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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 q& H% V1 d a6 I( L* e- h$ M% q
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS" N! g1 {* S0 f- c0 C/ v) d( [
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.# F8 S1 B' ~4 k# Y1 i1 U4 @ v
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that1 D) d$ u! u4 A; z( Q+ j d
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"& Z& Z; o4 x+ g7 p, f0 a# V
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
* t( n- ?5 _- T& e2 U2 T"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential" x; X5 }) F& x
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.; R6 z2 u3 j3 o9 ?2 x2 P
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected. t( |6 y% o; @$ l" j
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and6 f* l% c: |1 @/ r. ]9 C7 c
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
4 t4 a+ q7 k; y2 I0 nmats and sticking accelerator pedals.! I2 ~; b% c$ i2 S- g
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
+ C3 @1 Q) W( g" qand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
; u, C6 _) x5 y% H' bcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be0 Q8 B; N+ Y; @% ]
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
- m) ^6 f+ m9 J9 g, X" Rnot stop her runaway Lexus.
. d5 c" U5 d0 p* W" f1 `+ G8 e& ]"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville," E& r, S1 G' Q/ b3 f$ T# B4 |
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second9 Z& g2 y6 z+ u: ?
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
- P% u8 j; U- c3 J0 DTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
3 T9 w" B$ \% s5 J5 P. e2 ^early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said9 b* L# E4 |2 j- Z
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
. n5 i! N: E* q0 @0 {* {done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway- J2 T) u$ z1 x' b+ {: S z. c
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's @% t1 I( Q6 }3 \0 o8 M/ n5 V
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."" k8 q" j, Y& ?, s0 V3 T; l$ n
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an5 c8 q: S/ y1 S' b p( D
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
0 B5 d: p. y6 ]7 Lthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a- D0 q/ i3 f' _# w( [
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he4 V! }' q, S/ f8 Y) X' t
said., c: l$ P! o1 F
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
8 D6 }6 u/ b# chappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe; g2 {) \- c! @
about driving our products," Lentz said.
% G5 ]( T! d- B# p+ N/ ?# i! ]6 s1 GThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
; f3 |" [3 U, q2 M. aproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has( B0 ? n) g- Q) ]# X
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6. R: e' Q8 q/ i& I+ C
million in the United States -- since last fall because of8 }; V# x1 r4 R+ S7 z( {: A/ I
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
+ q0 H3 }7 R- V- q+ F" u& ?issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
& n. f. N5 e" y2 m6 H6 [concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of' g3 e3 q0 z& j1 y
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
4 j# y' W$ w" ]5 B: f8 \down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has# S" O4 T% z8 t6 Y, C1 r
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
* H6 i4 M% n4 u! L; s- wof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
! o0 F$ J. j$ n% [) k# xLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
- G7 W3 k t0 h5 Pbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
( v/ ?1 A: A, c& q1 Yunderstood the pain.
2 j3 V( M! y+ B2 X' ?/ z* c, t8 F"I know what those families go through," he said.
. G) r- ^( m# ]" iLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
7 [/ Q3 c" U# @1 K: E5 Ofixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
' s/ H- x" X8 K& l" Y4 H0 T9 O) \ yBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman/ _9 e. ^3 W" J8 S
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put8 m# }# j" a( c9 w9 q4 K7 o! w1 z
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,& W3 ~: z( s: e8 S; i8 O! y2 x
Lentz replied: "Not totally."5 ~" m8 l: |. Z+ V) Y2 F
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
2 z8 E$ d* h& h; ?3 J) S"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
0 ^' N, m) r# s" o, [Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
7 S) N. @5 I: }6 {" V6 apedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its5 s9 P" S& v3 v0 v7 t
vehicles already on the road.0 B: P; J9 e* c# g, m
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
; O7 B. e& s: N* p* Mbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full* @1 [' |( L; q b
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and" P3 {2 D; N9 X
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were4 r2 A8 U, b. v
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
9 {/ n7 o, T! {, E8 r"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
4 Z! C' e6 m$ C+ A8 G6 Z) ztragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
2 h7 J0 }6 k% ?$ \7 Ufor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
m. o2 E$ s' J& u8 {& BCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
5 `" u0 b/ x) f: j- `commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to& ^/ h. ?! C+ Y% c: b
restore the trust of our customers."$ A1 I7 X6 g' {
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from) {# v$ N* I$ R E! F( O/ S
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
: ~2 _, t* B: ?zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --8 ?0 ^) {: l$ ^ u/ S6 L5 W
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
2 J) K% F* i }hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough% u5 a) M- L3 w$ b
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
$ ~: z. s6 p3 p, F( gturn off the engine.# j! Z: \: {: w2 V8 p& N+ ^
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
) [! b) h# I2 z: s* xOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience.") e; T# j0 ]8 y% u: t3 [
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
9 K, b0 Y/ x5 r5 E3 ^8 Ksaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond5 i5 M# [0 ?! A e1 s
to her complaints.2 A0 E/ d0 a; f8 x N- K
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
" Z' [8 ^# y0 x! k/ }returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
+ n9 }9 u7 ]: Imalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.# F$ t" X8 C, _) V! J/ C# y
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric7 @) M- g8 N9 X1 t5 [; f2 S
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited& |1 o" Z- i) L3 {2 s: x3 p! Z
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
& s% `; m0 b+ {, {4 c- Xoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."4 ~: S5 `' k4 m9 y a2 [" K" r4 Y
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
! o( T" _' M7 f' ?/ P) K+ Vprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
6 V6 E- C8 o, O4 |being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
# F; [3 }3 u2 Q! H V' i% }were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
( g8 P5 y; E/ G9 O$ ]$ Kevery question."
4 T- e F% M# oToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether/ t' v2 w% w$ V
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The+ p/ o; p6 j+ R3 G& \/ G
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But1 ~$ S5 Z6 s3 P, Z8 L- n7 c0 i
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
9 Z( X; \, P# q4 U% |. Qnumber of vehicles
& a- P- @3 N, lTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
! e$ _+ P4 S5 Wdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a7 r5 g0 y, s- t+ A, `9 i1 F
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one! p1 n& f% |; r- q! V \( r
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.4 h$ R9 g# G4 n# U/ g
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,* D m' b& f8 Q; e# E- ?
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no0 s1 v) e/ ~: k% z
trace at all.4 G% ^' ^3 e# I5 t
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call# k) B9 B; h1 ^! @
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
: T c2 f; D) R! I! Yacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the% g0 a6 J. @, s i/ D
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
1 u o: d9 W" d) D- w# @Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,* Q% ?# Y! n1 S) h3 v$ g
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
3 t! P9 g/ [, z- R' u, o* Sother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
$ R6 G( Y/ Z$ `. |electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
# Y0 ]- }0 N1 c. V$ \cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
" Z6 X1 H8 L F( usuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained7 k& L/ V5 M7 g+ o
by Toyota's lawyers."
3 b; n/ g/ a( ?: N8 t. n0 e: NLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
% o" j! e! M( \- E& xproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our8 J) J6 }% L; @/ U
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he5 O( Q: ^* _2 Y
said.
( n. p7 O" w3 G3 I% V% }8 l9 V; F" m) w"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with' @) `% b& m! j
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our% p, d4 ]% {! ~0 T4 m
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
1 M J( f6 p/ P5 |$ Jofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
* D# W' O8 H! A# v8 A/ H0 \ G! L6 JSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
) F- h! N/ r8 U2 ?7 O0 i9 [members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread8 y# F) I8 m/ d/ }
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
7 X) b- `& q: q6 Q0 G% r' ^( Xautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
- i$ `0 g* Y+ W- V# f- V8 o. ?investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
+ C( V8 s6 t2 e8 d/ P: ^: GChrysler.
7 X0 ]( S8 U W* x"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
% v2 N% {2 @6 H# ~5 J- kdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a' o2 A" a$ N2 g, J& ?, y* F" _; u' g# T2 H
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
4 ?" d* w/ J9 Tserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
" L; I$ A! S2 W. G4 V E" Z' r& Iwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty, \/ q$ B, z. a8 Y: i3 }( B
tough."
( S9 N* u. _6 i. \* W---
0 ?- _ M% v4 L% O2 vAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
5 u3 N/ X5 V @4 mRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to3 O. U. E' @. t. K# x
this story.
/ Y7 G! m8 x9 r+ Q( M$ t* L, c! V N5 b5 u6 N; p( i
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