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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
" C. u: C+ a9 VBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS8 @6 q: c2 Z* D. Y1 u3 d! t
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.! ^7 A! w' c+ {; O/ Z0 H) W
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that/ v# Z" r6 a* i
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
1 Z. c3 M2 u/ S5 a: Ksolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
: @! X# b) s4 M# Y* }"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
: e7 z3 |7 U% x+ D% w lcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.. ]9 x/ G! p! \% y! R
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
. t$ o7 m6 r" Z& {, u4 [acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and5 v0 W. n1 g( Z4 x H
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
" J' b9 G1 l5 K6 omats and sticking accelerator pedals.4 l+ G- S: E7 n! k5 N; Q# J
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
( |- u3 ^* h9 H/ Tand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
6 \+ A+ |1 f+ ?" _' R8 M9 ocriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
, i9 b! l8 s. J5 |6 Sfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
3 ^& `5 g g5 v7 b6 o1 i1 z; d* _not stop her runaway Lexus.
- V/ m; W0 c7 ~, `1 q% L' L$ ["Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
* Y6 A, B3 u( w6 z) K' k# fTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second1 k G2 S! m) n5 q% ^) B
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.! Q3 w" P& T% N9 t, u8 ?; o$ t
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues3 E0 b" H- X* w7 a( \$ [
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
( S( [0 V" P/ O% `"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has. w& {3 c0 h- j8 N. r4 |, V& w
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
O- Q$ ?, J! m, }5 Pthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
: @! ?' o0 x$ t5 jinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
- X3 g- E4 Q. a: Q9 \8 y! \Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
6 m' z9 B1 H% [0 celectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of+ \ o4 ~3 ~( U$ O$ v6 N8 {
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a/ u( m' N! }1 u& F
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
6 O/ w2 B+ Z5 Q4 H' ]% Msaid.# X1 n8 [) A$ X7 c. u0 S/ k+ Y
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
2 V! d- D: c" H1 _6 H( Jhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
; q$ S: i0 \4 n+ T- Wabout driving our products," Lentz said." n' r* v N, \0 c3 K
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
+ f) ?5 P% w* G* @+ c* }5 Rproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
_* l6 c5 e" }( w( u/ Lrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6* s7 q* I1 L2 b) x$ |& g4 `% }
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
& g5 c( F. X- Z- g. Cunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
4 z/ V8 [& m" ]# S7 ~# Pissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
6 {$ p- I! w' ]$ x; cconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
0 a3 l. D+ q9 mtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
+ e; o( x3 f- Z- Y! l# ] v O- tdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has" S- @- |2 z9 S6 ?$ Q
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
3 F. n7 m) X9 Jof Toyota vehicles since 2000.! I- M: D) ~, Y' T2 w/ S l
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
\4 q: B% e/ [( n" Fbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he0 O7 P' H6 d* w& X8 B
understood the pain. G2 l \0 Z& J. C7 ~' i# z; d4 [
"I know what those families go through," he said.
- ?" a" j9 c+ O$ X4 d3 nLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
# N1 @7 ~' H. O( h6 pfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.7 d6 B7 h* U7 x( t8 M
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
5 G& G5 P# D, G+ w' ~" WHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
9 g" N$ M3 X5 p; M# [7 A# k3 @- ]in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
' ^6 P5 v7 e; r. O! v+ ]Lentz replied: "Not totally."
1 x. \4 Q) p0 M' hStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
* O/ `1 P! X9 D2 K9 o; ~"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said' z2 a* Z) a# K9 h3 Y; x$ ~
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas' [% D( P( B- I6 f- h- d
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its& ]' ~! s7 x$ G# M' ~$ W
vehicles already on the road.
& U' t8 F, k' J5 ~% AMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify0 v8 m- }9 Q9 k# {
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full4 z2 ?9 I! L. A& H5 ]$ \
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and( z" V. x, s4 w M! p
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
/ V& Y3 i: I9 X6 C. Pkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
* ~/ {3 v: y, E. X: ^6 |5 h/ ^"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a' I/ O" f; X+ I! i4 r$ t
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
% x7 L4 ]5 P8 gfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight$ o+ E; y5 N& A' z8 j' n
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal$ k! D% Q5 v1 `0 k% r/ `1 P6 u
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
1 E( N$ v( j1 n5 \) }! c* L2 J6 Yrestore the trust of our customers."
1 H& M; t7 B2 q: |! e5 MLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from9 M9 j% s- N, `
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
8 L6 w4 e% ]' p. D) m' U0 N. {+ nzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
% @! Z9 }1 z& M+ ?4 W! a/ hshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
4 O* @5 H$ d3 c) j# j0 Ehitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
2 ~/ }7 s( Y i$ T) u. Y5 Gthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
2 a4 a. k. E1 p6 Z# Z' B9 t: R Xturn off the engine.' j" I2 P6 R/ p
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of: l% n' P6 G7 _- C
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."; `4 C+ R7 S; e/ K
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
1 r. m# G& r5 r; h$ z, Msaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond' z0 z [, h6 T$ ^
to her complaints.- D% C& o) { a. C
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers& p `. L' F0 [) o8 Q$ M6 w
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic4 n2 M* \& k Y) P
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.+ x/ I; `* _9 p% C
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
/ e& H" S1 F. M3 B5 P! {throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
3 m+ l s+ b6 O: H$ J"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut8 r5 I8 E3 ^8 }" ~
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure." Y. ?7 j/ l- l$ k/ U1 X
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in K$ f! ^7 ~' p6 m- E
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
5 K. C0 b$ ^. u/ J3 c/ S6 C' N. `being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls! Y4 R8 u+ v2 s$ N
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer) g( ]% {0 w8 R3 L" Z% _1 S5 D( }
every question."
) D/ l h' E _" ?& o2 R. RToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether$ `7 F* P6 [5 W
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The9 ?9 N( D% s) h1 [5 u; F ?
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
' o$ Q8 p# B6 A& ?' Mcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small# y. Y" Q4 h1 p
number of vehicles' o4 N' A8 ~. `, M+ q) c/ x
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more0 b# ~* b' {& z2 X, @0 }' e
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a. x" ]. ^# [# _- u( B
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one1 N; v. h* s0 H$ z& {( U; D; p+ G* v
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
+ I- C& }, `% @# sMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
7 D5 V" H" V# [, ?! Swhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no. |6 r/ ~" M6 V, `: x- X y. l
trace at all.+ a) P, h# V' e; D+ p6 V
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call6 }, {. v7 e* \' ^5 g5 p- k5 H
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
5 W& C6 F) t( A# w6 p: gacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the- H% N; \+ ^. n+ s& P: i
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.5 F( u$ w6 _4 t
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
2 o# ^2 M) M$ c3 G) Msaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
/ I" K9 H: W4 x: Tother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
) [* `. H( y1 H- Qelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
* r7 g& X2 O7 G" X1 |cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only1 E C! z- A- H) P! g
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
! A1 Q1 d- f! U( ~by Toyota's lawyers."
m/ q3 g l Z! ~- fLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
9 p& k8 d* l" D. O. Cproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
}9 ~) h4 N5 W. W9 I+ s3 |customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
* ]% P) V7 @* r( @said./ I7 x9 @" Y% ~9 j/ D" n6 M# o y# ~
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
8 Z* `0 b4 L$ i+ Ua rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
+ l& P1 @3 m1 j+ K' g# ^good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating" L; ~1 h( Z. n
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc." z3 s. @ `8 s
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying( B5 t& l9 |" @ {+ o
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
7 b- @" H( I9 D4 @* l. L- k& lrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
' O& m. r5 L2 K W3 wautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
) D. d' x$ p2 B8 cinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
/ G9 P3 M* {, ?8 H& t) q& g3 rChrysler.2 E# H1 T# H( A
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
8 Y5 t. k+ j+ \, G9 M$ }+ U3 k q5 Adollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a" _& X) T- V4 K& K3 f
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also7 f# @5 Z$ V n# Q+ V1 Y
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
( `0 i3 E% Q3 Z$ i Qwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty/ h$ {5 ?9 _' `
tough."
% r3 ]( `# p: ^! Z* \$ ?/ G---
5 K: c5 }6 N3 d0 j4 T/ J6 N' k7 y- VAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom8 M% O# Y/ x7 {
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to: z! r' n8 n) C0 W, e0 h" p
this story., ^- z/ x+ u! o$ h6 L2 c: r
% {$ P K7 k) x5 @1 S5 N
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