 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& l7 x$ B( |9 S0 J
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
7 Z& |8 f5 R- L u6 c: m' m1 FWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.; C+ x, S' u3 k3 H! x7 \
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
) {! s0 j: i5 ~0 {" xthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"+ ]/ I" ^+ h% Y' C( ^
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.3 h& p' K7 E! u, \/ X0 N0 s
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential8 `) M8 }( h1 S. c1 c
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel., V2 [( c9 Q/ D1 a H4 W! D4 Q
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
1 {9 C, B) v/ [9 u; O; cacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and6 R1 F5 D. K4 K' Y% ~
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor0 Z- |1 G5 }6 K; X0 b8 `
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
8 R0 C! h/ k- Q: QHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal8 t2 N1 I# L. n( f- ?" K1 B, K
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp6 }/ ?& C1 Y* l
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be1 n/ p! ]3 a* u3 A9 z
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could/ D& y1 ~- i c* f
not stop her runaway Lexus.* h( Y1 s6 }7 D% S- p- K; `& v
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
# {. B% R Q# NTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
4 L5 b4 Y: I& w, q$ T! O3 V"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.) k+ @# }/ I) U4 Z7 Z
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues: I, \9 V% z5 `! H$ I- F: M: Z6 W
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said ]0 }' S* E; E) q; {/ ^
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has& @" ^1 b) h- t! O2 d
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
5 L5 F9 L W/ E& Ythrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's/ y$ y+ E; a& {, I
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
$ }, m- a5 O. E' b, a" J5 i4 e/ sLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
8 Z: J% [$ I. ^( f4 ]2 V- S* Xelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
. ]' ?$ f5 r: n" N: M' mthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a+ ^3 Y8 \0 u0 m
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
2 A$ R5 E w9 |7 _9 P# Y1 G( Vsaid./ G' Y- v$ \* [: |$ F1 _
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what: A1 Y' J8 ^0 m4 s
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe& X$ q. q0 a8 q# }# u1 ~8 X
about driving our products," Lentz said.7 H& `4 v [) t3 W0 a
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's2 e" c# A0 V) w6 q4 ]* \
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
' p7 y0 U; P% P7 Arecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6, ~' h( Q L# [3 q0 g8 `
million in the United States -- since last fall because of4 M0 v! |- ?. S0 g/ M) S. R5 _/ c$ Q
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking. S# z1 ~9 c. y& t* I
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering: s5 S ^# T" B) ?3 k
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
: |/ R3 m# Z3 o8 U, s$ q/ b. stheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow1 b- s' p. ?: U: d% c
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has4 q8 ]: d X6 v1 A% N$ o
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration1 a; G5 \$ d5 Q: z" Q) {- ^) f# m; N2 ?+ e
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.' u( c/ M5 c+ E Y2 B) K$ P
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own! H0 Q5 R) K4 J4 n2 {4 Y0 o' d
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he9 ]. G, c2 r4 }' ?7 u- D" k
understood the pain./ |% q: Y: b5 M [
"I know what those families go through," he said.
4 T9 g& n; X% O. w" XLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's6 j; B3 o" z9 S( @
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.; E0 v! ]6 p1 s. U* j
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman* j: b7 _: \. }7 w
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put' X, Q2 @4 f4 ]$ Z$ `4 p
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,) T- ~' D( A7 Z# \) Z# K9 N
Lentz replied: "Not totally."# G) b4 ?" L+ j
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were$ C; r4 a" v" U+ S
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said6 b- p; W2 ~7 A
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas% ^9 W+ S6 V/ N4 p B; ]( f
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
% b; R m7 ~( V6 d7 {) [9 pvehicles already on the road.
$ x; W) M, g- p, `0 \0 J, PMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
+ z- E* w8 C. p3 L8 X# c4 Mbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full# l. T9 T d0 j
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
7 Z: S! t* G: z3 voffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were4 ^% @* Z: k+ `" M5 x- b7 ]0 e
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
, m! F) ~8 {9 g" s8 p"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
; z* L, Q" `- `0 otragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony* K- ?* {: ~! D- B' N$ L
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
8 O4 l) w- H9 f6 a$ e Z/ eCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal) ~& W0 e( B& v- u8 t5 T* {3 J
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to+ O% |- k7 [* x2 w, [2 o
restore the trust of our customers."& U1 r/ q6 S) p' O. }
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
: t# s- ?4 k/ n( w0 rSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
; E/ o2 H- U/ ]1 Vzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --% q( p! r' @* [$ f) N) k, x, O
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and. r) G9 f9 t& [0 B9 G* B
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough' Z0 ^/ D5 _/ d! k" a$ X
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
+ e% z3 d# h; F4 i _7 R" sturn off the engine.# W; a; ^) {3 n- o5 C2 j
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of& F: `5 r, t7 P% B! p: z: i
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience.") ?* I* k+ u- s9 o8 r
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she0 `3 W3 N( j3 i' z; t; l' d3 }
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
$ A) `! T& G% \8 c4 m9 A* `to her complaints.
5 y- R; o0 d/ g0 n- ~0 O0 ~In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers* k4 | `# i7 Y" u
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
/ \' @' z+ v: Bmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.# D3 n. _' t9 |8 K0 t2 m
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
* @5 g, ~/ M' T, \* |# q. uthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
( w" O9 \4 H3 Y+ U& o' ^"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
6 K6 `$ I8 K4 i& qoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."( M6 t; K, w2 @7 G
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
4 G, x# z" k0 N2 Eprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
" Z, C* a; {/ {9 Ybeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls, E$ X% a+ H5 x
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer' b3 P% F+ U4 R+ d. c
every question."
% S" J6 m: ]- v, y3 P; i0 `Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
1 l: }! G; o' o' Q, E) S9 nelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
* B! j* E2 R" o' r4 Ifirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
: X6 i. v- ?, d6 H4 rcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small! I7 a4 L' v' h7 Y
number of vehicles
2 Z" i. L6 `8 Y) L5 WTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
& U* \5 T3 o3 J/ D ^- h! ddifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
% z. X0 R7 L6 s6 O0 g3 o3 ymechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
- r, J1 q$ S5 Y) a, M& W: ysource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
/ U' I5 M# y" QMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,! I( O/ w7 _8 W0 R
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
( y; x! O- x8 V& v3 c) Atrace at all.
& n i# e. W0 z. o. B9 f0 e5 M) Y1 lHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
9 N% D+ \8 Y0 d H7 r3 k edatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
: S E' D# x' X4 e& C" C& Oacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the2 ?4 C1 x* q% c/ ~& a
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
; S; m0 g9 b+ w7 K9 m* N/ BRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
4 l8 ]/ z! d+ n9 D" x) ssaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and) U* V' L# ~6 v1 e# \
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
, L$ I8 a. P: B; u7 x/ n6 L8 }" |electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
, ?0 p; u$ s$ e9 |cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only8 q/ }- b* x1 e/ v7 I& g- L
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained2 S8 B1 c; m8 W' f8 J) p
by Toyota's lawyers."
7 ~& f2 S/ ^2 c# K# G- ]Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
3 v, e3 s$ Y1 r @8 a9 _* S0 Rproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
9 n# Y0 F$ f8 g2 J6 ?8 lcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he3 t, |$ {. M' J
said.7 o9 W2 L* w, O) D# p: I) y4 Y1 O
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
3 J3 ^; p1 ]/ K, O; U2 y2 Ia rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
' U* Z/ W% P0 P8 Z! ]4 }) O; E3 l+ ygood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
! o$ v% l2 r. ~; Fofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
) i$ s) I0 O) h5 dSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
2 x& {) N7 S8 a" t5 b. tmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread- Q/ W7 Y' ^4 b' f% v
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
/ ]$ W. Q. Y" S- ]% C u) E5 Wautomaker, at least in part because of the government's9 D9 X' I8 O# w/ u
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
4 W2 J% y7 b5 y) }) H* I _Chrysler.
0 ~) C! V4 ? H P) a( {"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax: S5 v, _4 {: Z% {6 z5 w7 H
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
) @, Z9 B+ v( _2 N& o7 _" d, IHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also% W/ c2 t! c8 ?5 R$ i
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete' M& r' z0 l5 m
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
( t6 [9 k/ L g& X+ Dtough."
: O T, K- D. R8 x: M$ V& x* z---
8 p! o" z4 d" v7 A* ]" DAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
/ w( Z& l3 g: ]* x* Y0 TRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
5 f) V1 S. L% y7 j+ E. Pthis story.
8 q8 {4 _ q7 p, W u% o( j9 w% U
. t) R- {6 ]6 U3 K* H8 j" \0 R-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|