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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
2 t$ Y6 |. H" o6 R: yBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
% U+ M" X0 v2 N0 _# oWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.* v/ n @( u, N' s9 T* w& Q) X- K
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
+ ~" B, j4 t; J. sthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"6 I* b) k; O: p* N( A' s6 h
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
) O( O- ] R4 q: p/ a3 ]"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential$ f5 R* h# e% C% p; r, _1 I
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel." V) L s* x: ^; W, G/ w
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
# O) w$ B: N3 W; \. t) _1 Z# z1 Aacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and8 c$ v3 Y' Z8 p1 }5 e* _
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor6 U* N: f/ v8 v: n2 l- z& ?
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.7 ^+ B& j) N$ X% y2 ~
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
$ a7 d7 E$ k+ W- Band fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp! X& b! ~) Q* p9 ]$ B/ W, H
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be0 `( `' v: c$ e+ E; z5 E
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
8 l; {* j9 d& {# |6 ^+ \! V) L# P9 Y unot stop her runaway Lexus.. Q. m" B2 d. {
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,/ P5 \ ~; y! f
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second/ J' Q# g2 g/ H5 q- ]8 m
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
1 }5 e: L% E$ N3 T+ w# qTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues' _/ V" Y x5 U, ?$ i
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said9 {- F. p( ~; l$ C2 Z' B
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
' o" M0 @* s% t& U+ G$ ^; f. C4 udone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway1 V; H7 U0 C; J
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's) M5 E7 g3 S, `! s: f
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."( _% W' W4 s$ f) j+ g
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
8 A! t% ^ c5 Y _8 Relectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
$ Z1 z; j: `, j- _2 K" Kthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a& a& q4 {: ?: f
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he3 X; {7 j! @5 A
said.% y* W; X3 w* n& K
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
* w' m6 R" P, Nhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe" r. J) F6 W8 a" v& q& ^% [) W
about driving our products," Lentz said., G/ c) a, e0 Q6 s, n6 \. G- y
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's) l% |& j) F+ M( }" e6 H
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has4 Y& b: Q1 P% K$ S5 R
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
0 f" S, }$ l& h+ [$ gmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
% ^7 }" @6 X5 junintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
0 c) l6 u; {, }- i, Zissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering0 A3 m: ]7 [ B
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of9 v- \2 H4 [* \4 P2 O
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
1 I. p( e* t9 k3 `down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
3 H. o$ W, X5 ]6 vreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
: z& @$ B6 Z9 s5 e3 V- A# G% Kof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
. m3 O: C+ @4 O: }" _2 m+ XLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own0 k1 l4 D# v: ?# i
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he1 o, Q; ?9 e4 d/ _1 D
understood the pain.# h* A: b/ L9 q
"I know what those families go through," he said.
i- m+ i' c: Q9 S& w3 m: fLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
8 E" t/ n/ o8 ofixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.( v# U; M" j6 P& ]
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
+ Y+ y9 n% y9 ^, C5 |: A2 nHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put* t8 ?: `1 Y, T( G/ V! T+ p2 @& A
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
1 m+ z' r; n# DLentz replied: "Not totally."4 d. t& f- c% {: ]# S- J; c
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were! e3 i0 C. @; w; S! ^0 ^
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said% `! Y, h. v8 P0 p. r
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas5 M) }2 l6 p" V; N
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
" _6 C% {1 Y, W% q; cvehicles already on the road.
$ Y4 G' n, w! i1 R# i' rMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify3 m9 e6 I6 f3 P- G- t4 _; v8 H2 {" a
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
: v h0 z/ b9 |responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and! M4 v4 V! ]' d, u5 H
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were. M {* R7 Q h( R1 I2 ^; ]. d
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
3 e4 s4 p) x+ P"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a! Q4 k9 }# P1 d5 j- O- I3 z
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
; f. N4 p' y7 Mfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
3 R- u7 i5 ?, m- T/ X8 CCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
* P- c! [& }2 O" S8 X( D$ s; M9 }commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to2 D8 k! u3 s* t C* f7 a
restore the trust of our customers."
% t5 |0 N$ L5 qLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from9 ~6 x/ k3 u# d
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
7 j! [- w" j; j$ V' \& V' L& F6 d4 ?zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
, P% s' D6 j- I- }. Sshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and& t. X& \' c1 q; \; b5 T9 v0 V
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
- G1 Y( \- s+ L: r9 n9 V; Z0 T* uthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
5 C' O) l3 g9 @turn off the engine.
% h& X5 _0 j8 Q: h/ J0 \' {Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of5 _) j1 a+ V" R- o) ?
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience.", t/ D; x$ Y$ J# {3 K2 E; V
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
6 ^( F A8 ^* `! h: Isaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
0 k, L2 W$ D1 _; r+ ]! E l1 Dto her complaints. q" s. \1 E' m( `. [3 }# `
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers; d4 V3 y: r6 l( p+ O0 q
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic( q1 `: A9 G$ S6 U. F0 `
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.) }: s* o y! m, C7 j) q8 N- d
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric; y0 y$ m& w$ J' C
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited; T5 l' _4 M% W
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
" K. q; d3 \: }) K$ o- R5 J3 aoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
5 X8 \1 W7 |: b: r; _Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in$ j6 T) Q Q9 [; K: M) R* U4 ~% u
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were. l$ u% p6 p: a/ D( n+ n+ _. O+ x
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls) w+ j! h) ~1 I. r0 f! N, ~
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
" @9 x! T$ S; z6 H9 zevery question."
. d+ L/ p0 J2 }Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether+ j; W( ]3 c7 F/ M1 [
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The' V# G8 W+ @! [" _$ G
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
& _0 N4 x3 C$ D! O( }committee investigators said the testing studied only a small. ` e F* x+ p4 J5 r" H1 }5 b
number of vehicles% v$ O0 r6 E$ V* ?- F2 ]% x2 o. y
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
. E+ a& V' g6 @3 Hdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a9 M* h6 A" z2 ]/ V0 v# L2 S8 m
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
+ t9 U4 S0 L# i, C9 G( U9 psource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.; I k* B! R. Y- z N4 e% P" h
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
' R1 T& j1 A x: Xwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
% {7 M# k8 o4 Ktrace at all., [' V% s7 P, _$ n0 l* [" i* `
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call. x; g8 I1 `6 Q$ H. K
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden; l: O/ ?: R' F- o. n/ I- W8 n4 D
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
' r% t/ n, z5 Y9 Frecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
# d" W) b) c0 s( A) KRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,9 w9 A) h& f! d1 X, G# o1 j3 ~# ?
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and# `( o+ G i B1 l
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the4 V" V5 E2 P# M7 B; h
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
9 k3 v. `/ [9 } R1 X, scause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only6 S, V1 u) f6 [# x( l0 t
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
) T7 z+ ^" C7 @ W* x+ Zby Toyota's lawyers."2 C! n0 ~0 U/ \0 W* n. |6 r! J
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
5 W5 n: A! ]; [. b6 I' g6 {problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our% r: p/ M; V* a" c, g1 f
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he- f; M# t( |" g& T6 }
said.0 J6 \$ {( |3 l, Q
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with2 A0 Z5 D) {+ n% n( U) e' v
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our" t1 y. _ L p7 V
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
: R0 g$ U `- |4 r/ W* Oofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
0 H) a5 U! s+ I5 E; F" rSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
! P0 } z4 T5 r8 N2 @8 Y+ imembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread) d, W" C1 @, f! y& D: a( \- Y
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
8 `' I. i( k. s( p% a; r. i* }automaker, at least in part because of the government's
/ b$ R! U( x5 {investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
/ C @. m5 V$ fChrysler.
* u, S! l! h7 C/ r# l( f6 U% l"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax0 d6 k! f& j f
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
+ d9 ~, \: X$ z+ |2 wHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
, A- L& {0 W: lserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete, ?* Q2 c% E. p; X, f7 T
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty! l" f. j; s+ z; a8 v' b4 D
tough."+ @7 W$ d9 @$ M d5 f# W3 C. r6 N
---7 o# i: w& ?8 ~# u* }: R
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom& |$ p, |9 C8 c p- E8 z7 h$ G; R* }+ [
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
( z& T5 F' l$ ^/ h1 ^7 X( pthis story.- M& C' h9 ?% T$ X
! C# _; }$ f5 N/ t) B% D
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