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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 l5 x9 N9 D' B- E& C$ J; b
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS3 A! b; w& O1 d: d/ V
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.' `! |7 {, R- {5 e$ G
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
. b/ ]: r( {7 D2 f- N. [7 wthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
8 I! U9 H& @3 C! H* N& L6 Nsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.. U/ @1 ~0 `, t( a2 P
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential# E8 j* [: ]" m* R2 |5 e% B
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.9 t( d* d! d @+ R6 g1 r" N
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
2 H* v, g; ]" [acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
+ g1 O- q+ m5 H \trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
3 C# S4 B) k* w* k9 Z* p9 Gmats and sticking accelerator pedals.8 C5 J( P/ Y" s, F& J/ m5 C
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal. ^' r: q* c- Q# d% _; \
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp7 r2 ~! `6 S' g: \
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
( a2 S: \/ A8 R& c- G3 |. F% o0 gfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
+ u- r5 V$ Z. s6 h, Lnot stop her runaway Lexus.. r* F t( v! m7 p$ m6 M& f7 l- x
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,3 \- y6 q5 o6 Y$ X
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second5 [0 `2 c6 v8 t; t
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.0 Z6 P& B4 W9 v' v. l4 z
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues' l& _. V: I6 }8 q5 j4 H* [
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
' x0 Q) ^$ x" a6 u \7 S4 O"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has% v, E8 p4 _5 r3 W2 M6 |
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
7 {) E, n: F" |through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's; E D8 [' W7 ^- y
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."1 H( v9 Y5 u# I- Q
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an* v; t2 w. L) i% h
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
/ l7 n$ I& A6 Z0 W6 o2 Vthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a8 }" T8 ]* d: o( M, X& c
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he8 c! v- L# u% i! X
said.
" Z: Z& A' N x: B/ o4 E. h0 d) q0 MAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what. d+ c5 p2 V" l
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
8 c) R& F5 Y" @8 w) nabout driving our products," Lentz said./ P2 g7 f5 M) k( M
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
) ?5 c9 {4 J: F/ aproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
6 i( v) y' ]; m. _recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 65 @3 ~' I" R$ c! M
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
3 y) e& b5 g$ V2 v% W7 x# f& qunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
$ J( t3 w. s+ w. xissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering5 t. G! u1 h9 M/ `' R( w
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
& W9 a `, Y' w% ytheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow/ c7 t; H3 g/ u0 H% S/ a
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
/ b3 T* J- B6 S% ^; Zreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration" h/ j( r1 V! M# }# d4 e8 q
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
* I' A7 [/ Q l/ Q$ T. ~3 pLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
* V5 n: r o$ x) a3 Jbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he |) e! A+ T: {( B
understood the pain.# a$ S/ v& A& `% h7 J x9 w" D
"I know what those families go through," he said.
; p) R* l! n& L9 p* QLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
+ p0 m1 c) [0 m' E8 x0 }fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
& y; ?8 U: e, C( y1 B2 ^2 qBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman1 j' L9 P# ^. S$ ], ]. e) c
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put! T, L% W. ^( N; [; q. T/ w
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,3 J& n8 h z! ?* V
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
! v! }8 n( @* _( S7 z e; ~3 i+ L# R6 CStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were, y8 r, u$ o" G ?8 x" V7 p/ X7 F
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
+ C2 M; p: C L/ H5 qToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas/ T) h$ p% ]4 |& @1 W
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
2 M2 i* u4 M( j2 c. M$ @vehicles already on the road.
, X4 t+ b6 P" n0 `5 N8 a1 r4 lMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
! E2 g# T) ]8 X2 x/ @7 e; Ibefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full _, l! ]. g4 \: L9 o3 h$ Y* _. A2 N0 y, d
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and: ]5 g2 V8 x1 n0 Q6 `7 E5 a
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were9 V5 N- \6 b5 G; p: A4 U
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.- S# r1 J/ d& C9 |
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
$ K8 g2 ?7 t3 Rtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony/ l" Q5 B! q, C" {
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight6 V& w1 Z" D @& `$ K
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal& Z7 j: c) Z6 Q4 W9 R& C) C
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
+ _: M# S3 u, prestore the trust of our customers."
& l, U& ]$ O( v7 J$ XLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
+ b$ W$ n0 m& MSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly" {, P$ o$ q" m% |$ b' c5 ?
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
$ \) O5 ^9 G/ R5 q# wshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and- @: e2 o h. `, \/ n+ ~+ S, p5 x
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
2 }1 i# M9 o: D. `, {6 lthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
' F; G4 [3 E) z: s% Mturn off the engine.- H* { t# q. ]
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of- S9 \9 G/ L( P9 B3 j6 `+ K
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."% A6 y" a+ d5 B, d5 S
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
& Z* P1 b/ |! t4 qsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
, x+ B( k) B" w( D- V7 _to her complaints.- p2 l( { }; U/ f" b3 t
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers0 f+ w8 C) n( q; m
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic+ i' {* v' @; K( }
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars." F6 E4 h& X+ t0 r1 L+ A
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric# X( q6 D" S, @2 }3 h5 `- o( y
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
; O/ u' q8 }) c. _+ Q5 ~" S' l! G"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
: E0 r+ `) z6 K) Z# Yoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
9 @: R2 I1 w7 k( v( \+ VTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
8 g0 ?2 J) F) x& q9 g4 Kprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were6 {& @) l9 E+ }2 W/ C4 \% K+ x( i# b+ Z
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls) x" A4 G* L: w- u8 q* v9 g
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
3 z2 h" k" O; N" D# ?every question."8 r% }& D* q' \) J; T
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
8 C5 y9 O3 O F. V: Gelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The; I5 A8 {! [3 K; \, k- I. j
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But$ E/ r' T2 Z; h
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
% ]# P9 ^2 q; p: Bnumber of vehicles. r: Y( @" g' g. G' [2 r
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more# L& q3 F4 [4 V: Z* a
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a& T$ Z- ~( d1 x" ]0 K+ B
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one7 H4 ~$ R* i5 v
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
( x( o- }1 q) L2 g4 dMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
. ^+ ^5 p7 ?5 @+ n* T _. l# O/ x" Nwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no* X2 k* v2 F; L3 E9 X
trace at all.
3 w) H, `4 @: c7 }" t# o2 G# G( xHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call7 Z# _" o8 W9 Q& [
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
7 }3 c/ `, \" \1 d4 qacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the$ U- u4 {) q4 \9 M6 e+ N) h3 |
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.. I2 S/ g, U$ Y# y: n
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,* P) _; {' U6 V1 _1 y
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and2 d, }; X; g" B, l! B1 n2 I
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the/ I( L" r. h. r. E% J2 l
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
2 F/ ~5 w, Q1 j |cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
3 I- F* `, b+ [+ [8 n# Usuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
( u8 J) i0 T1 t# l% n+ r8 kby Toyota's lawyers."& h8 I% c2 P; O+ ^# Y4 {
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of7 F u- u% T) ?$ v1 M: [, @3 v- C
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
4 D! b L: \/ Z: d( f+ N$ n2 Q5 Zcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
1 N+ ?: N4 ?" U r0 z9 vsaid.
4 c2 D5 A) _% c+ c. k3 x. O"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with* n) r, s0 F i( G* N% |) E
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our6 w# e# H, o2 j
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
% d) D' t- H( Iofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
+ C) v5 s) Y6 Y' eSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying9 Z2 f2 d4 I0 R$ a
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread& r0 S% u2 U3 C% k4 {6 d9 W7 V3 K
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
% R6 i$ D1 e. C4 O. M" a8 Hautomaker, at least in part because of the government's8 n( J) y' h# L: L$ m
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
; f, j. H! Z6 ?+ vChrysler.- ?- @# r7 a$ g/ C/ ]. A% y G' l
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
: a; [( g3 r2 kdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a9 U0 C* w! B. I. h, l2 e9 Q
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
9 s5 t% O) R' V3 S W; H9 P& J; Rserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete6 O9 z5 o5 o3 _" o0 [& ?2 P
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
/ ~1 [/ l5 K: ]. H! @tough."2 l) S. I. E3 a, m1 b1 |& N
---( r5 P! ^- @1 o R- }$ u4 g
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
/ n$ {6 e) e! p! z! N$ RRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
) Z1 X+ y7 @6 p0 t$ ythis story.1 |$ l' i5 X" e6 {0 R
3 V! C! A7 h' n0 k0 q1 ]% z-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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