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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$ x. j0 _1 v7 _By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS8 H/ b6 n& @8 `8 g' n
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
, C% w& n6 t9 l" j: }operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
2 k9 O9 k+ ~! k# d$ Nthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"* b% _1 q7 E1 n( X8 z
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.# W# y; s4 Q- ?- P
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential+ U$ O1 p c( _
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel./ L1 `+ v5 C' `0 q0 ^: ?- Y, ?$ b
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
( Y" s7 e. ^0 {acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
, E3 a z2 c3 Z, otrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor8 _5 v Y0 U& M
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
! F" v7 W% H/ V3 L9 H, yHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal" d7 l( }* ^6 h, u
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
+ `7 W. T0 Y8 H7 O8 [criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be6 _8 g h! l$ l! Z6 B/ x: Z
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could6 G3 Y, s6 l, @2 S) p* ~6 m
not stop her runaway Lexus.
3 t% }& i8 g& T# A1 O5 C"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,6 q" b2 V3 r% B/ o0 X. N4 Y
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second2 t; W: r( u! F- O3 {
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.5 U4 b6 K2 w" e3 I
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
( P: }+ n9 ?0 p0 zearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said6 T% `( a8 a& Z8 ~, \/ v
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
9 m6 d; u. q" t2 H: L/ _done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
I( b( ^1 Y' X4 B9 othrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's- n* P* J. x" s
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
* {0 r h/ x6 N! O' G) Y: lLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an: `1 e( K J& D3 d2 y e8 `5 t0 o
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of, a& `3 e; W1 M1 f) Y2 |
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
1 w2 W4 }+ [( q. A' k$ O1 Dmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
" s' S$ i1 P8 {3 m7 V' L& ^2 ]" U) ]said.
. B5 x& r$ h( R5 [) K6 @2 B2 BAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
" m# O$ y0 q T( `8 Uhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
1 p3 f, q# U m6 e& Sabout driving our products," Lentz said.
0 h+ B) U$ Q) U F4 NThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
2 l+ D5 J( q$ J: Vproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
8 O9 ^# r" w! r( w. Hrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
; S3 X6 k% }/ E3 {million in the United States -- since last fall because of8 b8 M' `7 L7 p; a' _
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking2 |/ k" G" s9 x$ s
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
1 x- q3 Z5 {7 @! _concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of! I- r5 i6 j, @" g
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow; F3 H4 ]! t- i* R, X' s
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
; [5 P% S/ U3 s/ g2 ~( _received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration0 p$ H q$ N* ?- e' f
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.- |5 ~, I" z7 P2 ]
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own) i: m5 E8 O& p# o# y) l
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he7 F- I! \7 @8 s" J; M
understood the pain.1 o; S' L' t6 G/ n9 r
"I know what those families go through," he said.9 _9 p& }5 j" o& Y: s
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's s2 c+ x9 k! q' Q2 e9 L
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
: s e* M# I( T6 Q1 n7 g0 YBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
3 S/ P( M; k6 a j B9 UHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put6 v2 w0 W1 w/ c3 H; v
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,* ]/ d `6 ~6 B5 {* l
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
# r$ T! {6 N" CStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were3 ~- v8 {8 r9 X
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
6 E! T% ^4 X6 H) QToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas; t/ P4 T6 h' N
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its: F2 K6 J7 M, b( d
vehicles already on the road.8 D- z" Z. @& A/ m6 {
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
9 K9 W' |7 v2 {- B. {: b) D7 q: |before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
% |9 U& b9 ?. E/ hresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
( b o4 O1 C8 w+ q6 I( d- `offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
& R. s3 P Q o8 g4 \6 G: d# tkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems." g0 A: y6 i: Z0 ] X
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a) f6 ]5 Y" Y- T% ^
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony2 W8 h+ [, \& z5 o. J. h
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
9 q" A! T% } g# Y3 r8 Q. ~6 ~Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
4 {( s$ {2 g2 @7 Wcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
& H% ]" T/ ]# ]restore the trust of our customers.": U/ q; i4 N7 N* `# z8 D
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
- D# E& |& M g; R8 R; HSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly$ V; G/ r% {( t* H# z/ k5 S6 K
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --+ D- l8 l+ M2 e) T9 x' C4 J
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and% j; j: [ {9 C' G$ V/ I' y: \& U; |+ y
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough v* `7 U- P/ K% {. Z; U
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and. S/ L) n- W7 V4 J. E& j
turn off the engine.3 v6 R& y( k2 a7 x! U
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
& z/ @ s4 ^" X% b$ `9 qOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
& |5 B8 E7 ]* c B* y( L* l" F"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
* w* m+ E4 ^* l+ }& a: nsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond: r, ^3 _9 w! j( g
to her complaints.2 p1 z; |1 D: L. X) h
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
+ W0 M0 \# x0 Z* ?7 b! g6 Rreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
$ a" ]/ J3 X9 i& l, E; F cmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
4 h! j) J3 w+ t8 T"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric( \. x3 v/ U3 s' b5 K# x
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
' M( x2 c9 G4 B3 O/ s"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut6 x1 I. Z4 G* x6 \' `- G+ a, V
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
7 S+ ?; N3 M& vTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
% Z$ {4 e5 G9 c7 G6 Xprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
9 k( V4 s& S& }" T8 Ubeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
" p. y, q( U6 \- f( w6 Hwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
& `4 ]9 ^ R8 y+ P- c- T; I$ c/ C! gevery question."
! o: x3 \! y9 G( d pToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether- h5 s/ E- ?0 _/ L: s ~1 L
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The, V/ o& A6 e; ^: G% _8 T
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
4 @3 Z0 \2 C; @' q% rcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
2 H& L: O8 y3 Bnumber of vehicles
" w; a9 j' n. STracking down an electrical problem can be far more& y! ]$ b; F- l) D" R& L
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
0 }2 Y- Q/ [5 p& H9 {mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
. _+ b2 S5 \& n+ n* i& }1 Wsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
3 w% w8 n3 |# n9 f' _Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
- ^7 K4 J0 ~5 H2 h; `3 O0 Nwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no( \" N3 {2 F/ B/ \& }* M& j
trace at all.0 F% _; M; a7 Z+ @
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
- C% `4 V) p s$ [database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden6 j, C# X- }" Z* I+ D$ [
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the; {6 M' V9 Q. D
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
* W8 w4 J. e& K, `6 C0 z' jRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,' B( {9 Q; E# L" U& f1 w
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
: B; z% Y1 I1 X' L8 K/ L7 Kother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the" V4 ^* F- ~4 u8 d
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
& N8 m6 |4 V1 Z5 N" X& gcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
- W. R7 Y+ a @1 G8 Jsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
/ F: f. F. x9 ^6 ^by Toyota's lawyers."; d6 O4 s/ B$ L) `& z2 G
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of) k* b3 i0 q) J: S8 V; b0 x
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our7 a- X. d9 c' A4 h/ }
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he% f6 h3 F9 n, p6 b# ~! e1 o
said.! f& _/ R% r6 v, ~" ~8 e" p
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
6 O2 m1 v6 f4 z' @4 Y0 ^a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our! O- j1 I0 ]# ~ F
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
6 v. Z" `; ^% e. F' M. [' }officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
& {) Q- l1 ?1 i# d% I, wSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying* g1 v5 V( u7 \4 Y( D
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread8 H9 g. f5 \) Q' U4 W% z! h. U; v
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the& @& G! U4 j1 L/ d) e- _- R
automaker, at least in part because of the government's6 c: u1 p8 x3 n! y
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
% I1 {6 C) z8 |$ U/ F6 iChrysler.5 L+ y+ |& s/ U1 j
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
7 N& H6 s: r2 `1 T9 u4 zdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a1 r5 h5 ?5 n$ h, b
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also3 ^9 q, G8 Q; O, `0 B ^, Y- Y+ l
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
8 M6 H- n$ c$ Y: i# J& W7 I) r5 [7 m' nwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty; |& c. g6 S: h: O) s
tough.". H3 q7 l% O; H! h( u
---
, ^& i1 |( }0 d, GAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
$ X7 w8 f( L; r% V6 P; k+ fRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to3 E0 |% C, C4 I# o b
this story.% H! k+ ?$ M5 f) _. g# K
) o; |* `% l2 N' K" {-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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