 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
|

楼主 |
发表于 2010-2-24 01:19
|
显示全部楼层
丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题
3 j! X% U a# F7 d0 wBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS2 s U) X' @: \5 ]/ ^2 b/ p: U
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.! s* y9 v. r s0 d( i6 R
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
6 k0 _7 c( z3 r4 P1 tthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
; `3 t, w; d4 h; E6 j8 m+ \solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
4 |& u. n" b& k7 U"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
* i$ S9 ]2 c. i; z* Bcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
$ y8 i8 a2 w! V! a% uHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected9 z3 f! q \; `) |: b
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and" h6 | _9 m6 D5 x
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
% v& m9 T9 j* U- K2 imats and sticking accelerator pedals.8 G; i$ O" D, k% v
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal4 w$ u, [# N6 B$ m$ z5 R* {
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp' i0 M: C* s' }$ z
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
; X# n, U% n. X% x& |5 {5 |further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
* z/ K/ \" S" _# Q* l, Nnot stop her runaway Lexus.
7 N( ]% }' b8 m"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
" C& ]: a; V3 K5 C9 n3 `Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
' X" z! Y7 X: \' l" d: w8 c"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
/ @5 c* u- t7 S$ T0 ]5 }8 `Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
8 U& m! m. O* B; n7 z1 \early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
4 R0 d9 J) W5 D2 i9 X1 ?+ q* o"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has& w7 C. d$ _) ]5 E, q- r) ] Y2 T
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
_- g' t+ _' G" ^. k% i- N* Y2 g4 l2 i+ Cthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
% u8 K4 M9 W9 F' \investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
, `3 a% F9 f3 W( qLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an2 z& P4 H6 X0 Z2 m
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of* r: x8 b1 d; [6 S% x
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
$ l# \: Q& I6 S( [$ q+ K# Imalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he" W1 D1 h: R- Z' Y
said.+ A. ]/ e) s$ K7 X+ ~9 D
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
4 I8 z2 l3 ?& C8 G @9 X3 A' i5 Fhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
- u5 y9 O% @( \3 x' t9 babout driving our products," Lentz said.
4 ^* F* C5 i6 W8 C2 lThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
, B5 F/ Q: v6 a& d" hproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
+ O# {% {' r/ d, F3 W. p* wrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 64 F# F N' K; ^: C3 v3 F
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
6 \- H" t( F8 Z0 W, w' |unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
: n6 ]1 K2 V1 E, jissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
7 e4 {0 d9 F: mconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
0 N; P' ^4 G+ G G- Xtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow0 k& d8 ^/ G# `
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has" M* Y# _" [) m
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration- V2 j+ E: ~( k" P
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
, U& |% k; E+ m, w- }- [( oLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own" Q2 n) z" d) b& x! {
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he8 Y5 ]$ K! o9 y! p" P9 K; X
understood the pain., C8 d5 H5 `& n$ g) ]
"I know what those families go through," he said.: }! L& C( V8 G& z, p+ z1 w* G
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
& n( y' _$ v1 b7 n2 @5 tfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
# I6 B5 h/ X. V6 K, oBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman4 g% o( E$ Z, o s5 B
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put! ~2 f7 d- }+ P) q3 |2 Q
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,. K( _2 |# p2 ^3 c/ h) R& \* s8 L
Lentz replied: "Not totally."3 c y7 p9 o: l! @; B
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
4 v+ L" ], w/ l$ U3 ]"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said2 D* u% q3 Z+ j; Q9 K1 f7 Y
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas$ o' }" q* f. A& {: ]# o
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
, n9 z" N; b! H; m. Pvehicles already on the road.
- E( D" Q; O! g4 \3 k6 T$ X0 D3 vMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify0 `- B5 ]3 _& g( K7 `: \
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full# O1 w( Y4 X' p, t; `* Z
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and S0 g, {6 |+ Q' k6 F+ s; _ [
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were* u% u" i3 t3 o% ]# d
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.) d" q- l4 k5 ?% j
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a/ b9 l2 [3 p1 W s& c" ]( c* h
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony. w! L- L. L4 W+ b% e, A* Z7 @, t9 `- M
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
# ~: W8 T; Q1 lCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal6 N' D7 `' R% R" p V! L
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to: n G+ c, d) L& \" M
restore the trust of our customers."
* Z! `: F7 _% j0 B) ]Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from- o) H. h$ h' c5 Y) A" r9 P& v
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly# B5 N) [! k# W' S: A( w0 ?
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --4 P" n7 I( S: `3 T
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and% h$ J0 z6 q- p& y
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough$ _5 K1 G6 y; Q# H
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and2 ^1 \& {: E+ f/ \2 t; Y, q; |& V
turn off the engine.
* _) a) X0 L# x n* z" r" XFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of6 u" g9 q, W, p
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
0 E& M4 x* \* A3 u+ l3 j8 n* e"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she# L0 d7 K/ w/ h2 w
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
5 L+ W7 \) S+ k% @+ E, K/ M+ Vto her complaints./ g. H' R w: X: M9 L
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
2 f& @8 c) v/ |% preturned again and again to the question of whether electronic8 `# Y3 h) M. Q* V
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.4 S6 C1 z" a% n6 o% M/ M6 ?
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric; v% B1 f% i4 {" v3 T
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
4 Z s; E: |! n"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
2 U9 u& S# _/ p6 q, D: M$ _off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."3 p! B5 O4 E' w, T$ c4 I+ h4 L
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
( Q+ a; h: X; |/ xprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were0 Q; O( c: w& I
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls0 p/ z& t6 _2 A4 @: i
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
$ J+ `+ K- ^0 @2 `every question."' ?: k: W' p& Z( D) l7 q
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
5 x. d! z" o! U, j; qelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
* z4 y' u- o* {/ g: T' f( ^4 g2 \' ofirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
" H ]" j& C* r, |! p. W0 W" p. Ycommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small' k* A& |9 k- H7 b( l# k" Z
number of vehicles
; l6 _- Z; @% P" D# h$ ZTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
! t# M3 E0 H) D6 o3 odifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a1 w: o3 w! w; V g+ @( ~ m. Q7 g
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
& }. T {* |, Q* o: E6 p' y; lsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.$ {5 R. h$ U# y5 J" r/ A) ]
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,- i& a" V4 |( V$ B
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no: A% r1 _( H2 g8 }2 `) T4 |
trace at all.
1 D; P7 A7 T) f* gHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call( B5 `% W5 K8 P8 h
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
p3 O! u- L- Y6 Xacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
6 f1 s0 T# L! o% C& o# f% g8 Krecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.1 R3 j) U* e5 i+ ~# v) s( E
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,- V8 x* n, j9 `
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
" R' ^0 I4 ^% w$ |. U* T2 Vother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the) Z, d2 p8 p5 |5 t" d9 B4 ]
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
$ P: ?7 v" I Gcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
) |) s9 r) H Y$ S6 F; gsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
% W7 Q ` n% w8 Q; F. e" a+ bby Toyota's lawyers."
/ a! f1 U) U8 ULentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
0 o/ l8 R2 t- L* ?$ E9 ~- Sproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our4 m' m, j/ _' K2 e$ H, F9 M
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he: `/ f7 x. t- U t
said.
7 h( w& y( E0 ~' l"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
6 g8 A9 C% @ y5 d" W! b7 Oa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our0 C; H7 x: ?- M; s! p/ k
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating& O/ z: T3 ^+ j4 s& v0 D4 o6 f
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.5 h6 H( X% Q6 D" N9 j/ c* W
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying: S' J0 f$ V. x2 i4 [; `: j& b
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread9 F6 M0 Q) {' d
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
6 [: s; T& @6 Gautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
+ ~* v7 E" `# E N" k3 iinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
' Z% ?$ o$ ^, k. q6 V- lChrysler.
! D6 }$ x% T, ]9 Y"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax2 b( g% M. ]: `& w$ n3 f7 v% V1 w6 _
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
+ m) e) j: b$ l$ p# _, zHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also1 N& J8 L( F) e- j! m' z
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
' P( K: Q, y+ `! dwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty6 ]: i/ v7 O6 {. C) O# g
tough."- a6 d* j" W' d. w3 A$ P( N( A! i
--- D9 J1 t" O+ H; [) J [+ G1 B
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
" t& s( w/ T3 d6 QRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to% k3 j$ x, p5 Q
this story.
# j0 B' M7 ~- I2 A8 p5 d! ]. ?# t) Q: q( R' i
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|