 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- X2 I Q6 i% P9 _: E( {
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS3 @ f6 k6 O3 J( j0 D
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.5 y% `( o9 s7 B5 t& G
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
- q; \; U1 i% Q8 }the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
5 F# E0 o7 @6 Z$ |: k0 n( k' csolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
! h# R4 F, t5 ?& ~1 ["We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
; _6 G" i# C" T% v5 @, ?1 Qcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
+ r8 y3 f' V; Z8 V2 n9 ^However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
! q7 t3 t5 A/ `6 aacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
5 y/ x' p9 k Z0 ~trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
" e: A/ Q( ^; Cmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
9 @1 L2 ]7 j' ~7 k% x! U7 mHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal6 S ?$ v$ z7 H0 g
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
# j( Y7 G+ N! [2 Fcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be1 L9 C) f- @$ r
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
6 t. C) }8 K+ i$ pnot stop her runaway Lexus.( `* c" _3 |/ z6 d; H
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,7 p$ r4 F i1 s8 ~! H3 s
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second4 R) ?8 s; x9 q( h( B/ b
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
, V) I( G; U6 M9 ITexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues, y# `# ^+ f5 M, I8 z
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
* U! ~1 A- N2 [7 s"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
6 z; p' Z9 B m; ?done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
& N+ X1 H, J% r% s$ i; Zthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's" ]7 T+ j, q6 B8 A1 q: E. i
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."9 Q+ T* R+ \, R( K' {+ ]
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
6 M5 |/ x0 ~6 @8 {" {, D1 s7 X* xelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
, D6 z) E2 N5 F5 v! ]: Kthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a- [1 V, k7 O! k# c, o- j( L
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he% w" `4 S [; Y: f5 _$ x
said.
5 q' D6 g% I/ YAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what7 k) D! K, x% Q/ j( z; P/ y
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe* l+ @3 n b' ~% e! [
about driving our products," Lentz said.3 N( a2 }" B9 ?. [/ k1 G8 Q8 ~
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
5 `! G0 o- c% L8 Sproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
1 [) t9 E- X* v, Frecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 62 l+ c: |, }9 c( u4 Y- y( b
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
3 \' l+ _: Q, ]9 \6 Q1 munintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
. K1 u- @, q R4 W7 Z1 oissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
3 d1 ]" F$ }: }) q( {- [3 r& j$ econcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of& Y/ H8 G' V B7 z+ f! C0 V" {
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
" ^6 k& E# f0 o, {7 edown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has; e* z" I7 k7 F; d% P2 g0 X9 U
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration5 _/ q! ^3 k6 Z$ {
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
7 B: r" L5 x$ G% L+ x1 m% L0 @Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
) C0 m- s6 O5 \, fbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he8 r1 t5 C, ^: E" h" v* M
understood the pain.- e2 {" }6 Z, U2 W
"I know what those families go through," he said.
, }3 F% `, N, iLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
/ i8 ^! |1 z3 j6 o! J( X* }5 Sfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems./ |. u3 T% r* ^' O" |8 L9 v
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman* j$ u2 t) h6 V0 [8 m
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put9 b) d0 x9 `( f U
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,. s' x- J# R9 ~3 @! i* b
Lentz replied: "Not totally.": T# |0 A+ L% a3 U( w( k
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
/ Y H* G8 ?2 t- ~8 s. F7 E"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said9 d1 D8 m* K. z. N% [* |6 M2 w+ t
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas+ ~0 f& H* f7 a, V7 B" j5 Z
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its. r4 v/ E% \( x& L' |# p" c
vehicles already on the road.
4 u! o) F* L$ K+ e9 F& V3 j# Z8 o7 n! F$ KMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
) f2 M' ~' q( gbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
e. a: [2 U8 q9 [0 X: x; Dresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and: P6 Y" ]1 f' O+ h: t: i
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were* T7 E' f% Q& V& E6 i
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
% [& O+ G. T# O- e"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
1 D- F3 |- |6 p5 ]9 E5 M; D1 Ctragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony8 u9 W& z- a: n
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
$ U) @7 M; h3 k$ l- y! sCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal5 y; e6 x2 I# ~+ f3 @+ C( ?2 p h
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to4 S- P% k; ^( ~
restore the trust of our customers.") J" }! K' p2 k( R
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
0 }$ Y& j; ^$ x8 y9 N/ iSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly) f4 M! k0 L, ^) ^
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
. m3 o! o4 z Ushifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and) V$ i, Q8 h( t2 h
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
7 V3 d0 w9 B* Jthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
, G" A% c( M) b6 J/ ?turn off the engine.
& Y2 ^3 K2 l1 N7 {Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of1 q1 g) T# W: Q- s
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
; l! _: R$ V W/ e/ O* V"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she7 U; ~- M4 R- ~+ N
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
6 l2 U3 e' i. [2 k5 dto her complaints.. t. w. W. {+ W
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
. s; ^8 Q' o5 Y6 t2 Rreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic/ M; H% @ o% N, F" A+ d* @: y& [
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
$ R+ o. t9 \8 G _1 `( g"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric8 Y& G" Q' B. o3 ~7 {' `' j
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
* R, M" V8 [ ~) s"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
5 o& q; m t+ e$ c3 toff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."* r1 x% ~4 I3 K
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in, F0 O- n8 A5 e
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
8 e5 m1 f+ }* S9 y+ ?9 ^* ^/ z) h8 rbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
! s7 G. O4 A5 z9 {; J+ Z# u1 `; ?were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
/ D% ] M1 I6 B3 q3 ~/ M5 {every question."# M4 e, H% m: t$ e
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether! e$ w4 B& I! N4 t1 R1 P
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The* j. Y* q& h5 @( P4 I
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
& _$ ~) l: a+ n4 c/ A% V# b$ X4 N& G- Tcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small& E i/ i/ a" `8 E, x8 M! ?+ p/ m
number of vehicles
' T6 {. a, `8 S, S/ B2 ?Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more% s& Z7 I0 o% u1 ]3 _
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a/ T8 |* O' ^- Y7 P8 L1 a: }
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
, l- d+ F5 z- K8 r4 v$ ~" D8 vsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
% S; u, G2 m. D6 }$ O! LMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,8 s. z, ?) v, _( ~$ z- T" d! o
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no7 e. e) n- F: _3 J( {' r- W1 j
trace at all.
( U2 Y6 \6 I. ZHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
( ` R: ~; ]% w; x( M9 t$ |database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden y- `. w- z* [. V3 N, J( y
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the% K6 H1 K6 J p
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
_3 \! f' O3 [ aRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
: Q$ k4 a, t3 esaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
: y3 Q" K/ J$ C. dother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
0 P# G% G4 V g- j. Oelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
/ g$ d9 a# ^0 X5 E1 i9 i' [cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only1 x, H2 M9 b* K1 e+ W2 ?0 W0 t
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
0 y+ U. Y9 n8 k; K' ?by Toyota's lawyers."* y. b" h, P/ f( ]
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
4 A# z! W1 E" g1 o$ ]: N9 b# r4 ?problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our) j3 `7 r2 ^$ Y6 q% H3 b) E
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
% c. r" {; E1 F/ I% }said.
5 M }5 e: ]: e"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
2 z! H5 R4 f- ?9 M6 ^/ fa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our) M, }& G6 p" a: d( ?9 M6 e
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
5 y; @& Z {" zofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.3 \$ E9 G P6 }3 y- \0 v- u! F6 x x
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
& J% u8 O' E: V( {+ Cmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread) T( t/ ~+ z& L& j- l- I
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the5 P/ m* ~( u: N& N1 \
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
9 {% q# ]8 J+ winvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
- E) ]% S, Q( k IChrysler.
% t! \( B0 O& K$ Y4 Z"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
8 C& n' }+ A5 k' {, ?! V' Y f4 ~( ^dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
# G/ p; x8 p8 K1 a. ~# S1 CHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also( K& i* q% ?3 w5 k n7 w1 a& J5 P
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete1 w R7 x* ?9 |" ~& o* A# t
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
' Y1 K, z ~* ~' y( V" t$ Xtough."' o( b6 e7 ?' h, M5 z( ?" W) ?" ^! i
---. b& O7 I1 i3 G4 e$ D4 ]$ R0 O
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
3 i5 S. K4 b7 P$ @. \) E4 {Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to3 p) `1 m0 _, q z+ j
this story.6 g' z/ e% i* Y/ l3 P
, J8 y6 Y+ `8 \! r-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|