 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! U6 F7 l) q; |2 S7 |" O
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
! f, X9 y6 C, T; YWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S., ?# _3 K, ~- g( Z: M
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that/ m+ U: @: v% y1 l0 b' `
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
( |7 O/ J8 l* F2 S9 jsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.9 O- K0 D2 g' h. a
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
& `( Z9 S& W& L9 Y" rcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
& H+ ^" L) f& }. P% V8 ^' iHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected8 H2 \- j2 d- L9 @
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
4 o( `0 F# w6 P. q4 T3 \trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor& M: V- Y: ]- ~
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.1 C2 Q- K; Z+ r* O# \' D5 E
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal8 b) w+ }' F% s4 k
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp- c O7 L8 F/ [
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
% ?6 V. i# S. V( }$ Tfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
1 l, l# L5 K& C/ G7 Pnot stop her runaway Lexus.
) Z; ]/ K5 ` b( l. S! u' o6 C"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
/ z; B- {' X/ q0 |6 m, K3 K' rTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
9 |6 M L3 y% O4 W( O"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
9 t" Q: V! \& E( V4 ITexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues$ |" Y" e* u4 G
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
3 {5 g7 l$ Q0 s2 e4 i, M& \3 ["We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
7 D1 X, U7 F; C/ g/ Adone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway/ H0 @9 a9 D. ?
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
; ?* R' h( m, l1 Y5 i- zinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."% y* b3 S q! q% X4 ]; H
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an$ w" `: |" M/ S# ~
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of$ ^ k0 y, O2 J- Z; D$ z( V
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
# q0 w: |- L+ s Bmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he n. N: P0 Z1 \6 m$ ~
said.0 _9 S C" ~& @% s) c
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what: q4 {& E2 U7 K4 R6 I& d5 p2 i
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
. I' w6 P- B% Pabout driving our products," Lentz said.4 x" ?& ^1 o, s( D% J2 z; d3 J- c$ r
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's+ s& i8 q# M' d) Y: r) r( l R' p z
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
. V+ R# k* W+ Y( t. T' `recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6; u% Z9 n1 K9 Q G! ?& W
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
7 d& X% U- A) Q. E! d7 w. D1 [unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking/ i3 v9 K& I: L+ a# r
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
0 X! S& a9 B6 xconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of: f3 b) [: S, a) g% x W
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow4 F7 |: M K& j, N3 k
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has% E$ B# g. L0 }' }/ {; K' F; K
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration' z' l( f$ T" x8 k* u
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
* h9 [6 z, C1 KLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own# g9 ?) ?6 u, k+ l5 k' C- @# E
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he: J1 f' Y- O d$ e0 c4 D
understood the pain.% Z7 @( E H. F1 w
"I know what those families go through," he said.% D- B6 f5 z$ D7 y: ?1 p: j
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's( L5 u3 j% P) m& K! l0 T; i
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems. i s1 h2 c+ b8 U- A
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman1 P! P$ x, t+ e: s
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put0 Z+ K1 Q% _2 W6 X, ]; J
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
/ Q4 c. M' ]: v4 n- L% ?Lentz replied: "Not totally."
& M5 g3 Z9 ?% r! A% y+ ~Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were, s4 J( c6 V( r7 l" C
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
5 }: y9 c, A, }; B% G# I2 D3 e$ wToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
1 G/ p; ?% q e5 s$ mpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its% j/ \; i4 v4 ]4 a2 x" A u
vehicles already on the road.
2 v9 t5 U: T, V0 t6 jMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify/ B8 ]9 W1 F3 i# N- V" B
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
5 n+ E$ B* X5 O5 ~8 V# Kresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and# V. F1 f. v: @0 G
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were, R# @) o5 f5 X: U7 v2 y
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
3 l2 z$ p+ u+ x3 l T"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
2 o. B }1 z& ztragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony' _$ r5 d; ^1 p W* L# n4 a7 ~
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
+ n5 ~& P( n0 O# u+ Q0 x/ E9 xCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal& G& w( B% b- ~: w0 }* i7 x& `" C
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
6 Z4 y0 m( e/ o& V7 p" }9 W- w2 }restore the trust of our customers."
+ W& Y# S- w% o) u* _Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
# ]7 q( u3 [9 z- q& y8 CSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
. O1 J6 Y$ P5 a3 ^# C: Azoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
2 R3 x( ^; W( ~3 n, l) |shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
% h7 o' `# X* s, w: m$ Qhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough# ^( }: F" H2 {! @: w
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and. {5 R6 }5 D1 f7 S( K8 Z
turn off the engine.
% `& [( B! s8 _5 D: u# p XFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of' @+ p% r! o5 v* j- z, B; T
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
! w7 {8 J& t2 {$ o; ~"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she, [0 Z: O7 c2 v# P5 G; [
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond; y" E8 i5 ^+ k3 K4 r8 P' p
to her complaints.
% \6 V* @8 `1 F+ e% @, \In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
7 D7 s- g6 e' }% S( x' rreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic' m5 A% F `% L+ c, ^& b
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
1 y5 t% N/ z1 @- U2 o) v: |7 L+ C" L$ p"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
* A9 t2 u" k: |+ A: o0 xthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited" A: Y* a: g }
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut& o O3 `6 W7 ^1 a+ @, ^
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
+ m. C1 Q' }; hTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
; S& Q+ \: U M( |& Rprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
9 Z5 G! I3 G; p8 t4 Q2 S. Rbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
0 Y' e8 _4 u3 q. Z/ iwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer/ ], g# R5 I- Z3 `3 c, X# H
every question."4 Z* y) X. P" W1 K' [# q6 G1 ^: X
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
" Z7 `4 p' o' i3 D$ {% p0 Z5 |! l" j6 Kelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The. H8 N% h0 y" _8 D6 }. \8 C
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
& g: S, J2 Y0 _- N Lcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small& ]$ l& U, m4 p+ w
number of vehicles$ ~7 `/ h. b/ H: P+ g0 F
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more. j5 ^2 D: K# C' h' U
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a3 F& ]8 \/ J% W+ `4 i/ L% c2 T
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
3 u4 B+ X8 o9 x! P1 R4 Lsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.0 J* V+ a2 Q; M2 `# R8 w6 u
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
6 h/ C1 G; C* ^+ k$ T lwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no5 {, G* J- `9 X
trace at all.
8 E* d% ] h' q0 v* sHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
$ j8 V3 f7 `5 I6 _database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden) L6 @# W2 C8 W. u) F8 Q
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the5 m. Z* z; L' g' _
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
+ S% H, m" C- ?7 J. J& \4 V, XRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,) C3 e6 ?' A4 A8 ~9 @' H0 A5 w8 W
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and# L7 T& ]( f5 P- B5 E; e* y
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
# l, p- ^2 E/ M* j3 d/ nelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible1 u" j. z3 Q6 A! s }
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
3 h0 T! F6 @$ C" F! Nsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
: S$ X* o# m2 ]7 lby Toyota's lawyers."
. i5 A) h4 K0 l( |) ^) ]Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of! i# G) D; v+ X f1 J1 m- D
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
- A9 `. C5 L2 q0 Lcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he. S4 a5 C6 C% o% z7 f% y( p
said.
) U. m6 x c U) z"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
7 {0 G& U, l1 N |3 M. b& r9 @3 O6 b. {a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
! ~( m( b3 m/ R2 u( K a. S* bgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating* x+ a9 U" L! \% {5 S/ q
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.0 l4 n6 r( ?: v2 P R
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
7 \2 Q% b* s& e* C: D; U" Omembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread1 ~: ?# u7 M/ O) ]3 Y# B/ q
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the5 z4 {) O! w; W+ a7 }$ v
automaker, at least in part because of the government's2 z6 g* w, K( e1 P& }9 B: ?
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and0 F& H% p1 O H5 ]; K3 Q
Chrysler.0 N' t) z- V [, }/ i$ U$ H
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax w% B$ a/ d2 B1 G
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
* `5 I- f% c h9 b/ l" WHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also' y: W$ v4 R6 Q9 \
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
: K$ p' A+ X& i) p2 Gwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty7 \1 e& G3 ~2 s8 r
tough."% [" |* }+ _7 ]9 D
---
4 y/ z% ~! I" z0 TAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
8 P" g- B1 z3 P" t1 v& J% ]0 QRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to' r7 `8 B; K( A l, c' i
this story.
5 {" L( y& a: B( ?% |4 k, t/ O2 M8 d0 u+ Q3 T
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|