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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
+ d9 z, j" }+ f% W( R; IBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
; ]0 A: j: S0 D @, L: }- OWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.$ x3 Z1 v+ L7 [7 S1 R
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that/ W- x H5 d& j) \, _6 m" K+ X
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"& n' F8 b( P7 w6 L6 } l: v
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
& O6 {# {. e2 `+ R"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential8 b* Q/ H. N9 n8 P- k: t* { u+ P
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
# R* T, J5 k+ B: XHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
' I/ T4 a0 x2 D8 i4 x& Tacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
( ?: ?( F- E& @+ X) E: {trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor. R: g9 |! ?! m3 a! X7 V% N5 Q
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
+ g j3 ]# {; l, C8 [He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
3 w4 p* |& f! s" L7 \) [ T) ]2 Eand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
! c+ W, E! [ h3 Ncriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
8 O: [7 ` v+ I1 x/ I) v M% j& |7 }further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could4 w" \: s) X5 w: p6 |/ I, s
not stop her runaway Lexus.
! ?# |( W0 U4 w' v"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,) E( Y. I/ @- k; I1 e8 E7 c
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second3 s- w( _% c2 ]
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
$ j. F& U: Y3 l6 |Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
6 }( D: B9 A4 Jearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
7 G( T0 x* a" u$ `5 `4 `"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has) f" u+ o( t8 K' T
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway* v6 J( F" F( ]5 F+ I; V. K
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's9 t9 ~$ O1 p9 W# n& n3 r! o6 a
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham.": M( n$ L: X# }: T3 |2 `; Y8 ]: G
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
9 X; g: S% A" Helectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
6 j7 t) C+ {9 @3 D1 a, v' O: B* lthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a7 R. O K9 R. Y0 i; b
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
- S& v" |4 [3 F" nsaid.
# l9 A& ?$ ~ V% ?6 ~As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
% V- ^+ ]$ {$ E* {4 u, e0 V$ \+ l. [happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe* R) c" J9 M8 g4 |8 p2 M0 e7 \9 p) G
about driving our products," Lentz said.
& L) C8 ^2 u6 n% m0 M$ ]9 }7 {4 KThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
2 b$ ?9 F, V9 Q2 j7 U @problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has. O1 `5 s! o) \# B r
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
5 ~* X" w' M7 }% ~4 Qmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
8 d9 p( p- l7 t0 z6 @. N8 Aunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
6 l/ _3 |7 h' G: e. J; xissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering1 O& J. a' V! `
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
/ @* O/ Q, e6 e; G/ q. |their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
2 Z* O, y- `$ i Q" g, w" a) s! ndown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
. y% p; \3 j2 t: u" A3 k5 Y. Lreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
t9 _+ \, k) z4 y' ~, F* Vof Toyota vehicles since 2000.6 C% _7 H/ g I* p5 X
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
+ r* t0 v; P/ ~ J/ d$ U6 Ibrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
7 e( Q9 V! N( K: S& w9 z% xunderstood the pain.
0 t4 O" ^4 ?# i# d) m"I know what those families go through," he said." Q- |, }: m& a5 F) Q* M
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's! R$ U& h! ? J* Q5 _
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.6 R I5 T+ Y* f) G
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
8 @2 g% q* l% b; H: W* B9 M7 |Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put$ l4 K7 p" ]# ?+ n2 E2 B
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
# ^. N5 y2 c6 U! v' D5 ^* cLentz replied: "Not totally."6 P! r6 E- o& v
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were8 y! A& [+ V) Q4 g8 s# x
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
9 o7 }( f/ H: Y4 l3 IToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas# d) h4 w0 L( e1 O3 U8 {* m" y
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its5 M! C% i8 S F9 }2 ^
vehicles already on the road.2 H l3 l; x, l+ W2 y: {
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
' S n5 u6 D2 e/ J$ p: I' `before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full! e3 G% ~; W: U. K5 E/ ]
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and' M; E$ n" q( A2 ^
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
; V% X2 a1 i8 i0 W4 O; }8 dkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
( X, {) M* S3 p; P"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
, j8 }5 R1 A$ jtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony" G4 f L9 [+ u" r/ w
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
9 W- i1 x2 g/ G: ~: N# ECommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal F+ P" S7 a6 p8 `
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
$ n: U9 K1 s8 e# p5 a9 Hrestore the trust of our customers."( f& _/ V: W3 O" E% W) B$ s' r, g
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
; h: y3 V$ W! M7 X9 lSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly K. y. _' {6 u# C- B
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --8 U) A& L' ~$ c b% @1 U9 w
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and' P8 ?9 Y$ x1 k0 J3 Z* ]" b6 l
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
0 j& G5 V0 m7 J! s8 |0 rthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
3 l2 q& d- `$ y3 J% E/ rturn off the engine.
9 h6 J; [, A+ R. H" L1 }Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of+ P3 @* D3 @6 {
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
! @1 ?6 {" S" p5 B! G0 }4 J"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she4 {- y8 H6 ?3 Z6 x9 i0 J
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond8 b% k e9 G; g0 [
to her complaints.9 Y5 r' {* q* ~
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers$ a- ]* b* h Q s
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic3 U) S0 i E* s# ?4 D2 C
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.; _/ M6 M/ h% _/ V. p
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
* K& Y8 C& M5 H4 _2 ` a6 |2 @throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
7 t5 h9 s5 d; Q0 B* q"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
7 S9 \* ?" h1 n- u& goff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
0 r$ N+ a; c0 a, KTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in3 S) n. ~" Z+ B
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were: Y8 ~# o' q |/ l
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls: `, h' W2 f, B2 S/ f( M
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
0 r$ Z0 Z( W6 i1 Zevery question."; w+ [2 u0 ~! _1 C# x
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
+ c: d% Q% S, G' Oelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The- j8 p) c) w/ m) K
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But+ n; N- q+ w6 R0 N7 [* T1 e% X, V' Z
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small% A: I5 P* | L8 y
number of vehicles7 w/ r% P( K; o% D
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more* i# p! a( r7 m3 I Z1 K6 D
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
" g8 {3 K. t- |, X4 [mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
3 y, H1 [3 H; n4 D+ Q+ a; Ssource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
* b& r6 h& B O* |; U/ A- R, PMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
. c7 R# t# Q1 W/ F) K/ V6 ewhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
! E) C& [7 Y/ ~/ ^8 C$ @3 @5 atrace at all.
% {+ ~& I! x- u. D, s6 {( e, QHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
: K! H8 W) S$ ]4 I. v- u ]database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
/ `3 i# S7 D6 I( @4 tacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
7 c/ W2 \+ ^( ^, `3 Lrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
1 l& A& L, E! V/ C) |6 `Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
$ j$ |4 Z, T5 x5 j* b8 X3 `& Fsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
5 H& ] x! m! \3 L* b0 ~other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
" j. s0 K' U: x5 G5 |& o% Felectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible" M2 M9 ^: B4 i+ R; C: N8 j0 R. O
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
+ Y! _) U K4 csuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained1 a, W# ~- A; n
by Toyota's lawyers."
% C6 b9 _) B5 B, @7 w- CLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of* S7 F; X( A c
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
- F" E7 R2 F8 n. F7 q# G' n# {/ _customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
$ d J* Z: v& O* |5 p- D7 e$ x) `said.
+ j- B. n$ `$ }"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with& ?1 n0 b2 w. A$ Q9 X; G2 K7 x
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
0 p ?+ n* p( ~' r) H2 J5 s1 ?% ~, }good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating& @2 y4 M! M. P) i d; u" }1 y: H% {
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc." H4 i/ X" e2 H0 V5 R& L
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying$ g! y {8 u, s
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread* F/ g: d' `* ?* @
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
! A D4 g" X4 ]6 |3 K/ L" Iautomaker, at least in part because of the government's) w0 Z& @# V% Y( x8 F$ ~
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
/ Z$ \ Z3 W& n |, \Chrysler.; T% A; n$ g, s Y( D: c
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax0 N, _8 k9 h, k6 S2 K; B
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
0 p, [; Y& a: N. k; RHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also/ F K3 Y( r$ g: Q6 G5 i
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
" V0 W$ U4 W5 R/ a2 v# _9 E+ a* S' @5 twith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
, {1 S. W& A& }3 g6 F7 F8 qtough."
5 S/ C' D3 u& Y" o- ]% m1 I5 F( k" y---
6 B2 f' ]& E1 ^. E; \; \Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom k' j! A+ f. i" ]6 x0 N3 T
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
' a: K3 I; m7 G/ I; E }# G5 Uthis story.
: g& G+ m3 G' ]7 t0 U" n0 m: ]" }* ]+ W8 k6 f
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