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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& G! \, ?6 t! }* @+ k1 Y
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
+ E+ X' g1 n R2 c6 EWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.0 O: @. s& @' g# d0 ]. K/ V) s# l
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
- {1 ~$ g9 ?* b4 P1 Cthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally", l$ B7 `9 ^1 j( [3 X
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.5 i3 R# B. a! ^
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
z: T. \/ j7 e: i7 c# S( wcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.0 W3 `# g8 J: \# i& F& f4 g; i
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected# A6 Y8 }3 r& X5 p
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
8 ^8 `% i4 N) c, e1 V+ e1 r) G& wtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
+ d9 x/ Y# N' jmats and sticking accelerator pedals.6 _1 W) B5 ^( k' }6 h) A. X
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal/ b, q$ Y3 z9 L) F5 k
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
. L" I3 l! B7 x4 C; ycriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
c/ E+ ?, L( P$ X3 L6 hfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could) k1 @9 l2 S: w9 C& J* x- m& U! W
not stop her runaway Lexus.# X4 w2 O$ P% ]6 x' Z! a
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
+ p9 p1 B, M$ S" Q* x' m. ^Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
2 O/ M# Z/ J6 |5 k"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
% Y" D' ?0 E5 Y2 g( z. w ETexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
3 B' ^& T, E$ v5 {early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
2 c" D1 a5 y1 X" y/ J"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
8 S1 U, X) e5 k6 Sdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway/ W; m9 Y( r; @$ U6 R4 c& z
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's* P/ s: T1 v W
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
# _8 Y/ q, {- Q, ?Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an }2 ^: i4 h- ^9 X% B
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
& a2 M3 U# b! m$ G$ Bthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a9 K# J/ m. Y8 I6 b$ _! \
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he0 U4 K" T0 J9 Z2 h6 T/ [# v
said.
& }: v( r2 d6 P8 [As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
+ s' i6 M5 [6 S1 A& khappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe# F) `5 n" X; `2 s) T& r5 p8 t
about driving our products," Lentz said.
7 l4 e+ {# |3 s3 tThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
* m4 g& {- l/ J* M5 C( _5 K* Jproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
" }7 q2 A' h. X5 B srecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6- E, z( L4 `0 Y! ~5 Z3 Z
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
! Q( \- p9 s& {- c" G3 \unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking2 {7 n% P/ p: n# s% K0 J ]
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering, m4 o' e0 g3 B8 _5 |# [5 l! S
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
* W* t$ C+ }& m' u0 M6 Gtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
% A" R" D3 ^8 `! ^# Edown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has! m$ S8 y. t& A
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration1 f6 k) ]# O. A# U5 Y
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.# E8 ?( x4 L5 t& M3 t
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own$ _3 x9 _ J4 G" G
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he2 g* w- u* ^; Q
understood the pain.8 e4 d( h$ p( { ]1 Y- T# g
"I know what those families go through," he said.5 l/ H6 Y4 i. n
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
0 J$ [2 I: k4 ] v; W' C U! t' rfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
, H) D* o1 h5 ]But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman$ H& C" K, Y# L$ ?/ z. P, O& L' Z
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put6 V; o1 V" }" N+ O1 U% i
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
. H# [- h9 d7 ^. Q, D) }( ELentz replied: "Not totally.") Q( m, L; X) E4 G: T9 d
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were1 J% i$ S8 l1 h' y7 e N: L
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said+ C+ [0 C! v# N+ K% X E: J9 |
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas- h4 S6 t. [1 _( T3 x
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
3 C: H' l$ S$ n$ }! Jvehicles already on the road.) e0 r- n% [9 q/ F$ d" E. d
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
/ K1 `4 W, s- X+ V, x& n( jbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full- R4 h5 U7 J5 \* f
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and3 l' C* B: D: ]6 D8 {( Z
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were8 F3 @. Q5 C3 ?8 G" p, {+ s! H
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems., u% W" c# T6 g6 R+ D+ J' k
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a0 v8 m/ M( J* A" [
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony' |$ O5 N7 A/ L7 K7 V$ ~
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
1 S' f+ s7 [+ S/ `7 p: uCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
9 P" j, i Q1 [+ Icommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to4 L, U' o8 f$ P
restore the trust of our customers."
. c' A9 N, z5 B& WLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from9 y* A: H" ?0 \
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
# Y9 f1 Z& s7 V" wzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
! \+ N4 q7 x3 u3 L2 Tshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
$ b7 {6 F% P" h3 c: h$ d- L7 whitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough! {5 ~# d/ @& i* _; {+ Z
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and/ ~6 j. f) h4 s3 ~
turn off the engine.; ~' F9 c1 k' B, O5 V
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
5 p' P, q! L6 ^! Y, O3 {7 _October 2006, calling it "a near death experience.", d. V& R' R) _5 G; x
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
8 X& g1 V. {* w/ T% y" V2 }said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
4 H1 b5 g: g& Gto her complaints.
! _! S. G0 l& a* B! d5 dIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers a; J) v. L5 i+ }. A" W V
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
' j# |% J6 h3 Q2 s* {2 rmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
+ ^( s0 W5 @* E m" J& M, D$ y"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
( A: X' A) E: f- e1 {+ t) K% sthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited- {7 h4 `+ r/ ]9 U
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut9 [% }0 x: d8 m0 A& `
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."1 g2 W! S5 Z' L# i4 i' L
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
7 p; x( I2 H: c7 i/ Zprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were% d% g1 Z9 m! p' ], r; e3 y9 n" h- Z
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
& O! ]6 V& C: ~& A# `$ ?: \were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer0 T! G2 M# D% J
every question."4 @0 m; X; P9 A- N: ]
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether+ \2 o) K& u% S' O. l
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The( e9 E( f& t& X2 o! l" j
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
$ j/ t8 t1 Y4 z- ^committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
, e8 H2 j' `4 I K! d- ~number of vehicles
) t) T; c9 _ L$ p& h1 q& MTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
9 u' a9 ~0 A! M& d+ zdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a" Z% V$ j9 s' [7 r8 Z7 K1 C
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one# |+ W: ]+ M9 S: t+ p8 B
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.* \) w2 H& t: k( {9 W( M
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,1 O1 z- P: i: m) E8 y% Z Z8 \
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
" B: p; P; i# {! m$ ntrace at all.
8 t h0 O1 J1 ]House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call1 K# Z: C+ X) |/ K" y e# c9 [4 f
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden& Y% p- K9 z2 N5 e, M* ~ u6 U
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the. w% J6 B& C; r3 F
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
2 N6 c8 K# M& {, K4 J( sRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
7 Y3 [4 j- d+ t+ c0 S& hsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and0 G9 P% l6 k, t/ ^0 I$ {
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
0 N$ q4 Y9 G1 r2 ~* Y7 kelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
$ \+ Z# w1 T5 U0 B4 O9 gcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
& Q/ ]* @; }# {" Hsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
6 Q$ `+ l$ F* a+ [by Toyota's lawyers."
8 r, ^ i7 C5 F& W) fLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of- f+ B; d- ~" u$ \
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our2 | ]4 H [+ G/ m# X
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he C& D- L: ]9 g2 Z* G- P
said.3 _- l1 L1 d2 e7 D5 I: p
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
# c1 F" p; |9 \- Q; Ma rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our8 P7 k- u9 n& J: D" a
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating& E/ A1 j; e/ R
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc./ [" E7 s) L& A9 K# \
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
5 H! r, s ]! \- O5 q9 E @9 Mmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread/ p5 @1 l7 M6 {0 i
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
; {' [" d/ [9 r, qautomaker, at least in part because of the government's# ^8 L2 v4 v& L3 l: ?: Y" |4 N
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
. z1 g. e4 l; [8 j- ]2 y2 }Chrysler.- H4 s# x4 Y2 r* W- c
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
3 n7 q8 Y% ?4 ?dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
& {0 ]+ \+ p6 w( W$ f. \7 x, MHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also( {$ p) `' e, A2 ~2 O q }" x4 b* j
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
+ S0 U2 |) i7 U* C8 q+ \with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
% ~( p3 X3 m# btough."
3 D# i J9 t7 S+ v0 L- ]---4 ^7 Z6 x( f+ L: D) e# r
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom! `* }- Z0 S! U1 \ E$ y
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to: s" J, c. `' H
this story.
3 Q, f5 w) r$ U- `7 Y# t
, d f/ P( k1 M/ R-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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