 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
+ n& Q9 ?; b: ?1 vBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
1 K$ _ l' Y7 [' k" l) BWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
$ q' w; d$ n. F1 n# w& n5 N" s6 l7 Coperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
0 u4 C% u5 m" i: d" e& N- \0 jthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
: V5 w: f3 L+ _$ |solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.4 J3 x# Z" M/ X" k& `6 D7 T
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
! `; |, w! f; N/ ~# rcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
. i- K# N/ [; B8 v- H; g3 aHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
3 [6 o% ]6 b, q8 ^1 {acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and& h& [" T: x- G! [9 P- |5 i% p4 ]
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
( ~% _" Q1 `3 n5 n+ k. |* Dmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
" l: |/ `8 @1 O4 e' pHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal5 ~1 `- ?* a2 c* P- ?
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
$ W3 f. w, e* w) c* c6 \criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be7 F9 A0 H" a, k5 x* U5 s
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
! l7 V) `4 \* Q/ [* \! M5 m- enot stop her runaway Lexus.
8 X+ F. j4 ^. ?" e. {"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
4 B$ j$ |" f" d( gTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
* _- \0 I+ H2 K# \! m, V"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.2 y: ^ ~9 {' e0 l' E0 A
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
0 u, n) L$ P+ t0 k3 X/ r% \& }6 Searly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
! p) z) N4 { {, n/ S, x"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has: C4 k# P9 _' W+ d$ S
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway9 E" m0 i, e7 q( C' u
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's: G2 E9 |. E) s: f% y3 M' p
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."1 J' V7 [2 ~6 W% Q
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
- F! G& Z( h, _' Q8 a" b! C* k9 Gelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
, M; X+ s" k ^2 x+ Vthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a4 N! ?* x# ^0 M
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
/ V9 W$ \: P1 p* c* Q; psaid.4 B) d0 j6 S4 C9 S
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what. Q4 o( i1 h! J6 J- q2 c5 `
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
% w7 K" R& d; A; c' k, y* Labout driving our products," Lentz said.6 S( t1 y2 K3 H. u# j$ ?/ Y) ~0 o
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
. T+ i7 L4 v0 Sproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
: i5 n3 G( [! k0 i- `! n. T( C0 }recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
/ A; f# y' G" \% R2 B( Vmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
- `) N) D3 N9 f; K# F: F# C; H* Zunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
" |$ g4 T: {. V* B6 z; T4 Oissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering: n0 w+ R6 _" [6 t, D$ w+ Z
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
& W& M9 k2 l: ~: p7 s( d6 Qtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
. ^8 z# l) L9 h, I+ C1 x! a' o- Cdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has o- O/ u# Q1 a! J9 E
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration* J5 C) [# {5 k1 R7 I
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
; V# F; n5 p# |0 P$ {9 P) YLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own) d$ ]* J# ^% z$ R! W
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
; z9 H: k4 U5 r: uunderstood the pain.
% X. S8 [. |$ v6 U3 g"I know what those families go through," he said.+ {+ p$ W5 I' u/ p; u' K
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's, k# R2 e1 _$ W* L* J
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
% ^2 q7 l. ^4 k5 T9 `8 W2 x H. \But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman4 `9 Y" [. V0 q+ G- a8 ~) u1 c
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
( S) Z% D7 D3 H6 Yin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
; m# [1 V2 o+ s6 @. t+ r3 q. KLentz replied: "Not totally.") q' D/ ^, h+ e5 ~. R7 `
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
% x6 G5 Q/ m- N"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
D5 P+ M8 Z/ h7 M. D* K5 R5 gToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas' W. f2 J8 f7 M" A' x4 ~
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
* B6 ?" z( K% E! f9 n( ^. xvehicles already on the road.9 N% y3 X9 S# ~. o: M9 H
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
5 G: ]7 E7 _: }" qbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
6 Y0 v: b! V. {3 S `responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and) O* F( K6 N( N. y) ^
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
5 x# }% b2 _3 a4 U2 Mkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.3 C! D4 \3 E. b2 k
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a0 i) V- w; ]3 n* S5 y
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
: q9 v# |/ p5 r) p i4 T1 t# jfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
( j7 }. _; m$ N2 j/ _Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal- Y9 ~$ `* _# H: n2 a* W
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
$ K0 e( Y% _9 a! Krestore the trust of our customers."5 l3 O, [) O# v% F' d0 M
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from" Z0 J8 b% a& V7 f# R
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
0 m4 w. ]1 d' e% ~ w9 H7 z, ~zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --( P* G0 Q e# Y/ Q1 o3 z* E8 y; R
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
9 L( h3 `% p/ r- j6 \0 g: z( nhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
' @. @$ t9 b: K( h* u( w- v& ~/ ^that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and1 w5 K V% K3 C: u. T( A
turn off the engine.
+ G9 }# H! j7 K% ^1 d: g5 RFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of* G* D, y+ f2 F9 b' V
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
3 m* q( J& S+ {+ w. Q$ t) Z"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she! U% y* T; N/ E5 Q
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
% z. M5 w$ g. U P" T; f9 }0 Nto her complaints.- D0 D+ i; z1 Z( Q+ S( Z0 _
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
4 h# c% W* J6 U4 d. s& oreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic$ _, h! h% K/ v+ x1 I, x
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.2 q' h. U0 E* l4 V3 x
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
9 w( w# q$ N7 I" kthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
6 s" C5 Q( A8 U2 S a& d, V"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut, v3 y6 c: ]' z2 ]8 B
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
; K. L- t& Z. G( D( D/ u zTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in- X( V) M; m$ [
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were3 O4 `) M$ H* m% L# L
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
% g7 u4 q& ^. k' s( J* ^) lwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
7 z1 E: i( v$ k7 {+ Zevery question."
& p B7 G v) ^5 K$ zToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
$ b; @" E, f6 S$ w% v$ yelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The+ t& r- a, u" i6 j5 t4 @' i
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
$ N8 ?; k7 j# Zcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small' f* b- X9 o, \; V% p
number of vehicles
2 m4 l0 M3 Q( OTracking down an electrical problem can be far more2 X3 U: C l& E! d9 V
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
' k+ D- v$ Q& [8 v4 o. zmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
. u9 E3 I$ m9 h2 ~/ q' _! p; W4 _source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
' E) @3 m8 w& N( NMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,- L6 L$ \: x7 t) H. P0 p& V# M
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
W& C$ `+ F& @" itrace at all.
1 U' V+ F4 Q! H, X q# q) sHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call9 P* H8 E+ n+ z' [& f5 h' G
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden; u3 l0 N" h0 q- o+ W9 N
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
, Z7 Z( }' O# ]$ Y3 M+ ?8 Z/ lrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
( _8 Z4 h, i$ t, V+ sRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
9 p+ ?% c7 }0 ?1 }0 A: Esaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and& p/ v, M( q( X4 m
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the) A# V" L9 b6 j9 y
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible1 M6 [2 X$ r: B' ^0 ]* l
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
- L6 B# P ^" z+ X B9 Wsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
4 H# b: N) M% Y, I4 [+ sby Toyota's lawyers."
6 u5 Z! n& a( I. @1 rLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
( l4 n3 ~" R- l0 L0 ^6 q1 L, ]: @problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
0 j- L6 T" v% G ]% r" |1 K( z3 ycustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he/ S. e9 G" p X0 r: V& a
said.9 ]! r# ]/ v$ u4 O5 Q: A
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
9 L8 X, z7 s, P5 G- E8 i9 Va rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our9 r% `" Y" P4 O- b5 u; ?, W
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
% V X6 l- {7 H+ t# G. t$ wofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
2 N3 w! i$ n8 C9 W) ?Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
% K0 [) G. u1 n$ W6 f3 g$ ?. Vmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread, d- R4 O! f# C, N+ S- E
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
( `. O4 Y; C" t0 l& D; }( Uautomaker, at least in part because of the government's! X! f! T' A( e9 H; @8 D
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and2 y7 L/ n# X+ @
Chrysler.
, n- K' w; Q! d: \" f* K2 S* x0 `"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax! H& l8 L# N# }, f7 d1 u6 l
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
& R1 U- G$ F" x: T* b# JHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
# @0 ?. b) {4 a# S# L4 g; Oserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete, f* T5 m+ q; S/ x2 j! ^; J
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty: u) X1 W0 J8 C D7 ~
tough."
! `* ]+ t" `7 T1 T: I5 F8 Z' n( t---* K% {( z: ~& S4 _7 E
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
( M9 S+ Q, e- ] K& M6 u8 |Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
! z9 ~) D1 p/ s' }0 H+ |this story.! ^4 ?% y1 b8 N7 }( r: w
! G2 |2 C4 Y j: p% b+ I% _
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|