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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5 b4 D0 ^% a1 A, x. h. \0 D# ~7 [
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
. B3 k& _" X) qWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.& G+ X$ I' a X! x( }
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that1 `/ T( t* e1 Q u( R) Y
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"3 B! \* ?8 ]& G& K
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
' h0 g: F6 W7 Q2 r/ {2 L' m"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential5 C* a/ U) i6 L& l
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.& ?, {/ j& Z R r
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected/ m5 H! j% H, }! ?/ E: Q* G% s! U& s0 V
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and9 A) @0 B; e" M( p: W9 T3 d7 l
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor6 k& O& ~4 ]* @! w
mats and sticking accelerator pedals., a; H$ B) C- s/ m& I
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
1 v$ b- r9 L, f2 z' cand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
$ H0 H1 C! s% m1 ]1 }8 E6 m# i0 Tcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be' z/ p, x: q5 M
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
) P' [) s) P. ` D+ J/ lnot stop her runaway Lexus.
2 E1 J* `2 D* N& j"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,, v, T( r7 X, `8 a( c, M$ c/ M
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
' Y8 n- x0 x8 Q( G) [! r"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
/ R" b2 o. O/ } qTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues! x2 Q; B- G4 W; r c9 A
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
# S& E1 X' d$ \: ~; G"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
4 `# ?+ ~9 J. b: Jdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway) P( t5 F ?) L. m" k+ i p4 l6 L: X
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's. j& y! u5 I& z
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
! J) ]4 Q5 w6 C8 s$ k2 lLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
v! m# y4 w7 j' r3 S* f' f; celectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of \& W9 N. J4 a/ i# C
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a2 n/ ~9 H! g' P2 \$ a
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
- Z1 A, o9 K( d. c3 m. T, l! Ssaid./ [9 Q e( l# \, s1 ]
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what9 I- @$ U6 x4 v( h/ [. H+ I
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
' }7 h& c( o3 i2 D& n1 Jabout driving our products," Lentz said.
5 Z2 F' Z$ s2 v- Q2 A' {+ HThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
& o- L+ |- g+ ^* z4 A$ _8 uproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
& V0 J" v3 Q5 ]recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6# y7 V$ a6 u5 p& N7 e5 a: j
million in the United States -- since last fall because of3 P* E$ O$ Y4 y& z9 P* k
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking& n" Q9 B2 s1 S! ]
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering( A% V) O1 N7 B6 ?1 U8 R0 K
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of! b; D2 _( G6 ]7 K
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow3 i2 h' L7 G3 C0 Z$ D% L' h j
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
2 k1 M% n- l, U3 \/ P- zreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
# y, Q# f+ v9 c* _# iof Toyota vehicles since 2000.) T1 J6 r! U+ m: c
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own" _7 e: T6 w1 S5 H; m4 j
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
( ~2 p# }6 p+ ~* y8 C7 |5 L- R: Munderstood the pain.
2 B+ y! u. ]% S4 Y4 H. v" E7 j"I know what those families go through," he said.
$ `9 v* u8 B6 m4 E) l' _ B# } P& Y4 ALentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's. J. O3 Y9 X# _+ t
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
* }9 ], _+ t/ V5 c7 U* _7 H9 TBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
8 C" _0 _$ s! p3 [% {% JHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put3 P7 y. J- w9 b2 L
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,+ b8 N- m# r% H9 G7 q) L
Lentz replied: "Not totally."; s- p; p3 H/ p3 {- ^( i
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were! x5 d! u' z4 g, u' v
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
" `9 G x8 r* e3 M, P# Y! GToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
/ d" {7 \4 t& Y/ e5 h* ^4 v! L, D6 v' Apedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
8 v0 K& j1 a2 [ D. tvehicles already on the road.
7 U2 C% l( y( {( g; G% D5 b. M8 kMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify+ ?! r8 X; C- H& ]. N6 }
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
4 [2 p6 H( f$ o$ Tresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and+ U0 V6 q8 O" X4 {0 D u5 t: n' A: i
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
; O* k) Z* H$ O* R5 fkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.# c% z% I, Q) N0 ~5 K& n q* p1 o
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
+ @( J, [* {4 q1 z; \tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony4 q3 H$ G5 j: T8 c, s% t1 t. ?
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
$ b7 _0 Z, r8 V/ `Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal- f u6 z: Z `! O* I# o
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
% Q- f5 ]$ a1 B6 }9 i" ~& l srestore the trust of our customers."
' e& D* {( F( h* \/ J$ S; z. HLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
; j4 I, o3 R) N% g2 f8 M5 kSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
5 t5 B; z- o; U, Y6 czoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
+ K9 P e+ Y, ^6 {( `shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
# ]$ }7 F! l' t% f$ e' p, s6 chitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough5 r) P! x/ j$ x
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and% m2 {! P$ U$ i. h$ D! {0 R
turn off the engine.
' J2 o H- t" K7 B2 Y: ]8 D8 CFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
# n n6 X: n* }2 ^' L3 UOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
. m2 a( W/ J d6 l"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
: Z9 m8 ^6 _1 [+ L- Rsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond8 H4 N2 N( Z; c/ `4 }0 x
to her complaints.# t" o/ h$ ]# M! _
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
8 w* c! R" |/ _8 @/ p* Wreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic1 K8 m! z( L9 g! X V! z
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.& V2 z6 m- d; U* g1 m
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
& S) t$ ]( G) X/ ]* X2 Bthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
* p9 C. N1 {& @: q3 b3 W: B"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut: a5 ?1 R3 s' Q5 ]) Q+ _' b4 b
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."6 @& }8 ^5 w! }6 N
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
8 ]$ F. |1 G5 X( Xprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
& \( M" L# X% G* D9 }, ?being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
9 r8 O& |' n$ _! `4 g* hwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
- j) B; W Q5 q+ O# p6 g* Yevery question.") V( u0 l q3 H( v- B0 r7 P) J
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether* _5 R. U. {9 R0 Q( r2 J& h
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
4 L; Q a& |' x* Z; ?# A/ z5 w' ` ufirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
/ o. U4 @) a! @& g% x J5 Rcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small E, O7 t% W3 K8 o4 l
number of vehicles
* C% L, |7 s2 _Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more3 w& Z7 v) f$ ]9 f& b. e/ v2 j
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
5 H9 H/ ~* M. r- Wmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
: D& z- ^; b! Vsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.5 y8 K/ F! w7 B3 N8 U
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,, m' ]4 X6 `& [+ [- M' f
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no% l0 V: ^/ h6 u9 _3 L' Z( j
trace at all.
0 m" i& `$ u, H" v; y( h; e# GHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
5 Y6 i% O5 P; V2 b+ V4 edatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
- ~9 ~! N, E: @% `& @ c; g* lacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the' z. R* L5 ]+ A* O
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
( W- Q5 ]9 H8 h# H% j% G" URep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee, H2 M6 G) V3 W1 B% A6 {
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
* u0 }& A6 ~" z: J f1 l4 f7 t, ^# q1 zother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
! a6 f- h" ~: {7 _6 ~2 kelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
7 j6 A& |) i6 I$ S. X; e$ m& xcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
- R/ w: d% x' w1 psuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
2 w7 S3 c" x4 D2 N7 N! gby Toyota's lawyers."
: d) c0 |) S+ K- ~" c8 c! L+ e! [Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of" d# ^+ j9 V" U C7 e
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our9 u7 b" B3 R/ i- o$ Y2 f. C# @1 }
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
5 f+ c9 R! v6 u8 v- [2 @& H+ u1 T5 esaid. @2 \. }- [! f3 B4 E4 S1 i
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
$ q5 e% m8 T% k+ |! u Ca rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our2 O8 ]1 u% A T/ b s, |
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
7 M0 z( e& U' I7 f* Wofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
: C: P" U4 O2 i! _5 ~' q" PSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying- M% q l A! Q4 c
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread# r6 `. \' a9 }/ a7 d5 ~
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the7 t6 d6 g" l; Q
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
# [3 e& d/ s) I' Iinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
/ y0 r8 n4 @9 { R9 CChrysler.6 M$ |8 Q. |2 h; L$ F! f; }5 I
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
+ J; n1 h0 x9 z. W0 V+ F, jdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a$ Y/ s( _; A' I& e
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also- t4 |6 W( ^& b1 N& z8 V9 ]7 _
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete" f4 J/ d+ z) F5 J d5 z3 ]
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty% y2 k2 i2 q8 \7 C$ a; r7 P/ ^& A
tough."
9 C4 P. X& u% n# g---
; h2 O7 \3 p% O, y. k+ e& [Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom% |8 R8 ]& \5 Q2 b! \/ h$ ]
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to) _% d' S6 o/ N5 q9 N* B
this story.
3 F6 L+ a5 t. n% O+ { k/ [1 P4 O% X \
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