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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
& R- r5 x, U* ^* p7 L# y" S$ Z" ~By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS3 F4 u$ ^, R+ V5 ^: P6 ^' X! t
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
0 N. o/ W8 e9 s( s7 @operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that: J% D- F" _4 g$ G( X& Z
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"0 Y6 i- Z- E3 f& n9 P0 k3 o
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration." k2 g+ ^- E2 K* Q- ~! v" S7 D
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
. y: g% u2 T+ A* l. ]causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel. `- A! S! L( o. C2 Y& A
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected6 q* f8 ?- D2 C8 }
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and: X0 I7 D; x' ]! I0 m/ B& ^: B
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
2 I! H) {# A( A" @# } wmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
7 f7 e4 E( s7 H$ ^$ d x0 `He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
' ]: ?2 h( u# R& m) }and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp* h, }1 l- n5 I& J6 U& A: `0 _. ?; a
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
/ s" t1 M" l& Sfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
! _6 u* {! a4 Y {" m* g3 cnot stop her runaway Lexus.
: X- M# G+ J d$ a" x9 ?4 C% C"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
- U( X- a" ~5 V. v' k8 B# s pTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second3 }" w- X8 \- w {1 Y; s
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.! ], v0 h7 h7 z- p2 e
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues: [; q) x$ a- }9 T, ~. F( W2 n/ I2 i
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said: j: J1 Y C1 b: T m
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
3 {9 m: Y9 \3 }3 U, sdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway( C3 k; z) L. k
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
$ I7 A8 G% d3 e' G8 ainvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
. y- H2 x1 d7 e) b" vLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an1 e8 P0 F( ^4 i ^$ ^/ `
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
, @* d# F( S* p; U: M6 q6 tthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
1 D1 F1 K- w1 a8 `. s+ v9 Xmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he+ ?& X9 h X2 |8 }+ l: f
said.! ]" Q6 j& g) Y1 M! i( _; h, F8 |
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
$ k* v+ O6 I' Z5 s5 m) u, Chappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe( ?' J. i' L- F5 h; L0 G2 [" q
about driving our products," Lentz said.' k. d( e: m; e2 ~3 |6 ~8 Q" y1 N
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's1 z, m5 L3 @! ^, o& S4 J
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has) ^/ F9 { o6 q0 }
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
' F7 x* x, I) A' z$ j) @million in the United States -- since last fall because of, @3 R$ d4 f/ {6 k1 ]: W- B
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
) N$ i- i* y7 @: Z1 z# hissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
2 ?$ t! y* b/ G6 V" Hconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
% P9 x+ y! T! G6 v0 t% v9 w4 f6 ttheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
/ q8 U6 ]" O9 r2 V6 }/ ~4 T& Adown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
$ }& w; ~9 l wreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
% E. }) Q6 X! r: }. v# N/ Kof Toyota vehicles since 2000.1 S G4 h! X. z# q6 G# l
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own6 j2 V; l& R- u S$ b
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
4 J4 d$ Y6 ]& y% r- H6 |understood the pain.6 ^2 Y$ c! F% S( R/ b% o7 W: j! d
"I know what those families go through," he said.6 z3 S4 N% e* ^& w/ g: F
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's- t$ z& x+ u1 U* d6 M: |
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
* |( ^ \& B- H" p+ l9 S2 N4 BBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
1 ~. O! I3 K; [' ?) d& pHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
7 i, q: ^ X% b( V" l7 D Uin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it," K. N; l- D8 k, N6 S3 k% F
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
, G% u' H+ v$ I! Y7 U, [, q* T0 LStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were* w" K( J* m- c# ~
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
( ] E- s! Q! \: K V3 KToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
^/ W% T& Q/ T! e ~: apedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its) Y$ \* {. y* D" L3 U- T
vehicles already on the road.
) T+ W* _6 G9 P5 kMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
n# Q" L( ] K% _, g) s" Gbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
9 G: C+ S! Y# Q5 \$ k" b" Q3 k! ~/ hresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and+ |" g& F1 M: s# ^" V6 @0 c
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
3 d" {$ n) R* M7 t" ?+ Nkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
]3 J# Z. b/ s# ~"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a0 p* @* |& O7 }! t9 G- X
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
F/ z" f( g) I! Ufor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight* X, e8 K: Q: v0 o* L
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal0 M9 l! \! S( y
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
/ o( z u6 h' c. n9 z9 Yrestore the trust of our customers."9 z. G" {! x$ e: C( J
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from1 f5 |2 Y+ q' \+ V( @
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
& B- U( `+ D; Rzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --) P$ r2 P' N/ H7 X$ B
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and2 ?' b! N% N6 [7 N8 H: r3 N. M
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
+ S9 p3 f) {, h2 E% W, L1 z1 @3 }that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and1 l+ d) g0 B) c! B& A8 N
turn off the engine.
% G: `& I+ I4 r* n; }4 ?Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of5 t& r; ^, T/ \ H+ t6 m6 m% P% ^
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."& D% H Y* z# Q J2 i
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she- |$ f3 w. r6 p6 Q) Z
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond W; @ K$ Z+ i4 t' ]* {) O1 X! I. l
to her complaints.$ d: ]& u+ I0 G( m" b9 R8 o& f+ o0 E
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
8 f9 G# j! A2 [' A8 D8 areturned again and again to the question of whether electronic4 [1 s, B& E: s( l2 F' n
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
! m$ P- t1 t8 ~, {9 U"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric( u3 h' b! r8 Z# B& D
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited) ?' x" f6 m4 n" C2 ^( @3 E2 i6 O Z
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
" r: l$ w1 v+ ooff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."' F1 D& d6 R b, F; i+ d2 l7 \
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
: R. K1 v! V) }; [' C, d4 l1 k7 tprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
6 f9 z) N. \$ M% t T+ I0 Cbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls1 s: f& L% h" ?7 }
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer9 p0 `* ]3 q( k
every question."
& a# W6 g' N$ [ G2 hToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether8 d* `& x- I) b- |9 [& U4 c
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
, W7 x0 R7 l" M7 r7 l1 {7 G$ Nfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
3 R' x$ g0 a5 {! o5 [committee investigators said the testing studied only a small6 [8 |, Y5 D3 {' ~! b; M# u& D
number of vehicles
1 `* Y$ b7 r' h: Z3 y! D; OTracking down an electrical problem can be far more. g3 C; ~2 M- j2 V5 E( v
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a9 G0 L8 l, D# g! |
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one& C( B$ S0 R3 W3 R4 K
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.1 g1 W! _* K; H* [8 X6 o
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
+ v3 J: c! Q# Vwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no+ T4 l* ~0 b2 ]3 F6 E
trace at all.
; _3 f; \3 W& Q" WHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
. d/ I' @3 E2 d+ G0 F% sdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden; w6 r1 K5 H& I0 } ^) G
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the b1 b, D; ~% B/ v3 t
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
5 v; |" c* T1 M& zRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,; s0 l8 ~' Y; ]) N
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
* a6 |; Q9 X, c* cother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
6 u# g3 f% s, ^6 R2 }5 r! e4 Delectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
" v) R! L) i# P m0 G, Ycause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
. ~7 f5 B: q( Z0 v. jsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
# ^" V' |* `0 T) F4 j* o: Eby Toyota's lawyers."7 u6 q% X9 E5 _ c# T4 j: {% b
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of' V9 S' A# O: M& l
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our7 n8 H8 G2 D) j; x/ V
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
9 e6 y D( K0 \2 dsaid.% _5 t/ d( E" K# C. v: C, D
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with5 `3 u6 {% f; R: H$ B
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
8 @4 O1 C$ C: Y2 p" E$ s4 ggood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating9 Z( C# I3 [* c. w- q7 R
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.2 m+ ^/ X7 N+ ]6 z& X! r
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
$ G/ r" T$ e# I/ d% b# Z/ w4 j# h. Bmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread- r Y; j! f5 U) V# V
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the9 b# @# R+ t9 J4 N" g
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
# @. S. {5 F2 V7 ginvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and5 M$ N! R6 H' x! _0 p6 T0 s% u
Chrysler.
8 U2 \% U9 y# N+ Z"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax6 L! {4 n- @; ^" @: O
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a: t8 ]+ b0 Z/ {" n
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
$ `( i4 C! P, Aserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
- Q: ~6 ?1 x4 r/ y2 h" F; ^& xwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty2 g/ p4 z# l: e' J
tough."; L3 ^9 j+ f5 j& h$ J
---, M7 ~9 B) u3 D+ U7 s# W
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom& f! H' u# X) T: d
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
7 ~+ v0 [3 Z4 g( T4 t& y+ M6 Rthis story.
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