 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
|

楼主 |
发表于 2010-2-24 01:19
|
显示全部楼层
丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题0 P2 R( {, n0 E M
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS9 s. Y$ I t+ `8 U
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
" A- ^ a0 [- C+ y- ]7 O/ zoperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that; R& E3 y, ]% @9 s4 n' o1 K$ Q
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"7 [" C. H( z4 r. _0 I
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
5 {+ K# y3 K. A+ l# r"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential; _2 U4 Y, Q# K1 n4 O
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.! n N, i! n/ N$ u( V
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
" v: Q3 w" N: G9 }4 @acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and8 u, w9 ^7 h- w2 S4 h8 B: d# m
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor' I- [% L( o& Z: _: D2 t0 Y' [7 f( Z
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.& q5 g6 @- M0 D0 z5 A
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
- R/ p6 a$ t. Eand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp% _* l) Q7 y+ f& V
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
2 l/ u+ P, t! \5 ]/ nfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could3 J! w1 F/ `3 O$ ^0 g! f
not stop her runaway Lexus.- j0 x+ S# ]- p2 p
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,! _2 B/ o6 k- A8 S
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
6 |! s& V+ F' |# M"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
- ?7 y* X8 v4 X- X. QTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues1 T* u. t3 i% N# U. r( Q* m+ {
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said, J+ J; H, w/ P& i% |9 z# l
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
& [/ J" l' Y3 O! C* ?# odone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
; P7 G- R' N T: x/ c$ p$ Nthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's- c C" Y5 ^! I! |1 v f5 Q
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
: f3 f8 q( N; r# HLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an' m0 |9 @2 v' g7 M# {
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of# i! h6 ^5 K2 n+ @
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
4 c2 N& h) V! E9 p3 B! P! s, Qmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he7 {- f( P$ P; [1 M7 H
said.* x: h" z. |' _% U. g" D/ c
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
% V( `3 }( O4 Khappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
) A8 P- L4 r# T" y# a5 c" w4 Vabout driving our products," Lentz said.
% H4 ?0 K7 i) h1 N# N% P0 ZThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
2 J, X5 h1 H& h0 v, U+ ]6 Eproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
, s+ }& u- o5 j L9 z drecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6+ c# A% a7 g3 `$ h4 Q
million in the United States -- since last fall because of g% a5 q) X1 |# ?# a8 Z0 \
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking' C( x4 X- r+ W# [
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering1 }) W* l" n7 y4 d* x
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of( B9 o: `! G& `7 {
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
3 g* R7 {% f* m* o1 Rdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
# f" {% [' _) vreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
E' L% ?# u" K7 B$ W' M. Jof Toyota vehicles since 2000.& J# P% m" x2 T5 \& @! R
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own4 q# x$ Y. x) w$ m7 \
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
0 r; m* {9 k- E3 G+ @understood the pain.
- o! ~7 p2 ]2 T4 {8 g"I know what those families go through," he said.
& F# m# x3 V2 C8 a. eLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's6 z3 F; D: W! l- Z7 @) B
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.% M1 O' ?# b) }3 b: S
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
' `1 V/ t! d! }Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put# r" T- G6 n+ j4 t: W* @8 w
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,; n% R) i1 J6 R8 a0 I! Y3 a
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
$ a; V n& [8 d5 ]9 @- n9 i3 IStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
6 \% y2 y/ K0 s4 w"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said2 e$ o1 N! A1 q) C3 ?
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
. T2 D, d# H# U. J$ x3 j8 p$ L$ \0 @pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
, D, ?" X" a$ z0 Mvehicles already on the road.% j7 W {! p6 x" b9 u, B
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
# Y* o$ u8 @& ]" d: gbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full( B" X9 D7 |9 v1 ?
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
\" y' O+ T, r- l' P$ ?& yoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were' y8 ~0 g/ j/ `
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems. `( V9 P' i- w! z1 V
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
3 t; Y0 O3 Y' {2 o; |# Y8 gtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
$ `7 y2 M9 N, { Y# `for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
) g0 {* K+ o' R$ h7 o6 zCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal& t+ _1 K! Q) t4 V. B' @+ r" E/ m* F+ ~
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to+ `7 m4 l, l# \! R. v
restore the trust of our customers."
8 o; I" u9 i- l$ BLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
8 |& g9 M% S: V) v' C" q8 c# bSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
7 j, q( E+ [& w4 I) |, i ?( W hzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
2 X4 ]+ Y* |) t- ushifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
4 o- I- b! N; i7 T2 R; j- x3 z0 ?hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough+ p7 R0 W, l% L: c& G4 F4 p/ v# t
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and' {, P, V8 N4 R- ^; t6 ?; W9 D. `4 x
turn off the engine.' e' m6 {$ e) K) X, g
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of0 o- n" _( u+ q/ B
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience.") @: T& u% Q! E1 ]
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she0 L3 T3 e' `% h4 \
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
[- D$ E0 B6 C) G( Y" f( N, [- M, Uto her complaints.9 x# X/ j" |$ g6 k6 Q6 ~: f
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
2 y3 d% D+ U3 qreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic0 |9 `% |" }5 e2 n3 p
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.2 _0 q; o* ]4 ?! Q# Q9 D
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric8 i8 f; p. i; U/ c: \
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
: S+ x. f- P; a3 Z: `"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut: P2 B2 ~' F. _' R9 c
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
8 R5 ]# |* X1 N( I0 S, OTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in" _5 s$ _6 y2 w2 o. Q4 \0 B
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
, M6 t& N" r, Y9 ]being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
" D% _1 U n9 B, W- G* r7 i+ U1 Iwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
- Z0 v3 D( e" n+ J2 w. { zevery question."
' ?, `* w7 a% hToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether9 k2 S: n- B$ I" f
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The4 ?( g1 _% y8 k% p8 q
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But) a, W Z) e6 U9 n0 m9 p
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small& i' ~% N) ~( Y: [( |
number of vehicles4 l+ f2 {0 ]' C
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more; ]' J( K1 D7 P( T6 N
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a' {0 [* S+ h) ~7 T
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one( y- d$ h' i# t& Y. R- p" Y
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.* p" |; m4 [8 G9 i" }
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,- Z. @7 e+ s& E; E
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
5 \$ T3 p/ F q' x0 f: F strace at all.
" U2 a$ n% u& J, Z/ R0 uHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
# ^4 B4 ^4 d; E9 y3 S0 ]database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
, R+ N2 h3 ^& O5 p. aacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
- F a, i! _1 q9 g# {3 N5 Frecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.% d( i( `0 `& ^/ n1 g& b# J
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,; i( E2 }# Z: }9 K8 U3 |
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
8 e% s4 e( [: ~* A, Dother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
, z0 S7 g1 m6 Yelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible A Z: o2 z2 M7 Q1 i* \
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
: i/ e2 i; Y0 ]! V. f, psuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained2 ~6 Y* h. d# u/ G2 T# f
by Toyota's lawyers."
; t8 I) G4 C4 _" H7 o5 ~' kLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of" }; p4 a, u- I+ Q& B( y! H
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
+ J. J* |- n8 ]8 ^' G- S: Mcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he( ^" r4 q6 S; d0 L9 V
said.
) _' E8 }6 @: e( _"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with7 ?0 I4 [2 p+ X) d
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
! }, G3 y* C, w+ R, ?( Dgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
, d$ c3 n5 \4 Nofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
, ^4 `' Q) m4 c* C! n* F6 USeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying+ W0 i) n" Q: e" I5 p+ A! J
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread/ T& }6 D& P, h1 z
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the& b) r% Q( l! E! g9 m0 Y4 ]5 D- C
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
4 Y% k" m; o# H8 V- e- U7 v% I# ninvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and( D @- u0 s+ y3 O, O- X$ I# F
Chrysler.
" i0 s% I3 y! `: ?"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax. V# t, J3 H' P: I
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
4 P$ f5 {2 C6 vHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also4 d2 E( ^9 H- N* g
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
+ N- S6 `2 n$ t# g/ r; C% {with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty) W6 d$ V7 l! Q, V+ I( g. Y
tough."8 I' F: {7 R& N! y' _% r' {
---, N8 a6 z7 B! \
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom' j# O" {% n+ \1 k
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to; Z9 b& J' p( l6 x
this story.
" y4 ~9 A4 Z+ l' R, y
# d* m, Q1 c; s! A( B8 C' o-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|