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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/ s, a# ?; E6 S% [$ {. A* P
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS# x! e3 S/ {; o T7 |" |/ A% |1 o
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
" A5 P( V0 j: X- C! joperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that* H. Z+ P8 C% { x# P6 M
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"! S; @- |+ r2 e' f `" z: g
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
2 h9 j: `. W `$ O"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential1 g5 z* w! Y6 K
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.5 X0 ?; b* V& w: ?7 R
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected; E3 B7 d4 V( x& J* n
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
$ _, Y: x! T! S8 i: A+ q4 Gtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
! j9 o/ L; L8 Y8 Y- t; F0 ?* pmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
2 ^6 h1 H' t7 x1 s% p6 jHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
% H' c" Z5 Q. e, E) \and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp) H/ S6 {7 [( j
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be3 z2 d8 H+ k+ A( b3 D4 l
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
0 T, _, R5 V; F! M; E5 v8 w! hnot stop her runaway Lexus.( J) m3 y, i8 H) z. _
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
' Y' j: y) B3 n" TTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second/ M# d, S6 e( ^; B$ D. F$ O
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.4 b1 a1 x4 q) m" B6 I
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues3 b, @% |* y* B3 ?# L2 ]5 K' k7 B
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
" `, m5 g9 s0 O' P% \8 z! q" j"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
0 F, u0 C h" S" Q1 \done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway+ v* h( |& u. |: C5 w
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
C3 \8 z# m9 c0 y+ binvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."7 ^; A- e! t! |/ a7 a# o/ d) }
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an5 i/ }5 F" Z! b# K
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
: d+ ]5 {& W/ m3 I" l3 b: Gthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
- t' ?! b3 v: C: `( |8 D1 G* e- Lmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
* q( M. N1 |8 p; asaid.- I+ g2 I1 t, s9 `* [
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
3 F) t: O. {" l8 ]+ ^& o" K, rhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe& e+ i9 B, a, _# F( {% C2 T
about driving our products," Lentz said. X( ~& P2 Z$ j8 D, F+ _
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
3 X+ \. ]! ?* b2 A5 a) Iproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has3 ^9 T( r5 F# Q4 e x9 P; ~
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
* D% j$ X% F' B |2 P7 Y3 k2 nmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of. W! ]3 D) ^* d) Y# v4 D' }
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking: P' C2 I, M( t/ r% G, p9 N
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
2 a# }5 R2 d r O9 P- Aconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
: {4 l# y: _3 u3 ~9 E3 F, |- Itheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
1 o) \8 a5 [) B/ Pdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has: u. U4 Y) S: ], G8 w; x; b
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
' B5 Y2 {0 A Vof Toyota vehicles since 2000.4 m) I) G& |8 _8 O5 F& u5 D
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own) s( i4 q4 h) T) H- ]/ G
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he# P: O; t- p- j7 K/ p
understood the pain.
% u- | m, V" D3 ~; ~"I know what those families go through," he said.- Z W9 ^" v, {) i# t4 ?
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
/ e6 m% h/ M! X8 J8 \) k1 @fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
3 d0 {! _7 ?8 T; k3 b! J. LBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
/ k6 ]( {! N4 o0 P- x5 x, w. ]Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put; j( W( B4 s" ?% i
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
1 f5 @) Q& [0 v5 g) s+ j9 p$ YLentz replied: "Not totally."
j( t1 s2 U5 c: WStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were( _# `+ [& J% i4 E3 w
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
( X/ i1 _* e, n& o( t: ^) O1 DToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas6 I$ C/ n x% b5 a- ]* Y' z1 I
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
5 p( k: l/ E) \+ X/ Lvehicles already on the road.0 z0 [. }0 ~: @0 V0 i
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify4 A4 p+ I9 X: c6 J' e2 O5 ]3 l2 r
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full) X, ?1 E; B' D2 b6 c o
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
" J" r$ T; k# V. N+ ]4 W u/ moffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
/ S$ D7 n7 j9 rkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.2 a( a* l: P+ x( C2 x5 [7 p
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
( U6 T! R+ v; z/ Jtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony# q n4 y) W+ ~
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight! w8 `% A6 k3 O, I' L. l
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
- {' x( x' D: a0 xcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
3 h% @% ?' W5 krestore the trust of our customers."
+ j' j( {. j. R5 e3 hLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from, r. m% A* o; t, `. A* {$ s% f
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly3 I8 u' K5 ^ T1 x4 N4 \$ ?
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
% o- n2 r) E" g/ ^, k4 L; Hshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and+ L' ^0 M0 [8 G2 ?
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough- U, ?$ _9 G' M3 E0 H% s0 Z
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
/ U& h% m# y7 {1 v5 S3 D5 g7 P+ mturn off the engine.- u+ p# e; E- h' w+ y7 z
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of0 N$ Z' n7 o7 r k4 S
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
* p1 R+ g* v/ h& `$ |* v, c"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she& Y: r# G$ r) P1 f: L- S: J
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
8 l% y6 t( |# K5 R+ r5 b \4 ]: [to her complaints.) J# B3 o; r) o- s
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
7 ?$ l \. @! H. B4 Areturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
* D% t/ y( o( S3 V) Tmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.: j; y. P8 ` L3 ~: y5 X
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
$ @9 I' x+ `- h2 m# J, j' e sthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited% c- v& @5 P, b2 L+ b
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
+ i& ? n3 ^% R6 F" R/ m+ Doff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
: j0 L- m/ q! l/ h* {Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in+ X, _1 b5 \, ?& o+ {( i+ u
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were4 s0 [5 }0 V4 g/ E9 h0 d# @
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
; L: {; x, P" I! t/ p0 K3 {' `/ z4 Fwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
6 |1 Z) ~/ B- S8 m/ Y7 a. s) {every question."' J; l( l5 x5 z+ Z
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether- j4 C/ V2 W% a' Q: [( V* S
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The0 a/ R' i% A R+ o
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But8 |1 K) r: q8 W" v) r
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
5 l0 p6 K- H+ d$ G, w$ Fnumber of vehicles
: I0 S+ i8 S8 x6 KTracking down an electrical problem can be far more. P- T( A; G6 S
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a+ Q9 S4 B3 A, ^& J
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one: m# B2 A. L2 o2 v
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car., s* c" z! y/ M4 Q O# e- j
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
& h/ c& Q' g! ^7 Z3 n; A; N7 uwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no- u; e4 @8 @' B$ g: Y$ d
trace at all.
W8 [: D& v W" p4 L" s& bHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call; p5 k, d' [! ]/ z1 ]
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
3 {! |! e& u9 Z, Aacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
- r8 _$ J r) r+ {% ^4 hrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
) G, |# ?1 _0 V( A( d$ p- h6 kRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,2 s' p5 U0 q$ ~5 F
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
8 e9 m7 q% b8 P; {other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the7 p. X& |* q9 t, k% K/ F7 C
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible* m, q9 m' x* l# Z/ w# W& @7 b
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only2 N1 P6 h& R2 q
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
7 i4 K* Q0 o8 \9 m3 _* P8 G b; Aby Toyota's lawyers."
4 d& |* b/ b2 X% @. YLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
6 f0 Q/ V, U$ _8 u# V, q& W" jproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our# N( \" b" @+ M( W4 R$ K
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
7 r* A4 X) p- n* `% L( o) Msaid.
+ D* O5 q4 I% D. R$ ^# B0 O"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
, Y" P3 v: Z9 a |) e, L: V- ha rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
/ l; [ e( w# a3 Q9 sgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating# v; ?. Q/ B8 d3 a
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.) O. N: S7 W1 r% n6 b
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying/ U. r6 W6 {4 r( L
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread+ ?+ u' W2 N4 K2 ]
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the4 ~, }5 a/ r5 L# N# d' C
automaker, at least in part because of the government's) p! b7 T# B' _& ~& n
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
; a' D. ?8 A" y- g, s0 HChrysler.3 x0 Z; ^/ s7 a+ H& P+ v- {
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax- Z3 U u$ t0 N; m8 h2 |
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a* f" J* {6 ?6 `+ x7 B6 Y
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also* \5 r- B! O( s; H
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
" k: F$ g: U- m5 Swith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty9 L3 q# H M- E' g, z& g. ~1 b7 P
tough."7 v3 ?) Y8 i" D% M4 {4 i
---8 T: C9 s2 [( k0 J, f; o/ s( s
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
) N" u/ O& q# {9 y# k& j8 W$ |Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to, q/ [3 b/ m& K: W& J- h; [& K H. n
this story.# V. B2 v! x; J: D
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-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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