 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
& V! K# Z" e+ X, G0 \By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS3 d* D4 U- A5 f* P% b# q) d# b! c) T$ X4 T
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.& A) ]4 R% p ?0 P* i( \
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
9 @7 o5 E: V6 Vthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"& ~' Z5 |- x4 G& c# n! g: ^
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.# ^& s3 w8 `, Z) x: |5 C, K: A
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential/ o! I# W+ f0 f; E$ t. g5 `( A
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
9 @6 v* O& J) p& M/ `However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected+ a: x. {$ F/ R @8 o: a
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and! Q7 S$ w9 T+ v" V( d& {- S
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor, p( k2 B: H+ ^6 q6 Z% N: B/ r( M6 Q
mats and sticking accelerator pedals./ s* I3 |+ b+ {. [
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
2 O: y( k1 v! }2 c/ U7 g5 i; Kand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
: P% y& K- F" D! y0 n- O4 Vcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
- S- L/ j4 |2 ]further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
6 y1 @* U; A. Enot stop her runaway Lexus.
% B1 H2 G* l9 A! D7 E& t2 K"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,! ~ P7 c5 T6 A: `4 H6 C
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second7 r8 ^0 O, {. i( v2 c" a8 v" o
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
! ~$ v* g9 F. }; m' sTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
2 S2 M4 j7 N+ Z: N& P9 searly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
! V6 M! h# s; p"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has V4 Y% f" ?2 t9 X' b
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
! l' h* M1 r8 t7 M6 {! nthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
' x% W. K4 v2 e) I c/ C+ {investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
4 @$ p, \7 r. H4 z+ Y @Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an( b E9 {: n5 Z# w
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
8 e4 t0 r: i/ B. k6 \, b: |the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
4 W. n5 I1 C( [; {7 l5 w4 rmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
/ s1 U t; x& ?/ p$ Usaid.
6 H# M$ }4 n# P6 G6 u1 SAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what1 Y6 u; i$ G3 q
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
" N6 l; ^) `+ q+ I2 o. rabout driving our products," Lentz said.
0 B/ V) x/ ^* K9 F7 L% DThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's2 `9 ]9 d- w1 e
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has V: S5 z3 C6 Z
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6+ `* B: @* u+ \# |
million in the United States -- since last fall because of+ ~) }1 P, U) a0 e I
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking0 X; S( Z) u5 B. ?. u0 W
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
6 n7 K% g; L) L9 ]5 x1 I1 E' Kconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of ]" R K- s. ~6 B
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow$ Z1 R* X! h5 y: f# w3 `# S# ^
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
1 _7 g8 n9 U p$ t0 j; t$ `: V5 creceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
8 L5 p4 E4 `% a2 X: S, xof Toyota vehicles since 2000.1 x7 o- g+ n: E( V1 p+ `
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
4 J9 r# R- \/ J) S! L* ^+ K8 R; R! h( wbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
5 g g( i, O1 F8 y4 j8 uunderstood the pain.0 G# b7 v2 l5 @( i# R
"I know what those families go through," he said.
( Z: t6 \ E1 |Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's. ?" `7 ~+ F3 y/ @$ Q6 C
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
6 V @6 y$ o- BBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman1 t* o- d) E3 g. L: e/ x
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put: U( w2 n" H! Z |: R/ [5 j
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,/ W, [9 z L: @3 d. Q
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
' g/ F4 r# w& \3 s4 h% r: KStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were0 E( T) k/ Q! C# Z! N
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said3 U3 b* X$ p; i- n
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas- @- _ r" V6 b. ] y
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
& q$ C: w. C5 b' k( Q8 fvehicles already on the road.
% \; L4 \1 S, f: s2 JMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
- g$ ] W8 f9 h0 K, G+ O$ Tbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
- f8 C9 @ n; S/ g! h O' r/ lresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and; W1 X# V, X5 c s
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were. v2 V' \5 R1 C/ S- R+ M7 u
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
1 A' z% [- G; E"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
2 x l& C6 u) M) A# ?: itragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
) N( [! H9 Z$ R1 R5 m* A/ Wfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
* x6 a1 a8 [7 d+ E) a/ c* D$ pCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal0 ^+ U5 _9 f0 J# I
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
0 {# k! h9 S/ H. W* g lrestore the trust of our customers."1 u3 _. {- N2 D1 V1 ^
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
* S; u$ p x' Y6 w! e8 eSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly7 I) z2 k) y; Q: w- A% h" T
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
4 N0 R. P8 H' jshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
. ^. k- d, n2 T/ c) f) a$ \9 }hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough, ~5 I6 t; F3 J. u) ^- Q5 C$ @
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and0 R, C6 h$ ?6 Q' |, D
turn off the engine.
: H: y9 A1 T! {Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
0 a, M; y0 C/ X7 k9 cOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."" ?! |$ }2 w- |6 k& Y
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she7 t X Y( |" d# k. P! C
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
|! v( g' t: {. ~to her complaints.
- N0 ~! S- x4 c/ S% ~In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
2 r Z% o( n: _, \- Xreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic Q( U5 ~ i9 D
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.+ J2 {) ]# W! I! I- M! d P
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
0 m) ?! c$ p% L9 W2 wthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited% K1 [. x0 ]% R: x+ q1 p4 \
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut2 Y# A4 y+ i" L4 U# a, a9 C( f E2 y
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."* _/ e9 s% h' n1 Q
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in( a, a/ G) m7 u' j, l9 {4 p/ E0 O
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
/ q6 u6 ]* u; S' Q# g! Sbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
- b7 a4 o, s+ }0 E* c) jwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer3 V5 m- k8 o! ]+ h- u
every question."
9 ?3 R' G6 I& Y. p T! K3 H* OToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether% I. |3 X+ ~# t. k. l
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
# E* v! u, m* ?' K% [* x5 ^firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But' y8 C) \2 W l* H+ A
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
& ]4 |5 O% M" Unumber of vehicles0 W" D; W) X$ k; s0 B% W
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more+ a* q, r/ E2 ~+ A- L5 g7 z1 V1 u6 f
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
( }4 a. E$ } zmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
5 d! `; {4 p+ Y$ _source, and they can come from inside or outside the car." W7 p- G! P4 {8 P/ b
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
1 k+ g2 U$ s. j$ ?- awhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no J2 ~$ ?# k+ j) ]: r& o* _: f8 A! Q
trace at all.
! x" M5 j. H# iHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call* j- F5 [( H* ^: \ Z" t
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden1 ~, [/ G, W3 O/ \9 d0 V
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the8 U$ A7 [8 {2 \1 Q0 N J
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.- Z. R5 [. z, A
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,% D7 M/ n6 Q% B9 T& k2 Z3 s
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
4 I- Z$ b8 O, A* Z& x# q# zother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the9 O% I7 C- l* W' ?
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
) s0 G$ s7 W: a$ Mcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only# A) N9 J' s/ D6 F& c% D3 @
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained ^0 Q4 c0 d5 h' ]$ j
by Toyota's lawyers."
( m* ?1 B# G. }Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
" Q# G; C( c8 k0 `, o9 ~( t2 p6 Sproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our( S$ [; e9 K# }# V& w% K
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he4 }) i0 _4 O: N9 B# f- p
said.( X7 `* b6 m4 m1 f
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with% k) x S$ @% ?0 d$ r$ f
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our3 {* T( [# H5 G
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
% g- G4 v: N9 ^7 M. O, u# _/ Lofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.; O1 O# s5 K- r: T3 j
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying9 M; X1 _& K3 E/ J9 A$ r
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread/ N) ?+ H. q4 y) h6 J' G
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
- K. q1 [. c* Uautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
' q8 @5 [' Y. X, K* f0 X8 oinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
# E. f9 P1 _8 X5 m; ?3 D1 t$ P3 vChrysler.
7 G7 O ^+ r+ c( A"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
& z( D8 P% b$ o9 S5 v1 P$ Udollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a5 i! i$ T2 t8 v& l" s& B
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also, I% L$ p) W1 x+ u8 W# ^
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete# L. E( \0 F$ J! o
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
: Y3 D+ }% G! t4 \. U3 p0 n8 Qtough."5 o4 B0 g- y8 P" J3 M
---% G1 {! F, a4 P7 g5 {. r- }
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
3 i7 g/ a. ^8 r5 k0 j: c0 bRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to. Q. K9 s" J- H
this story.. H# F5 o3 N- e+ e' }/ `
3 I) x3 @* C$ q# T* H-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|