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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 s0 w4 M {( f: t& C% }3 C) j wBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS4 }4 G8 f+ D( k$ \9 `& S6 j* S N
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.) j# w* N" n6 D/ ]5 A/ c/ T; Z- N+ A
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that8 H5 \# \* ]3 k/ }2 t$ Y0 t M% P
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"/ d/ a5 [% |. E# }7 [- z" p
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.0 x# k* s X+ n/ m; G
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
9 ~9 C* I* [7 }0 l9 _* i8 xcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
9 k2 t+ w9 E- {1 m& u2 HHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected* o" d* U+ X5 E3 v9 A, X
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and0 n4 p9 d( j9 X9 u
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor7 I$ W r2 T. y
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.( \7 _ y/ w$ k. Z2 z
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
1 l2 q, W* p* n0 x$ jand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
4 b' i/ O3 e" E& P) ecriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be7 {# {. ^0 F4 p/ \9 U
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
& H- i3 L! z0 X5 Fnot stop her runaway Lexus.
* W! b$ d7 Y( K) I"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,2 d3 y b" N$ w8 t- j J
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
4 b& n2 z- n) {* H' X"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.1 R: d1 {; P0 O5 w
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
; Z% v4 K# s- c3 o4 ^" o- Aearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
. C* f! ?4 w7 N1 ^6 U1 R"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has' \9 K H1 `$ C3 B$ k4 B
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
1 o5 x t. {* Fthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's/ G5 I' Q- M' ]& S
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."! r2 `9 { L, k$ h
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
; ?3 V* Y/ l5 f3 [- [electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of9 M$ u' v, g( \4 j
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
^2 k6 l4 Z' M( w& Imalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
" K" `, |1 i- f& nsaid.2 m6 L& C- o% _4 A- s+ A
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what, Z& e/ m: n# V9 ]- b: A, \
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe: b: T( I/ w5 {+ b
about driving our products," Lentz said.
3 Z3 S0 K6 C& Z# ]! BThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
# v# l: o6 Z' m6 Gproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has: I6 k" @8 P5 N0 `+ c" X
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6" m5 C# n# m+ b9 J. n4 O7 S- F8 f
million in the United States -- since last fall because of4 L! a! f {* ?9 ~% l
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking% R8 D( U# |0 J
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering1 a% J7 ~. u8 i
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of8 \/ z9 w2 p% U6 ]. \
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
q4 ]- j% y. {7 L' @down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has4 P+ G: T$ c A' Y! n$ ^
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
* Z/ ^0 i2 V5 Rof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
; z: w0 z" P& K9 l# @7 B' }7 hLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
+ M( J0 ?+ e- V( G. Abrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
' G n1 K/ e& m0 v+ K6 ]understood the pain.7 h/ y; ?/ J, q# w/ L9 w
"I know what those families go through," he said.0 ?7 {% @% m: C V9 C& j) a. A. m. |
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's D9 W8 k; m$ @* o! [
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.2 \! u6 L) j+ A" j: C) c
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman7 e3 b8 C5 j$ M. m4 w* F
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put1 S( Y" C9 ^3 |* b# o
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,; @' m6 f* V. V* _
Lentz replied: "Not totally."% q: q& V* t$ U1 ]; D
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
9 J. _; S3 N3 n. \5 W& b2 C: R"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
, Z# i# r% @% H: ~3 X% ]5 N- vToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas' L; \( F* e9 q
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its X3 K% ?2 M& G
vehicles already on the road.8 P: i( `0 y' e) l* v+ {: f
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify6 i0 T, Y% m7 V/ _
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
$ P1 \9 \( c7 ]/ Zresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
M, P. \( b. h7 Y R, Soffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
7 a& [) G" g$ O; okilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
; l1 p$ Y! s7 q/ x, h6 L5 c"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a' }3 H- o/ P: e/ U
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
4 G& v9 m/ J' U, G1 [; B; `: ]for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight D$ p$ w- D3 I7 M0 x- i& L, N. w# |
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
1 p! _( `( G4 ^" i) h5 J! t0 acommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to5 ?* S7 w9 m0 z% G5 |; w7 u
restore the trust of our customers."
+ n/ T- x L1 Z/ f) BLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from5 [" ^- ?! N% n) W
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly$ G) l: W# E( } ]# ^( e
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --! g/ c4 `# @" u8 w1 x
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
' `, ]* \. L+ rhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough' b+ O+ ?& B# t1 _7 d
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and, N. p3 X+ ~, \9 X7 R3 [2 r
turn off the engine.1 N7 a4 o$ d% \3 G0 F
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of# g4 e3 m$ w" Y% M6 m$ S" @* q
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
) |# }% J8 Y# z6 ^$ _"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she$ {8 F }, W/ C& `
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond' [4 H+ Z0 C% q1 Q# o: j; n! Y0 n$ {
to her complaints.1 k: A; |' m: k
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
, ^2 X/ s- s& v* _' sreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic( T7 j# J! e. I8 G. I }3 l& ]& i6 ~
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.0 J+ G8 j" b: ?, I( m/ Y$ h8 ?
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric4 w) {3 A+ o3 S* m: N2 q+ u
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
/ |' [) D$ S8 L, \/ R% R* f"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
" i4 R% T2 D1 D2 {off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
5 S' o% C& t7 j0 HTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in. w7 d0 x4 V0 I
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were' W) |( g# _2 R, b& r& n w
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls' J- F7 o* F. h! z, v
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
; l- i3 A3 X% [4 uevery question."
2 N, ]* p$ f) N" z% n* X2 \9 y x+ iToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether4 ` b- T6 K# h+ n* x
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The5 t3 S+ u, r6 ?: [' z6 K
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
& J* A: X/ h' K8 t: J2 P2 q( kcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
- Y3 o) P% Z$ {6 b1 h$ o. h( rnumber of vehicles3 N& l1 n# Z) `$ Q8 ]* i9 @: A
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more7 V' P9 k- p9 H. B
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
2 l: P* v- v' G$ `9 Gmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
, \. U9 r3 B0 N3 W! Q' [! J" j4 p8 hsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.5 v' v7 ]. d% r2 v
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,* Q5 I/ ~3 V* x0 r4 r6 _: B% ?
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
' T8 c- K% J8 r* ftrace at all./ O& w2 u1 A7 X/ N$ w
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call! n7 F# g' G q& h, L
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden) a* G8 T, H7 u S& g5 L
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the/ U( d9 Y) G" e6 ^
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.! ^0 z9 j) C V
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,$ ~3 o+ D- c& r2 i/ \# U3 p% E
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and$ N0 u8 I. U7 m
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the; W$ J/ S; g& }' i) v" v# |5 P
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
- T- ~( i( S! ~cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
) C9 w7 |9 p# V0 y6 F8 L! H4 E7 P8 r4 @such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
3 j1 @& q' }: vby Toyota's lawyers.". ]" n" _( _2 O5 {2 ~1 q' p
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
) B, B& T+ K' |, O* j: Iproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our3 M4 F4 M3 z) F( S. |1 c2 X e
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
, S8 D @. v; u4 Y. z6 J# osaid. T" U( M! N; D3 h2 Y" v2 X
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
7 M3 O, V& T9 |* e3 [a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
8 H1 X3 X; Q3 m/ ?6 \" ~% o3 {good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating) \: h" t n D. n9 Y7 d
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
' `7 p( l3 _& `# O4 pSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying r' ?8 d7 T8 R$ R
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
! g9 W, v5 [& q' X0 Grancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the* A# `2 J% d: A2 W4 v8 l
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
' a- N/ j! q A; m- @investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and) D$ d# k. n1 M
Chrysler.
" p# i7 a" J. N" g0 t9 A"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax% Y) [) y% M1 R! g, Z; b
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a+ \' |7 v) B, U- T; x9 `
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
1 W' G# l5 p6 F) d; H0 b& bserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
" L6 _- ?! { ?4 a+ B1 {- h2 Pwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty6 O5 q$ A1 H$ X! D3 \! }
tough."
1 X6 c% q; p0 P# j---
5 u- T1 h; o' m1 B+ }/ uAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom/ ]2 H9 [& Z& G7 F
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
% @2 w* H+ ^# X5 `% bthis story.! r4 z1 F! Z' `. K" H {% _& a+ B) q. P
0 q+ L4 o8 w2 o9 @& _! E! _9 W
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