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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
8 j. Y$ R3 g6 @By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
+ s- C+ ~. A5 c0 IWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
: [* H" |( m( Roperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
. T. A% V/ Z$ j9 uthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"9 K; s7 _! \9 \8 J1 s7 |* |5 q2 `2 i
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
$ L1 s. Z! x/ x2 q, X/ q, m"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
" R& t) f9 b! u [( Acauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel., B, t6 O5 F9 S* `0 K
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
5 u. {9 T, o% H( _+ kacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
6 s5 G+ {( i: s# Mtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
* J1 d) M3 B- I4 g kmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
* Q e+ Z0 k: sHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
0 u# K6 b7 G vand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
) G3 b! m/ H/ w4 V* ecriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
8 z% e- X7 Q/ ~# @5 _, Pfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
% _3 S/ S* s3 x, Xnot stop her runaway Lexus.
& _3 y0 u) W# q# s% E( H X0 z"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,# `6 ?* g2 s4 Y7 Q# G# @. }1 C
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second. S1 t: U% z, W" D. F+ e6 }- x
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.8 ]; M# L9 g& t% w4 `! {. g i
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues8 ?0 {$ L4 t( p
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said# D9 W# N" A8 O$ G7 @
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
1 T- c6 x3 h+ |: {, ^1 ~' Bdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
$ o% _* @! h8 u Ethrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's# T3 J" D, I2 O
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."* O% b& }7 U/ N% R0 W3 C! A
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
& Q$ g# l& y0 c! }, D4 j' ~electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
3 ]3 p+ H2 N4 O3 T7 `8 Ithe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
* d& Z7 `# a$ ?, @malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
9 m2 H d1 n0 u+ J" U# z& wsaid." I$ H+ F0 n4 Z3 Y c# Y- j
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what. Q5 Y* L, T$ R/ w
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
# [" l) A1 x( G7 Zabout driving our products," Lentz said.
! c. `/ E1 A0 ?* _ ^Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
* H! F& x$ c+ x+ o' C% ^' m$ l4 nproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has* l5 e5 s7 n& n5 S" P- G
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6 d, A6 ]( Y$ X* |/ I# {. Y! U
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
$ I5 b( U2 u( d4 n4 @& zunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
+ ], r, o" A1 M+ Y" p: H8 @issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering Z0 i D2 p+ z V2 U
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of0 o6 V4 N* l9 V: J/ \- l& v
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
1 d% E w4 ?- I/ k2 t* ~2 ldown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
; i4 j* x% Y, l9 Lreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration1 D% [& u. j ^8 |4 i2 f
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
- ^, q; s' H. i" hLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own4 ?2 c+ i4 u+ a3 V& N- t# ^
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he/ h0 j1 a* E/ m6 Y
understood the pain.( a8 H. B$ R1 E' o' V
"I know what those families go through," he said.- K% ]& F$ Z) X/ Q9 o% k# [+ N
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's! ?9 [6 `0 g/ w- v6 j9 O
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
! M: n) U! N8 s$ h( c2 fBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman+ i% X0 v. @, d
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
. [; Z4 ?3 y, kin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
- L! F6 p0 [2 P: t# x: h2 ~0 }Lentz replied: "Not totally."% `8 z: w0 p! B/ y7 g
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were; U1 P4 X7 A5 @
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
' z4 P h1 q3 S/ w$ mToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas- t( T, G9 M& f
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its- ^1 d7 F+ p! o3 h# {
vehicles already on the road.+ j% `; ~8 d3 m3 N# q
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
, S* ]) J- p& ^3 mbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
6 p5 P, L: Q( S: I5 U* G' Rresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
7 V. F8 U% E$ r( loffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were0 d2 l% v2 b$ y* B* z1 F# R+ e0 o- n
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.+ i& ~/ j" i* c3 Q; V* n" \
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a x- f4 o# V" w
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony& P N e( R3 O' H
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight, K+ ?* a( {; k4 X% u1 B) F
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal1 F/ U( a- p0 t/ T* z2 n5 e( ?' E1 K
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to3 m8 Z4 p5 Y7 w B
restore the trust of our customers."9 E: u5 o l& B' _' L( x, e6 o: _' o
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
& H1 B+ B* e1 f4 @Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
& z% t7 R f; s2 P/ T% N czoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --2 C p+ Q7 W% E
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and' M9 X7 z' F& S+ I6 W# v8 L
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough5 f! @5 ]! s L( q2 t& T1 Y
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and0 J5 Q0 _& D8 t! @! @! i
turn off the engine.
* o- h8 _- Y' A/ LFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of, \4 o" G' j8 P9 V2 g( @8 R
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
4 l% _, N* K3 h9 e# `& H"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
4 C3 l- [! P9 ~: [% u6 d. m: Usaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond$ L6 C* i- M0 b: U1 ~7 M$ H
to her complaints.7 Y6 R8 A1 J i4 j' A; ]% H
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers0 T7 F, O {$ M. P7 M3 z3 u) N
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic& \1 B1 H9 r- S8 R6 q
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.2 F% J( r# L' Z. w- P, ?, Y' J
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
5 P1 o+ z9 F& i! V# n1 Gthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
; ?3 l1 n4 G0 W& S" C4 A"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
% A+ f- d, _8 u4 `off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
* J) E; b4 p& P5 BTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in5 N5 L o- V# z5 G8 a, E9 B/ ~! A
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were S7 o! V/ U6 o: } P9 T3 U
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
* Z- I2 Y8 G9 |# Qwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer( v1 O; `5 d2 V4 [- B& _3 y
every question."$ S9 Q, e! ]- N5 z8 j. I
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
" K6 r3 h8 Z) D6 v Telectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The$ P" @$ |& q: m" @7 O
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
* `9 Q4 _7 ~3 k5 v9 Tcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small) v; H L) P9 v5 s) e+ i/ b
number of vehicles- S7 F/ C4 D/ f2 l. X# Q
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
5 p, b; u; x6 W+ \( G: Qdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
4 T: H; z* R, ~" X% imechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
; V1 @ ], H7 T* c, [source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.) r- W8 s/ L! K) Q' |& ]% _7 q) V' \
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
- a6 s5 m2 y4 b; @where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no3 [ G9 X* }$ T d+ w7 q I
trace at all.1 S' B n3 i* E
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call3 `2 \+ \$ o! X6 A% S
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
7 v) |, M* _* b3 m( h, Facceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
$ W7 Z* l D0 }, |9 O' V0 P Wrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
2 K2 [* b, G/ i; b$ ARep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
' v0 }! {( \( b3 j. A4 Ysaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
" k. B, t7 A9 y& n, j7 j' R; Zother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the4 ?# ^6 _4 }3 p6 G3 _9 G
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible o9 z9 j/ Q v L/ P
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only0 `* C( w/ b' U; O e* t
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
- [8 r8 `8 \" j+ V2 rby Toyota's lawyers."
u! C( y6 I* w% j# gLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
( m5 |' l# z- t! D& i' wproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our' i t) Y+ Y6 o P6 D$ q
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he! e: f) e. \7 p" l! I- ]5 F' O
said.
/ n$ y5 Y9 N5 z, [1 X k; q, d2 {"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with7 ^% P& {& k- D9 A9 m
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our( F7 A/ }/ e6 S* \) x+ c; q
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
" z- p# ^% d/ r) n- y2 x( D) H+ hofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
7 v& b( v p5 \" N7 ~* k# {Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying) J" E2 c5 Z' t7 b Z3 M
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
6 I& L7 G O5 o2 b7 e+ x" y1 Prancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the+ {$ C0 a- J! {% x
automaker, at least in part because of the government's" R8 r, }* S7 N6 j6 s
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and# B) X+ q8 j2 n$ z( R
Chrysler.
/ ~0 f0 w3 V" `# Z% T- ^/ Q"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax8 ]6 F9 n' Q& T% I2 a7 y
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a9 H% W) a( w( K
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
$ \4 ^* H$ F" Eserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
. ^' n& V X) P3 J) Ewith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
! F% p4 p0 @# N9 h. Z Dtough."
% [. v. \& m+ ^1 d- q6 M5 l---9 k2 P$ R$ S! k! m. ?
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom9 _' g9 d+ N7 D. z3 [
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to( r0 t0 `8 V' i! f& N9 z: b
this story.9 p+ O; c. O0 ?8 \
& @& `$ [" n5 q* \# |) l1 |5 W! E
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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