 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
# }* @2 m2 x, n5 N0 J+ VBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
2 ` H# E- T) a! f! ^! DWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.% @2 X" G8 u$ s' l/ a) q
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that& F# @8 Y& K# f6 d* D! l2 b
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"/ I+ F2 {5 {" k6 c% u7 q& d% E
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration." V/ L. S9 y' F6 K. O
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
2 z+ | X; X7 G! @7 ~( Ecauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.5 k' K1 H7 U8 A4 r/ N
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected4 B. ^. V% v. y# N
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and9 H, ^. ~+ m: r6 e
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
. u4 @( m6 {* U& R# e6 X5 o3 bmats and sticking accelerator pedals.9 K$ Y' Z, |& a% e3 s
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
; j( U5 y! ~1 U+ uand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp) T- X* B ~9 ^) j
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be4 m) J+ ]. N. y. \' _: s
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
! X) Z! z7 c+ o( T- ]. C( l/ l& Unot stop her runaway Lexus.2 z2 b9 U4 i' z6 r1 }
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,0 z3 J9 u+ m& G* m/ c, E
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
, B" S" M4 d- Z4 X1 ?, K"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators." _( O* E! C) V" t( U* ~* N$ o: h6 I% @
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues; v" D( s, _( \' J) V, k, |
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
9 S' `& b( l( q% J$ B. C4 W8 X"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
3 R4 i% r0 c- F- x1 ldone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
d. z- ?, p2 i- \, z" c" Cthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's+ @7 x7 j8 N5 c' V- k
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."+ g9 y/ K' i( S7 ^0 u2 N
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an: d( Z6 T0 M, E6 R7 W
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
1 ?2 N0 ?& X2 x D! X5 I5 M" H* Nthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
9 F' w A5 `- u8 V6 {2 _7 smalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he! o' g' e' h' A- Y8 p& L
said.% @7 c/ C/ h" `) K$ r. n
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
7 w8 b2 l: L, Nhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
. a$ j7 ^) R- L! s4 o7 Cabout driving our products," Lentz said.
- ^, @" @ j% i: `! XThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
3 y) r! T& U" m* h, }8 v# l$ t8 |' Zproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has- t _9 F5 R3 a% I& M
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
5 z& w/ X1 c6 I$ R0 o. E+ [! ^$ ]% Wmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
) N% j; A E8 U; X1 l' zunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
5 V5 z9 q5 k2 M1 @7 N+ E. oissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
) h! g0 H, p: f4 L# t) T- Aconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
5 z4 a! |! q# H9 Qtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow3 }5 c1 S" P* M# ~' ]. R0 @6 I3 M
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
/ c$ y$ X" c# k6 H9 dreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration* w2 T; {- n& {/ A2 n) I
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
7 g% o7 _; i5 n! e! sLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
0 z) G6 E, x' ebrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
; H. V! t& B9 D/ I# s1 wunderstood the pain.7 C( G& d; a1 A( m, |
"I know what those families go through," he said.4 |* t% R3 @" b% J
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
. ^8 t8 E, j M+ G @9 v$ hfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
& V# u& k/ H% p- Y8 {: j# p- _But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
" z( W5 e s! N! H: @Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
6 x/ U; [/ h, z' Q: p7 hin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
7 r6 q: O" f ~* B% U5 G" gLentz replied: "Not totally."4 F7 e u$ k5 c1 Q' C& F0 Z1 h
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were& T$ J" A# B5 m M1 Y7 t
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said6 h, C) O; W- l; L
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas2 I2 {/ s' x! U0 E o7 ~
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
" ~& p8 X$ x P1 }3 Wvehicles already on the road.# u' q$ a3 [6 r, i& r0 I3 Q5 {
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
0 I' l* q! s, }0 V5 Kbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
$ Y: N; N& }7 D% p: l3 kresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and- _+ N5 S9 _2 E/ e0 M
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were B* R F |% O- j' z
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.8 [5 E" L$ ~' q: L1 v- J4 c
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a M, k n! V2 F X# G
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony4 g6 g- j; D5 N* K, C: M
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight7 f/ O& n% ~: Q2 A7 W. w
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
?5 T$ H) x, t+ pcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
3 l, E. N! q8 I( @- B8 g; e$ Prestore the trust of our customers."
. \ q+ ~& ~: b2 X9 b: pLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from1 C- g" R- q& B/ h9 r
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly# ]4 h6 H8 @$ u! Q7 N$ s3 V
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
+ U: i: g- B& K' t) ?; pshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and! W" Y: ]7 t+ ~3 j2 x
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
7 r( W |5 e* a% N7 P4 fthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and+ O( j# b4 t( e- {) c4 A
turn off the engine./ [7 B% ]- L7 |; L/ G" Y
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
5 ^: r! J5 r: k1 mOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."% V1 T, ~) O; A" T
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she! z* |7 _: j6 s- M8 P1 x3 w, Y
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
L2 K! C8 E5 ]# Pto her complaints.7 v3 I N* M$ [5 ]6 \
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
# u+ R7 W; y' I4 b+ Hreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic) N5 U0 s, P: |5 j/ M" p( l
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.& H* [$ r2 R: i6 J
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric. u0 \5 J. ~ h' j/ G
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited. ~# G* } h& ]3 N2 x# X
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
3 E' C& i: s, P' Q" i, E+ Soff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
1 J& |8 S7 J4 bTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in: H. [9 i5 @4 {
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
0 m" X$ D3 P* l, H; @being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls: [ Q0 x! u4 G8 g
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
3 j3 Z ~& ^* B. v3 vevery question."1 N) p4 x" g) X" [- Y/ E+ y
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether5 } d! B ~7 c) w1 A
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The. a1 X% v" B7 }* X- K, N
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But! F! @7 A1 Z; a! [8 M" J' K" n
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
/ a+ t' [) A$ a, J, R5 {number of vehicles
8 R1 \% H& p2 ?8 [9 I8 N3 CTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
( n7 P3 S2 f4 Q' wdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
2 @1 L( k5 h! f2 ]8 @! ?: Gmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one) T9 L2 _ ?/ ?
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.9 T3 w) j L# S. M, m, B5 @
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,, H' |& T( r9 e9 f
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no* ~- g0 S( A" U1 H( }& N
trace at all.8 B* [, H* D7 m- o8 T. K
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call4 s' L; S+ U: A. }9 Y
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
5 V2 h- n+ c0 M$ X7 W aacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
4 r: Y2 v* ^8 Jrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
0 f5 [; ?6 }/ A4 ORep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
$ ]" c: b* Z& j& Q" bsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
: s' u1 g5 h# p) R/ ~, wother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
+ C. A% d7 A1 N3 N6 u6 c" h1 G9 Celectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
+ O8 Y( h6 b: l: S+ a, e! dcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only9 b5 l: e9 C- t. B2 N
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
- s; k# r/ s. R5 R: ?8 Dby Toyota's lawyers."6 r& d* J V- F c
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of0 \4 \1 J; `$ n) l8 E
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
: y# j+ l7 p" h* F; acustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he; ~( t" E6 Z% o5 l' @
said.. p# H% M8 E; `' \0 }
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with) z6 Y9 e, X1 N' n* u, ?4 o, ]
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our! H9 ]% o3 E) U- g+ H( F
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating; A" O5 L" X# X( `
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.. {* l( X7 b! m; i9 E) Y4 _
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying/ T/ o6 V: O# x M
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread$ ?2 P p: m( p. T- \
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
) J+ ^, c# N% C# K* Y5 xautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
R. l G3 t7 E. w9 ainvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and0 T/ b) x6 v8 B3 `" [8 P
Chrysler.
0 R# ]. S! M; `8 `$ w9 q2 Y"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
' p$ r; M: A/ E7 Jdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a1 M3 E8 O) ]6 d- b* D/ k7 W2 M
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
g/ d9 ]8 e+ \# p( _% d4 |" q) Fserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
8 P, D' x/ l: i# X, {with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
% J; O; K3 n7 d$ M5 c c3 n* y7 U8 Ctough."" `, i s+ @: S. Z
---
. q1 C3 }! N1 V7 Y# A: ^) x9 JAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
" l; d: T! |3 f1 QRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
4 E, N2 E$ e u! `" c, Ythis story.# f8 I$ z( D. ?& W$ T5 L5 A
% H) w- }6 f+ S, I0 l' j
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|