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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, V# Y: X; O' W; }# G0 @
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
, I, Q8 [. ~# [) R* [Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.! r- o/ K/ G0 |2 d0 {. t6 U* L( n# {
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that2 s" P% x* x+ a* x. w R, l5 |. ^% L
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"- F& s( Q8 S7 Z9 c% \
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.: ]0 d6 @ @8 K- T8 R* |* y D. L) M
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
4 a) M6 F( V% r. Ocauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
3 Q( D+ L4 ]8 K6 PHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected7 y3 m$ ^) @ X7 A
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
* t/ w3 r" F9 ?4 E- s# itrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
4 H1 W9 }/ t4 x; Z. i$ P8 Wmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
% \9 k8 _& T1 v7 N) `0 J- B. MHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
: w: w3 P/ Q6 P* l$ _% N7 C( Qand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
4 A9 L+ d' m8 ^- N8 M. Vcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be! x0 {8 N$ _2 I1 V
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could( a3 Y3 U* ]2 r: ~8 X) [. y
not stop her runaway Lexus.
* V$ [9 r' c. G3 R% \0 ?% k: I"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,; F% C+ w' I" i6 B: P
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
4 d- Z& v0 u& i: ?5 q1 y7 a"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.5 e S! y3 a5 E$ Y
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues0 F; F2 g. P4 Y' ?4 B+ ]
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said& j+ K3 y/ H4 I e! P
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
# n8 T6 h4 `2 T5 y( ?- X, D, Vdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway% W: j& Z# j1 [4 c
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
7 z, U& j1 u) }6 Z1 W8 ?investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."$ j$ _. _8 f: t9 r4 ^7 i
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
u" y1 c% v; ]* F* ^, p" aelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
+ m* C* _- z3 i! q8 qthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
0 P3 k) f* Y. D# Nmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he! a+ X; k; \( V) ]. T0 T$ q* I' f
said.' z5 d4 N* n) s
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what& m4 I/ m: c/ g m* ~) m5 E" h
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe; I, D# e H; E
about driving our products," Lentz said.
8 V I: Z* x# B- Z% m$ H/ z. b: KThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's' F$ {: o5 o* L4 M+ f' u
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
. K2 [6 _7 V+ `) Mrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 64 |9 n/ G, g8 l8 E7 C
million in the United States -- since last fall because of8 O3 w! ]! t$ z7 _, d( |. s8 S
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
g2 g o7 n0 t7 _! qissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering; u+ T, C. R% i. a
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
/ K2 q# L6 ^0 U! Ctheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow# r& T6 b* z7 c) \2 {1 b+ e
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has7 a f$ r: G5 ~1 b
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
, K$ J$ L ?' i8 `of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
3 }8 N3 z/ ~ W0 o) Y0 a4 ^Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
6 i& S: Y: T( e# G) u. T# k$ @& E% Xbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
, u2 L1 I1 N1 V& E/ G l0 t. _. ?understood the pain.8 k. }2 }; E/ X! H; j2 t% p8 L4 q
"I know what those families go through," he said.
& A. I& v( R' i9 s) ^; zLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
" j& h7 u5 B% p: L, w9 g1 lfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems., j& K: U6 D7 e& ?' r0 d
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman4 \9 W& w* O B- A4 |3 Z9 Z
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
0 p6 _" |: v* Y. Z& o/ ^" kin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,. g. M5 L5 R: O8 Y4 x2 Q6 b/ ?) h
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
; J) _7 ~% G# N3 g4 A. L! ?* LStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were; R3 v" S t/ F1 i) @- {- s
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
% H7 T6 a$ h* n8 dToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
* C& l3 \7 }# q) Mpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its6 G. \2 F: j o; X
vehicles already on the road.
% ]* U. H6 m6 \; I6 UMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
! W0 y5 X; i4 t3 I, a4 T2 Ebefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full% ^9 N l* [, r2 r/ I# m
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
! y& {) p3 P+ I( Qoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were: O. ^0 ^/ z! [, d2 Z& V
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
4 t! W3 H. U$ J' i9 [4 ~4 a; W6 Q3 q"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a; k& T7 |8 b) f* K w8 n4 V
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
/ R3 z C1 _, F5 K) Jfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight. P% G$ w- W( U$ I
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
7 X% S! ^4 W+ |5 Y0 ycommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to! y* l9 P' R; Z5 A1 o
restore the trust of our customers."
/ }( E& I1 D6 W9 h" k1 FLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
8 [+ M2 @ e, c9 }Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
& Q6 D0 C9 Z1 X0 ?6 }6 V) Mzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --/ b8 P4 \7 g0 h0 s7 T+ e" }
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and( {! u3 F1 [+ d* s
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
" \: k4 @2 n$ A2 w" Q0 k/ e# qthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
, ?$ S+ O# n E2 w* N( c% o& ?turn off the engine.
- M5 E) a2 V- A/ R" W: |Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of. Q4 d9 A5 o8 W8 `
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."4 m5 r: T0 w. `
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
7 s: l' O. {* S9 c. Z9 xsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
% x8 B# X ^ C- sto her complaints.
* o& R9 s( z! E2 F/ M6 pIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
2 ^% X! z! |4 n% v) v7 {returned again and again to the question of whether electronic/ o5 B" _/ ~& k/ E1 m& `
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.) u% o8 L# C6 Q$ j4 j
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
& ^& z6 Y+ ]% \- N) c$ @6 _throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited7 i0 H4 l# I: I5 g, Z5 W5 m0 ]
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut0 Y3 v6 v9 @ }" k+ A& m
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
% A) x+ S, K7 ^0 sTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in. G+ H( L* v0 u# q( F
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were9 b S$ T* @, c1 r+ S6 a
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
% @' P. R4 X" L! F( v8 M8 i" Wwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer# \3 _6 N* M; m7 }
every question."1 Y% a7 d1 p- n2 r. U8 c
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
( j0 v `2 F. N, s/ f( Lelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
5 K; x2 o( Z ~6 x" Vfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
, x4 D9 R2 j3 M$ zcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
/ j# |. t8 L# ]( e0 t# \, dnumber of vehicles% Z2 j U' P9 _4 W
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more; w( E0 S; Z4 ^% N! y. s; z
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a' l1 s; w' ^6 y
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one5 p8 q% A# V$ O- S% Y0 }6 L5 }
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
+ R/ |/ l% d. yMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,( H1 W( a! s6 a9 C
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no: c' h, Y0 w: l) @7 U2 Y
trace at all., z7 ^5 w" n9 D! ~- k
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
8 O( W$ D7 z9 `0 |database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
. J! I" T q% Y3 Z& C6 wacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
# Q) q8 l: T1 ?& z, o9 s. Hrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.5 u& s/ T2 C2 F, P
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
& E" Q2 y5 r4 Y- Hsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and5 V2 g* E* @0 N+ \% D9 i5 G
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
9 q: |0 w) b7 }: h+ ielectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible x |" V: m8 e3 |9 z o; u
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only/ Q4 U3 {$ s' Q6 Z2 Y5 W$ {
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
_4 |+ ~1 s+ i3 e8 F7 @8 I1 {by Toyota's lawyers."
. q5 [& f, e0 J8 O5 t ALentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
% m8 y& F% q1 {/ J+ Aproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our# S. R8 |. B, m5 H* k
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he( y, r$ X; d0 y$ T2 o8 \
said.. Y# q( C- l I& O3 z6 @
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
: o" h) @8 n6 I) x; Y0 Ea rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our0 j, F) o) l# C5 g5 Z
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
. n q8 ?2 j2 y A% q- Q: ~9 uofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
, ?/ m5 F- f0 C. h+ T0 l( qSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying$ e1 n& I* b" f; J5 w6 ]1 A
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread% E4 B1 P. V/ ^2 E
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
/ O% t- H% S+ W9 @9 j- h, }automaker, at least in part because of the government's8 c( ~ z! O* W K
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and. K0 Z9 H2 a ^0 E( @* t; R
Chrysler.5 O( \" \! Q4 C. h$ }/ C: {4 q
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax7 K; E5 w- R! b6 n
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
+ @! F" [ v. X2 J- M6 W1 d: w+ t, ]Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also% r0 I% T/ D6 }& n# t; V
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete, A; W$ m( ]# D# e
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
4 }3 p n( \, n0 ]: d# jtough."1 f: R6 J9 U: `! u( f7 V5 C3 d
---
3 U1 o, s! U- f) l, x/ MAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
* U9 F5 W0 w$ Y9 ~' C9 D" URaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to1 }4 j) K* I- K( t- M( o
this story.
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