2 w/ ? y
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
3 I9 [! T/ B3 z8 _Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,$ `6 X0 `8 {1 b" K
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and# I. e! _7 w$ G+ r5 G7 o$ c+ A; U3 r
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the& C) O- M# m3 C3 E3 s
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
0 i9 i: k2 l/ Q- t* s Wcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
& N; T& a. g& @0 _* h( L( vsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
- }7 F2 M- t' p3 ?5 R5 Q D$ V# yby Toyota's lawyers."
& B, O# i% W- `# A; d& `Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of& a! Z2 [4 U3 Q
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our+ a- q% E- A# @3 J
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he. {! G5 E% r( E8 x% n {
said.
0 X: P5 Z% b* y0 _+ F"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
# l- `" M0 ~* Y; x1 o. R4 C& }a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
7 Q" D G, L3 B& {( u! S$ M2 ugood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
$ R0 R: W" @ R0 I" k* h; H4 K2 x- {officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
0 _* u9 S, m' b5 bSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying3 p9 v1 ^# H: i$ k* A: B- ^5 i ?
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread; |1 m% D" v9 c: E- |8 n
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the6 j, d# e2 _( ~
automaker, at least in part because of the government's3 P' h, M4 ]/ |
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and3 a/ r6 k1 {1 `& w
Chrysler.! V! z4 w1 L# a9 G7 M
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax1 x+ A5 l3 u# @. A# k9 T2 u+ H
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a6 e. S5 G+ ^2 q2 K/ }7 p5 @
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also R- x7 ?/ c# J. ?6 j- d; I
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete" g, h( b" I$ h# z4 B4 s
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty: w F: A' B) |( w1 e6 q
tough.") V, u) ^9 A/ g5 s7 k+ I4 v
---
4 e$ t* J) i; A4 b) ^& `7 ^2 ~Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
/ n$ f3 L3 f: F1 W! I8 dRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
# n* X: P. \: i5 p7 Y5 v# s& Sthis story.
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