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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
6 A( D- a& Z9 uBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
/ q, W$ V3 J; \; h9 \9 kWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.1 O2 {0 l x! s2 W6 ~2 G6 r4 ?
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
1 _3 H' d, q- m1 w5 v9 P% x tthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"! b% Y' ~$ T; n0 k& b6 t- i3 Z
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
( \- C6 M9 J8 w2 ]. ^7 C# y$ r"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential: |& @! Q1 E" N; V
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel./ ^5 F& |8 o k9 X' J
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
, n" n1 o) W5 vacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
7 ~2 ], T, n5 Q7 J/ v/ ^trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
2 Z! B1 X5 S4 e; y& }mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
; h( l/ i! F- f4 gHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal& U+ a9 q9 ]2 _$ k# D
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp. t. \! V& Z4 b. z: u7 w2 ~
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
7 P2 a2 |8 D' cfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could! H- |$ i9 c: }1 L" }/ h( C9 j
not stop her runaway Lexus.
$ h/ A0 ~8 ^- R6 }' |- k0 y# m+ [8 I$ M"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,) ~8 l- U; N6 D
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
! M8 o5 E% k" \9 u( `"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
1 O) k4 {$ n8 D% e0 K' w) ZTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues" m: J# I, H7 }7 v6 ^
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said& y. ]+ ^& I: c* F" R
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has4 \+ g& k( O0 e& c0 g7 K
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
; x4 I# T x0 T% ~) p5 qthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
+ Y8 Q' k% l9 i" o; @investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
; [( F: _4 \7 X, G* k1 QLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
( B- D4 z: V( k5 n* L, J# ielectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of6 N( }7 r# J, X4 z" y/ ]; k
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
3 k ?4 n' Y& h( b, x4 n# N dmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he. Z$ Y8 A: ?4 u; D$ K# y
said.
* W& I% p1 U! gAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what% q) B, e8 z, A9 }/ }' `
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe/ ]2 [6 @, e1 s$ G+ B
about driving our products," Lentz said.* G" V$ w: d7 m. l4 x+ x7 J. R% {. V9 |
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's# r: t6 v. C: ^
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has. c6 ^9 ^5 p- M' i8 U
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6! x" E9 U6 i+ c% M0 K
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
% H& ]3 V+ |- F# O, M: R s4 Junintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking- ?3 z$ x& J" a, C7 h
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
& V. R1 U; p Y. R) cconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of2 Q- ~ r; O. J% J
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow3 M7 m0 ?; ]! u6 s/ _
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has8 P" q0 j3 J, T. | D( `. V8 j
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration- l" C+ W* q) S: r, T( y
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.% P2 r8 s9 U4 t1 ` U/ W# {6 c9 X/ e
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
- p* ?5 ~! _/ ]( Y+ W# Jbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he+ y2 m+ s# H$ z" e+ V
understood the pain.
7 e4 X6 W7 r) ~" N7 }0 s"I know what those families go through," he said., D5 _+ N# F9 ~* j
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
. E# `3 D( `. bfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.$ E$ D( h6 O$ M
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman2 z6 {2 y$ P% F
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
; y" k4 B! @7 A5 x. v ?4 e k4 lin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
0 G% O. {7 {% z+ T2 tLentz replied: "Not totally."; x: {) B3 A5 p( Z
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were; o$ I! m) c2 g- g" | T
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said2 F6 u/ ?9 a: G7 J, S# @
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas: Q3 W1 t6 B8 ^& d" P) a
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its G' u+ h: u' j9 B
vehicles already on the road.& W) C* J4 |: I: ^1 p
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
: C" \, c _) G2 j# l% qbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
# g, `6 ~6 V" d3 M* l$ p! A7 gresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
. X, m8 p) H h1 d* Z8 Qoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were8 U6 }9 D" B- r
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
X( M1 r, s0 p# _3 ~& W. c( C"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a2 r* F1 O0 R. R2 ^* j) R& `/ @
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
" c5 ] l* R$ x: u7 F- C8 @for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight0 _' P/ m. ]* `5 H2 ^
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal0 Y: T$ v* c% w* q3 ~8 C0 q8 j- _
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
; h. H6 s0 x$ ^+ v9 trestore the trust of our customers."' ?4 ?9 @5 s8 U% t# }: i6 N
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from) n, G/ i% A9 ?1 D. n
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly# { R8 S/ B4 _4 D7 e# M$ S
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --& q- K7 f7 r: `
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
9 K% p# G' f6 ^: @hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough; h( o- @# v+ j( R
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
# i( f5 D1 _! l8 Fturn off the engine.
1 K4 h4 W% v3 N3 mFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of( I% Y8 d4 b: t9 R$ Z( P' }, W
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."4 Q9 w. @, y3 |, V9 {; K Q- e9 c' K
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she) E, ?, }9 C. k( Y
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
3 n1 q2 R4 X1 G4 uto her complaints.% O" I7 N2 S4 W) U
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers& n# a. x2 O* U
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
" O% q9 G% F, [' e' Hmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
3 W# [0 ~$ K- B5 [, k"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric( z& s" u4 a9 }7 T- n+ j4 _
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited. Z4 g# H- a5 x3 k
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut8 x5 O. X5 c! k) E# V/ z: x6 F
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."2 i6 j6 f0 i( S3 Z' Y. r# O
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
& Y3 L, |8 }/ \prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
/ ^0 W( l9 m+ pbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls% c: Q. H' r/ Z( B4 i. G4 j9 n
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
1 C$ b9 m! }* f* Q8 j; h/ Nevery question."
, z5 H+ [/ B! @Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether2 k3 l( Y0 S) m9 t
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The7 b( W, ?' @/ H# j
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But/ g/ C8 Q* J- B ^7 t; S) l$ m5 _
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small: R# f3 e$ c* a* a6 d, Z
number of vehicles$ z$ U9 p: f$ l3 J
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more! n% S) x9 O3 H* {# B' z
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
9 q( \/ E3 j$ H9 b1 W0 ^mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
: I. e A* T" p4 \. e: {$ O- V$ b7 Fsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.5 |5 w; w% u) V8 I/ I
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,; S( U c" i9 h" p: u5 G$ u1 k
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no* ~% X3 g4 F0 T# ^+ u- V2 v: [" V
trace at all.
$ l I# Q( O3 ?# ]0 ?House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call \2 s3 O( }: D& Z# i) p6 T; D7 P
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
, }4 A9 W+ Z& `acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
) P+ V8 y$ P9 ], irecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals./ S1 M* X! Y: F+ y
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee, ?/ w) n0 F- q# n/ X( W6 v0 t
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
& A' Q1 |! m. i* \! aother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the2 X3 A- f+ n; I) L
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
* E& _# d m# U& _cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only5 l/ ^* L, N b+ v! i
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained$ e+ d( h5 h1 M' e2 G
by Toyota's lawyers."
: [5 y! n. }9 M6 e1 J0 Q$ TLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of4 i9 G- g: X- I! n( \, y
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our! p9 X6 i1 @' P" c9 B2 a
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
/ n- b! d& y+ v' T9 hsaid.
! y) @5 J" `( @"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with( m9 ^; K4 A. ^$ l
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our+ s" y3 z' e6 [. X- ^4 b
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating; X$ e6 ] ~# [4 V! a' _
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
# Z3 |$ `; z6 O1 t( ^. z5 RSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
8 P9 ~, {& ?6 x) C" Xmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
# w! {8 _, E2 ~2 [1 zrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
& D- \' h2 G( E; M, Z, qautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
' W5 E8 a1 c3 S o$ e1 `investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and- f2 v) w0 ]8 S+ Q( u6 o: O! G; n+ O
Chrysler.
, d9 c/ L) L1 Z& ["That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax" d+ T p$ q2 b$ ?" N0 W
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a1 S& A- @( E" w7 m
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also+ g' V+ z- z% q4 B O! k7 {8 n
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete2 \4 G e+ j- K/ n) n( O- R
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
/ t: J6 L; ~( g W" H+ atough."
9 Y& ~! x0 J' ?3 ?9 y---7 J; h" E- a9 H9 m& Z m {5 f* {
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
! W' g$ U2 e2 IRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
5 ?* s$ B6 m! ^" d3 p4 ithis story.
/ V5 T2 o1 s/ W7 c6 G8 V) ? W0 v9 D
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