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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
5 @5 p& N2 F* r! G; |0 d) d0 QBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS6 p0 m: N) V9 E( p0 m% G! ~: l
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
, [, I8 t4 U2 Yoperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that- y2 x. e p+ m; T" O1 X2 Y, x: D1 d
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"$ D% p7 m& [% R. X9 T: j' O
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
' c, m# s6 V7 L+ q( u( T0 q"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential5 k7 }7 q! A; e
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.5 E! w- Z; ~ ^2 s
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
0 c1 g, w( P6 S9 h- X! I0 _% L# pacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and$ u* Q6 |) E% D- Y! v
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor- V" z" P: X l$ x- F1 W; y; Y
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.9 ^7 s0 V7 v& n" ^
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal: T) v0 }' Y3 k& A% Q* k
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp' ]; O3 n9 Q: }" V* \# U" |
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be1 V0 G3 g$ J: |' |$ P' R$ K, r1 [5 @
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
' u2 h( H5 e' P2 \# W4 V4 @ y Rnot stop her runaway Lexus.
% o. H1 J' i( i) j"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
( ~' H/ R8 z! p! k3 z/ tTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
?; Y! M! y: A2 n! L( p+ F"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
" H, B2 `) q, k |1 oTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues) ]: l% P1 G- _. b
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
% G l. w& Y4 \& i# b& F. _"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
0 S, ?; ~ g9 T/ L. m9 v% _done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
+ \* T- _( \0 ^through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's) C' @: w( e2 @! S! Y1 W
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
) {/ }% f% ^9 E6 lLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an3 o* P( t: G* O- w, I
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
$ {/ o% m* J, m' b9 \3 Xthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
3 t& j# K- {% qmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he \* S) F% a1 D/ W
said.
: _9 m+ a. y* G: x; p. HAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
3 z6 n |! ^3 k: D+ d! x3 j' Ghappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe1 |3 c1 L) H" H8 c, b9 I9 D
about driving our products," Lentz said.# b! G+ }; t, d4 f- w# V+ B& ]
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's7 M2 v* g ^" g y+ U1 ^( A
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
, }8 m; o: Y2 J0 r" S# [6 orecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 68 ]! M% l: s0 L) @! b" c8 Y
million in the United States -- since last fall because of* p e; {" I, ?, l/ s
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking( Z. Z. i, d1 c2 Z- |' ? h
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
& D0 t* b1 ?# I! e( bconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of z& U: v+ h$ K3 X5 ^9 w: @; C* d
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow$ i$ o g4 o7 B* f6 l6 o! K; z
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has+ s5 H. C% [# ]: u/ C3 Z+ i6 c( l3 C0 h
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
, s; z5 ]% y- s3 tof Toyota vehicles since 2000.$ }0 S% l A! o3 c3 f
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
/ w4 X+ ~2 E4 c% D2 U* xbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he; o4 Z3 M1 c t% P
understood the pain.2 E( Z# _# B! j- b' z: N/ V
"I know what those families go through," he said.9 B6 C4 I3 o* _. A
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
7 W$ N- u, U9 G7 s+ Ffixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.# f1 [$ E- N4 `) c; L. q$ m
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman( x0 l% e# k2 B3 v
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
# }$ ~! h0 n5 ^5 g3 i* |1 ]+ a8 {) \in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
3 X9 @& I* N7 G {Lentz replied: "Not totally."& b3 S3 X" q6 b) H2 u1 L6 W Z
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
1 ^3 J/ c2 D8 L0 V; b, ]"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said4 ~9 m* c& v. {$ E+ t* v
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
9 q, o' F, ^# c/ c8 T0 j! O3 ipedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its( y0 U) M U5 h5 ]9 J) |1 T
vehicles already on the road.
{& H5 K3 a! Y4 DMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
2 z# {4 P9 v7 Wbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
. |! Q6 P% e& P. B- F, K- S5 Eresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
8 W8 H0 u3 s2 Z* `. c, \offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
% W; H' j* ^3 M$ X+ xkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.8 Z3 M- e+ w4 |. A2 p
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a0 N& } f6 i# p
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony0 U1 e/ y" v+ p/ b! j$ Q" H
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight. v5 B6 E Q9 \0 o% y" t( Y; \
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal" W! w8 a- u4 v- T0 {
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
( Y0 `. Y3 d; q j! V" f' arestore the trust of our customers."
& c8 T6 `* O- p& RLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
$ ]! q( C: l! O9 d; K- b3 [' DSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly& x! ^% ~( ]# H K* L' g
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --2 e' z1 {, |7 }8 U* p& ?+ F7 _- e
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and* g, t- e/ S0 s
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough# q7 t3 m: V4 |$ Z% m
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and- ?+ B* o$ r# {2 h& K, Q3 @6 ~- _ @# I. \
turn off the engine.
# y. F! ~) y& d' v* R8 ]% MFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of+ u; @; [" G m' s
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
2 y( g9 I, z/ c9 ] o"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she4 {/ A( F# ?7 q# [8 _! O: C% U0 l
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond7 P) f; k, h b
to her complaints.+ a5 |& Q- ~3 \, j! ?, \8 @* v
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
3 W2 }% _. @+ ]7 B) }3 U1 Breturned again and again to the question of whether electronic+ f- z( L& I( `8 ], _/ @; V+ _
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.4 }% k6 H$ q; G! T* u2 d
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
, \; F8 }7 c5 s& Y% Sthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
. b1 y2 h, b" R9 U! `4 {"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut+ k2 O" i) v* u7 A
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."1 K. ~& m8 g+ r0 x r% \
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in$ q$ o* z, [9 o! Q' q( [
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
' a- T# C* Z" J4 H' ^6 gbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
* }8 H6 z+ w$ j% W- s1 z9 g5 Z% Twere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
- _, i2 n* u. @+ severy question."+ B$ x( K' F0 `, z# a
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether$ M2 D* Y# t6 q: @8 f- Z' l
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
* K6 x+ Y: {# H' F6 K( @firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But- r% j% M4 N2 l7 o5 I* V& E; L9 V
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
: C# {9 l K6 S' z9 i) enumber of vehicles
7 `3 c. k1 F' n& Q6 ]' K8 vTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
4 s; S) o; s% P4 H" { \difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
6 D, c8 P% x3 M' bmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one2 G# b. [5 b. r! b
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
! I2 h" V# q+ d8 ]& C; vMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,# L$ t1 R% g! l- P
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no& { q! D7 \. c+ J- w
trace at all.9 g) D i1 D5 I5 O
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call9 h! Z6 W' g* F
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
! K! a7 ~2 U! I8 }$ X& J, m, Hacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the* k& e# T, a7 A9 B9 @3 @% Z
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
0 L. v) c% w( N4 W2 G5 P! \Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,) C7 K6 E' _" F% S: ~. r
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and' B1 B3 N! Z' C: m7 i& g7 c
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
7 H# @- P# H+ ^, }1 \electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
0 A- P; e3 p! o; k' L! z* }cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
$ j, P4 {. s# h4 X1 V3 psuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
3 }" g- g# X) U1 Y1 g& Eby Toyota's lawyers."
- G" [+ Q+ T( A) E8 pLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of2 n4 K! h% a" h- Q* O5 k! m) i* Q0 B
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
: Z$ a. x6 t. I+ G* [% _customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
5 K2 C" X3 u6 d w) h/ z" `said.
4 }+ I: R% s1 z \"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
# P. K! H( t5 Ua rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
( V4 z- d/ H5 d( Xgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
1 w" _& u: a# D7 @officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
5 c W3 n; w- ~3 W( K# [3 E: x: TSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
6 R% M: L' o6 I8 emembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread3 V2 X; R! W. }6 x# g/ x6 J+ N. D
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
, J6 F% Y4 e; `5 k# }7 e- sautomaker, at least in part because of the government's& p0 |' ]: c; U, p+ {
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and8 m- t# N4 ]- T R6 J
Chrysler.
' @) G2 x$ s; w"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
. \, \9 ^9 u% y9 _3 cdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
4 s$ E/ S' `' X$ A3 V* XHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
8 ?& X; i/ Z' r4 V- kserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
. ?) R" I# v- y& G4 Xwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
+ [* |# c$ m1 B( j5 w! z, ytough."
. j# g1 d7 y3 v9 z---/ ?& r* E- F- w
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom; \: Q7 ?2 j0 E. W! g9 X, x* ]4 f
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to' ]$ j! E! t6 ]- c9 @; e/ R7 Z
this story.
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