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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
! ?/ N5 y! E8 ^! q2 `- {By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
4 h/ s" j) _6 u6 u5 R9 c9 |) AWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
& d! O+ p' e( n- f5 g) ~" _2 doperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
+ S) D% z( O) Y! J5 p5 mthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
1 o, G+ J, W" E1 G3 vsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
. t) `6 i8 d: l i' E"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential' @; ^5 ~- K6 ^: c* W
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
4 {6 h& s4 z e* z3 LHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected3 t7 V/ X' y W4 U8 F
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and0 p6 e6 K& F* ~* z
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
" N, s- ^; S2 K! ` S# Qmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
3 a- y' D' v& _. L' ~- dHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal4 Y+ ]9 X+ R# c# s" T
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
& t; J$ ]6 t- A% Scriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be2 }& c8 x+ b1 g- q! E: N
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could6 z) S' u8 P7 P
not stop her runaway Lexus.
7 O% ~" G: l4 ?0 B' G"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
- ]7 @2 c$ q4 V; B# f8 [6 OTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second2 t) P2 `3 U _. o# W( Q! B- X1 ]
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
. t7 U* g0 A/ N7 M3 \- a' N' N! }Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues! v, ?6 O: [9 |; T- S3 T
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said% l7 e2 b7 C$ r4 H
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
8 P2 ]; A$ f6 x$ Idone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway: s* C3 j% ~+ s
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
! l! d) q" f9 r0 d5 Zinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham.", a- A: X }$ x# }$ `
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an, K! }9 l) t2 A. |# O: J
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
$ r/ R( f4 a' Y: z) H3 c; W9 Bthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
$ N I+ p4 ` B0 i3 V# ]4 _malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
2 K% P' y3 Z/ L( Jsaid.
# r! h J+ q" I0 h( `5 n3 m# O9 dAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what: |) m# ?5 z& b
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
4 N/ D- a' M" \7 N# ]" rabout driving our products," Lentz said.
8 e# I4 B" V5 }8 S( gThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
4 E" c4 S# I$ j2 b! z2 Sproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has& d. {% o& t b# H) E: Y
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
4 A# g9 M9 O- Tmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
. j L4 c! ~# s2 d! E4 T' y' a3 w+ Runintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
1 D8 [+ B; R: N$ c/ ]5 Missues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering! |) B" m( q; n0 c; R3 d* J- \
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
- E* ]* H& p+ d; [- z4 P) |their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow- h+ M) [( V0 z. Y$ q
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
. Y$ T% B# i9 j" V, `& c% ~" a, zreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration6 K5 x4 t- k3 G8 {; A O7 x2 ]0 j
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
3 x# P( @, p+ \Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
+ K" B4 O+ M* c4 {! {brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he3 ~9 m9 S S" b. Y- D
understood the pain.
3 t) H7 q. \( h5 s" e s"I know what those families go through," he said.4 M- r/ y' Z; z& \ g1 j* H! D( j* @! R
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's6 x' L) v0 @- j- t
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.* Z/ _% `0 A# F- N
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
6 _# |% T& \' g2 i3 n( ^Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
$ k1 p% ~ |6 t. s% _% r; G) Oin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
# s; n+ p+ g8 P; w* m. _Lentz replied: "Not totally."
7 Q& N1 ~% {" I9 U/ PStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were' O Z. _- a/ X& Y0 Z1 t
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said6 O% I) v; e( ?. P# b1 w5 i
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
, o" A' @. c B9 m: } h( N3 Ipedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its4 H6 b( ^3 Q# L" J2 I$ A4 y
vehicles already on the road.
$ ]8 E, a) Y8 f8 K% M5 B/ nMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify- B$ G0 ? s, s0 f& J
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
4 W: I9 l) k- u% Y6 Dresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and: }9 y: _ W$ \; _' N
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
6 }7 C: a8 S3 N: [killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.1 z$ T2 C- Y8 Q( G0 r
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
) J' y$ H5 ^8 h, etragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
7 h) @7 V e$ _- |! yfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight& T4 t, E) V8 S5 y+ ?' [- v% `
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal4 h. w3 u3 T% M! \6 t
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to" X! Q4 s( h- j1 b; Y, E8 v: ~
restore the trust of our customers."1 }2 a o- s# k, C. ], X
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from: H7 z/ m! d1 b; I0 y
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly! _7 n4 R. x: P. I4 L
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --/ i3 |( f& R i% b7 C4 w; M
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and" t. J! Z2 O+ C% N
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough* F4 f2 u; h: N/ S/ Z* @5 E9 v
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and: U) ~9 H. f; ^/ D$ |) J0 p
turn off the engine.- o+ I( ^- I* [6 Q4 P6 |
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of. ~8 B! d5 }0 T
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."* G& x& I8 |# \ q& O1 K
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she1 r' x& H, _+ g2 A0 }% F. E
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
; Q% @) {7 P9 P1 J6 Rto her complaints.
. `* s- p* H4 uIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers4 i7 {* b3 O" u
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
( p8 w z! i, r( {malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
9 |) \3 X# x- ], N; I"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
& f3 i8 Q+ u! w" g! Othrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
% q5 o4 l- Q) ?1 x: z"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut ~3 x3 O0 i+ Y6 I
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."' \% W9 t( K$ ]* ~
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
; q! {; c* m; i2 G8 K* f5 j0 y. iprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
1 ? t$ O9 A3 `being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
- ]# R# Q. F- M4 ]- c9 A4 {0 Xwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer8 V3 j0 g, k" V+ ]- b7 ]; P
every question."9 V8 _% I6 n" E- C
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether# m; x7 Z4 m& K( J8 |2 F% a
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
1 U9 h4 m* W7 _0 Gfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But l7 D! s$ ^; W \
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
3 K" x5 F3 b# ^1 ynumber of vehicles
. i( j0 U1 Q* _4 a) k5 NTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
. s4 u" ]; h2 I/ k" ?difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
6 v3 ?4 J: n0 Q0 h: s! W# o( {3 Lmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one; Q! Z- J" Y; p' E
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
5 T. u% q) F. K$ yMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,: n; y, U) W9 y# J+ }) ]
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no7 S8 w* b* Q' ]) G# g, d6 b! p
trace at all., R6 Z0 b9 c; `9 I4 s
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call \: y$ g8 u6 m7 I- y6 g
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
9 q! `0 r) r+ |acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the" c) s3 W3 X F# e j) K k
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
( @0 B* Q/ T6 R. F3 j$ {Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,1 M6 S- ?8 S: ]5 v, s- n$ ^7 C4 _
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and0 g5 @0 i/ G- G% U
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
}/ S+ U, }2 _: p; v5 }electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible( C* h. y" e1 ?
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only- j5 {6 P0 @( e, L2 E3 a B( _
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
3 y8 o: e2 R; d/ o3 iby Toyota's lawyers."7 e8 H- o8 M- v9 E
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of: P4 W1 z' @! l3 s# k- j
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our+ ~! q0 C7 Z5 d4 x
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he+ H5 Q' L. A1 R: S: B
said.
% r x! Y( l% C$ D"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with4 @7 G; z6 U0 c* Y8 I3 F
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our! t0 {) E% |4 j" ~1 X; o' T
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating# S f" @0 d- J p+ l- c% L$ S
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.2 o( M& f4 {, e1 [! s( u
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
* i' ~: w" n/ h! c! G, Q9 Vmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
; P5 S+ w, q# G8 N6 @3 n+ Srancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
" T S& r1 M+ |) h! Zautomaker, at least in part because of the government's0 S2 g+ F: Q: H: {% K0 p, K! U
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and1 K) j; K( K1 r {0 y- g
Chrysler.# z0 L6 `, H' @1 K& _
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
. b" y1 P; w8 I6 Odollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a. t: s: b! g* j+ i! {4 s+ H9 \
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also) V# R7 B9 @" d$ u
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
6 V0 k5 B5 f% x9 W) N' {1 \5 e$ E Swith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty6 S" c9 F% q: }6 F4 C1 Y4 @8 Y# U- I
tough."
+ J7 k" n& a$ E8 Y$ ~% m---. R# [% V% R! }4 x
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom, c# A$ F. ]/ d$ V; K' \
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to7 I6 w5 c( M# S. @1 p# l
this story.
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-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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