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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
& u0 b3 d/ j" S) y0 \: U6 x+ bBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
8 p# t' D) s' {5 |Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
' O. b+ W' y" _ B* woperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
- g1 Z0 L# J8 L4 b9 d' x; Y3 tthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"6 q$ D5 ?7 j2 o* m4 `
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.6 F/ J& S6 Z. ~, y2 z, B4 G
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
1 n L6 j- C' e, R; h+ I3 B# ccauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.+ w) T+ H" z! O+ t& Q/ T
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected/ w3 `' q4 _: S! R. _
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
2 ^) n( n/ C4 Xtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor ^# I9 B2 D, g) M+ x1 Q
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
`4 `* _. m# Y% \/ sHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal r, D4 ^: T- [
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
5 k/ o' O( y: Rcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
9 p& ]5 L+ ^& D" G& g9 lfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
3 @* [2 S; |! A. Pnot stop her runaway Lexus.) F; s/ P6 B4 Z$ c6 y
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
% T" s. U1 d! E' b2 c+ ~Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second3 n7 q/ P' d, Z( X4 ?" R
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
" c( X* z8 m. I, _+ c! N7 ^1 J$ `& PTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues2 b4 ], r; ] I; E8 _
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
6 X/ S1 w7 k8 O4 f4 ?, a5 N"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
3 ?+ J2 C. W) F" B7 Qdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway5 C9 E, n2 o; K' g) n# _: s# l
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
+ J* \$ X( v( G dinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."% r+ s N9 O9 ]* s5 i- f& Y* j4 ^/ o
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an3 C" Z% ~9 }! b+ j' Q1 |3 z
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
+ i- h' [& U" x8 X8 dthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
& w4 s) o0 Z7 Y) g/ l3 z& e mmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he" _( ]2 i, \$ W0 i' ?
said.
& a- [0 J4 v2 b, `2 @As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what. ^# z3 v" Y8 h7 W6 Q3 I
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
0 @- n; g, W: Z5 Xabout driving our products," Lentz said.* a: N9 S% _9 c3 B3 t% X2 a
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's# v- }: ~/ g* X5 g
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has+ X4 `2 {( v3 ? I: O) `
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 67 f3 H- |/ i8 W
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
0 ~$ ~/ y3 {# gunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
7 c' }7 ~% b/ `+ {9 e4 oissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering0 b3 }. u8 x# M$ |% S+ E/ D
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of* ]0 K& f# v4 w& u' |5 l
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
* R8 n7 r7 ^; z: W5 V/ H& y. Edown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has5 A: E# R# \) L" Q
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration3 Q, n" y) _+ J2 w1 x
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.$ l0 }8 F3 n; O8 F3 A. U$ D7 C9 s- @) K
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
$ `$ x' o- I( tbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he5 f r1 n& n3 t# a. i2 N: o
understood the pain.
* Q5 x- i( V3 |# r) a6 p! V* {"I know what those families go through," he said.5 Y" a& c2 q8 ^: ~# k" ]
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
6 |+ i8 q: Q% t/ G( ^" {fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.8 J2 P: r! u \7 [
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
0 @$ q! U2 w) b) K( pHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
; v4 ]! z. s2 T5 xin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,: @0 y* I- u4 M: y" K
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
( t g% h& c; M) y) AStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were/ k' @: D4 ]9 g" V$ [; w
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said+ @( h. h. g4 \1 i6 ?
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas) i" q; f" {. m2 K
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its. v% ~: p1 p; A. D, Q# h- w
vehicles already on the road.& [4 c4 s5 ?( [/ r, s
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
! ?. `: H, ~2 r( l; U$ C: ibefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full6 A- f) `: ^' ]* G2 b) F
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
% x4 ^8 U: Z% }' K" Poffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were' F0 I, Y& T" X0 j
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
/ ^7 o8 M0 g7 c! P. k' ]+ Y"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
. G& c% Z E) `2 {" j8 qtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony1 ~, y. _4 \# B' ^
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight L1 w6 |+ w/ f6 @2 G. w
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal# I: D8 X2 [& T+ p, o+ ]3 Y9 [! v1 ]
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
1 w6 Y" u. G5 f8 J" w& b. [7 vrestore the trust of our customers.") t/ K9 c' i% C
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
0 e5 f. y4 {4 O% V# B; n: Q2 }0 SSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
* W! E9 T' Z) w8 I, s5 W' T4 ^& nzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --& ~; F) N1 a3 l' n$ [
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
1 B! m$ ~+ C( \ |( Y N C, ~hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough ^/ Q/ @- }2 h3 X8 i
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and& M1 o4 }# j: R F" R
turn off the engine.6 R9 G( y3 p+ t
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
7 l: l: N9 [. H$ ]+ E0 m DOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
: z$ z% t" n* X5 Z/ A"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she: n* U" P: ]+ @5 ~( B; S
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond# R) d1 _7 j% `5 O8 H
to her complaints.9 M" j# ?3 Q$ k
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
( K, B2 m( t4 \7 s0 ? i/ Z/ Hreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
" k, b6 S' W, v, Gmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
& H# I% r/ I* J7 y% ?3 U"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric* j9 F2 k7 F3 p8 E3 {( }+ ]% N
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited4 h' V1 Z5 W& |" H7 s. @
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut$ `- o, ^5 x+ F. D. P( ?" H
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
. _8 z/ \: R/ Z5 k5 l1 jTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in8 F6 d6 d. |) ]& ~9 E
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were1 o2 E; ^' |% r) u2 d5 A
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls5 W3 C0 c1 [& a0 ]
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer. `* Y3 m+ p0 z0 Z
every question."
& Y- W, C+ z0 B3 }1 e$ V6 GToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
, D* i2 D! d. W% a& ^8 ~# felectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The; i8 O5 v$ Y" R/ ^3 B- b
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But! e2 M' e, ]% _0 A n
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
7 q. E q2 j- Pnumber of vehicles
8 A5 d }1 I0 [5 _9 l! fTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
2 W8 ~( J X! A2 o Vdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a; p# s% @# m. L
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
7 n6 Y5 D/ w% |) n& Qsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.' N. L, x3 i0 }3 ^0 P
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,3 E2 h0 {% v$ l* b$ l/ T. @+ B$ U
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no' a4 M2 |- Z1 O( ^8 h( H J0 u
trace at all." r# d+ P" l. p4 E, V1 C% t
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call, B$ t. {7 r9 c# G g2 \/ J
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
' }% i- V5 {. {9 q$ M/ Wacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
; M' V9 R6 \: `! A7 vrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
5 c+ W# n4 ]& SRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
9 x6 S# a# B* {said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and8 T8 V/ [; |0 N! D' U3 z0 J
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the5 b, h' S M; v2 C
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible9 R0 b( y# @% W8 \4 t+ T
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
' `. ]1 Q8 k" _! zsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
4 l3 q' S7 a. R; }6 B- Sby Toyota's lawyers."
! I2 m o. e* ?Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
2 L a; h6 P1 [( F" E* F9 W$ aproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our" k' V1 Q& [/ h! f+ O# d
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
3 c2 Z) J+ S4 @; m& I6 l; d* b+ Z0 Ysaid.
: L2 _ C" z/ l"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
0 U+ i+ |: C1 y( x. u" H- qa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our0 N7 G4 t9 i2 Q9 P0 p2 D- }" P3 _
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating/ }# ~3 h, t; Y8 a1 W* s- h. a
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.) J4 ~; c# R$ [) C+ e
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
8 R) ]! ]- S7 `- ^2 B, {; Smembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
# ~4 E. |4 W" trancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
* l+ v" s* j2 Oautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
: |. Z, F/ j3 {3 u7 k) J$ E; z5 t) }investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and- F+ y! W3 T- u3 V, V
Chrysler.9 O. j+ T1 s7 B+ o% N5 ]# I
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax3 O. b" b8 V% w( o3 g
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a i: _: u. M1 W& [. j t4 s
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also# e, o4 E- ^9 Y- G! x
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete/ ~- v4 {- i( c" d3 r# _+ |
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty I, r" l$ P: `/ C1 \+ Z5 _/ {
tough."% F3 i0 v% @$ E# ~- Z9 g9 l9 X
---
& k: E; J7 ]' }* n- E7 s' CAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom$ G0 L! d( y/ ~
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
7 O0 h$ I/ |6 r: R% u# p% F! lthis story.
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$ s! T7 x" q6 _2 w$ P& x-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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