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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 F9 d" C0 z% y' o" B {# HBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
& _8 I: T3 q+ {7 d8 `; nWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
& B/ q2 W* C0 ^: J6 x1 Toperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
0 L0 o; B% C3 Fthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"7 v8 q) o/ ?0 K) t: u+ q2 r w
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
I4 H5 L5 x9 k"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential. V' F. m" o7 i2 S8 D4 Y
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
. m2 X& ^* {5 h8 {, _! _$ VHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected% y" d2 Q( O: r5 C" m
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and! ?! Q0 J" f3 a
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor8 ~2 z& r8 J* z7 S: y& G* X3 [
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
# t* z8 `: E; p4 \+ E0 GHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal( r' W3 q. l7 E' n
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
4 a! Q, z3 U0 U8 scriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be( N3 S: I" x+ \1 t0 Z; o: {
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
* f* f' ]1 T/ ^! C: i9 w1 Anot stop her runaway Lexus.
! P& I% j7 i# C& P1 t"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,1 Y( j+ {$ f' V; G4 s. W G
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second- j7 |& O0 B+ _8 u
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
. ^: }8 f- m; M% hTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues" A3 _: M( i6 I! V; d U& r
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said# l, _0 s0 R8 w! h& v o, C( Q
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has2 e- }9 ~6 |4 p( _ W/ V6 K" T6 }; ]
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway3 [- E S& a4 L! M% u
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's3 L$ G, J4 A* B. j7 \8 C$ m4 ^
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
# n+ K+ F" a% D% ILentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
. p' @8 u1 v; r: Uelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
1 U A0 [9 U% T, D. e, Athe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
: O2 X9 N0 Z) h2 b" @( nmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
6 L4 L0 h' z( G k& q2 I; usaid.7 e8 c6 c* Y8 ?1 J) V1 I5 B- {
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
" o( q8 s- i# q+ B/ _- s' ?; J% Dhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe6 v9 G) n: g- e" F# g& y5 h
about driving our products," Lentz said.
9 d0 t: e) D& g4 z/ }Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's' G* k1 I7 Z$ S- ]: b6 K& P
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has7 @) d1 B0 y3 Z1 E* j/ p
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
, u5 v# j q0 d* Z8 x, L' b% cmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
" r; F9 M% k/ h* S* r8 Tunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
$ a) F6 n( H2 E; U8 r4 E% dissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering" Y) k+ b) ^4 c: Z
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of1 |" Y1 K# Q0 \6 u
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
" G( h" ?9 k. I% F; ^4 f, kdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has9 U8 v9 L E6 _; a! Y( p
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration7 {' v) S4 B& A& B4 D
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.. d) D! X/ k/ R9 ^
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own; B" J% i5 U% \
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he* O( ]8 b3 n, F$ a0 d1 S/ n
understood the pain.# m5 S/ x8 P% [* [+ [9 {
"I know what those families go through," he said./ g* J9 R8 w. H; y' \# g
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
- `* L; G! ]( h5 Y% I5 Gfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
6 B) ~% w4 M& p/ Q: JBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
a; T/ A9 ?# n fHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
4 l. s- @% \( a2 `4 d& o1 [in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
- K+ N+ t8 |# S' V0 j1 pLentz replied: "Not totally."7 v5 n; M4 B& R+ K4 ?
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were$ L! Y6 D9 S6 S( w. O
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said4 m9 J4 o) J& I4 c3 r' H; w
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
" ^5 l& F1 o, Z0 o% f+ hpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its9 T: h M$ K% U/ L, p% T
vehicles already on the road.# t; t& g$ g4 V, i6 i* @2 v
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
* ~% X: E5 Z y+ x0 ? z) kbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
% H, F" X' S2 N* d# g9 Eresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
6 l0 Y& L) Y: c9 k2 W/ qoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were4 _- ~# t5 ~7 @* a) k
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
k+ a; F1 X' g"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a! a1 [+ g7 V% c4 [6 ^6 K S
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
7 i% D# M6 S S& h$ r @0 q) kfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight& A* @2 M4 a: S: T! X1 G7 Y: ~# [6 N
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
) |4 n& |% S rcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
" G. U+ |7 L9 V+ Yrestore the trust of our customers."4 b, s* x- Z; x5 |. v
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from: K& Y4 n! B( Y" Q, m. `
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly2 `' J% O# B+ u: [
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --( v2 N7 n3 h, s& W+ f: q
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
, S* [9 W2 Q: s/ s- phitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough% t5 l! |0 u/ `* h; G
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
: p* w1 |! z$ U& c! Lturn off the engine.' [* h1 @3 t5 ~+ p) A: E9 O, z& {
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
9 h" R* h5 c$ f: i3 U' X2 ^October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
# _/ P+ a7 I B9 }! z* H"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
6 ]# X+ N4 h4 Y" X# Z6 xsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond, W+ `; _0 u) H# i
to her complaints.
$ M0 R: L3 [/ H8 qIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers+ l, d) ^3 O/ W: U- \
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
0 [9 t: D' a4 y# H# Xmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.: g6 C* ^" O6 r' V
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
2 x6 _! A! A! e1 {7 f/ }# {! R+ {throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited7 {9 Y$ g) B p8 {; R- L
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut r5 t/ |, ]. c. v8 K& g/ ?
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
: ]2 G/ m# {. h, M- wTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in* a! z/ n8 {# ~! r2 C b
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were7 H- Y. q+ c# P" t% F$ }" L
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
* \. z5 i4 o7 X8 l4 Xwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer& ]. a' N" g) i4 Z
every question."
6 h& G. Y' l& R( z, ^$ N ZToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether4 N, L* Y1 @8 e
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The4 s' A5 t0 s9 T3 g$ e
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But3 Y/ E# H' v! g6 r |' u( x9 l/ [% G
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
* E) Q h9 O+ t% d2 @5 V1 mnumber of vehicles9 ~, }$ M! W. X5 ]+ ~) V, k3 A/ O
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more* a3 L8 V3 b6 q
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a( ]) N4 {& D3 v) O! J
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one6 S6 [6 o; M5 y; F3 F# h
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.$ m3 @! |; A, f8 Q' f) ?3 x
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
! x" P D: e1 G0 E2 _# B9 vwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no& O n7 o; A9 U: M) H! b% v
trace at all.
2 ], }8 j1 h( H4 H) n& U- jHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call3 K+ v3 z' ^& }9 }* f
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
) x; h9 ~0 l4 i1 J' _1 ?acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
, S- _# K1 d% r( @$ P5 F1 _0 Irecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.) \7 `. E# \0 D: M" f2 y
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,& h, r5 Q9 G( s U! E, Y6 U
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and/ R& ^7 M( k9 o* d2 {% G' K
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
" O( L- k$ s1 T4 C" {' X7 R+ felectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
% Y7 v- c5 F8 Hcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
& }& E# x7 f* N* T3 ^such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
7 J* R' ?) p6 r; c3 Q* Bby Toyota's lawyers."
: c/ d5 H# M$ K/ l7 T% c/ vLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
: e5 J" F- g- Y9 Zproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
' Y X; i& V) `* v* ] Bcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
3 a4 H5 I5 H1 R$ m6 Dsaid.
' {$ r5 w6 i( F+ I0 T"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
8 M) o6 E- A5 ba rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
6 r Y5 U! w: ]" }* P% |( fgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating/ ^! z7 f8 `) ~) G& U
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
" X& F2 @1 x7 _ USeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying! Y% Z3 z( x3 o3 w% m# r9 q) n
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread2 ]- c& m7 d2 x+ O* c a- ^1 h
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the i4 e9 O7 {! V0 H! b
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
, F* {3 [' ]# e2 R- \, tinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
4 `$ m1 T: Y1 o3 gChrysler.& J8 k: S0 q1 R+ v; b; c. I3 e
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
- d4 T1 _+ m3 A8 Jdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a: d# _1 M5 [$ ]5 ?
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
/ @) Q' x5 _$ }8 xserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
& ~/ F$ y/ z% V7 k' Hwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
' [4 f& x) G6 e; e) K7 h" Rtough."1 j$ S j4 ^) b
---- _5 O; o$ D4 b
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom. f t( O' j! P n9 T2 Q
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to2 s z3 k2 Z( s; [7 @
this story.
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