 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8 b# J( }9 w& P% |! c4 f
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
- M6 ^9 l6 {& {% w% I) s. vWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.1 R/ A ^0 F; p# p/ }4 O% T6 y
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
P z' H$ N+ z2 Q4 U7 n& Sthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
9 L. a( \: J* q! xsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.. I" }$ Q* V3 t7 @; C3 f% p7 z# c3 l
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential& }- R5 S& f# v
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.# Q8 S1 [7 g% T* ~+ y, n8 `
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
5 H% U; d9 a# {* s2 M6 ]2 Z8 X+ I- _acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and& } P0 p- D7 H, \* D6 H
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
1 K' _6 x9 @6 u! cmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
7 b5 J2 t( ]' j* X% y6 h ^5 rHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal4 [5 J) `0 _2 O8 S& Z2 b+ y
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
, E8 k2 U0 T# l, p- G, d5 H) i* Ycriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
" k" v6 }) f! ^7 r! Jfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
! {& f3 z/ g* u$ R: G9 P7 F6 S& m9 Wnot stop her runaway Lexus.! d5 B, L3 X9 l a( Q9 P
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
5 M6 ]$ _* k+ }Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second1 H( T# F' s; P: T
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.4 ?5 T/ i! C- W
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues5 M: C* t9 Y; |; ~2 A& G' [# |1 c1 u
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said# l/ V2 U; d) f, O+ O/ ], K
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
8 a4 ^" r8 c7 g9 L6 E* z) bdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway- `$ o) M G1 P2 ]
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
/ S! k! x5 i/ x8 c1 @% m4 tinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
5 E1 o2 N9 @% C$ uLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
2 S) c* z2 ^. J2 _; q A# Ielectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
) s* ]( X, a2 z* |6 A% I Tthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a( S0 X& q. W, {. Y9 S$ {1 j
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
" n% T, P2 V8 P* f/ z8 M2 W, q1 X; ?said.
9 J8 j+ e4 v4 M9 {6 k! R' H9 {8 Z2 zAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what) B9 T' ~$ b- }2 \7 F
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe }( I, T+ G' o4 @7 G- m9 F
about driving our products," Lentz said.
6 b1 w+ l$ W: _+ N2 p% m3 X& vThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's; R& b' `6 H8 J) x
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has" ^7 z( r+ f$ F7 l3 k0 H6 h9 N& b
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 64 t) R+ J& T/ {9 q: ]0 C
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
% r* z$ }& i5 O6 S. r" Wunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking* I# V# O5 g" T e1 y
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
4 w! r$ Z! G$ Q2 e, u t7 z$ t8 {concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
+ x0 h4 n1 A2 g' mtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
+ K) K9 M# |( I1 D3 T. p. _down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has/ g: k$ d' z7 H' k @$ g
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
+ Y+ X1 I/ R4 G2 Q2 ]* yof Toyota vehicles since 2000.! ^9 V; |$ x* [; n. U7 K
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own) V0 W9 o! U. |" d" t6 K
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he, L. l- f4 s8 B1 }" h
understood the pain.
# X8 J* H; @3 d) I"I know what those families go through," he said.5 i3 m# M) i* B# j3 V
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's4 Q+ J% p& l# }7 m$ e
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems. H# y! N; B# z# I8 M
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman/ s9 z+ t% f0 [4 u% Z2 ?- k
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put0 i* p Z0 L& u0 n
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
( L& @4 [* @1 G R; cLentz replied: "Not totally."* p5 w/ t8 m+ w2 W
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were0 I% g* ?, c1 d) M- X E) w
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said* e$ u' w4 Z; O* `1 S" e
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas7 a; o4 a$ _, k: w: k- @: H
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
1 x% P- e J" u) s# Pvehicles already on the road.
# D4 a* Q+ P7 Z4 J# r7 F8 w3 \Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
1 p4 Z( z% u; o0 Wbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full. d9 g0 T! y$ n0 y' D0 J( j
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
* W. S& X% n. P* \) Ooffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were, y6 W- `6 m- V( v
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
& b2 g# B. g, o+ q" T. X% u' Y"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a' o* j/ @- k' E4 M/ i0 a. c
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony5 E" V) W4 `! N4 m, [0 @/ N
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight7 t- Q% ]0 S" Z# a \; T. u
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
( |5 v! m* s# S5 tcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
& \% j& H9 q7 u$ ?7 Xrestore the trust of our customers."
# A4 X$ a0 D' ~2 KLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
& h3 G. [8 b/ B0 w& pSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly* I; e' p& L: ^ x0 c
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --: k' t" ?7 S2 H1 s
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and6 ]+ }2 _8 c$ {
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough; b' E* [% {- u! {% |
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and! x: S9 A+ T2 ?. c3 Q6 _& ~3 e$ x
turn off the engine.
: G5 o& r* W2 t( y$ r& dFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
" l) Y4 [2 d9 u# UOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
2 B7 I R1 |; w7 V' F; W"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
, C/ X% J% p$ Q* [; i9 p7 Xsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond2 f8 p: ^; ?. \5 b$ S
to her complaints.9 j7 l; |. }' e! u! _ ]$ d
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers3 \; ~, }" u6 Y, U. {' o2 o1 N% E) A
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
u7 ~8 z3 V' _4 bmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.% {2 y [8 W4 B; l4 p
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
* A$ e( b; C: m% ethrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited2 ~% t# E3 ] A" l" g
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut0 P) B# z7 O; ?7 A
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
6 [- W. O( z' N% U& G3 ]Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in5 s$ L$ g# {! y/ Y7 D
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
' ` h6 }6 X8 ~being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls3 y# B- v0 N" K4 ?# I0 l2 f3 C5 i S! \
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
6 ?3 R# t+ m" B4 O: w: O3 Ievery question."
" l; c) W$ ]! y, U2 R" fToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether$ x# |. h- z! J( W: E0 s! v
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The8 ?- \1 d5 ^1 f9 I; M d6 l# s. g
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
4 ^3 F, y5 ?$ Y- L0 k# Z4 bcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small. P, }0 f" J n- F+ P; l! O5 p. q
number of vehicles8 [+ i% Y; d0 x1 n- C3 D
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more( q& f; m4 B1 A5 x! x$ [
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a2 U! f: G3 ?8 z! b
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
# B4 L) k7 L+ V9 @5 c" lsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
; X2 P' G" b4 H) YMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,8 d$ b) N1 ^# u# R' u, C8 X
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
2 O3 L2 I4 Z/ W! {7 i8 Vtrace at all.
9 M3 L" a# J) ZHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
5 |% H' V# Q4 F4 Wdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
3 L# n3 }9 c$ I3 r" racceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
" N9 A7 R* e, T3 S& Nrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals./ t' q5 h# p$ V- t& x- i+ O# j8 u+ r
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,( d) l9 g7 p; A" @- z5 \$ W
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and ]- d4 n9 H) q
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
: S2 V5 h' u, F- |9 B: V/ X/ p5 K& belectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible7 y9 s/ Z6 E' F+ \0 J
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only5 D$ C [% i( V
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained# p. z* r: I: v* A1 X& `
by Toyota's lawyers."
9 H: f4 ]5 N: x# P- LLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
5 }9 ~( V# T( ?$ m* x; n+ uproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our B+ E. ^! V% i0 r, Y* Q* F
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
; b2 i' e B: N- h& ~+ w: y# y" z7 osaid.: u4 o9 a1 `4 C4 a. u! N
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
* \4 Z' Y0 }, d* U/ g5 Z* Xa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
4 Y( o# x2 i) N4 }* ~good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating6 R+ a0 l) ]2 u4 `$ [
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.8 s5 }- N, v8 |: d
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
+ w6 ]$ Q8 E" T" v' ]8 jmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread. J; X2 c0 I4 `$ B
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the) h; Q0 ]9 g! B" N2 Y
automaker, at least in part because of the government's2 R9 P/ ?3 H, |, M
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and$ t$ ~- }! g0 Y
Chrysler.
! w& f/ Q" P3 t a"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax$ F( w$ N1 o1 v
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a: S: x# s- O8 ?2 L; z
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also w3 _, A C# [
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
( z$ T0 ?' }0 A. X7 s( a( k( Twith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
/ y+ a: l1 `% o) K( E" mtough."
& \+ b8 Y2 S, s) M8 E" ?+ r---
: G% r/ O7 s0 |2 F( V+ K# Z) BAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
3 q, z8 x: m: y: f4 y5 IRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
1 o6 L! X7 x7 A1 A! jthis story.% U# X1 h: M6 b% y3 \
! Z: i8 h- j# X( z- ~( T
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|