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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
6 E" k3 a% J- p5 K; c( JBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS/ h* u& u6 D% s" H, l! P6 q' M
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.; j. C1 }6 [+ }* h+ ~
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
7 y( Y5 M6 D9 n4 f6 sthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"$ J, L m9 p$ t* Q* \4 A5 E- C4 [
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.5 c# k9 P+ \! B6 e! Q! G# z4 k
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
* n* l% B6 p3 T3 q( J, i5 Wcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
. I h$ S, v- V+ X2 fHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected- J' e0 q4 B0 ^6 T
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and. i' R3 `2 h4 }0 f$ ?5 J
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor1 K6 m( a5 P0 \& N! H
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
3 J6 b: a# U6 XHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal( T" g# f( d$ ?4 F5 A5 _
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
& D; w5 V1 o" @% c3 B _criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
5 C+ R+ r( s& d0 [7 Y) J1 dfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could& a5 s s* _) N9 B- X
not stop her runaway Lexus." l! l4 C4 O) [4 \
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
; T' X; H& |: P! Y1 T9 lTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second( A1 T# Q- ]- a+ Z% A3 I- O- Z
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
; g8 n3 y* S3 u @. T3 y5 n; mTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues7 V( k) l/ v7 s! \0 V& h; c
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
2 G) a4 i7 K( h7 y8 t# S"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
7 Q# w0 A0 G$ Mdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
4 }2 o7 g" l: Vthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
1 N; j- w s& s; winvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
, A Q, e3 Z' D# S: MLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an+ I9 Y6 g) m5 E; U( g; G- Z/ v, M" k
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
) H* d7 m- b9 _6 Mthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a8 b7 r6 w1 N4 m4 G7 i
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he; z+ H$ @; W9 Z/ p# h1 n6 p6 l/ @
said.0 T: O5 T2 \+ I6 E
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
- M0 Y$ f. Q- M1 Shappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe$ g8 a2 a7 u! p
about driving our products," Lentz said.
) K4 \! N+ e( x3 Y0 uThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's, \7 p) {/ F' V- G- p4 E
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has. G" @4 _3 N4 o7 I4 M
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6. a6 x( a) I) P3 Z9 m: q
million in the United States -- since last fall because of- O; u* v2 S8 ?4 W* b4 o1 X
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking# O. j/ p$ G& _; d9 _; x& R e
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
) P) T0 n; K: \% M' Iconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
* p' l# H( e& ?$ g' k1 V/ z {their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow4 y- y5 o2 m1 W/ e' R6 a, B4 D6 a& G
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
" g, r0 D* B7 w2 Ureceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
: v+ a# R1 `! c' S x& Lof Toyota vehicles since 2000.* _9 G D+ i5 G% w0 U
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own7 e% g' R4 M) k
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he5 t1 x8 |# F& v; }! s6 @5 p
understood the pain.: W" l% {8 D0 f. ~- ^
"I know what those families go through," he said.2 H, w1 A; y1 b/ K$ N
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
! ?9 N+ U+ s5 r: f: E3 }fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.7 X) C1 ?* s4 r- O4 F
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman% C9 F! Q; B' q* ?3 U* O2 i: X
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put3 x9 n" R* {$ r7 Y+ Z
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
3 E0 |* b. ?$ c" ]( ^Lentz replied: "Not totally."
; X* E# y; G8 A9 s- b& KStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
[5 M. T3 Z% j"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said$ a6 |$ M$ X' U# Z
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas# L- L' i# ]6 e6 _
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
1 g% j/ u8 V E+ U$ y1 ~vehicles already on the road.( I, ]( `' s( p( n& ]
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
* e/ h6 ^1 D" S3 ^, k0 ~before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
, D3 g7 y; H& {$ \7 {' \responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
$ J2 G; K7 @! \: j- Voffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were" d' \4 T: ~9 ]& } |3 Q
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
) O% |# L3 k( r9 a- E"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a% T$ w5 Q/ `7 Z2 J7 E( k# w6 D0 W+ B
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
9 `/ ]" U& u* e" i( T2 Ifor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight O$ ^. m9 e7 C Q% V
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal6 K& i/ T S% O- t5 x2 W6 ~( E
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to* N4 P- e2 j3 g% {
restore the trust of our customers."
" R; y# k( ~% |7 ALawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from# T& f. I4 `$ z+ `
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
) g1 g- n# j+ Fzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
( k; N+ F- Q4 e: v( }shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
; D5 X1 x& [) M3 l9 Shitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
4 b$ i' }% q. E: c# ~, Z0 vthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
; Y) k6 h- _$ M+ A! h, jturn off the engine.
5 ~+ {/ r9 J" A$ b Q* MFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
9 Q. O# e! |* l: V/ @October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
1 R( _" v9 a6 Q5 c9 l( f"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
! m' c( f8 X9 y3 w& Q/ w, `said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond% f9 N# |- P0 F$ Z6 F1 i& K
to her complaints.* E+ c1 y G/ a! D) F
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers- n. u$ k5 z I9 x! M, O- d
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic7 W1 D$ k! ]4 H2 N L9 S) h+ V
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.% a: D* [& E+ _+ K" r X
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
y7 a; ^& p4 M3 G- p5 Uthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
) x1 e+ e( i5 W c"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
; U" Z; B" R" [- b7 m2 Joff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."& g3 R2 G& c0 }# C: M k2 B; j
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
) \8 H! f' Y4 y2 N4 V" D. @6 H+ Hprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were' i% H% M# ]* ^0 F
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls$ K% ~# h! { t
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer' h) z. Y, b" u% J6 v2 P
every question."# c$ |' H/ K' H7 F% c& ]
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
* q5 c1 `2 A8 j) \* oelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
/ ^. H# N' _1 X1 jfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But2 [* ?3 B' @& `7 e8 y2 u+ _
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small2 x9 w& ^/ V3 C5 S1 _% U
number of vehicles
' o0 i `! J% M HTracking down an electrical problem can be far more. z$ x% w& Z% c! q
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
+ v6 _, E. ?3 v% P8 m" w( pmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one- d3 h$ i; V+ k! T
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.2 O" f: u# I( i0 f% c# q
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,9 w' i0 q3 q" G- P* y9 I6 Z
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
2 d) j; c+ p) r- ^( d5 D& j$ M2 ftrace at all.
$ f9 E+ y( \% o3 d0 B# {House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call% R7 p: n9 @/ x) ]
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
/ o% G2 R0 t( K# E3 H! I6 gacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
. z! M+ J2 G2 ~0 d- o/ urecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.9 J. s# B" A! L
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,# ^* H) ~) o! e. S* n8 ^% P8 A/ ]
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and+ _+ P% c' }+ }2 d5 S
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the N9 q3 \( S* C* s/ |: A
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible8 O/ H$ }6 G. L. Y% g0 v
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only0 c+ l& K% d$ f, ]% }' [7 {
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
2 v( v$ y6 i( e: Lby Toyota's lawyers."# s. Q2 b' U: ]' a4 p
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of& {* s% M+ ~) q
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our$ t$ {" x$ |: {, g' D( I: U
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he3 D3 S$ Z- A u4 K, f( F4 ~5 e
said.
( s# u6 k. s/ s"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with- R) R% j- G7 F' h* c
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our. |3 Y% I7 Z5 O0 F
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating0 O$ K6 d* j- f* V7 q; W
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
- X. k: @6 F! u8 T3 ~Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
' |. ~9 i! [2 T! I' J/ f. ?members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread0 S0 L% ?( X+ u
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the+ t! Z) J# I5 H, ?) p3 g! [
automaker, at least in part because of the government's6 @# S* m2 ?! j0 w5 B
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and! J$ G8 m8 P$ B% Z% _& Z
Chrysler.
) c3 H7 ? h+ F# {# [+ @4 r m"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax( P; H! \4 ?" O1 _( |: [$ s
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
Z' m5 D b! h/ m7 K- BHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
% d4 D, i* l6 r3 m0 v+ x" }served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete; v: E( y' n) G. }: m
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty1 C8 M( ~' ~( i3 h- V
tough."
- p% g, V4 }* l" K% k---
6 T& x" r- k3 L: \Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom; x& S& `- x' O _0 }
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to- o' W0 O# e' n' X
this story.
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