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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
. y: G% ?1 i" N* o( F: j8 ]0 W4 kBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
% V- m2 e5 [- V9 Z- M% AWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.1 }, w; [4 h9 L2 p' e
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that! j a8 P* C6 T* W# h" E
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
( p, E, K1 f6 v" Z" i) r! q+ Usolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
' e0 I4 ]5 n3 i, F1 z$ ^"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential3 ^- b8 A6 Z( }; d5 _3 c
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel. W Z9 ^7 F4 S ^; k
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected9 T! }' y( g h
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and" ~" O" q, @' e7 p/ r- r
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor& f3 Q+ W' P% `% ?
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
# L4 w: D' n8 |7 R5 J- PHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
9 O: c' `2 ~- vand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
$ ?9 p+ j& d( m* y) ^* bcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be5 n% `: R* e) K3 [9 m8 ~
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could W4 f* L( \1 P* h& Q) n5 k
not stop her runaway Lexus.
G* i: V& |% i S3 I) \"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
3 }' g" E* F0 B9 i( q9 i7 gTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
& X) v& Z2 l- R- @"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
, g( [; u: c- Y% Y3 x$ G1 RTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
3 [% u& b4 w! i; z2 Learly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
0 v+ e# z6 N% u8 d0 g; \"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has; n H/ G" Q2 Q- Y
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
0 j h$ o# v+ ]9 _0 ~' v; Z$ `; xthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
# v9 n4 d1 ` g ^investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
& k9 |5 F r! e0 }Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an1 n! `# x" n7 H# t0 O' C
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
9 A' v" S9 i6 O5 lthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a7 i' a1 v5 H! [
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
/ |- O' f* x" @! ~" p' ksaid.! e9 S" p" c F% {7 q4 I
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what; p! U( ?4 F+ M' [0 O) _
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe* l& u: K w- R- u; x4 k" T$ k
about driving our products," Lentz said.) O) E) k+ ^, Z( m7 j
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's' C' T8 X7 z) l
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
; B0 ~1 q X7 R- h; T9 L5 R" n. @recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
0 i' s' D5 C: ~5 Bmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
+ Y" v5 l4 \/ ]- munintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
" H% N2 o$ G/ nissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
`& C" J7 R9 Y2 `0 H' Iconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
" k r5 z& ~& T3 a7 B; ]their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow6 E! P/ M3 X8 b/ R2 x
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
9 g8 [$ q" T' m8 b, S) zreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
. R7 [7 l" V$ T4 F: |of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
( O! {" F8 W* a8 n" X. d2 o" JLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
3 _& z- b3 X8 F' f, ]brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he' v0 i( Q+ I/ r6 h: n5 Q, k% q) g7 N
understood the pain.
1 {! a/ ^% L, w) Q) ~3 u9 G* x6 S3 f"I know what those families go through," he said.3 \. |7 N6 \7 R$ F; Z
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
4 W9 H) d* C/ P+ m! T9 Y5 l! tfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.+ w4 h" W" i5 |4 i
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman% \, b, `- j/ x! O8 g: g: O0 [. B
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
' }. C- d( P8 S; T5 C- Z; K# G' k$ K* cin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
9 Q, P6 B; b/ f! c0 Q6 ~1 Z, |Lentz replied: "Not totally."
- w, T d' g7 d: S- O. h1 QStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
9 f' K, w3 ]6 l7 z5 o( t5 b"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
5 n. h2 b: ?. v7 w. gToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
/ D# o% d4 ~- h' I) npedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
6 \- v5 X9 V0 Q; H. h0 Wvehicles already on the road.
- C# k: \$ P- u$ q6 JMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify, U* G! q& Q2 H- y& x
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
5 Q w; J4 |1 F/ g2 eresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and- | `4 S" k) u! G' B
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were1 d5 ]( L8 D# F; z/ _
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.: ?: k g. ~1 o1 i
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
' E8 \. d- J/ h( v4 `tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
$ V9 y/ }$ A4 G1 G5 v6 F! }for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight0 ^' n" _( {/ a- e1 Y1 M ^
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal5 M4 P5 k6 |! _ i
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to- Z0 I$ V5 r" t* J# i
restore the trust of our customers."2 {: a/ Q: |- ]& H( `, k
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from5 b6 B' p7 G% k3 D2 f
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly3 G- S9 ~# L9 d! A& I
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --* a* k' n5 b. ^, Z8 Z$ E
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and, A* s% w5 u% ?. D6 G0 b
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough' I2 E5 w/ l1 t, A! M
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and; n8 ^3 r& u9 p6 ~& S% v: e
turn off the engine.
$ J( k* ]3 J3 Q( v3 R/ V( iFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
+ O$ y4 ^. Y; e. B1 hOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience." t4 |- ^- n8 X/ J6 D
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
# K1 j$ x" g# P2 |) q$ Rsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
6 V& x; N6 [( O" sto her complaints.
) \1 D6 r; I- w+ P2 kIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers8 _, Y) m3 h V2 m9 P% v/ D$ B
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
- C" Z. r( }9 W% f7 z" f8 g+ Qmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars. t8 L0 q; a. v1 B
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
* N8 T5 M7 j" K5 t" r3 P$ i/ X" gthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited! g% A: `3 q1 f6 V1 s* j
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut: X4 T$ a v( }* S' t4 w
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
) N; J- j- f6 Q( b7 }Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
x7 F) `+ _/ T& `prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
# Q& g* c: c, @4 j3 B$ V/ ]) Nbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
# ~0 ~, r3 f9 @+ L& Swere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer. q& t$ G+ R+ q7 B6 T( {6 M
every question."
+ _2 T" O( \9 l+ {0 R MToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
! t3 V7 I" J; Telectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
2 C: `2 R. n6 H( b4 M9 m$ afirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But2 o+ K3 B) I; @* }; u" ?
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small. g9 }6 E: u" x, e; j; g
number of vehicles
' v9 [. i$ r* P' u' jTracking down an electrical problem can be far more' ~$ H) w' U5 L% K0 |6 ?
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a( L$ [$ U; a6 F* U" l" j I$ o% u
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
$ P9 C: z, C6 i0 Jsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.' a4 j" A; w8 U% x- }
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
* X" o3 E2 x' dwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
8 ~) j; Z/ F0 Ntrace at all.5 M/ m% g% r; f
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
$ p4 T8 G! N8 [database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
! B: _! \! \; x9 P, p K: y' ^acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
+ a; m% E* d+ o, X3 brecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals. z. y8 Z6 t& Z6 N7 r# F! Q! N, x3 k
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,: @4 ~" z, o9 U: G+ I9 o7 f: G
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
~; O5 z3 O) T" k2 tother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
; b C% a& K% `/ [" u Nelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible2 B' W' G0 p3 o g
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
8 E% d, y. `9 R# |such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
% v) [) I$ r8 z. Zby Toyota's lawyers."+ H$ x4 E6 J& j
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of. I. V: v/ k9 I& ~ u c) j6 D
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our* f" i& F+ B* o' N
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
7 k' o ]& T* Z, F3 y" H% J# Fsaid.
* t) I+ T+ u' t3 ]9 T"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with: Q/ E/ |: Q& D$ L `6 R S% k
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our8 \9 D, M; z: \) D! B Q
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
& r" I: A, R, d; G Oofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
' n* U# a0 I' u$ ~Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
1 M+ X4 ^$ s" o. n: W6 T; ^# O( wmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
, W; D' P8 P/ I8 ?$ }: j! M5 b0 Z- ~rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
+ h; e: X1 d) X% d' s5 vautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
. t o" j. `# E4 F) K& Iinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and& I! o R% e" i+ }" f8 w
Chrysler.
G- l0 I! v u: [1 |8 f"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
- R& A9 A) B9 gdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
$ }" q5 k3 ?3 G, v6 T3 I5 P: `Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also6 I; J. L/ G7 i0 O* B( A& q; i
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
, U, m# j! x. c4 H6 \( G7 uwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
+ ~1 c" L1 N! h- i! ntough."
& n' o* R6 y4 x7 g; m. A---0 [* L1 A1 E4 I6 R7 d6 U
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom% k0 X' X/ g8 p5 F( B+ z q s
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
1 G, g p) u+ X5 N3 Ethis story.
& P' d9 I. F1 X3 w6 B2 S9 k8 [' C1 K) R! t2 e4 t
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