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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
% |" W) |" w+ V* z# {4 pBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
4 [" P1 B/ c% t& K8 a: K+ \/ MWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.* z( r/ M9 \1 V
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
6 C/ \8 J8 a0 W9 R& Y8 Xthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
0 K5 J7 `3 X& A! Usolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.+ f9 [; z% K* m! a; x
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
& f1 Z2 z# t7 c" O! m/ ccauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.2 }0 L; Q0 o* v7 A; S
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
1 ]3 v: A: d5 m0 x; M8 ^2 cacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and1 U' L$ _0 h2 a* x
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor4 @! m+ |' K- `8 x4 x8 @
mats and sticking accelerator pedals./ d' ]0 n9 P& {( b" `
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
* m0 f3 ?- p" F, ?3 ]+ dand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
# D, }& ]" h5 p$ s* r" Ycriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
* }- ?1 Q& z* Lfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
3 c8 h( }+ u3 m; Nnot stop her runaway Lexus.
# T1 ~4 D- q/ }# C$ g; [6 @! q"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,( t. g' m: _8 [
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
+ p9 j8 z9 P x9 w) t+ ^6 y"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
v; W. Z1 G! U+ XTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues8 ^& [* t2 e4 O# H9 j
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said8 U0 R9 ]( M# g" O/ H& I) _# }
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has0 i2 |4 A2 o1 T" x$ P/ E
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
4 |# O: f4 ^+ p% p- a9 U' K! gthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's' \6 g, Z8 y$ e' B4 h( ~
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham.", p" l3 V1 w1 ]5 g) h
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an+ o, |4 @' @7 x+ D1 l) e3 B
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of6 e/ L' ]) c+ f
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
" d/ Y9 b1 ^& \' }( lmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
/ ` j! Q! E$ G6 A: Ssaid.$ k$ g5 b# n4 h. ?8 D+ l; }/ R" D
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what! q( N, T( R- l1 Z6 Z; I' C
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe% ~- F; q! E \5 R" X. \2 ~
about driving our products," Lentz said.
* o1 \, I( t9 D& N. JThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
4 C1 p) S, b$ P# b9 Bproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has3 X( e2 O: ?0 g- a
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
4 u) x" R5 [( N( a6 U' ~7 Fmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of+ u/ O5 g3 ]0 T) t
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking" g- v i5 m% w
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
- w' _6 {: U- d/ aconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
( e( x! r; X+ s- j. }their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
6 n9 c$ t( r* C5 X; S' B7 ]' I9 t$ Cdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has, ` P, X3 O2 p( m
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration& T, U3 T0 @! U7 j" Q% R
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.$ g: t' y! w5 E7 h' U) x: i8 r
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
3 X( {8 H2 K2 o8 ]4 Z# lbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he- }+ a4 d1 w5 T
understood the pain.
+ r: E4 K- Q) p"I know what those families go through," he said.
8 T$ S" r5 X, p/ y0 m+ b/ m$ G9 @Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
0 r( \: r8 I' k- _0 @* y j# Cfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.# Z6 W. ]/ ]" e4 `, q: x7 G
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
( G- _ N) ^4 L# w8 H5 [Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
4 N2 t6 ^2 n2 m1 rin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,: o4 K) ?& l/ S, c4 T1 `. h8 d
Lentz replied: "Not totally."6 i& B6 I, W% U' G) h
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were+ m/ \- e- A% B9 Q6 G2 P
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said+ F& s2 Q0 v( A& h! j
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas [! p) n3 u# M6 `+ r" `- s
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its1 w, o! ^$ o" G7 f5 t
vehicles already on the road.
& }, R0 ]9 Y) x; QMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify& K6 s* \; I: [8 h7 c+ F4 `. f
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full) w' J: H N4 E' s* L3 ?; G
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and/ K; |1 Y8 p" m3 X
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were, R6 }9 U' M) W
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.1 M2 Y/ w* r) T) ^& y
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
) N, }/ I% I" k5 I1 {7 ?tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony- o8 ~5 Y y" ]" u
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
1 j. C) ]3 n# b+ {0 m& i2 ?9 TCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal3 M& {! i/ V0 P; M
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to0 \' j9 |3 q: G( @
restore the trust of our customers."
4 b6 m" L1 j$ [0 f! [Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
5 }; H* `- m$ d! LSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
* ~' V" a% D1 ~0 Q1 o0 ?0 azoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
$ P$ w, j* O6 _5 @1 R& Bshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and( z/ ~+ h7 U4 D
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
+ T1 _8 R9 t8 J3 L' W _that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
- ]: ~. P7 x- D1 W! U5 u( A7 `- Rturn off the engine.' t' y- }2 Y f: r
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
2 r5 v* S! ~& N, H) K. ^8 LOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
O( {+ ?6 X8 y; i"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she* _' Y8 a4 q, @' m; K. W
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond/ a9 P3 o) U6 `4 \) a- `+ q7 ?9 A
to her complaints.
" w) X" u# t2 `8 z2 U) N# l3 QIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
0 k# B4 j% I+ \. m2 g2 m$ F$ q# t5 Freturned again and again to the question of whether electronic0 r) B8 n* `) `3 l/ Z. o2 ?7 K
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.; v- a% {9 l% E# E! e* G8 i" w6 f7 a
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
+ d' E3 V0 | A( q% G& lthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited U W* V/ I" l; L. e- x" j: @5 d
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut. e1 w9 F5 k, M) w+ Z$ G8 A
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."" k* k6 g- O! f; F8 H/ E8 F
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
% v7 P* g. H" o2 }% f8 ~( xprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
- E9 p, Q$ O5 l, t5 Gbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls+ _8 t7 M3 d& {8 ?
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
; f* F+ j2 z u [every question."& @* U% d7 a% n8 ?1 X
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether/ @" v8 n* Y; x9 J# N
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
- D _3 K4 H4 B' u, S ~7 g7 Hfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But) i# r7 [: n) T; x: n* U- R
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
4 p) G2 J% Q3 m) r0 K. qnumber of vehicles" l' ~$ e S/ d9 D. G
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
5 ?* X9 G" h( o2 Udifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
7 j" b, A3 P- ~& n' I4 nmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
+ L' k4 n5 v0 d) _1 msource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
5 ]2 d3 q& r$ t5 g' R# S- R( g ?Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,! j& P6 j% q$ M: m
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no, F, f" I7 F h2 T, k
trace at all.
& ]% l' y% Y' D( H& b4 PHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
$ x, |9 i$ h5 D. s# tdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
) z( s8 d: m) s' z) Facceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the, c6 f. |" M5 a V3 q; v0 N
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
. j" T+ [) a1 \* D: g$ I, Q7 N8 {6 ZRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,, `- s+ U+ b3 D5 M( L$ u
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and. L: u: n0 u6 ?! c7 |
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the: u0 n' Q7 o/ S5 x0 @0 q9 D& q& ^! y
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
! {4 Q2 V+ F8 M6 T( M9 h9 F# Xcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only. Z5 g$ P& ^& I' f5 j
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
; F7 k% t8 b* g1 \by Toyota's lawyers."
9 D, S6 F9 x p c: xLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of+ j- }% ?% k- | x# _( e. ~* n
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our& c0 Z& U ]8 u: l! d& [' G; a, _4 E
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he3 y" t) p& }# a0 V6 ?
said.
* V4 w% C" d( ?6 f% E9 ^"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with! k% c( J0 ?6 M# @; v# {
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our% v3 L- }$ _1 [- }# a: Q7 b
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
, H4 W: X9 t( sofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.( e: J' V$ V& G0 q2 X9 p8 ]- n
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
: @1 W# Q" w. C9 Pmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread* D3 k' d8 [3 v# f6 ~
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the5 u7 c. e( ]/ M" v4 F! p
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
# Y- b$ w: o3 j6 ^3 Jinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
# _; N" D& B& L1 h f9 x$ ~/ wChrysler.( O7 g6 r) A: l' h
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax7 B. V2 y- h0 `5 `
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
6 o( x7 M% V' O$ G: o' WHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
" O2 c, J$ e P) v. Nserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
) w6 J* P$ J) a: G7 dwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
0 O4 I2 `& U6 Itough."1 K7 A& x1 ?- j" v% |; J
---6 `/ R2 Q/ z4 Z/ l- \1 w
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
* o; x( G; T8 O: K- { GRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
/ A k& {5 G, P2 _this story.
/ ?/ M, A0 @0 j: V8 {; p* x+ ~* f5 D1 M2 R2 e: `- d
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