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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. i4 e: ]0 G4 A2 }
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS% v& \8 l5 r5 a6 g2 a/ {+ F
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S./ I1 Q& A& d: p* d+ m+ u$ Y% H
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that1 E# K4 _ U3 \( x, X) ?% ~% M
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"4 F p' M. ~& G, q2 Z1 R
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.4 c9 T" n; \# B! q$ @0 ?- f
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential5 a* P! }$ p( S4 N
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
2 |0 v U. ?6 r0 EHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected% B; E9 |" w( n! U" S$ @
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and: P& v$ k( j( M; K
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
( ?* i5 S" G1 D8 l: Fmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
5 ?8 ^# V) B9 t' s( ]He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal, m( ^: b8 A+ y$ t
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp+ S' w( f* E0 u3 @/ i' @
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
8 K+ b* z7 S }/ s) `further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
3 l. V5 d$ P- `7 gnot stop her runaway Lexus.5 s! _5 M* ]& h. z3 }4 l5 H
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
1 P% w: ~' H% o1 s l8 J/ XTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
# ^& B4 F8 s. M2 R; l; L"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
1 c/ p/ y1 m# P5 m8 [/ n' JTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
6 T2 {7 t- p2 Dearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said$ b/ d ~; X6 z3 w- K
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has1 M9 D0 q9 q ^% c5 Z! F _3 t6 X
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
# `2 Y6 @1 Q( V( N" r2 {through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's2 ^! R1 m! A5 l
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
0 F! P( l9 e$ D- A6 OLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
% C" @: z% L- i! a8 Aelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of/ a. B# b/ X& A
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a- J6 E6 f8 ?' p
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he3 S+ f- {( G2 |3 _9 q4 t& V
said.
. ]9 l, @% N( l( q7 C( I5 dAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
( z% `" s! m' I) _6 Q2 \" _/ Thappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
1 w" A) z9 V2 e/ F) t* Habout driving our products," Lentz said.) w0 q) L2 y5 S9 e4 ]
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
$ j1 `4 F! n% r& |problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
; E1 k0 {# E* i7 W( \recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 61 f9 k- V& ]2 }: d2 @) [
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
: |: d" v+ J( N0 ]: kunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking. W3 Y- z1 G3 K! S
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering! F" ]3 U/ T( M3 ^% `! R( @
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of# ?4 o k2 f% }" E* s! ]! O9 d( U
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
# o! l ] E- vdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has6 i, X. U- F+ G& O) {; Z
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
6 l: p) @: @ `6 W$ R* n5 Vof Toyota vehicles since 2000.+ y1 p. R, k& t% _" G% Q9 a# X0 t
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own4 n I8 Y# i$ E* V8 r
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he2 J6 h# d; F8 d" O4 ^% Y' L
understood the pain.6 g6 R1 R- j3 d6 @8 G4 v
"I know what those families go through," he said.( ~7 r' H+ S: f. g* G
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's- T- r6 p- N1 i: O
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.; \5 C) F( A9 r ]
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
" y' D6 |% {, x( S+ W$ fHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put3 u: ]# d3 w* D9 e) u. r; q
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
_# D7 w. l4 n! YLentz replied: "Not totally."" p, c4 m" l1 o: f8 E- W
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were( ]4 D# x/ D5 L& n
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
+ n, }, u! Z7 b/ F) YToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas0 d6 _9 Q1 O9 t, n6 S2 i1 y6 {
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its1 o; \# w3 H; y% i7 [* f! b* a
vehicles already on the road.4 D1 o/ I5 d) ?/ Y+ f) r7 o. \
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
4 q6 X* w' h" H% m, S% \before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full! z' _% p- x# r- ^+ g7 Z8 C
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and/ V; H+ e: Y s( ^; J4 k$ G* |7 I( H
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were7 m8 C; {% u3 b4 G p
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
% |: g+ {& H" |7 K"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a, W) h* R, _8 {+ G
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony: f0 S& z- _) E) p' g) O4 J
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
8 G* E# b* L+ L0 g$ ECommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal( }' N2 ?; z, P
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to5 @ p A; z& k: ]- ]
restore the trust of our customers."
& q" K! {2 c- B0 l) p+ TLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from$ ? `- ?" ~+ j+ O) O
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
7 R4 m* D$ l3 @* M! e) v7 m/ gzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
# F0 M: }( a s) T9 Jshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and$ ]; X2 s$ @! [ X+ c% G
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
$ U0 ^4 R& B) }5 x. Ithat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
" f ^# @0 e4 H( zturn off the engine.0 Z! W8 p: i1 O$ C0 W' t; `
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
$ [& H, V4 t8 _5 WOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."# c/ C& p# `$ t+ f6 B X" H/ @
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she: O+ W9 g7 z: \1 m: y) n
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond4 P: G h- p8 [9 O: |. U6 Y
to her complaints. C# j& e8 P7 g
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers! z; @* A. ~; H" b& o
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic& \% o5 v' Y, B
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.- U- {% K8 m6 g% ]6 D" j% @
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric+ r- _' G/ z/ F1 e% I: N7 p
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
# \( Q0 ~$ f5 S5 {# Y. Z"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
- i) j! G" X- ^3 l( {* |off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."+ \1 j- c# @ K# ~ m
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in1 f: w1 P: k- j& ]3 C
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
$ y+ b0 k( n5 v3 w/ c2 nbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
# D2 a4 s* l' {6 S: |) zwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer1 Y! f% D9 k9 l; z
every question."6 ^$ l8 `; V' n. r$ D
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
% m1 l- D4 c1 {, Relectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
# W. O/ ]' G: q' ^" z k# k/ ]8 V, dfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
( ]! ]: T( z8 v L; Zcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small* a) q \0 k9 e7 {
number of vehicles
1 B- { ~, g6 W y& x" J, c8 j2 lTracking down an electrical problem can be far more6 Q, g( _ y- Y b0 }
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
6 C1 B- X% m7 G( k1 F( Kmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one& t" N* b1 t& S1 q6 K" y: r t
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
/ U, e, D: z9 g4 A3 x0 p; t8 SMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,2 ]" T$ F' f! J' l; S
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
, P& I; E0 d' q0 t, [( Q4 f4 P( Strace at all.
# Q* E) w. i/ j, g" d/ gHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call0 G5 M! p M. b5 P( v
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden9 _, [4 ~/ E% h2 Z4 X
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
& I0 c2 m0 N) J9 v/ H8 n- arecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
9 j& F" z- T+ X9 \9 X3 NRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
4 q8 ~2 y" [' tsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
8 K! U: ]- R# Pother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the- p# c: E: M9 _9 U
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
" W" N" ?& A; j) j9 w3 V& Xcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only7 u- g; o6 L% [. | p8 x( ?3 ]; r1 V3 @
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
6 r( i+ _$ F1 w5 G5 `by Toyota's lawyers."
2 O8 g( T- G- I: fLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of, G7 y6 ^' `; K6 S: |, `
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
. v+ x, Q4 y4 ?! u$ r$ i0 }) {customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
. X( k; l+ Q8 H- D! I! a4 b) t/ Usaid.7 {/ P& ~! b2 B3 z" F9 {
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with$ i; Z- ~( S: T2 L
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our U% R2 Y% C9 Y7 z: _# w6 Y
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating& Z4 [+ Y" h. ^4 o, O
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
. J7 o& q1 |6 |1 [Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
8 u* G- ]9 k1 w! Y& ^members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread% g% X r) l3 m, t7 R2 C7 R+ t
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the- {, `! _$ e2 q: D% M
automaker, at least in part because of the government's" _2 q' D* d# k
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
4 K4 Q3 t! D9 r3 _: WChrysler.! g! ~- D4 r# I
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax4 X0 @, [. s! O2 v$ ]
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a4 A4 ^+ v. n) D/ I8 t
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
2 O. @3 Q1 C- ^- u/ mserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete @. V+ l8 Q$ h X9 [; ?
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty5 y* V$ l9 \$ f2 Q' w% \1 B) v ]
tough."6 J6 G& a5 _. L# J0 `
---
& y9 e; E# d( ]3 Q; c# l1 iAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
8 ^- q9 p0 m4 f9 C# W& `7 ORaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to0 ]0 T. z+ }* |. r
this story.0 _5 t: N; M* w. K, ~
7 f3 C( U( _, S" O7 x4 M4 Q: l
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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