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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
, P. f- h3 J, f+ d) @4 {$ e7 oBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS# w4 I* h9 j4 [1 ~. _
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.: ~- w% e% Y, i$ i% |% d* }
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that: E4 O/ W9 Q% s. b. l4 ^% W
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"3 P2 c& e, P4 j! [, K
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
3 K, i7 ~ \/ X) f4 R7 o"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential* r+ @- N: R+ {+ _& o) V
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
* ~9 |$ y& A. b/ z0 S" w* o2 _However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected7 Q$ I! A! q, e* |4 b) h' M
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
M7 v R% i+ a z- M" Itrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
5 d8 I" U- U4 b4 U. [mats and sticking accelerator pedals.% Y) |& C4 A$ I1 ]- b
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal$ d5 c$ X# |% I6 z1 b. q9 C" N
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp: V6 [* Z* ?: a+ f
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be& f( M" {+ u( N( i' ^
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
, _ W+ k# W$ u- Y# g: e. I5 Lnot stop her runaway Lexus.
6 f. q) k9 ?9 @- h# `4 m"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,) q; l3 q5 b* J; d% d
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second2 w* R; e, |; n- W6 J
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.2 b( S7 ]8 K: i2 k9 k* I
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues' D. |- o7 ?& Y7 ]2 }
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said/ i3 a& Z5 S, k# D
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
* c9 x9 y% H6 T1 T; R2 ydone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
+ ]6 h) v: `& B1 `" K( I9 ithrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
- E2 G9 e \1 pinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
" T! ^( \3 F H4 lLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
, k+ ~8 W+ `8 C! Q: N! belectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
+ R( v: Y, I( nthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a- [, y$ _* f& D7 G* C- z
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he3 ]- m& S0 p& c/ u2 O
said.# n% B. O+ O* A" k: B
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what6 `. h' L( ]0 w4 |# c9 I
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe2 x2 ^4 [, K# L1 q
about driving our products," Lentz said.; l# {# k% s3 t
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's1 ?& z" u3 f; e; ^7 f8 R( R$ s$ x, ~$ N
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has: F2 v8 |* t+ e
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 68 h$ c7 S2 [. ?' k( l9 Y( G
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
, M/ ]) i' Q8 ~5 B Q- m: Tunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking1 w% q) g) Q+ |7 C0 g1 U
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering6 Q1 d9 v; L0 W
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
8 \% X- D' K- T, D4 D, Gtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
! r% O9 l# [3 p; ^$ `3 [6 ndown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has G+ S' T! J+ \6 u) {: e* a6 K5 S
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration( b5 G/ [/ Z" L
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.1 ^& k3 Y7 f( W6 T' `* `7 z1 F# R
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own" K; r8 _4 i- i1 F
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
# W5 J% `$ t% y% a( b: C7 }- K3 v! vunderstood the pain.
8 L0 n, e& M* |8 x/ p"I know what those families go through," he said.# U: I, I8 x. n& d, G; R; E" ~/ R/ {
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
- s8 i J8 M" t# ^* S& H* Tfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
0 |# ~( C T: X- mBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
) @/ k/ K; W! O& z0 F+ F* _Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
* Z0 ] ~7 G; k3 Y( t1 yin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
2 w% q* a5 I# Y: S- D5 pLentz replied: "Not totally.", H6 w% P5 J* t6 e8 [! c" ^6 j, T- ^
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were- E: h% X( C9 Y g r% c- H2 }# D
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
+ v4 C& O. [8 SToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas% J# H! d7 M. G8 G0 M' I: {
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its8 h& K7 R$ G( T" U1 m+ d9 \( V
vehicles already on the road.' H4 z4 F @" j* E+ n- B) F
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
4 Y6 m6 j) J0 Q& L& ebefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
- N: G! e1 o tresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and$ _/ f# j7 f% {8 q+ o, z8 s
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were. a" v- R1 i4 n- n, O. Q5 f1 n2 T. s
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems./ W- Q7 E$ j8 r. b$ j' p! c
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a$ K% I3 t* ^6 T4 E
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
( ~! h8 f3 W/ M- J1 jfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
. P% O& p! J& a: @; X( y4 ECommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal# H8 x2 f$ l, e: w! P
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to5 n2 V! `8 v( _6 d( }
restore the trust of our customers."
) p) P% U3 W0 HLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
9 h0 A B6 a& X5 j% G- L1 {7 P! lSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
: H& A- }- |0 e) L9 Uzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --7 } t1 V O( |7 s
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and0 ^5 v4 c8 a% @9 E
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough2 r3 c# b: Y; K( Z1 a) r
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
- P: B+ {; z3 u# G: X! H# d, u; U* \turn off the engine.
5 O+ @ W0 |% ]/ T+ S7 r2 r4 SFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
- Y5 R# S' _& r3 gOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
8 o. x1 v: X1 R# F' d& G. G* R3 O"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
* K! [ [$ e! @2 Ysaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
9 U! u8 D" V; U0 N: Xto her complaints.
3 r% D) U* e, RIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
. g. x8 Y) |5 |4 \8 @returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
2 H/ C+ V& {2 z7 R2 nmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
; [' ^1 [+ o& ^"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
; c \: i' j2 @" g: n3 |throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
+ G6 j; z! o" t; W. q% d* x' q9 k: W/ k"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut" v, U2 o; u' K, z' |
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."* n |& P* R+ v P
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in5 c2 A# @6 T8 Y* p
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were3 N# |, b. b+ @4 u* u I
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls- ?, q7 _ J$ P: F" U7 Q% `
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
7 Y5 j& `8 }8 l4 Kevery question.") _6 E& S9 D9 B. [" p( i
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether. c. S0 t! @1 r
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
, o( L1 Z" `7 d& l3 P# u b* T7 }firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
7 Z# F5 g1 [2 a' `% l: J- d+ ~committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
, O+ W" D7 s$ z h/ Z- v( e; inumber of vehicles- W7 i- Q: B3 V
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
. q i0 I4 }: p( t' }3 `3 cdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
( l4 X" K2 E x" Q& |# Tmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one9 W* ?; q/ b/ N9 I( w! k
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
( h/ ^" o" g1 kMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
, Y# l; }$ a* ]5 V: R, R; kwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no0 \. _' P4 \8 I4 G( s, U, C9 d
trace at all.
3 n- x3 n6 S$ V& a' w7 ZHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call$ ?/ @8 o9 G% I6 }; _
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden* I" s% t( H- D0 M; N+ q
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
4 a- \% {3 k. D! Krecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
- \5 z0 |2 Q {7 O B7 L+ k1 RRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
. ^* w' J/ Y# U- O0 _7 q) nsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
2 E) v! O9 `, Y/ L3 t' Z4 ?other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the3 `8 y! n. {' w4 c* M
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
: p8 u) q; j8 K; p$ v/ C0 e Y2 m7 xcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
$ u0 X3 j- u$ ^4 y: U8 g& T$ {( ?' xsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
- l) R7 Y+ X! S. gby Toyota's lawyers."0 f) W+ X& L% G; Y
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of' e/ X2 i& A! ?$ P- D, R
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
' k" ~ @* ~7 ^9 |! ncustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
1 o7 ^2 ~7 E+ ^ X( L% @# x7 n- `8 Gsaid.9 J) x8 A' Y2 {. [. {
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
3 w% \3 d# n: g i: ]: |9 k+ j# ia rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
# K& E( i3 _$ W; g0 ]good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
8 ]- p! j$ V( l& |. Xofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.4 Z! e) v B) o
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying% j [) N% G9 S! q; l6 T7 W
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
6 Z+ i# G* G9 d' v7 i/ R1 lrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the7 O1 b9 s! _. r! Y- Q" d
automaker, at least in part because of the government's+ ^7 F7 \3 T) |3 s! G* [$ I
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
y" K* a. X5 y) u2 l& o, w" U4 }Chrysler.
. c$ u: a. W' N+ e( A"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax/ t0 |* O e# U$ Y" m5 _
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
) F" T1 r& i2 P: \1 J1 ^Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
( X- F" P' o, s! L6 E3 {served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete9 F* @, M# I3 ` ^8 y$ {5 q/ R
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty1 X# D: n. l& M! W
tough.", e1 I. N# r, U7 @1 a
---% u8 W. a3 w5 r; g. ?3 g
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
/ L" g- K0 m! Z/ U5 jRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to4 ^0 `: S/ D5 U) A. j: @7 I
this story.
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