 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
; i5 O" U# G9 x, {& W' R% eBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS0 _* g9 o1 t' }9 l7 |
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.9 R: [! D' ]+ z/ I4 p7 B6 x+ W/ H4 f
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that1 W! Y8 q" B8 O ]
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
6 y# w& K1 b' U0 m+ Nsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
) m! ^) j$ Y1 u$ Y% w"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential4 `; g u1 z* Q6 Z7 `( g
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.% A/ v6 ~8 k: G7 j5 Z1 L1 \ h2 g
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected7 f4 M) M* `) \# j" _% X3 [
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
8 I5 @' ^+ `% o( \; Mtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor. s$ t& x, ]( t
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.! j9 w6 m+ R6 x' P. \
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal0 x* H* r, q% _" T6 O! F/ h
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp+ ]7 V5 I9 q! Q6 j' w
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
4 }2 H+ i! Z' \0 Y5 }9 ~% v9 X6 qfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could2 R5 t7 R. n7 a$ n) b# P7 U0 v0 G" b
not stop her runaway Lexus.
+ d8 C! Y( @% }"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,) F: E, k, c5 @. O5 `
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second: t7 R$ K' }4 g' ^) I
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.4 k+ [ @; C. Y- K3 k" c
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
" a$ B/ A' {7 _* Mearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
& a* I- ^" J/ @* j- k: U"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has0 J# y/ \5 [$ z( E# _$ L, m
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
y7 }) T& o. l$ ^) p9 pthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's3 q( b" w; ]. [
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."( p+ V" E; z% q4 r5 X# y
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
$ c# t% z- X# F/ g3 ]electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
0 W* v; f9 r5 F/ `/ V/ n4 Jthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a* S' k7 T3 @3 m& q7 d
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
3 G2 a M' C/ p( w4 ?, ysaid.
1 d# k4 Q0 b- R: h0 b3 Z LAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
2 S g5 q' c. I$ l, R8 ~happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe1 U- o8 t* Z/ K) f
about driving our products," Lentz said.9 e7 B9 H0 n9 h Q4 D6 m& @( E
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
7 W1 I7 @5 X- _2 f+ _. ^% oproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has9 z& ]1 M' Z" N9 F+ \
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
# {2 S: s% ^- q% [6 Z" S9 e, I) V2 \million in the United States -- since last fall because of4 g9 ]& N( w+ i Z9 j+ U
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking. g7 {; K2 R" v' g# ^
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
; X3 B/ b+ c( P* j0 U* tconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of( S$ q& Q: k7 y0 P
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
4 \5 p$ U' k9 j% a, d) X4 J* Ndown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
* d, W' j- d* t7 e; l7 breceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
- E( r, ?% Z, ~5 @3 I; I) Sof Toyota vehicles since 2000.& D/ E4 c( v" B/ [) g
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
, X6 T/ ~# \* C) J8 ~brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he/ N' k z% d- [- r4 F$ t7 N
understood the pain.
C& [2 N5 U2 R* J+ E"I know what those families go through," he said.5 T5 n& w j* G- I9 n
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's; y" X( C. ?6 l# u% ]+ }
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
9 i, D6 |1 R; v) BBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
6 K4 _2 }' k. d3 I' h r4 CHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
" r( u9 F/ Q, s/ O/ w+ T7 n5 ~in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
0 r2 Z+ v7 I: }7 n% G' W- u1 gLentz replied: "Not totally."9 D8 ] c7 r1 q& |+ d6 u
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
, v' A4 C! G3 G"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
, w& y4 a# P- kToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
2 F/ L: d" E: A1 B/ v Dpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its; R$ q& y' I! i) J- R! v; @# i
vehicles already on the road.+ K! j. u7 `' v1 u, o" b" K4 s
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify2 {# | c/ C& C
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
4 @" k& f6 U) \( K9 w. Bresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
( [5 Z" R2 E; n, b" ooffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
& F& x9 f$ q5 {7 ?killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
2 o, w/ N1 A3 E0 v" j* }4 \"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
1 T$ M) i# O6 G# b7 a8 ]tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony0 e+ ], F! d" M9 e( O
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight7 H8 f B2 M' `, l0 v
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
4 b6 q7 U" \, ~" V5 Q5 B# ?+ Tcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to6 p: K( r2 |$ I+ d& B
restore the trust of our customers."
! x# s5 D' ` y6 q D H' P" o1 k, ILawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
) ~. T6 `" \" [' VSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
5 y4 G2 [6 h# Z' G/ `6 }) pzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --% k5 e: X+ ~: i6 `( b9 b* [8 [
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
0 n, ]# J! X' v: _hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough( i4 t& f; g2 g6 b- x
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and* D3 U& [. ]7 x( {. `
turn off the engine./ f* N# x* K+ w7 L+ H3 {0 L1 K, A
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of+ ]/ A5 N0 P. {' J" |+ [4 i) G D
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."* S* S* J" U$ ]
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she# L5 J; {% r& f$ R1 Y
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
7 [+ q) g: h, l" m* Bto her complaints.
9 X/ p* E: b& j3 t, u! QIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
% M( q/ _4 U. X& \% G$ r2 c2 nreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
y( \, O$ H) [& t: ]+ R' _malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.: B$ A- ?6 S+ E( W2 W0 u% }1 e
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
/ h% R! v s, ~ ] P {6 }0 othrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited- u, z8 e( B3 _) G
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut; Q$ u# u% N0 e4 C2 r# {# V
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
; b* k6 C3 F+ \0 w% U: jTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
& z3 n* ]6 Y: u" S8 K, oprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were3 i) r1 |* P: E# O, N
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls: u9 |( h& O1 R$ [
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer% Y$ }& X0 v$ }* ?; J& ~, X; N
every question."" C( H) s3 v" G( U+ f8 t2 Q
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
4 W4 n$ h1 c1 @" q+ z& k/ z: V' Jelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
5 y4 i& X7 D6 \firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
: ?2 _' q/ W, W$ F+ q! p* c; E4 Tcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
4 z! K2 B- p* y. Gnumber of vehicles
- F) G& R/ b. n0 J% k7 @5 L' bTracking down an electrical problem can be far more3 w6 u1 `8 h0 g
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
( l9 m7 C" y# @$ Mmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one- D- g" v- `$ ~& W: a* L% q& k
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car." L+ b4 J! I& e" R* `$ g: y, \: p
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,/ R1 O! ~$ a# \, v [, _
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
{3 I& v! F# z* J& o# }# y' ~7 ptrace at all.
% o* ?3 w) t# j+ vHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
; Z, M" E$ n V& Edatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden( P3 e; b7 i: j W
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
8 g5 t/ l+ ~5 @& n% @' U& Jrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.6 O: g! A. r% [' o+ e- ]5 y, O
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
; B7 q. J/ Z0 Isaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
, I3 ^7 D2 g/ U5 q4 nother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
* m3 _* s* u% D3 ~0 xelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible* Z, R7 c8 q* [0 j, l, f
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only) K- d8 q) ~6 ]
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained- ? {1 g3 N: V+ @- l- ?. b
by Toyota's lawyers."
" v7 ], {4 r0 ]7 @8 S' XLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
6 S! P+ s9 p# _0 ~, ?3 p Gproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
) n7 O9 \+ {3 g* v# `5 Z9 Lcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
! T& T7 d' _! l. p) C& Ksaid." |5 \" s8 H& h- _2 O) `1 O' D2 F, \
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
: M0 j) K E, A- Qa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
% |) w2 | _( B% o" A) \/ rgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating& H, ?% C5 O: F) b
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.$ L2 T! Q% H9 W- O+ ~) X j' q& c
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
# n7 |8 R% D# j3 w/ p" @. mmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
' g3 S1 h k6 @6 F# ~& q+ n( {rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
3 N4 E7 n/ @+ U( h+ f$ { gautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
3 L1 _1 [' \) A. @investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
( H$ w5 \( ~; }9 i, t& f$ MChrysler.
* [" o, U3 {8 \0 k"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax* D1 z! ?) t1 J% U2 ]7 ?+ y4 \
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a1 A) F, R8 q5 N
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
: `1 A* p1 M: F. M' n. E: oserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
; S( D9 m5 t! H$ d8 dwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
0 a# O7 D5 I, @, G* {8 Htough."/ O) |; Q" d5 n# d$ N' a
---6 C: ] @( k2 D
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
4 v6 i" \/ `: R/ P+ RRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to# P7 y( X, d. `, w5 s
this story.
: k* ]9 @0 @# D- }6 |% D4 V
/ a# D5 P& I2 _2 J6 w-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|