 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
|

楼主 |
发表于 2010-2-24 01:19
|
显示全部楼层
丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题/ C3 A% j# K z% X$ M _0 c
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
# P" |9 c8 b* M, W: x& s- _+ m; x9 IWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.% n ~! O& K {% t0 Z8 h/ E, a
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that0 C! j Q3 y: B+ c
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
5 u% y$ c2 q4 |7 L; e( E1 vsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
8 W" R4 Z+ N% W"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential$ _ C* o1 I3 |/ ~# @, c" ]) b& D
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
2 [9 t* L f/ t1 ZHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected3 r r! ]& [' M6 i# d6 W
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
; O" ~$ }; S8 q# q# h0 ytrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
/ P5 ~" s4 ?& a" L2 [1 mmats and sticking accelerator pedals.$ y! \) Z! [ {% {6 z4 ?0 b
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
+ \! I& V" X2 W7 `" I/ @9 `( n/ Pand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp0 J. @5 m) u- w6 }8 v) F
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
0 Q! m6 u, h( qfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
( i) x/ ~& D9 }. I; |not stop her runaway Lexus." j* J" l9 g- |5 k, F. W
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,) L4 c7 R- M) p$ P8 ^. a' b
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
1 q. ?. Z- b0 ]+ S"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
4 y+ J3 A9 [9 {( |/ v5 Z+ JTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
- n' d; U) X8 Y* Rearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
0 l4 K) V! D8 w+ c& I# F"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
$ F% b5 n) v. Vdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
4 G/ s( Q3 _# Q7 e1 i; Wthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
9 A3 g. ~3 P, X+ K. Yinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
) k* w' @3 r0 L7 P" z# h" \; }6 @Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an) y1 O2 X6 C7 V) g4 H
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of) w7 T* A) C3 U1 v) F" Y
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a$ S4 S! r% K" d7 j
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
2 g+ k$ K) i8 r2 @5 |said.. C; B( u9 s' [% r6 @
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what3 c/ I( `+ G; @3 O r7 n) i
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe+ ~1 F0 A/ U# X" N
about driving our products," Lentz said.
+ J7 o- W( e& B5 S" Y IThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
; v' C4 @- S/ m3 F+ U' H+ Fproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
% Q: a/ E4 `1 Y1 C4 U4 xrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
% `3 _! q) ~" m9 {/ rmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
6 C6 F. }) H7 H+ u: ounintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking) Y7 S8 d+ t; U
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
w$ G3 d& c) g; g% O" S3 Vconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of4 `8 Q+ C, N& t4 j, F' |
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow1 f# H- J/ n4 k
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
2 a u2 p* ?3 f3 d- preceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
8 t7 Y) R8 e! Kof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
" M) I; C- Z2 j* e4 ELentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own. K% L3 ?) \( k8 I. N
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
: {( t8 \' l& ~" t E. iunderstood the pain.
3 Z) Q* E; U8 b/ c5 B, m6 a"I know what those families go through," he said.& g: ~' P& |( p( s) L$ v$ K
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's$ n1 f1 ^7 p/ c4 J; |
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.+ Q% `5 i. Y8 s2 n! w% d
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
m5 |4 S* t) f0 b6 {; ?9 E- b. YHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
% P8 v( _0 @2 y3 qin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
/ w! B1 e& d& N6 ~Lentz replied: "Not totally."
2 |3 D* k; x3 R+ X+ pStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
) e! A: E# C% R& U) H, m& R& Z"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said n- c) i2 l; z3 r
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
& g+ v/ V3 a0 K" Z" qpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its! I M: J5 X9 ^1 Y& Q
vehicles already on the road.1 U+ }+ Z% |$ W7 T" t+ ?
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
8 Z; s6 X/ V% n' z, V( @$ zbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full5 X5 W a; n/ `9 W
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
) c# W" r8 ?8 |offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were* B6 Q& q0 A1 ]2 ]6 A
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
2 X4 {/ w7 _) [$ X4 S"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a# L8 l% s- K! R" v' \5 T
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
6 R7 _( l B* Y) {for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight2 E' n( N3 g6 V, g) J% {$ e
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal" V3 u( P: a) u0 O, ~$ H/ f* @
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
5 s: n, q! B& |& F9 x6 Crestore the trust of our customers."
* A- z2 Q% _! ~+ ]1 H% V( WLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
! X, l) g4 \) `; ESmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
3 g5 j# e! ~, b, n: A! Y hzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
9 W8 a( j# `1 Pshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and' L$ M) n3 ^; e8 D( [0 [& v
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
3 n7 N+ T l: a$ m/ L9 ]that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and$ y5 D5 J( E% C- B8 C7 d
turn off the engine.- H' R8 v1 M, T+ {
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of4 X% o/ Q& j' O9 s* a! F& [2 l
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
& f0 s, g8 y4 c0 c"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
* ?4 W! j& g2 W# v2 Zsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
$ h4 I) i% v& }8 P* M8 o6 A: f mto her complaints.4 P C! b @$ v" e$ [
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers. q# s% n' S/ W( S7 N
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
$ T% o2 c4 W! fmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
+ ~6 A( K' ~7 L% `- z3 o& f"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric9 D: `* {7 x$ H3 l( z7 O( K6 E
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
$ F4 ^9 m7 x7 R6 a! z {"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut( Q6 M& J9 X( `" Z8 d
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure.": C$ ^0 R* Q( w$ T' u5 n) M$ ]
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in B4 A2 s/ G. w$ `8 i. Y
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
6 ~6 ^. a' V" A: M9 y1 i Hbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls' }( L3 z3 M4 S" O) D
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer) R) ~9 @- y/ K+ X) }! g8 T
every question."
" r" h6 Y, u$ R9 s" J( L2 X# \; ?Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
$ r* M. m$ u( c T0 D! J& ]electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The# L& _9 \1 _0 p. V6 O
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But+ Z4 i$ t9 S) ~+ A+ K
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
2 b: ~: K9 n' ?4 ^number of vehicles
' W! J. u% _' C: u9 k, z( v6 V: MTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
7 P/ V* A. O' M2 Q) ndifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
' p* {2 V' G. Amechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
$ W: |( h h& W$ W" ]6 y! Hsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
/ }) E. @: i W8 K, zMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
* u* Q1 B4 m5 `/ jwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
J6 Z0 l ^! h( u `8 }- S% I- gtrace at all.
L7 W; Q2 [ m2 fHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
) g( W' w: E5 ^7 vdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden1 Y+ {- E5 @8 J) a4 ^3 I
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the( e8 d! C* c' f% E* L; H/ _8 l
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
8 R$ K2 T d7 ERep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
) c9 R6 Z; ^% hsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
3 g3 C5 e N* oother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the. U/ C( r. A0 }. C* x, i7 _+ P
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible. t- l# G2 o$ [- D) X4 {, E: S
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
2 L9 Z8 {/ r* Q& d1 Z- H: s$ Wsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained1 u$ `( ], d! ?
by Toyota's lawyers."
& @4 g, u5 V% b. p) eLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of1 Q8 z( |+ e3 D& A# q
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our/ d( }2 z' i* I x2 \
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
% P1 L4 e4 q6 c) ?said.& W( M; U- L( ]- y; Z2 r! f' c
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
% h7 _% A2 U; J) u' |% }* da rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
$ F' C! T/ h5 k- @good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
/ Z; G9 ` o% g1 lofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
- H+ j/ V' @- C3 R& C/ A! tSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
! e& G% u! `. W( L3 Lmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
( [: f8 r( p7 g" Lrancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the, P3 ]5 a$ D4 i
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
- U$ e+ s$ s: N' R8 pinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and' i" p0 o$ e: f: Z }7 h! n6 v- B! u
Chrysler.
9 B7 Q. i" D- s, W; C"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
2 G0 Y3 t! ~2 \* i5 T9 h& Xdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
& z$ H) w+ S- L. f( P$ [Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
$ I* _- `- \. dserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete+ g# n7 C% }0 ~3 I1 r
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
* L' v& U) {& X* C( f0 F' y* u3 Etough."
' ^+ d4 d6 H( ]5 \0 w$ @" K" [9 x---/ m# Y4 z0 q; B% A
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom4 {, [" v/ {, C" A& e* A
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
P7 B. i9 h' D# Bthis story.: |: r Q3 e, H5 p- {0 k! ? E" I
: \' t4 `) R# `' Z9 k$ z, w2 z
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|