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发表于 2010-2-24 01:19
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丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
# @ s; L$ V: K! Q. e* M/ Y7 @By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS d( a5 W9 y0 J- y6 _3 j9 w
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.% [/ d) q% L2 e; v2 A. V
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that* O1 ]. T7 o7 ^5 x3 X
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
. j8 |- {# T2 {5 v) h- u% O) `solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.* j2 P; ^* g. M
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
& N7 Z% K; e$ [- b# R9 Z6 `8 Ucauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.. S# Y8 n" o4 S \' \& Y& i
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
5 [* t( G$ O. s3 X* Y# Oacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
, }7 m; c7 Q/ a1 strucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor3 S1 V# r# k- M# C
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.! }: U4 Q" F* s$ e
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
% w! [# j( D8 `/ j4 Q& g2 y2 }and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
! V. V7 f+ B: F+ gcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
5 u8 f+ Z' \( r1 X( ^) V4 Sfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
' Y% u( k5 { bnot stop her runaway Lexus.8 w9 x: e, ?- B7 x. O8 g
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,* A' j$ N) `( d! f9 W* _
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second+ j/ k, C4 j8 K. W; I3 U, x x
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.: G0 A3 i! l8 X' F' R
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues0 h' G. D8 s+ R' f$ y; b, P }
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said8 X+ M, m5 r( y
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has, s: U% {7 z# J- e2 H4 [. R+ K
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway9 Y) B' q$ e8 G4 `. F% f' c$ N
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
: d" g9 }+ S) {( K8 R' e# |- cinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
8 \; v+ S/ r& G( nLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
: ?- ~+ L/ Q6 ~3 velectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
% ?8 ^, J# c" I. s1 r* l0 _the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a3 i" Q% H$ j" o8 [; D' T
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he6 _* m! ?* a. q& ~8 }! W
said.0 `! D! Z: r1 [3 \; Q
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what6 Q D! }6 d. }$ M# ~
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
) ]4 ~4 h( @! {) k+ `7 z: x/ Uabout driving our products," Lentz said.
7 e$ V" }4 `. t# xThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's$ l- m, b+ Z, n" X
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has* h" j6 v2 H' X& B! H
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6 F$ K% P! U2 p R
million in the United States -- since last fall because of( x. C4 s2 ~/ b2 j/ J% N
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking2 a+ u+ a" C( t; P+ g6 h0 T
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering0 l: Q4 E( Y% D" R1 `
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of. V1 D# k" }' E+ ~
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow6 r h! R& Z3 U
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has4 E+ l0 L2 f& R! m* a0 G
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
- K3 ]" Z; z6 d6 ~0 b2 ^( fof Toyota vehicles since 2000.( x8 ~+ F4 g _6 W
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own b% u# a' `6 {) z: P& e. u
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he6 Y+ f% n! t! H" ~9 w' E% k8 [3 N
understood the pain." A% x: E" m2 f! S# u! b% d- U
"I know what those families go through," he said.6 i4 z, y8 a7 z
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
2 h6 n9 C/ O# J/ G/ Yfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
- _3 o' t* N0 h; }! c2 N0 IBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman. T) L5 Z+ b4 @
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put# V1 A9 b( t n0 Q- d8 ~0 z3 C( C
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,+ `) p1 \5 ^1 |9 }# t+ A0 V
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
7 m$ B& X9 i6 q4 O9 `) b$ @Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were" v5 D% F) \0 W
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said- ~; d) r% d- W3 Z# p0 ~7 ]
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
5 d& ~4 V4 e" d* epedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its h ]3 q3 y% }) d" E1 o! U
vehicles already on the road.
) j% t& A5 P) b5 l/ PMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify* C' b7 X- R8 T9 _- V. O* R2 C
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
2 c( R6 n& V8 O5 W7 ]2 }responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
3 G. J" H' K4 l4 Voffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were; O& ~# ^4 a/ U5 X
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.& \2 R0 v; C6 a5 s: N% x# ~8 q
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a5 O5 L! ^& u* P1 d
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony9 R3 K# M% u! l: f
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight1 K. }; K1 c2 B' Y3 V7 Y7 R
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal/ Q+ J+ q6 H% C5 D
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to( U% k/ ]+ U9 ~
restore the trust of our customers.". t3 q1 I9 E. P7 _7 Y) z" V
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
: |1 ~- k* p I. S, bSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
! w0 u0 s; g4 I$ `zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
( k* u$ Z3 s" p& v& e( Wshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
+ W$ s& F# B, Y/ F/ D* Ahitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough& V* y. [4 z" y' W
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and% r/ v9 m8 E* U
turn off the engine.) F& ~+ _8 ]0 \
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
! ?/ J! [; Q& ^) v& I; o1 D: x rOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."& D9 x* t! u# a( ?
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
" A1 O2 w0 O, \8 E" gsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond% r9 n! `) d! J; o: ^
to her complaints.
& i# f4 p0 d ]" Z2 { ~7 JIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
& ~+ `4 G7 n0 p' r1 rreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic/ m+ T) |+ j5 q* T% v! y- p" ^
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
2 ~9 T! U. f9 z( ?/ M5 b4 j6 q* \"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
i5 C1 i" `! m# C6 G. zthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited9 q& u8 W2 C2 z& c
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut9 I6 z; f: x0 O; F5 i0 x w& Y" l
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."' V0 e5 Z- n; k0 S: C, W) t
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in( n! [* }+ R7 S
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
- Q7 c% t6 _2 w( b" H( E j7 r J- Ebeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
8 T' E6 g: h; N. ywere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
& k. }0 I2 J# R! `" levery question."
N1 ^1 M7 z8 x' @* c7 i& XToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
* Z, Z- M, Z& T- U- L2 E8 M; jelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
0 ^- V& I0 }3 {* ~firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
6 f. @8 s% w& m7 T' dcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small* ?" U4 j0 Z2 g4 X
number of vehicles
$ G9 q$ m2 e6 I3 A( qTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
- B/ T3 x) t5 x! d7 Ydifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
: o- F& Y" k! D: ?mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one/ Z( o0 l3 D' A
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.6 n! x# s- y( x- i9 Y8 v
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,8 }0 I% ~' s) ~' d
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
! ^: _! G/ a1 ttrace at all.
# E0 K2 @/ V! A' }% v, `House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
, L z- {; Q8 _; z# e2 H- Odatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
0 K( d! f# c) R& r9 xacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
$ G" {) g. [. K, K$ V0 trecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.+ B: o) k. e1 j3 t
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
; c0 V; H. u, p7 P1 D S% h3 Ssaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
$ P( I% ^, t: i2 j& G: U+ P% G8 Cother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the8 o+ T1 y X' o& i* |7 G1 Z
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
1 _0 q( [/ Y* ^ j7 r7 Q1 A" W+ V2 vcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only# f \: N& @4 p- X# D( e2 T$ W
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained" _+ o4 a! e# m8 u
by Toyota's lawyers."; W# c% w, c# @$ ?; Y. _" q8 f. s. u9 _
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
: q- f5 z6 b- r6 ] k6 Dproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
( @" M3 ~/ ^% scustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he3 m6 O; f8 P* H0 `
said.
( ?* k2 W, ~: j! P"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with/ F/ b% X f7 J+ [
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our7 x" V- {1 B8 z/ }
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
+ D# Z; Y' K5 O! y/ f# g+ F2 ^officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
N) X9 S" j$ Y/ S# |5 r3 B! z5 rSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying3 O: n, I7 B# a# n
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread+ R* s) ]1 V6 b% ^% L+ J
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the' T+ g6 | ?* y; T3 r/ M& H/ a
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
7 ?" V# l7 J, W5 s! ?investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and3 D1 w% T0 |! u5 d# C- b
Chrysler.0 i. y* o* A q! Z" B
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
/ Q; C# J) Y4 W) q4 t/ ]dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a* ~; ~% J6 {! T! w7 e$ I! ^/ Y
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
/ X3 Y) i8 O$ e/ H ?) `served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
' L# {% z5 R) lwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
! X( q+ I s6 \1 V" o- @* ktough."
r+ q1 I6 p" @8 J4 P1 k---9 ?* _" B f6 p
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom9 o( n6 j! B+ c+ z3 A; V
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
5 y6 w6 s3 g; y5 e& b9 C7 kthis story.
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