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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
3 T' G8 X% M# `( x" ~( OBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS9 @4 O2 f4 O4 b
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.; b* U8 f& m9 {
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that& Q& t, Q" F( u* K3 U
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"0 G4 }' |6 f$ J
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.5 Y1 ^" |# L" i% _7 {2 B" Y2 [
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
( x" X2 I/ I2 a4 u8 [7 F2 L0 _causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel./ E; @* `5 ?" n5 c7 N6 \/ z% z
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
3 k4 B6 {- X/ K( tacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and2 a: e* X% `* E$ @
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
# R9 K1 `; R1 S3 `. m7 Dmats and sticking accelerator pedals.0 C( f" N. Q' N* E
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal! Z/ E7 F8 P# ?" _' ?6 g7 u; \
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp. n4 c- c) I1 w* S
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be+ X1 j, g- ]1 q, X/ d0 Z, w
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
" ^" _" V) {/ a1 x7 Inot stop her runaway Lexus.
7 s. l! a) x3 W! S. p4 N"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
3 P% [8 p$ N! n$ hTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second" I; b9 N) u* K! D# z% @) x+ r2 f8 Y
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.: l6 h6 @. |( n9 h* q% ^
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues, C" l" V" F# X+ O# s6 U+ E
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said& ?; u# U7 Y ^3 @% g9 I% i
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has6 ^8 W% d' l) \1 o% G" E$ T
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway) ?% F4 o" s2 N- J& k% N
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's" a6 f% k; ~& z' D3 Q+ D( k$ ~4 G. n
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."/ i* G# D0 d/ x( Q4 d& ]; i
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
, _3 k* x: K$ E3 i7 A% N2 _; V( eelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
; }$ S7 A$ E" L. d3 pthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a/ c/ b* ^+ q! I8 t I- d* e4 n
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
9 j) z, v" L& }# @said.! j x$ Q- o6 |2 w6 P
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
0 ~ p0 P# |0 O) b0 `/ U3 Vhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
% R- }( `! V0 _0 U& }about driving our products," Lentz said.
5 I* ~6 k( a; K3 NThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
( n. E" `& L/ R6 C1 {- U# qproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has! G# z/ ~; A$ X& D9 \
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6. J0 p* m& x* \- k U0 A$ s
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
5 f- i0 d' x3 zunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
. a* l+ G$ A% e" i- [0 Wissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering9 K/ M3 u. Q l9 ?4 D3 }
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of: |' ]9 z0 z4 |" T$ r" t
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
' s2 R! y" y. }; jdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
: o" W4 N- B- n" i6 q a- j" M! I Zreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration3 i$ H2 B: K6 X. \4 Y3 ^
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
6 e- a6 H: x1 J$ _" ?% lLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
" |% O8 `; d! Gbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
2 e- k9 I; S0 j& q1 f: j' runderstood the pain.
7 K7 Z2 @8 L# b. ` T- |, {6 P"I know what those families go through," he said.$ n8 ]! b0 @& w; T7 R- o
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's: Y$ Q% c3 }/ E L4 W* \6 d
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
1 ~: q6 I3 o$ ]! N: m3 EBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
, s, p, \3 G$ }' aHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
9 p% y* T0 H# lin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
8 l6 C2 P% z' w4 [( M K: u) ULentz replied: "Not totally.", U1 q: B9 E& ?$ H
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were: P7 e8 T" R& z
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
( R3 N$ f- q/ T6 q4 L4 B: LToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
5 t! p0 H+ H% a' ]pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
+ P( A: ~2 c. ?5 ]2 L4 tvehicles already on the road.! A0 S, I3 j5 |) |3 g
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify8 N7 W4 ~! e; D- V
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full0 }) T# y f3 z, g% O! U) l
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
8 u5 a. ~& R/ ~2 ?offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
7 ?6 z- E3 ~: Mkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.7 W# w' U. i/ x/ A
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
+ k& _9 } ~- U2 @9 D1 _tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
! F3 m& M5 F, D) ]! E I& e8 qfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
% K0 o8 u' {6 E3 b, |: r7 F% G( OCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal5 ?7 a; W4 T- C$ p
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to! R/ }( U) B% |5 f% E# O# H( j: D
restore the trust of our customers."/ x' j0 [; B/ f2 z) W; W$ `
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
2 ^- J* }; A& ~! OSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly& b& y8 O0 ~4 T
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
0 j0 \( m. q7 q n3 Kshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and5 b; [* U# t4 |8 l. D4 m
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough5 ?1 {" D4 X) Q5 |6 i: c
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and) b) e6 C" p' n* `* j& C W
turn off the engine.
8 Y9 u+ @& ^' Z j1 o; T) o5 ~Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
5 G: ^# y$ e' lOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
! A( s6 O' a5 v5 l; h"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
. X( ?: K/ O* f3 ~7 o* ?! A; Ysaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond( Z7 S' _+ L: B+ s
to her complaints.
% G* Y$ V6 Y7 \3 ?( z/ YIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
- M% i, H7 ~: n! `9 {returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
! q3 c; A* l \# E( v! k. M" c7 P" emalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
- R% k7 ~! H' D7 L4 s7 F" y- z"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
o. J3 p$ X6 [- gthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited& i$ q% Y5 {7 V
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
5 d2 T+ y% @; L1 @" yoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
" H* ]# c$ e. q& Q3 c+ qTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in3 X& o+ v. _9 i; B8 ?
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
8 {( s' W8 n0 y" Bbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls+ ]3 I4 r% n) P5 v3 |- K& o0 {
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer& u, G9 U1 C% K3 H5 {% N' f) w
every question." R! u' u1 ^( Y p; J
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
, Y Y* I1 V4 T0 s+ lelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
a( c, ?3 S9 ]# `3 f# Wfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But0 h2 A1 `$ Q4 E1 n `1 C4 A3 B7 ^1 r
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small- `+ ?3 Z4 O' u6 P
number of vehicles7 C2 N# [8 |0 u- c* _5 [
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
" t% P4 w$ }- c2 ]: A6 ]difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a5 L1 j- ?$ I* W. b
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
# `6 _0 a: ]" d; _source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
. u* V0 l$ o2 c9 v+ _7 J. @* OMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
$ y- t3 e* \5 \where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no2 X: j3 n( _* p
trace at all.7 q5 ]' ?2 ~& n. }: L
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
' I; S3 e g- ]) k1 G4 @. K* ?database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
' R7 ~, N- y/ [acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
9 \. Z4 y0 b$ f% e9 g" {' C" Yrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
Q' }* e2 W% g/ J9 `- c: fRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee, `& C. ^0 {3 ^4 k& s, K
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
3 v) I' }( {% _* v- a4 j; p! Eother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
/ {3 `, W b% {8 h1 k. A' belectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible ^# C3 C5 h5 G" W _) c$ B
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
5 i" B) h" j: ~! b9 S% vsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained& p0 f, a( u, R7 g
by Toyota's lawyers."; @5 R, x2 }' c0 @, ?
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
7 f/ Q0 C0 i, \9 E* s6 q0 Uproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our2 N. N9 C4 r0 }9 A- x+ Z7 Z
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he. v$ q, L0 a) d( E5 V0 c, p7 h
said.' _8 ]0 g0 A5 W. ^, q, j8 C" w
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with; ^$ r' X. ?( `
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
) @8 |1 ^ d% W* Y0 `good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating* a- o, x( z6 T F( I* I
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.: c. I$ v0 `6 s: v0 o
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
+ f4 a" d# B' W) X8 s. omembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
* T" Z7 X, S6 [) F; ^; X$ H- grancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
/ F P5 i- c5 iautomaker, at least in part because of the government's; ^% ^5 |- i e1 O. B5 }
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
" f* ~+ f& u% UChrysler.
/ ?$ Z% Q0 E' V+ ~8 R6 \ `0 z"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
9 Y. i5 a1 b. ^! C9 q1 q9 \dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
4 z6 Z" u+ ~6 v8 Y) W- J0 rHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also; [ o- U: \# t0 o) l7 d0 t
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete9 \; i% P; J. J
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
. g5 S: N. [: {7 v2 Btough.", z; } ]5 P1 _- s1 u
---
3 R: G% @, }* WAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
8 Z' Z" T* k$ z) |( l, E. \Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to7 a+ d. `* C, I( M) n* y
this story.% `+ _/ |9 Y0 g8 |6 M, w6 Q% ^
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-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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