 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
* B' [# I1 s! M9 T% WBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
) c7 ?. c2 \) M% m q/ uWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.. k0 e* Q; X; R, X" Z6 h5 `
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
1 f4 R: _) o$ @9 k# `" athe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
. S* f3 V) R! q; a9 @0 Psolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration." Z8 t- I B$ K. i
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential- E* F$ C; r2 Y1 I
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.4 m. s+ y+ V3 B
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected6 @8 \8 n/ J! a8 a
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and/ H H" {0 G3 Z+ [
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor# ]7 ?. B4 u; n9 u2 N" S
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.+ Y/ w/ v: i% h4 F+ n, @
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal( m+ J# }" N0 U3 n0 Y
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
% s+ B/ o% `2 g% G6 V3 |criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be7 [, M$ R1 i- x1 v4 ?0 }0 v/ \
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could9 w5 T/ ^0 @) n; U" f8 S( D
not stop her runaway Lexus.
! w( i# h! g: `( R, ?+ t: J"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
" b/ u6 D! L* F/ m) X: P; GTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
- ~$ }3 k) ]7 H( w"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.2 z+ Z" O- b$ w
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
. u1 S Z3 k' G: i6 l) U0 J }early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
% h7 B! `3 c& M" I' B4 |2 X/ p# U"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has0 L P( Z; @1 r2 j. N- [* e) `6 q5 ]7 i
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
. A4 o N5 Y# y( U% c9 ^' k8 Mthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
# r; K5 e; m: Z1 P4 Y/ O4 Vinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."8 R! q' ^% l2 N/ g4 T5 `( a- H
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
# W* E0 Q! Y% a7 u) F& n7 \( ielectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of) c2 k( {- ^# G( [+ x
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a {, j# |2 c u$ \, ?# S
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
6 z% Q0 T0 k$ K$ fsaid.
: s* ?9 H9 c7 c7 lAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
5 `( R8 ?2 I5 Nhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
- K. t/ X% X/ w7 T% vabout driving our products," Lentz said.: d0 s! g, B# `" r2 S+ i
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's, i* W- ?& g- f2 d, n* e4 Z
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has3 k' f8 G0 e" [, W* W' N: }- q. S! g
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
! |6 u4 h/ L* x# \( ]$ pmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
: k" |( a O0 r9 runintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking2 o2 m9 {. C, ]/ a: t' }8 ?
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
1 D& O& ?# U* g( O# G( x; g) W! _concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of% W, I$ H; I5 r6 A ?
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
6 z9 b, A7 y$ M! Hdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has; k8 S/ ]0 W# W" @4 Q+ R; J }
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
7 H, u; K) ]+ {: N. @& P% Z, Cof Toyota vehicles since 2000.( |! z8 Z$ u+ d: G) ^+ i1 k
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
' h2 H2 P4 a$ B( p2 @8 x Z- z& zbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
. j+ }- e# N9 `/ q: M4 w( ]understood the pain.+ L U% X5 N, d) ^7 z
"I know what those families go through," he said.
/ T% a% |3 ~8 C5 K4 }$ G3 xLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's; M$ S ]* D x$ ^0 E0 o( s
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
, J+ y- p- H( I. B2 h# [# WBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman5 M( W1 m0 H, Y, G' P
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put* S- L/ \# O$ \" J9 c
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
! v/ {3 J5 n. M! D0 ?Lentz replied: "Not totally."
" B- f3 e9 F1 U" y3 LStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were6 } M& L' q7 ?7 t* N% g
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said* R- g a4 ] f. Z( @( ]
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas1 a7 Q* ?5 R' }; Z0 F: ?5 K" M
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
+ Z, ^: @6 y N m( p% e" ovehicles already on the road.
0 c5 j1 ?9 l; t# Q0 V# l- @Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
2 P( ]8 h; K/ O8 i' s( b- sbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
" g* k/ f X- Z/ c0 d6 vresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
: T$ F5 h1 o! C& S7 d Roffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were5 I$ d8 G% j$ J3 i, F; F
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
: y7 P: J& Y! y* b, `( ~, e$ u+ P"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
" j" j C: l' o3 r; ytragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
' b" e4 W! b. gfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight+ i6 h( J2 F' o( l# S8 Z
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal+ T, ]% a' z9 ?2 i5 N
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
; s" |, R" c9 ^# h6 z" V" crestore the trust of our customers."
3 A' a' w z; I0 J/ ^ `Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from; [& V8 c4 V w9 ^" Q
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly( l" Y2 P! K( T* o, [
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
( C4 [4 i, o+ G4 d: o4 I; lshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
' c: D1 s4 f7 G% Ohitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough6 Z! f( q p3 e" m
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
% v8 U9 y! R3 D q- ]turn off the engine.) A }- M7 c% l* T
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
8 o, X+ g; F' @# J! F% oOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience.". o: [. s3 M7 j3 x; _
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
+ y5 U! t0 d3 Y1 M3 \4 usaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond2 c7 U9 S+ H! k2 w# w& b
to her complaints.6 X5 Q( q, l9 O# I# s
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
) u; \2 t# s# N/ t/ y2 z9 hreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic3 O0 Z4 x5 f: c1 U
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.* e; r0 k7 L- M8 T$ F! P
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
" l! S6 h4 ~/ D2 P P# W$ Nthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited$ G: t- n* {, x: v; m
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut9 z+ l6 V% g/ ]6 [
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure." O) q0 t T: E9 x
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
9 u& Q, @, U" Y, N9 {$ a$ A$ ~prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were: J4 Z7 L" d! u
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
4 D# R B2 q7 @9 k L1 ]) m6 fwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer3 \( ~$ I- w2 r6 J& g2 G! a
every question."
5 i! \. v: V' VToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether# e" s& s5 X0 t: e5 @3 N# F1 E; a
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The, r1 x1 E% q; [! j; Q2 v' W
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But$ y4 x) e% \$ A) f+ S7 D
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small! u5 o* h) Q; m' f
number of vehicles2 Y$ E' C$ q7 I6 N. M) A! V: Z4 I
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more( H' O) A& I0 C# x: p9 x7 c; }
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
* b: m3 T! \' u; _; }) _mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one/ Q/ A2 Z$ y% H8 @$ V3 ?
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
0 P/ B+ E/ l2 |* ?5 jMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,8 _2 o" m4 \% S: H- S
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no5 ?" F( T4 A8 u) e f9 W/ ]
trace at all.
& _. b9 a. I n/ rHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
- I, X; j. t: z' u' W edatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
/ m4 H( Q* y Hacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
: g9 C1 V) r) J8 F; x+ mrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
% I2 k6 A: W) G( g5 zRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,' V/ V: C! b% M0 G3 Q$ N
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
$ Z4 t' B! V6 }" Jother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
; E& Z, j& @ S/ Gelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
$ S; i/ h/ F2 o! O. D' O1 ~: y7 e. zcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
% m# q, [/ n: a* ksuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained5 w- p3 y' d, y a& |" W
by Toyota's lawyers."
, o/ O# H G1 R7 Z: kLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of6 C8 J7 e9 r' ~. C8 V+ `
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
k7 v% M7 ]& i" f3 Rcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he' H/ q' e- ^, X$ m
said.
8 k8 N4 M( L. q2 k& [( ~; W2 M# `"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with6 e! z- C& Q; T; [% a
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our' [. C3 f* a6 f5 e$ |
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating& x& h9 T7 I( ?- h) T
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
# n7 j+ A8 ~- g0 USeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
3 `2 H; }9 B, y% W6 gmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
, ?' G' t. R/ d) u! ?* urancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the. x$ X- n# b' t* ^- G c, X6 p
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
6 _8 c- {) f3 oinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and) x, u% T/ N' C+ F# C Y8 s
Chrysler.6 l' C+ Z' Y* C* G
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax3 _" I; T; ?# y, H G8 J9 `
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
& h/ x+ g; r) |& f. c9 RHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also' r3 G+ K7 f; h
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
; {: D" c3 y6 p( ]& A9 N) h( rwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty5 t: G( h6 `: N
tough."! l6 z. D- [$ \5 ]
---
+ k1 V8 f- g6 ^4 ~1 X. \" h4 E* W! CAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom! t: N, l# i3 H2 Q6 y
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to' a5 ^1 Y' _8 U* {9 [
this story.
/ P& m6 N+ M# z" e& R2 L' Q$ ^# p$ v* J2 S
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|