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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
, d, u9 c( d0 uBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
- E- N9 o& ^" yWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.4 b1 _, a2 i' C% x: ~
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that2 W3 i* C" \5 k+ @, K! I& x
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"1 g6 K1 ]+ d8 t6 B5 |3 ]. P) U
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration., s, x4 J0 ~& X: t( ~* t' N% E
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential( o7 x. M6 G* a. y9 [4 U
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
+ n; s6 ?/ r8 i* uHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
8 N: S j, _3 ^% w9 ]6 U; |acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and. W' n$ o' L/ ~& c
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
2 V: Q! I0 f: H& \; Rmats and sticking accelerator pedals.+ Z9 d; M, d6 @! } a& U1 u" {
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal% @/ G6 r& @) U+ M3 r* H- D
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
' d) V7 U8 K) ~+ Y! wcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be4 t$ \ C5 Z" e. S1 b2 }: W
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could$ |" J# P; V/ m8 p0 W
not stop her runaway Lexus.
y: \: ?4 m: e: Z+ \- H1 ["Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
; e/ \+ |1 Q: t$ e- mTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
6 ?7 B8 H$ K" ]9 Y. `"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.: t1 ~- |9 D4 r5 p% U2 R* j
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues" J* l' Y0 y$ u! L: Q% Y! e+ o
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said9 u7 k" }; i" B9 z2 _; l
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
2 V. P) C2 G4 a8 B6 {/ v \' N& wdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway0 C+ G+ ~7 b$ u; l* M L4 @
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
+ }0 I- ?" u& linvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
8 K+ R7 o1 w) Q1 U: gLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an" }% D( p5 d& h0 `5 \; X! K
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of2 @- Q$ a2 X/ f9 Z
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a" @5 P. r9 r/ _
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he( a' _$ c9 Q1 D/ L- i
said.
0 F' U2 C. [' r6 S% [As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what4 P; N2 ]# o1 w2 a l$ Z, r
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe: c, F& w: d$ Z' `! t) k' J; v3 m
about driving our products," Lentz said.
& |! r2 C1 v- [$ t6 q5 K8 \Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's; Q) g, `8 [: L$ c$ o) R1 d* }' u
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has8 s: j: A# f k
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6: J, [/ }# H7 j1 Q/ A
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
2 b1 b3 R8 E% H+ G9 r; [unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
: v+ E- m0 X, c; a# T. Z" bissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering; d6 x9 ]* m& D' a- I
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of# B; f8 I& G0 j
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
% e2 ~* R4 a0 X! V1 kdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has8 j- z2 C+ n. A
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration7 b f" W! b; _4 I
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
0 T l4 _7 t5 M- E8 G$ _8 A; bLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own. e d$ I6 \3 g$ A4 W7 B
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he7 S F& p/ ?0 E
understood the pain.
1 D0 A6 X1 w8 z9 m"I know what those families go through," he said.5 V3 J# G! G. ^( m& N
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
0 S$ v$ n: D/ y6 }3 d! Y, M& g) h5 A9 Ofixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.4 ^: K0 |1 ~! m
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman( n" E6 v9 r1 k2 g: }! m' Q1 k7 R
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
F% f8 Q. A% _* j( yin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
; N3 V" `, s' rLentz replied: "Not totally."
1 Q/ \$ h/ I$ Y$ HStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were2 Y. J. }' \: p
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
, F( \+ k0 ^0 `2 D) Q/ bToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
- J$ }2 l. f* c+ m) `pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its s2 X% y" R* d
vehicles already on the road.
. u* B: _; P- k1 c9 a7 a. B0 ?3 lMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
; s% p/ M2 t; o! f) Tbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
- P7 |! \1 B- z: _( m @" Bresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
# S& a7 X( X- _$ {4 N/ ooffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were( L7 K% p/ E: p3 y
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.4 O: _( r. u$ d) F, n* A$ v
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
5 K4 K+ q+ M2 s2 y: Btragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
7 v( j7 [8 E1 f/ }; g- f- ffor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight; m8 n, p- {1 ?9 P, ^5 q; w0 R6 Z
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
: O5 W; D; m6 ocommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to# A& v7 \" b5 v, R1 Q! K
restore the trust of our customers."
: }2 S6 w+ ]$ vLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from C5 x- k: u1 o4 }" c! ^
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly+ b$ V1 S" h( m6 V* N
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --! B5 z3 @0 g1 ?) p* m3 Z( K: K
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and+ F9 q& L1 C, |0 u: j( M
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough+ J! n* D+ J% l$ x2 ~ v& Y) B
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and( a" C( T/ e1 t: M
turn off the engine.
) S+ d( F& w+ N3 c5 jFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of/ n" P* s4 a, t Y5 j* X
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."3 S, g5 U4 E! x7 K3 Q
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
7 I; u9 |: Y: d) \said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond5 D& w6 s$ t+ R5 i# ?7 L
to her complaints.$ \! ~" A: B% l0 K% G8 U! C
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers* N, F7 y& f! h ]6 ?
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
, N ]# l' Y( d$ K, amalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.# K a, S/ x- b% o4 {
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric* s' |. n* ]$ w1 Q0 P0 `
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
1 H2 J m( I) Q! f* z"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut% w! j* d( [; t A, C7 q
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
# f1 { v7 ~' J- s3 Z3 D% VTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
* f. F/ M9 K: X) ^) x% K/ bprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
# N$ @2 k7 v: \& v; {being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls, @/ `2 a; f1 T; F
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer, D; h1 o1 D( C( X) V
every question."
& ]+ n/ Q. K2 R2 p' ^# x1 [Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether; r5 K/ O. K& l2 l
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
' \$ w8 _; c- cfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But9 I. z$ x- j; `; c! w# V8 D' a
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
- @8 G; A" @! f: Q" o) F' Enumber of vehicles
; O" f7 ^$ X* hTracking down an electrical problem can be far more2 e/ B* [6 d0 V. n* ^1 f
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
# b# g$ d. n. cmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one' S3 s! H0 o: D, @
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.8 c0 m1 P" d1 f. R6 I1 g' I
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
/ k# ^" }; p* ~where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no5 u7 n3 B1 x. m$ ]7 q+ e
trace at all.
I6 [& A! B7 Z' QHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
4 w* h0 w. h# `8 P+ W' f% N- Bdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
% {5 _6 m) P/ c2 S+ \acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
1 I; ^( K) {1 w$ @5 X4 frecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
q- V H* W S, e" gRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
; m! l$ @5 L) T0 H: osaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and5 M1 Y7 d, W0 S7 g$ F5 W
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
, R: p9 D, {$ D& A! }$ Q. lelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
$ j8 T% ^0 E! s* Gcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only5 G- @+ E+ q' S2 V, L
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
- l) F+ u+ Y' o% G! F$ p* aby Toyota's lawyers."; c5 H9 k& z0 c9 @8 A
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
3 S" B3 b3 Z! h4 m7 A# ~problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
0 S) E/ u3 B8 T/ ?0 k: m. F' ycustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he, h x6 i& T/ D6 P4 r9 ]) q
said.4 ^- ^- _# l2 x) P. {, V7 t
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
8 S. I1 R* K7 I" {9 wa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our0 x% ?2 T: A3 h- j2 W; R$ \6 }
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating# Y; G+ W9 b+ k V1 z0 i9 K6 ~
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
6 W0 D# f* }! [6 M9 M) O4 u3 OSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying# C, P$ B# u3 d: a* M
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread1 W' x( l t6 w% u
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
. k' F7 c4 X8 t. J- U& Yautomaker, at least in part because of the government's0 n/ K9 O1 f% i, R" a! M$ W
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and. H1 @, q' ?1 @
Chrysler.3 ^/ ^4 t% S: @$ m9 Y' t; _
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax% K# i) X0 A$ ?
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
/ P2 q; n) U2 G- W' o# }2 {' HHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
8 X& [8 b& n+ z! }3 Iserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete- g, Q1 _; p D! `" K" O
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
1 h. U8 Q$ n' M/ Stough."
4 }1 G/ c9 \8 R5 p! v# b---
# c1 L# d! m3 C6 R$ GAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom- W8 z0 v6 ~& L/ l4 L0 v
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
0 V! o/ h0 N8 l7 o7 ]& @# F* Ithis story.5 Z' ]0 I3 U* u
& K9 K; |" n% m1 U' B# E0 ~" s
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