 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 O& w1 q+ t" }
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
6 G1 i0 ]; o- w o- @: k7 wWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
3 k4 x# e. S1 qoperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
6 G4 b) Z$ P7 c2 s" fthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"! V3 i+ o: W5 k3 o8 M
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.2 C: R' s4 u" `0 l5 ?
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential* A( A# S' V9 `6 t6 h- ?
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
2 r* n! D: A/ _1 r6 p2 m/ y1 C, s* FHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected$ G" x* u0 o8 y& ?/ ]: q
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
6 n% O; ]% B: x9 jtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor+ I) D7 L. w1 _9 p; H
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.% j; T: y5 K5 w. \% M2 [1 _, h
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal$ Q9 Q# Y) ~0 G# r& x
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp y h8 y: D7 Q; {
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be6 `, o8 L W5 h5 I- L1 ]
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could; g4 i2 g6 s! c$ }0 g* e) }0 a" V
not stop her runaway Lexus.+ h* N0 y% t& R8 Z
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
5 J3 _' V% D4 g, g) oTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second8 S8 N d- i) d0 {- ]* g
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
$ f) |6 Z3 j: m% RTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
, a+ ~% H6 E2 C, ~# h searly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said* @1 K/ q3 R& L- K1 X+ J
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has" ]6 N. T8 ~7 N- F
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway# L2 f9 M% R6 S' J) u
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
+ P+ f; y5 i2 J* q1 r/ D7 Finvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham.": ]) E7 r% G, w# j& h
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
& \+ X% O& w8 melectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of, I" n/ f0 M6 | W/ `$ _
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a2 ]0 l+ s1 \& o& c) N0 V0 z
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he" H+ [4 b n$ K% ?' j
said.
! ]6 W) ]- v- }5 N" h2 v2 `5 rAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what# C7 v) n+ I+ [: ]4 ~+ \3 K4 e
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
6 g- g7 _+ v2 g& s: T' s* _7 _% ~% O) ~about driving our products," Lentz said.
2 N: p8 y9 [$ U' LThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's" k0 |+ k% @, P% B6 `* \8 t9 o
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
2 M2 m3 i3 y# P& Q. B& n# ]) yrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
# R# j# m: Q" }, X1 ~# _million in the United States -- since last fall because of( I: w$ N+ E7 P0 S$ k; m
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
& _3 g0 |: q; Sissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering" o1 q$ t4 S/ @( S1 E) S8 N
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of q/ m; P \5 w- Y$ O
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
" L/ Y- k5 a, @) p! pdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has: K: w" m0 e& l5 j |+ r+ I
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration( [& `2 Z$ ~3 b
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.. [+ v: N2 s L' H) b
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own8 u: R/ q( k8 `- ]( u
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
) r7 q8 y3 F/ J( C" b) H" b6 g" iunderstood the pain.9 j8 h5 ?6 p- v6 h5 h% s, _
"I know what those families go through," he said.% @; P; V4 D$ E0 o
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
1 {' h. a/ {" Y; jfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
7 y. x1 x1 ]" d0 x0 [$ S6 r) JBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman& b* g; d% W# N% m6 g/ o
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put& b+ u! F; S7 k0 t. L l
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
% ?. i! Z$ R- b- jLentz replied: "Not totally."
" E J2 P+ q. J3 r GStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were1 ]4 c' ^5 M! Y1 W8 z+ v$ N
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said t7 K$ @1 K! x- S- V
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas- }# f9 d" W1 q
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
% [/ p3 ?5 d9 M. b0 N. q3 @* ~- jvehicles already on the road.% C) k0 b% r9 k$ d# o1 ]; P* o
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify" u2 K2 H8 Q- q
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full! C, u! [+ G! b
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
* Q' T, M$ e, r. E; r4 i# `: ]+ P1 ]( H# eoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
/ T" ~. Q4 _ E1 V8 B! V- X/ Ykilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.- Q' f# l/ k# A* T' S4 t" N5 Q
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a% q6 ]/ x) }6 [: L# T
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony, s$ [3 @% A; X- M( ?' T: _5 m+ Z4 C
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
% b) N g6 v! }' L ICommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
8 a f# t9 F8 q! q7 ^8 r; U1 mcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to# N% `1 J* E1 q
restore the trust of our customers." G. C. m% J9 e& y3 c% u+ x
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
Z1 o6 I" U! ]: G+ b9 bSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
6 @$ j: Y) d1 m2 {zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --' H% e: |' @0 u, H, T) ^5 l
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
3 z. C8 G3 e9 Y1 V; shitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough+ ]- {3 K7 X; X3 q; i" b! A* X7 v
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
! T3 q, y( i- a( @$ uturn off the engine.6 i& a8 q9 O" k }5 d0 m8 x, d
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of3 t3 y; ^) A2 H$ F2 K' u& P4 Q
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."+ L8 | r" B, E6 H1 F
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
5 w: r9 d7 I4 t1 o. |2 {said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
; d9 }* p5 y8 e! b+ [; D8 vto her complaints./ F: o. f8 E. U
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
8 X4 Q3 H- U1 [+ Ireturned again and again to the question of whether electronic- z( x" g* V2 d8 X: O0 B6 m
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
1 w, h9 d2 K! ?# Y; S- u0 v+ h. J"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric" H- A9 b% v8 X7 [4 c
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
- p6 m1 U6 N3 X* r% g+ u"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
5 L3 Z2 R- l" m& n: Koff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
- b9 T$ p1 f0 RTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in. g" @9 z& }1 I7 h6 L/ z3 Q4 h
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were6 {! D7 j4 h, f0 x9 H1 j
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
0 g" k. [- E0 H( swere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
/ @, I2 m2 f" _9 R' I" U) Oevery question."
. g4 \7 @0 ]% G+ Q; H5 YToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether$ f+ F: B4 u5 d1 J7 m2 c' a2 j
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The0 T6 [/ M' i) U: o& y
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But& |$ h9 Y6 ]' C8 T$ L# S# K6 f8 x
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small. l) e$ Y/ e9 Z I2 A; M$ ]' B
number of vehicles
; Q4 b1 j% F+ x* t, z# x% z2 u4 @Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more5 h% q) T1 O1 k4 d/ N8 ]$ Y
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
' A- w0 y' n, O# w3 ?' zmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
$ A; h( F G# x: T$ K9 Nsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
9 f# e/ o1 }( jMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,& [: P, i# i b* A; |! W
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no9 e! \' F4 q4 }9 x9 P3 @2 y
trace at all.
7 M) r0 }" D' w3 w* G. JHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call( }9 R, ^& F4 ~' z, K: L7 S- L# v6 @
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
" [4 U- Z" g _- [7 Yacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the8 Z) _, ]! y" X' e. u: d
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
. a- n1 b0 k7 ^2 LRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,, @: U# H4 Y, w' Q/ V5 K X* \
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and1 j# I. f" |( Z* l0 O2 m$ I
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the' P6 k' E' \3 R1 j2 ]! q
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible; ?" Y; e, ^$ Z# c
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only+ b; T0 Z. Q# p; f
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained U' C# Z* f7 K* Z7 j
by Toyota's lawyers."$ C2 l) ]3 ?9 `5 }$ f( L: O( c
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
( u7 Y, S0 {8 R( k* {, sproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
! T7 P0 e9 I4 p6 [+ Ecustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he5 `% v6 t& ]3 Z; {: |( K
said.
4 ^, I- R1 |$ [) W- M1 q. r"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
4 L s q: n4 W8 n+ Ia rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
1 _( Y4 U3 r) x! u, J0 rgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
6 p% u/ z1 N1 l( e& s" bofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.; O( {5 z9 _% _" y) q, U
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying5 ]: k4 G: g9 ~- Z/ b/ \% Y, `9 C
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread- [# p# j) X8 i
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the6 F: F- H0 D( B* I
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
% D s$ X2 A$ `" D6 e5 r' jinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
0 P2 c2 E/ Z7 _5 T! ^ GChrysler.
% P7 m0 R. o. Y3 J4 ^6 C"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax3 q- T* q( T5 r# a6 s) x. m7 h$ u' ?
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a) L/ m, b& `; h' m! j: p
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
# `) r% ^& q& tserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
r. s }! f; A8 N4 I& Ywith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty- V( e; Z( C: E9 @. }
tough."
, o$ y, \) P6 Q/ P x! }---$ p$ X' O( v3 y) ^4 }
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
1 g2 Y$ @3 k% ^* s. cRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to- N T* ^8 K: \: b
this story.
+ }- v4 O( }% _3 P! w0 l
3 g; p8 G- K: A( u6 d-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|