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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+ a/ a6 @! ~+ g$ u" p7 X# I2 ?
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS! Q; r2 e9 b2 T h
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.2 L0 G2 O1 C p+ H3 E. S# @
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
' R# e& Z9 k1 R hthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"4 y/ x0 R' C; z; n, P
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
8 ^) @3 M* }# C* x; o"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
& n) v: z' O" ^7 j1 p& jcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
' E( x/ l. \ M) b+ {$ aHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
/ U$ A# f8 C# ]4 _ @5 Z( r/ w1 Z, i$ Wacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
$ ?/ U: b F; p2 ltrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
& q9 h4 r* z1 ^2 G% K6 Nmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
[$ [! b: \( k4 qHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
4 B" T3 `5 S0 x- t+ X" vand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp5 l; O3 q) A2 t4 S4 }; A1 T
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be" d' [7 ?* o+ o+ q
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could! I" z: w8 K3 u1 u
not stop her runaway Lexus.
/ z7 d9 m" \% Z- C5 S"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,# ?' Q: V6 z1 u) g; C
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
( W. }5 \& b. E3 Q/ W& N"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
# h2 H0 E5 D+ `/ l) wTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues" H+ I+ u9 [. J' _1 O1 I* c# W
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
+ `# m. V1 c# p0 m) e F"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
7 t) \) v8 y$ d% |7 z6 Z9 Pdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
( m% \# s6 V; p' Fthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's) ?+ X) g1 T; ~6 f
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."$ Q. g1 t4 m# o# G. a
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
5 {) C$ r# \: U8 Selectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
2 t5 `* x) ?2 z) B! L% w. Y5 cthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a! A- |* _% ~, [5 R2 Y5 D, _6 z
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he4 y0 I% l% }. E9 l& U- F; {# v
said.
. n& t8 F" G8 l1 N6 A- gAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
3 f2 _* `9 q+ V1 K% h; ~happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe# @7 s7 U! l e( i3 v7 W
about driving our products," Lentz said.+ K. ]! h) s6 D8 U
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's/ m" ? _3 q" a4 l) K) M, x
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has5 g5 K8 S+ Y$ O+ t; g" y* Z
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
2 P+ c+ f3 |( t1 z) t3 l4 bmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
# F, G7 {, n6 v8 Y* M8 Xunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking" `# V" G, k( v" A/ I0 Z
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
4 {' Z D) _- L% uconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of3 a G2 J, D" o+ L
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
% X! C3 x# \* qdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
* ?& E8 X$ I/ r: j% M+ {received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration; ^, ~* t$ p5 I; }# C& B
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.; J3 q8 ` N# i; k- W2 ^
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own/ M0 ^8 F* H$ m: \6 o$ q
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he8 T6 x8 N4 x9 d: c5 J* m
understood the pain.0 j$ \7 s, |& r
"I know what those families go through," he said.
! ^& W. g( ^$ e- F/ B. o$ YLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
$ N( C/ [3 @6 n' e% ofixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
3 y% U& L$ B7 K& W" e oBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman! O* J6 S$ C2 r7 O
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put: x: t* \+ E: B3 W
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,7 A! v, z3 X% N" N
Lentz replied: "Not totally."; b* K9 b& Y+ G' a( E
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were2 k) O$ V9 p5 R2 e7 C' z- u( h: H
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
- D. c& s8 k c; z( E! \( gToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
; \! R# D2 {* G( j( Z4 ]pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its, n9 W$ F- E5 K3 W% |
vehicles already on the road.
6 y7 z2 g" b. N% J1 Q/ F4 lMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify: L' S5 B3 c1 Y3 x2 m
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full7 U3 p) x+ W5 V9 Q2 }- z: ~
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and$ F/ Z9 R. s: Z
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
' ?' U" C% |* R; v4 H: e. Vkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.0 C% c/ h+ l$ i$ N, u
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
% w0 _. N$ b6 g8 ^# utragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
, [& x* n) u+ l X9 o8 ~8 _for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
& p# V* i) l$ Q# O p! m. m1 {Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
. @) I0 B8 [% C6 x4 fcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to' `3 T8 t+ I' g, H" }6 i- a* g' K
restore the trust of our customers."
! l+ X) {: ^4 b2 {Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
Z6 O j: i4 i5 ?8 W8 l) OSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
& R0 h0 I: W l2 r& c( Xzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --! | A9 O8 d$ F# M# N
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
6 ?8 a, y0 b' C: P4 f \+ b/ dhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough- l, N1 o1 E1 y; K. f/ S; U
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
- I! o. C! k7 f3 J* |turn off the engine.
- y# J6 S$ w' J: OFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of+ h+ ^/ h( q( ^
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."7 }8 r' E/ m2 f6 \3 M3 p2 A
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
: S* Y3 L! H% y7 }said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
H% \. W0 |: @5 ~; L8 {# wto her complaints.
4 Y1 T! L# f4 qIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
% {6 ]% s! R( q! N% @* Y+ ireturned again and again to the question of whether electronic; Q6 N- ]9 O5 \$ {8 f
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
% F) ~. e( ]8 ?# p& L7 ^0 r9 Q"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric' f8 D/ Z) E- M! }
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
0 B+ x3 {$ D3 f* l e. B$ K: E; M"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
6 K- r# \+ |) O+ U) noff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure.", w# J. t# l4 `1 x4 n, k$ D5 R
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
/ A. M2 V/ M1 H/ W( Iprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were. ^+ U7 H" u! X- {
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls9 n: h4 t9 a7 s" G# |' a2 o& o. ?
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer& B6 Y- t* p5 G
every question."* R/ e+ L; S' h) {* j- o0 ?. L; s; g
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether7 S$ r2 I" f w! a# S N
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
2 r( t K# D3 p. s) Kfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But. R0 j/ k6 r Z7 Z
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small$ J$ t7 |+ [* a
number of vehicles, l; m6 G E' j/ E9 P- l) J
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more6 ]% z/ [! L J7 j
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
[) G/ R3 _+ i, j3 R$ Cmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one G& r7 [4 z. N2 l8 `2 ~
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.# z' s, t( X K u- i a) ]+ F
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
! { }& l5 h E" J; L1 l* uwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no' s. k" \# n. S* [
trace at all.8 \( E$ B+ D# R; o* N+ T; R7 |
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call' g: z5 n$ _1 }' v( k
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden9 M' d& Y8 a3 w f
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the, x, S4 c, G; B/ w5 ^! A
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
3 I4 e8 V; M( a. MRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
3 N+ M) n' }% e8 {3 [said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
2 A; ?) e5 {! l# w1 @other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
6 S( O' S2 p) [electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible0 i. J- n: U c" z" H+ n+ z% A8 @
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only z" B, o4 z4 h; m& ]
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
% j8 E6 Y5 ~; B0 tby Toyota's lawyers."6 F( Q+ f) W+ }/ i# h
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of" `: n# f* t2 T
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our2 Y9 p: J+ `; E/ R8 m) i
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
+ ?' ]* E& y1 a2 csaid.
6 }$ c- _1 r5 Y3 C2 ]3 m"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with2 p8 P3 w7 W! K8 |
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our1 h3 A) b( i: V0 U6 Z# }/ `7 T A
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
2 @& w- @+ l- \' I/ G- I: L2 N% f8 vofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
& S6 @# L1 N9 R3 n8 V5 [Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying2 z e: N& W, Y& c
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread, Z( d2 E. v' `& A9 @
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the" ^3 @) U' D t* T4 H6 a. {; B9 ^. u) o) l
automaker, at least in part because of the government's W; f3 S0 l6 r" H. B; _+ s" Q6 _
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and, r& j; v4 z( e- r, _
Chrysler. n! n0 X9 G7 R
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax# a% h7 G# H6 N
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
. F6 ]$ A% \& F! T$ M- b% FHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
9 k* {; W' f/ v2 O0 c% vserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
" [1 U* |2 b: p$ e: J d" ewith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty% U, O) ?$ R# [4 g' n* O( n; F
tough."
& s+ [0 k+ @, G---" g& O- o. n0 u
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
1 @8 N2 t# |' E& u' B* i8 f7 IRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to' g7 r$ p% O: w2 c
this story.1 ~ X3 ], q7 Y0 W, b
' g8 ?* T9 O4 L' r+ Q' Q
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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