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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
# k6 r: }& j, B% d" h7 MBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS2 B0 a4 J7 f: f' F! f1 e
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
. h2 l2 J* T a, X: V* |. [, foperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
9 l/ a3 L( }2 a/ l# wthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
5 V: L7 a6 [ g) tsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
) x. S p0 M3 e1 T"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
8 W" T+ G: H* `causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.7 F+ J! [1 a; y9 \3 u3 M w
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected% V- M/ Y: [% a7 h
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
) H" [! w5 q( u* G- Etrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
1 ?0 n3 k1 J/ cmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
7 ?8 B& f, X: D: Y9 S% V5 t( nHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
# I9 J/ ^. k7 m b# z3 Rand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
& h. I) i' d3 f" Ncriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
c% W4 C6 A% p! v. H6 j4 }8 rfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could7 F$ y# D" e/ I7 [4 `4 A. N
not stop her runaway Lexus.0 [. ]( g X( e) h; m
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
1 @* ]% T" z8 ]! V3 B# W" f7 @' ?Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second0 k8 }5 T$ B( g% W0 `+ o! h
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
m; t6 @( j0 L! \Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues4 Q# C$ R) |& `/ A0 r% ]
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
/ E+ O0 d; U7 Q1 c" W6 c- e"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
4 o& `( V# y+ ]0 tdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
! ]: U* r I- z; D4 rthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's/ k4 s+ E& W" L, i" w5 X8 H" F% c
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
9 M2 k: i9 R# n+ G$ Z0 L) lLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
( W9 B( j4 f" [# t* H2 C% relectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of( U3 T- H2 c) e4 Q! G
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a' x0 f0 X, E0 B% N
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
. Z# w5 G, n/ D" L. x/ i" c1 \said.1 t" m- n# k3 X; M2 e- s
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
7 M( a9 e% ?% A& j5 r% Rhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe0 u. n& m5 v( r1 C
about driving our products," Lentz said.+ J- v8 p$ X+ X H8 \
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's: f+ A6 f0 z4 O$ y
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
. e& P6 J: }4 T7 T/ } R+ B3 \recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
' E- Z: B( ?5 N; N0 ?7 A$ ?! h, Xmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of! q" m6 I0 X1 M- ^' y7 k
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking" V) N* J9 q8 y. Q$ u7 X3 S
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
3 X4 ]. b' S2 O1 Q3 u7 Uconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
- z- i; Z1 N) H$ V4 q* V8 [their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
" e4 e% U( n( K+ Q! ^ Mdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has) S/ ?3 n7 g. ^
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration4 l7 k( [! I* T1 k: h4 b
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
7 p+ v7 i5 G+ G* u8 n4 CLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
# K0 _' x) B; R! I. C& n" U, abrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
2 h% K Q0 n0 O! L- lunderstood the pain.
7 r/ q+ m' I, ^% x n6 E"I know what those families go through," he said.
' V& p$ c6 I$ ?/ u9 a7 X, GLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
' W [; K7 y( e3 h7 Efixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
7 a1 t: M% _9 ~8 P2 d' s% W1 qBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman% w9 F# ~9 g9 B. r
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put3 |& k6 j* N4 F1 _2 |3 |3 K
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,: b9 K- ^! Z1 p _7 z
Lentz replied: "Not totally."1 f6 C: J. k1 R& C7 p( b2 l
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
; v% \9 f& A, M"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said% @3 j& I, s# w6 c- ~+ H
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
7 V* e5 \% O$ e3 e3 A A% ^pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
7 M# X1 Q# o" T" B) n& z x- a9 }vehicles already on the road.
( n+ [3 P+ {! ^' kMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify' Q5 r; q: F4 D) U: B/ o4 R
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full8 I' H1 b, l( g, q$ T, g# f
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
/ T& P3 N9 T4 E% ]. Roffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were" L! [% e4 d2 `$ Z- w/ U! {
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
+ A4 _+ y8 r7 C R"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
: i, ?3 r2 Z; P1 n, p) e" Ntragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
9 H+ M) o' Y9 _2 L: x, v/ Gfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
0 R; R- r# H, H7 U/ K/ {. ICommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
9 _+ T* q( h4 y/ T6 u4 J( kcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to' n, b- D/ i# S1 q
restore the trust of our customers."+ I$ n! M8 h0 V% E
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
* |# n8 p, ^9 f1 r2 {Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly* c) S) |2 c+ c
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --5 Z% y. Y. H: m$ F9 ?6 S5 C
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
( P/ t0 C8 r% a' D$ ^: b/ Hhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
5 G( g0 @ i/ o$ A# L1 e) u8 Dthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and; o7 v& t+ ` S
turn off the engine.- @9 w& S, b+ H" | x
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
+ ^" o U* G1 T- k l" \October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
$ _( v0 M% ?6 ^2 m: i"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
5 b) U6 N# |$ O" H3 y8 Gsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
9 g/ B t& Q g% P& [) Z, k( Fto her complaints.1 V. ]# p/ B2 X1 g$ ^8 j
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers, J3 |4 I9 Q* A, }7 z& a; Y
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic, f. k% @$ {8 r
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars., f# j- t" J' i1 R
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
4 y8 K5 S' Y+ N2 k; ?/ J" jthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited2 o( K2 @2 I( \, g2 t
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
6 J' d8 X0 O# L: @# w+ p0 \0 a# qoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
. e3 P; Z6 _. C; ^: k A) ETransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
7 F4 @7 W. Y8 s% H2 O" vprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were7 W4 c. ~0 h- V8 i% x4 o" ^
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
6 b: g' U! ?4 pwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
! |) z. I; p# j' T9 r0 g" l7 gevery question."" `; J* Y6 C x0 h0 J
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether2 D" _3 a/ t& q% x
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
; q1 w$ |! I% |firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But8 p r# F6 C& W1 q! _' o
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
' G7 n8 ^1 i& K- Unumber of vehicles, ?' Z( r2 E) E0 |3 N
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
8 ?" Q7 d* d. A Xdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a! Y- I% g; S; E
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one" B) @$ e7 \7 t/ Q0 \: ?: Y
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
" f2 T" v7 Y) b: `8 C P0 LMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,' L5 z2 _- b3 ]
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no0 _9 l5 c+ D& F/ j$ d- E
trace at all.
" q3 L, |& N: E$ s. p, s3 E8 MHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
7 P+ {1 I; U) p, P, E& B3 y1 gdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden- Q! \8 z- c, D. O$ f+ U! i
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the# h' L& j# G! f& @5 e
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.9 R% |# _5 K6 q; c5 {
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
" H/ _ F4 o* l& p6 T+ Qsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and0 q" h% S8 q: x5 b2 A4 v3 ^
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
6 Y+ ?/ S: c" L' r6 y7 ?+ Welectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
0 W; I: W1 E# wcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only! C6 J, y) ~* J
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained; z8 o) O8 r% o6 X5 M. f; U
by Toyota's lawyers."5 Z2 J- U& ]3 M1 V# G
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
) d, R- \; E& v% e# N* T, G& Sproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
+ S3 {9 Y# F6 Pcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
0 F6 c% S: T5 U: E5 e' l1 T8 Usaid.* x# U7 ?# W* s( R# ]8 h- _7 v
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
3 @% p% f* l0 U4 Aa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
2 p- y+ s: u: `good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating1 A* U' M8 F! J" g( U
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.$ I- [/ R6 Y! }' m) i
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
# {7 n# n& s# b @, }$ L- Rmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
5 E j7 q$ B7 R# V5 g4 m3 wrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the2 a/ S) O: B3 ~1 {/ F6 f
automaker, at least in part because of the government's; ~* ~+ b; `- D1 e
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
6 L/ J& ~. h) J% k4 O* aChrysler.7 E2 l3 }# [! X7 _3 D; T
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax3 E1 u+ G- x' y% t; V0 K3 p, e
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a% ~" Z: _ ~. w. z e% J
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
+ D% S7 E0 e' E- e) s8 o1 K3 Sserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
K- s/ l# W" E) w4 e' gwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty6 J2 W; d2 A6 r6 A$ B. |
tough."
" X1 O: Q, G( ~+ D---
% h' ]1 m3 }, @' Z: y9 l1 d8 S( I5 CAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom7 F) j/ @6 H3 L/ _; y# h! w/ x
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to1 x) J8 g0 b; q) C) K! k
this story.
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