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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
s$ j3 d: c. e" ZBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
9 k5 B6 s' O0 [* M0 ^) y+ @3 }Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.) I, S9 T$ _! i7 w) b1 o2 \
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that3 O9 p! X8 U* M, d: }
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
: _+ F3 i" b3 Q+ @solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
4 o8 G2 ?' P/ B/ y6 ["We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential" M9 A# q3 W9 ?$ k! p
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.8 U) ^( V3 Y- M& [/ S c
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected/ e, ^, s& a, U) L( x
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
. _* q3 N9 z a, dtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor' i! W! t' s; H; `% {
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
- [" z9 G: n7 k$ sHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal% U! Z, R6 R" X0 T9 ]3 Y
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp8 q) `( H+ a, }5 i* u8 g% d
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
+ s6 |4 c) Q6 ? g/ Yfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could. r/ C6 l# O# |2 V
not stop her runaway Lexus.. s* l; C3 e, ?
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,( H4 K! A4 j/ I" P$ F& h$ R
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
5 C6 n1 h7 P1 y9 ^" m" E$ d"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.) I% q+ w4 Z; V' y i( U
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
% O% A+ l p0 p T- oearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said6 n* Y f$ p2 r. E9 d1 A1 C
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has! I9 w& t$ g6 ?% v0 ]% n1 T
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
2 F6 b9 t% ]& v4 N+ |0 H# kthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's9 H. w8 O! S& V; h9 s
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham.") w& F8 u# L% N! f
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an+ Y. o# i3 J) a* `! S2 R
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of$ k0 L- Z- ]7 z9 s+ Q; `+ w2 s
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a0 Z( z" r" \0 a6 r h4 _
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
! o1 x2 f$ ^2 ~4 C2 [* G" csaid.
& P" J/ g5 _9 VAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
/ {/ l' `$ n2 q5 x/ m8 D" b; B3 Xhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe. ]! r( _) G; N; V; o* `
about driving our products," Lentz said.' `. G: M/ ] H0 f) S
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
6 Z' V) x# {8 Q1 Z! W! j! X F+ pproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has/ E) T/ \' w2 D0 Q& ]. h
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
6 B6 q/ O- R9 f8 F7 e! Mmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
( n3 I! c0 e/ E8 w2 Bunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
3 F- T# P Q: H: Dissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering- Y; j" H& \; R! P! v
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of! r( \% ]6 c) s; M
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow6 A7 N# l/ k, [$ O+ `9 s# J! F
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has; l9 U; f. V& I6 K" |
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
% N- `6 R1 O: {. b' kof Toyota vehicles since 2000.0 Y7 v0 f; M9 b# `
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
; o0 I7 Q c# \- s& u7 X. N. abrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
- j! X/ M; i2 ^understood the pain.
5 o6 {# y, g( i5 ?"I know what those families go through," he said.
2 `; C. }: j' u7 FLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's4 Z" |7 e. M2 X3 H$ n" z* U
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
6 O! H, R& \1 |3 pBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman1 O# ]4 H+ Q! ?5 c( F9 {5 G6 ^+ X2 K
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put$ Q/ J: G9 |( B! ~* U
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
/ d4 k( @2 i. G( ^Lentz replied: "Not totally."' i2 |. A. G& w/ S: S/ n( b
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were6 _# i: l! G0 R6 j; C5 y
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
. S' q( P3 P9 U0 |) T; y- HToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas, K# I8 r$ h# x8 t( }2 _1 o
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its; {+ X% C) ~) k: ^9 f. z$ g+ K
vehicles already on the road. Z5 r2 b" O4 t& V7 \
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify/ [: L* u6 _8 p* j6 r
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
$ M9 {* n* K- N( i6 v3 R& F. Uresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and1 {- b' `7 {4 H# y; p
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were6 i+ u( L: D3 L9 i
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.% T! E0 w" _3 ~& g" H8 {1 K4 I
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a1 D1 y* g% K; J# m
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony' o- T* P) m7 k* z: a0 x
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight1 y+ c/ }. q+ R0 q; K" h
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal3 F; r9 X1 _) i5 ^$ o' P* y; b
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to1 _ i8 \+ L' v& a" X5 B- H
restore the trust of our customers."
$ T9 f( r0 q0 c4 QLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from1 |% ?- I3 Z2 _
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
" _+ o4 h3 S% u- K/ Dzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --! G, H# j2 U- b" j7 t" y2 K
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and: q7 g4 `9 L$ f. o$ O
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough/ y o, ~2 r3 |6 ], K' ~6 s4 {; ~. f
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
7 A: n5 n9 C5 a( E7 uturn off the engine.
5 J. Q9 Z4 j5 y$ zFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
, b8 x9 k- L& W2 q+ K- YOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."4 j; R( s6 S3 y& v& |
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she+ J# Q, \4 F7 D4 e' m0 A
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
7 a( C0 G4 {# ^1 Yto her complaints.8 p* y; H" f4 {$ ^2 R- x
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers! v5 J3 a/ m7 s( ^* ~# h
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
9 C+ a5 \5 I9 p( W6 Q9 r- ]! m. Gmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.6 b# ?; b/ x% F
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
# g, U" P4 G# G; J& S! B. O) tthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited6 V! p* b5 C% G+ t a4 ~
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut, u6 {( f! w$ v( T+ B
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
0 a: `! G" t" V% X$ z$ B/ S, uTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
; m6 ]7 h: {: Q- P, i5 Gprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
- A2 J5 H& Y( ?& X5 Gbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
$ e6 x# M8 C0 U$ Iwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
5 M7 P# @; m5 S, Qevery question."
' h9 b/ X& L6 U p8 WToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
/ l2 p+ L X! F2 i% z* _+ i( Zelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The; M5 F. P7 h) h" `
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
% u) |4 I# I; o$ _+ t* A4 ycommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
* X* C9 P2 s+ |& Mnumber of vehicles" r+ P2 g* w8 J S- g- O
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
' P3 x% H$ b- i9 S$ z4 _, xdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
5 ~, E# R& O l [; s+ O8 r/ s8 Gmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one) u5 F6 R( ] p# {: R
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
2 \; w* n& l* Y# R+ W& p: ^Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
) T* Y- c0 i+ cwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
s: z9 }: o% H2 I! Ntrace at all.; n% H6 M% [8 l# \
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call! c O4 W8 J, E% [# S: G
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
2 N" I) l( l$ M% h0 x8 ?4 X, X4 Zacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the8 C5 i! A& x! l3 m
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
. C6 ?+ p! R6 Q, l& Q. ERep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
: J+ e+ T* u' V4 M3 F) G2 V Hsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
0 C4 o6 i/ ~7 i! Z. S8 \other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
* C! L/ O# g s) Q4 e$ o$ j3 selectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
9 _% ?4 X7 @0 F pcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only$ m4 v# z4 D f* C4 `4 d
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained7 v$ e G1 t6 Z3 D- N; m
by Toyota's lawyers."
/ Y% q" w" r3 M# n% X9 F4 z9 Z- ^" ~Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
' N+ j {1 q& F) aproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our# l Q* P1 a0 L" c8 B' C
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he" M3 W: l' s- W8 V/ L3 }
said.8 k6 U/ M: I x
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
2 B# Q! ~; v% F3 la rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
2 Z, V( _+ o" H; [& ]% A& Kgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
. {' G* b: f1 W: @officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.( J- v* c. W5 G# u U
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
; W) N5 Z1 C% F6 `members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
8 ^( `, ~ T8 Y/ ` }rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the& `$ B' [- D5 \% |* C- P, x
automaker, at least in part because of the government's8 }6 s" V. a D. R/ B D
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
2 S: p4 c6 v% s# DChrysler.
9 O, _1 B% U: [5 s9 N# i* N4 R6 u"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
0 a6 }5 c$ u. {6 A, f0 b2 udollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a2 |. ]) J5 d4 |) L# B* w5 i, W% J
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also6 ?, V$ D* ^" y8 L
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
# ~0 f- q) V# B% k% a3 h1 awith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
+ l+ {) ^4 E6 ]. l5 \tough.". `: }: p. A/ W7 T% z7 {
---
5 E# i6 {2 ?" o: eAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
/ d3 }1 e5 C$ J6 kRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to8 `$ x; Q! f$ J
this story., H! I" t' F7 A
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