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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 }7 u X$ g2 W& hBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
9 P) b- r% E5 b- SWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.) E, G; M& B% z& b. _
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that6 _( F2 T4 R6 n$ `- K4 P
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally") F D1 l0 @ c) E
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
9 x/ |2 q4 H0 Q"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential) v9 g# l& e' o. j
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.- I6 h/ S9 c1 o6 c* F% e
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
' L; `1 F& k) p1 Y4 yacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and! |8 d: D( V" ?) [
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor& n1 E3 s2 L) o+ l* f! B3 c
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
3 \+ x+ X5 j( x4 C8 fHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
1 t& P! H; `4 N, _$ p3 Eand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
% i4 E3 T. { \) V! Y. i" d+ t+ vcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
! s7 V$ r$ p+ q9 y& k5 i1 lfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could W* E( s& S* b- _+ F) f
not stop her runaway Lexus.
9 s' u& o$ B* U4 \9 V"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,8 V4 y; s7 P/ _ u. i
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second& X) l' Z: K3 z$ Y* \% ]
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
. E3 \7 g% H2 f5 U5 g! kTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
( A2 R; ~3 D9 Uearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said6 R! F1 A* m- K9 Q/ }; d3 V; O
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has0 z @, J, V9 i% Y* h9 J( r% S, L
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway; }) w% h J. g6 Q
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's' [# q% h4 Y6 ]+ f% g. [
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
/ B% b# e. o' SLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
) n% {( Z) r" w+ ^+ p0 Q( d9 qelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of; }' l, W9 F W8 o( A' b3 P
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a$ R9 c, Z8 i% z* h" W( d
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
) @- B$ v$ t# y- l0 R3 g* Q/ s0 Msaid.% q2 v( ~* D9 X+ S4 g
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what2 @- t: A! e. G3 e
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
) ]/ e3 \0 y, F" f& @& Eabout driving our products," Lentz said.
' B" T4 W$ J/ UThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's: a8 i1 u! I; m/ }' ^; P3 [- Y
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has0 w5 W: N8 B' r% Q
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
1 o1 H7 U6 M v7 G6 _7 xmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
- p" |: G# E e" o0 d7 Yunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking3 L7 [/ v p$ U
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering$ ~" s. a5 V/ c! W6 n" z; w2 R% g
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
& L7 G. |9 m% y% `their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow" K4 i0 z) r' b1 X' \8 [% E1 U# s
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
2 S# N. b: e8 breceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration& D9 M7 ?1 c5 a8 ]
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
3 o& F( E- h9 D8 U1 u" L* xLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own$ `2 F# R' ?( V& H" N! p
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he# h0 `/ S) ]! g
understood the pain.
4 @3 r) F: ?4 T" c. Y- C, z"I know what those families go through," he said.
( V: G% {6 Q+ n/ J, ILentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
/ `# N3 S6 L) b# J$ }! nfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
# x5 C2 Q' E& n, x) R: hBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
1 Z6 n6 h3 g0 ~; j6 Z7 \Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
+ l2 q2 \ I' G* P8 ^5 H/ W% l( @in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
/ ^5 {& |4 S+ q+ q' DLentz replied: "Not totally." {" O4 ^( \/ G# a' l- q. B
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were2 I: o( ?4 k9 V, q) n M
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said+ N! C" e0 G$ @# v6 v/ B4 X
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
7 S0 h! N0 q Opedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
E9 G* s$ o3 ^ | ?& X: M/ o1 o3 jvehicles already on the road.
) {2 s3 @- r( W4 }Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify+ y' [) w& R2 K- V, L
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
6 a' c6 N+ T, O; G. Xresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and2 }' d+ P! x" b" l2 }, k
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were. }4 [/ m- c+ U* \" h/ F! W
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
; k# |8 m/ ^2 r# C"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a7 l' U- I- H8 ^ P+ Q9 _; X3 t
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
: s- \2 \' l4 T. @/ j5 dfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight4 z8 ~& z ~/ H# f3 J
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
: w+ _4 |/ ^- |commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
# V& s, g; p. r/ Frestore the trust of our customers."
: y2 P. |, z& w! u$ {$ D) A/ PLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
" W% U. U4 `+ r4 JSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly0 z3 v6 h2 A; A1 s
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
: q* D+ k4 q& r- i: @shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
: V" a& z2 A# q9 M# t" X9 l, ?' xhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough+ R( E& A9 }, V% P( Z
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and8 V# _5 N1 B" g2 Y' j; D3 x
turn off the engine.
8 }" v: E2 ^- Y8 G6 qFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
, Q3 x+ e+ U- ^% T2 aOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
8 \5 A5 @" P; i8 [6 N"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she" S$ _- r' J u+ t$ P
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond, R$ O2 y: c5 \. Q2 ]6 F9 D5 p
to her complaints.
- j: G' e- f$ U" v- }In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers: h& d. F4 `0 b" h
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
. @8 `. W& C3 {7 hmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
4 Q i' ]$ D( G l# v"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric9 Z+ f9 a$ K; `7 T) R
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited3 a2 {- t1 L y$ h4 d: q
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
; u9 X' D+ G! p; ^5 Eoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
* c. b8 S) M. X7 Z7 `/ U7 J9 z- `; C, ^Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
! x7 s, g( Q0 W: T* d8 `- hprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
7 x1 s2 n& l" a+ c4 p6 Fbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
5 a2 Z+ X( c b* R3 Lwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
8 m a7 O) ^( R; W5 I7 m4 M3 ~- Aevery question."3 ]1 y" z3 J6 o. _& x
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
7 u3 b8 c! z- }: c2 p, H) R; relectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
7 K7 n. b. H: o4 ]7 n. L& D: y) ~firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But+ g& w5 i; M5 x* K9 b, j
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small. c% m" |1 H* U2 ~
number of vehicles0 N& Q& z3 C% ~% h l0 s
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more: l' h/ m* u( g6 _) w$ n6 A3 q
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a' ?+ w% |' q5 Q- [& W. L& O- L
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one) i$ z5 d+ Z5 V2 k& T
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
; b- Q. Y) S! J$ |! TMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
5 s9 V6 q' B( y; d5 mwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
6 [! [- S9 _& N7 L8 T9 n' a% Mtrace at all.
" e4 R$ @' {$ C! d3 KHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
c2 K; m4 h; idatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
$ b, p+ ^7 Z( F' }% oacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the8 O9 I) }! F# d! S
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.( G& g! n9 n# \. x1 @5 Y; C
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,. c' S* K, M4 D3 w. m" K
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and& l2 a \9 j7 Y" N0 F4 Y
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
+ f% k2 z7 `- {7 _1 ~5 \0 zelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible( F ~/ N: ~1 f- S0 d$ e6 L' j
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only. H# X) J6 D2 R' T
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained: j& j. L! H- Q' y3 V
by Toyota's lawyers."7 |0 k8 `: ]+ a! x: g# q) C8 u
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
, y W( z' Z- H! e& M7 h9 r2 zproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our" c+ l7 M6 w" |5 d) _
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he9 L: @, K) \) P f- z
said.
/ ^0 O+ [) A, J"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
: N5 u" H- }7 Ja rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
_$ f' u5 r H% ~' ngood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating; ` I0 b5 y% w2 [# z
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
. o3 X; s* g) v2 f. S$ T; ~Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
1 }$ v( B+ @2 \6 s7 F& x& ^. }members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
2 M9 x) e, Z8 a; F0 brancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the7 O4 I R% M" ?3 e
automaker, at least in part because of the government's7 ?3 Q( @! A$ _0 u) |/ r' R4 {- F
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
$ p( d0 \4 u" |& c$ UChrysler., G# k- w. F4 P6 g
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax% {( K/ m+ @) }9 U% V& G
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a3 L t- \# Q P1 U( f; H
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
R( n& L7 A3 C) K0 Z& W8 y/ `served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete& A- Q+ f! m" W1 n& l: J m+ C
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty& ^% N/ |0 V4 `1 r7 k5 c
tough."
! F/ o: K; d4 S! D+ F0 \---' O$ o+ D, ~- k* ~
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
4 l8 ?8 @+ `4 k8 F: B- M ORaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
% I1 \* Z C3 w' h! G! K& N9 sthis story.
3 c k3 S5 L* r* C5 P, P4 W& d O6 _- F* O, a/ T
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