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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
, F) u/ ^5 k; W% N3 ~# E* kBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS" r3 d5 Q4 w# z
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.+ C5 Z4 o5 d5 Q% N0 O; P0 u
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that1 K8 {' Y* G" I
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"4 q9 V( n8 M) r6 u6 c6 ]
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.( D2 B% }, {) d: \
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential1 p4 k# N2 d) a# ?
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
/ r$ W# I. e0 w7 [4 N2 ~However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
. e) Y( S% ^" k+ G4 x0 t* {acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and0 x: z$ Y: K2 f2 o: q9 C
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
3 P& w( X# Q; y9 W5 {! i9 wmats and sticking accelerator pedals.! A2 u' W+ V5 b' Q6 x, D8 F
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal/ s5 b2 f6 w i* m
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp6 [ I0 N- U6 w7 @# l# f6 C
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
$ [' ~: S4 o0 Y( Q! L& a; Jfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
; E7 ^$ P. T8 n) G9 `9 mnot stop her runaway Lexus., O9 r1 j9 O* w; Y! Q B
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
0 B3 ~1 I. q# M }7 ?, H1 d2 aTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
0 B% P0 w( |) g; Q"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
, g$ S( A: k8 y( ~8 J" ]7 O mTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
$ B2 l" V! W+ t; |* k' Q) a8 cearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said! N* {. \, M' b; b, w0 r' D
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has* F! G1 ]- ?2 F/ c/ {1 S
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
9 d. I3 T0 @3 O# S+ T, z8 Wthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's2 S& P; h% w+ N
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham.". `6 v M( L8 ]# ^* X8 W
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an0 W6 a0 w* E4 |
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of( n4 | W$ ~6 E) L2 l! N: i
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a& K, j; H7 O" l3 H+ U- z& v D
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
4 a2 q/ X6 ?/ d# Tsaid.
0 h$ q6 K6 v5 Z/ |As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what; _/ l4 A4 D1 k/ z. w' S
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe% P9 B5 u2 }& t4 i ^1 e1 O
about driving our products," Lentz said.
5 r# ~4 p$ @. M2 w* mThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's& L! z; p4 [6 H0 ?) a; T, O8 B6 T
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
6 F: t! u) f: F0 srecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 63 C) ~2 K) m3 N7 L5 }$ t: r
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
7 B6 m# v# X4 M1 I0 L7 Junintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking( j, {0 w7 t9 H, Y+ n
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering/ x1 C8 |/ a' F% S6 ?. L
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of1 _) Q9 ?. y4 H$ V
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
0 E0 f4 S5 b) e9 Edown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has+ ~# k$ g0 H$ F5 U
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
3 r( I; p* a4 Z7 ~( g% Xof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
2 V/ n- h3 b* U& w- MLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own0 d" K; m( o) g u; o& ?7 Y
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
* k9 j8 N# P$ A6 y% F O u* yunderstood the pain.
9 d" O) ^5 G( k"I know what those families go through," he said.6 j4 ? O6 Y# I
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's d7 m8 R& I1 k& R
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.* k. V) h6 ?6 a3 F. S$ l
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
; ~$ |# w: y& s3 N6 oHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
) N; I4 o [( [+ k! Uin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,( R& v% l$ \7 Q1 `4 m
Lentz replied: "Not totally.". x7 p+ J# g" h- p9 }% r3 }
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
) s7 B A% D z1 l"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said2 g" X9 L0 D/ I9 Y- ?( g! l# N& k K
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas: \; j, S5 F7 R" v7 S. `6 ^
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
- f1 n$ S* j' x. Kvehicles already on the road.' u- e6 B5 s7 D' q; K: A: Z2 e
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
) H) @9 ^% u$ B4 M' }7 [$ Z5 Sbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
. B% n3 \$ Y3 F* }responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and5 F' D1 t9 W3 x
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were7 F- A9 i8 C/ H
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
% ~- u; Q- z* U8 M' p! E9 |"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
8 y3 o7 }: K, G. j3 Z. |tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony( S" R/ W/ a/ {$ Q% u/ j! o
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight0 p" n, P3 [# B! j( K
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal" ], q% ~( q- T, O y
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
* u" _9 X! i. c* e7 K; qrestore the trust of our customers."
* v" C3 x2 W6 K8 B; T# e& E' ?Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
4 _# _( r" w" HSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly% d; b$ F! l. X4 w5 \8 j2 l1 d
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
; N1 p- N" S6 Q: T# F2 b, Eshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
5 v; X! \( ]) zhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough2 B/ @3 {% i- Y0 V( G
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and; T7 j O" ^1 r7 s+ J+ I' f: _9 |
turn off the engine.
0 U3 b2 @+ Q3 H- n: iFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
1 P+ e# d/ {( |0 q% p0 d2 }7 dOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."5 \3 }# l3 H( n
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
- v5 k3 f/ v' ], b( l" usaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
- I" X. Y; p; Y% Hto her complaints.7 F6 b/ B6 B o; Y9 v
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
i0 [3 i4 [) ]- v, j# M, _% Yreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic- L) z$ ~$ p/ L7 ~7 s9 o
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
% H. O+ p# S! L8 l7 K* A$ s5 X1 r"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric2 }2 R6 M8 x$ g# }. ]+ X6 K/ v( k
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
% u: }. t$ ^' V8 U6 l8 e"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
6 }0 s9 G/ o. |" ]off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."7 T3 m5 {3 {' v, Q# f5 D- e# X4 H# ~
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in- v8 O8 y. E) z* ~8 H, G
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were" g% L/ E( g+ j& h' V) ]* ]( ~
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls$ D" r$ X. G$ ^
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
/ |/ L2 D2 a# o: a5 O/ ]every question."
0 Z; F1 s) D* ]Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
- r6 ^. i- R. t" Kelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The6 \4 [+ Q- q2 P& ~
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But2 F0 \& }8 g3 \1 F
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small' K2 n' C8 ^6 h6 Z' h7 d
number of vehicles9 Z/ b. ?8 e6 z1 L( q
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more# [5 Y- m; Y, j% K; }, E8 I. `
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
8 `% I& r$ _" Hmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
$ I: S n+ u/ E- D$ Lsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.5 U) G9 w7 J+ A! `: ^. c
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,/ W- o3 h! w! O: w5 Z1 U4 _
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no: j, Z$ h+ u4 H# E) {( T
trace at all.
! K8 ]0 f3 O, W3 p F, S5 BHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call# {% i' J, h( A7 ^% N0 J% W0 }
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden' ?: @( ?% h& v5 Z* V2 v+ C; u
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
6 L* J/ p. F! b, O; rrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.# L, G# z) O" S; E
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,0 m9 S9 i$ b" I0 B0 ~8 J
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
4 F8 M6 K$ `, I% t9 aother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the8 n% K) c2 o1 n2 [8 \
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
: n8 j0 I6 s) N* fcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only$ `5 j. {9 L% n1 r, `& \
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained; M/ T0 r4 M& a$ Y
by Toyota's lawyers."7 d7 r$ ] c! P- k5 G$ ]- T, x$ s
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of0 \* E7 {" g/ c$ G
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
9 A9 b3 {. Y/ J, z, h, T) scustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
1 i0 i- D7 M) [3 o1 Osaid.; x& X* Q6 }$ {- p
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with+ j: @. X6 P: T- M: a8 Z, P* {
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our8 i+ @2 ^, z% c k9 a4 d6 R9 u
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
3 z B4 g5 J" y; O- R" l# hofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
* H9 F& w1 U1 X2 i+ \ CSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying) s( r# d2 }. m/ m& r1 F# ~
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
' r, U# \6 ~1 T* g \% Lrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the; f: s- X+ w( K* Q/ l
automaker, at least in part because of the government's9 |( _% ~: T( T& s+ }- h
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
: c7 b: M: g, r/ x5 j; }: W( u( XChrysler.
" P, S- C2 H) h4 v" \"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax) W1 }; c* ~3 {
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a5 i G, ?: y7 S/ L3 }- z6 S
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also3 v9 A; r1 f; y
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete; g: _7 v; V0 b& z# K
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
6 F8 s! S% E" p6 ctough."
4 l, q3 D2 B. O& f, Y1 \8 f---0 ]9 j& j+ Z/ |8 r v
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
5 R$ t4 p. F" N: g1 j2 {: lRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to! y6 m- G1 [2 ^1 Y
this story.6 k+ C& m. h. Z1 F9 O! T2 }0 v! [
2 m* Y8 h8 {& L-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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