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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
: I- V7 B2 L/ X5 I4 FBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS' o7 j, y6 M' {
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
$ g- G* s3 k' H9 ?; \. `3 W. joperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
% Q [' I4 {3 `$ p7 a# x: X: F" [the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"% O6 p& Q* z9 j/ o
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.% ?( k0 h) ?2 D! ? i( ]
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
& q% K- N0 ?* _5 x9 x1 \causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
: `$ I( j% J" |0 A/ A; c# z1 @+ Q6 THowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
7 f/ _: |( q5 p! pacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and4 f! t/ q( d, p
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
) o8 B; V8 v( g- C4 O4 umats and sticking accelerator pedals.
1 n6 ^: u: Z) M& d; U0 T; Q9 XHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal! W2 Y$ K) E3 o: p
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
3 o* [& K9 T% Y/ b9 G% D% Vcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
% i8 r. B$ |% s' T& ofurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
4 Y8 @0 X: l# | `not stop her runaway Lexus.
, x: W$ B6 y: n% p3 w"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
% @) q, M# z6 `Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second, g# ]: x! D5 ]3 i! p
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
3 r0 W3 P- r5 S* g, C( p0 H% xTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues1 z7 v' h% ]( Y) g; _; }
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
5 f+ ^9 S/ z! U* N4 _! C7 G"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
! R6 e4 Y9 F- }$ A- Zdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway$ a( Z# P) ]% f
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
i8 t7 m- g0 W. ^' q8 Zinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham.", h1 Q9 m) t! B, ?( C- l
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an ?: f& M2 ~2 i
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
! P. M# j7 [% a% i. }5 ^4 Zthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a/ [# |* P5 J( V' L2 E
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he; H6 O4 E; E8 m/ x/ f- X* `
said.) H2 L2 `# R5 l" w' @0 |
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
' r9 F Z6 H2 khappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe4 y! E7 Q$ U& r0 [2 o, U
about driving our products," Lentz said.
6 N% L8 m) r" P6 P2 Q# KThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's7 D& \6 I3 L0 c0 g6 F w
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has7 a, A( _; y% Y1 y2 F
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
8 p) s+ ?' ]+ Hmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
9 N' `- m* |8 t. W! n$ i+ Nunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking0 J7 h% q* T0 M' l0 s
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
. B6 h3 h ^- B, d8 lconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
7 ?6 [" I8 c' \# _: Ctheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow& j7 z7 e: s# V1 y4 O( v! R5 h/ m
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has- I4 [: v) H& E+ {( `3 y
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
& f/ N& H2 O; u. c' D7 Iof Toyota vehicles since 2000.- j* Z, [& W; N# Q1 U/ {+ W) c
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own; Y$ m" w* w. w: B: e
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he1 |1 R$ O6 z. g) ]' s L3 \8 k
understood the pain.5 e9 Y) ]6 Q# o1 L8 }
"I know what those families go through," he said.1 F; B. V. w4 ]- t# B& W
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's5 E, A7 g7 ~% J
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
G9 b, o5 c3 c) \2 _* m8 {But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
5 }6 T8 Y$ [4 m$ k+ A% @Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put |1 s0 `/ K, _. y* ]4 c2 e7 H
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
. _3 a: s3 b7 x, M$ `# P1 V2 eLentz replied: "Not totally."3 X" q, s1 w$ X, g2 g+ p4 s
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
1 H1 |2 \* r) B* X9 [2 c4 K"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
?, z/ B3 F/ ?, ?& X I# C8 l. {$ h" X2 MToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
" B& r" c( `* v) l, ?& mpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its" X$ i" e/ }' ], i1 t# C7 [7 _
vehicles already on the road.
# i9 v' |# M+ L. o! x8 I0 ZMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify. X6 | n0 ~ C) a* ?! \
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
" R' l+ \4 H1 s9 }, T1 `* I7 k4 y8 aresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
U" V8 h0 l3 r$ E) }offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were! b4 F. r/ W; Y* h: ?
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.3 P, ?; O7 H+ e* D, k
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
, M8 E- I2 O# j# }, Htragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony9 ^# K3 Y9 w2 G! b# {
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
1 }+ I9 l! W5 XCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
* n2 a9 I3 x, mcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to' R4 T. l* d5 z. _
restore the trust of our customers."2 @3 j- I) N3 o* I5 A7 b
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
6 s' k) }$ \9 dSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
5 C3 H+ O- n; X8 ]& ~+ p! i2 Bzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
$ E# u( k0 }# [5 O( `! eshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
' l/ N' n. z7 r* z" N5 jhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough6 m7 G) |4 |0 |4 I9 h
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and" x- H, _! E" R
turn off the engine.1 }, b2 w. R+ ]
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of/ h5 ^" H$ d8 M
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."; x0 o0 F( n' X( S" m' I+ }
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she& b: v* f7 p, w- l ^' v8 }" g7 [4 ^
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
: z* k: i# O1 h2 H- `to her complaints." P+ d% B: T; B' C* A( D6 e
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers1 [* T* A/ H' V" v I
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic" V% Y$ s$ n% w4 e, ~
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.( q6 w& v) f- a; ~1 p
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric/ A1 m9 E5 g9 o
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited6 y( g3 n, j+ V/ Q" ]1 b) L
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
d) {3 |3 I5 r9 C" doff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
7 j- S. X4 B& q% t% q @Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
2 c7 {! ^) y2 I% Y: z8 Cprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were1 W- x* w+ B* E% v6 M
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls4 p! M* q0 v$ W5 d
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
, Z l t! U6 O5 _4 m# xevery question."& f( d# R% s) H$ d! e6 K ^: ?
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
; Y, M, ]. r8 e1 a6 G8 A1 helectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The* _9 m% C/ r( U; m% y4 ~
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
: }' y% {# r; K7 q$ Qcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
4 B6 n, m- W% I5 S/ i8 H0 vnumber of vehicles' { ]+ g) i. i2 u
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more$ F- e% w$ x: H8 K) i8 K2 ?
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a- x3 q3 k- m0 m+ S9 v/ p
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one( J1 e# X5 e% ^; `& W& e% P* N
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.6 |* C+ L% A" ?
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
3 k: H L4 n& r5 C$ z% _where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no- ~( a6 y2 x# J+ Q( ^" O1 P0 B8 j p: i
trace at all.
! o) A+ `' e& q( i9 V+ P KHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
5 d! Z$ r+ [2 Vdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
2 x' b2 s# L$ j- A" vacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
& @# u% t5 Z! l- ]0 J5 Yrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
1 x5 E+ R$ L% ~: u+ b" r- ?Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,4 l9 u! c7 m" O9 ?- K
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and- p; O- F& ~" U& ~
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the. c t; x. V. a- ]8 P1 a4 Q
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible# r3 D- ?0 ~# E+ n- F' c4 L" D
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only( D w7 C, h) d1 X* U1 A
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
/ N& x( h1 }7 R, r. O' j0 A3 k( Lby Toyota's lawyers.". ?8 k+ C) p" w
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of# u1 o6 V, Q6 x+ A- Q6 z: f) W
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
: W7 _! @ T8 ~* [: ?7 Zcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
3 C# H, B- ^4 `. l1 Zsaid.& y; p# m" n! L
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with/ [$ [: u) m) _% D. `
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
; _8 ^+ H9 r" \& ~) w$ C2 tgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating7 q6 [3 p9 D( T; P6 n
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.& @0 k6 K$ Y$ V C0 R+ O0 K% h
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying% B# R& M, G( t. p1 a
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread2 b9 R# L5 r' z* d W m) q
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
, S( x# s: T7 ?$ m4 l+ O% z" \- Fautomaker, at least in part because of the government's; _: @6 X' ]: N. \7 g! r3 q& r0 h
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
- `7 Q/ R1 b+ P% ~! cChrysler.
; N8 i y; C& n"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax7 g3 z( y4 q* O5 t
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
. c) g6 d( `' u6 f$ t1 R# eHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
/ [+ ~7 s8 h4 _4 y' b7 vserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
% I, D8 o" ?& H4 t: j3 xwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
2 r1 i& a4 v4 e* X- D* Z% xtough.": [& X- m& Q% c( f8 @8 K
---
" \; {. U# W5 H2 Z& mAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom% {1 K( D6 c$ m/ @& U
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to4 u3 O- q; c" e# V2 k/ m) t* g
this story.
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