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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
& _& `) p3 c: g! P- zBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS4 k, c& ^5 h1 h4 z6 r
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.$ a! a9 f3 A# l6 H) ]. _: X% K7 U
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
3 \: j/ U) C2 F: e3 O/ x5 w& }the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"% S* K+ p- d( r" `2 B
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.9 O/ o* ^. K, ?- m1 ~
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
: h, ` C& s( ^- }+ `causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
5 a# N1 q0 E xHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
( `, |* k- Y4 lacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and) Z* M5 K d* }, {) ~6 O& R: V: ?
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor/ J' O% @" V8 n" b! u+ m
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.% v0 Y+ U- f0 o- v6 X1 y D! p
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal: p$ N9 X1 {1 x3 D) [
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp+ d8 _8 {, h1 V4 T" H4 U6 m
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
+ }# P& R$ A6 z* f+ q1 R. `further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
2 Y: |9 H: J8 M/ F3 w4 Bnot stop her runaway Lexus.8 n, X/ o: m' I- t
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
, F) ~8 \* X- N. u0 I& a; tTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
% k& \- I: [0 F4 S$ Z"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.) l2 g& z. K8 j! R9 W) V
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues" |3 @0 @ s( y) S
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said3 \8 L: T# l& n D9 Z* z+ J$ {% m+ r
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has$ {0 A& @# P+ ~! H
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
' M: ^" n6 B+ J. P i$ @through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's7 a1 h0 u w+ C/ m+ B
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
5 V, n! c. | vLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an3 c( k7 c2 d+ H
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of( y# Y" ? t. [2 y- B
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a+ z8 Y4 t) r4 c! C4 @
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he- h+ N5 F3 |& p/ j- y+ _
said.
9 U; C, K; E$ N* J6 B( tAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
% A1 M0 b3 }( f0 i* shappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
. ?4 x. i* s- u2 G Rabout driving our products," Lentz said.2 N0 H# }- q9 O; F6 K" H7 U
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's) v6 `5 O" ~& F7 \1 J' Q4 t
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has# ]3 E2 _& g( Z4 X: C
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
8 W$ ~% `6 ?( E. I) S' R# smillion in the United States -- since last fall because of# e( G# n/ E4 a, A- m5 x, f
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking) n! \" ~; P' [, e( m
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering3 ~. v2 K9 L# W- P* D! u; ]' D2 O' G
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
$ v0 f5 }# n: v8 P. z. itheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow! t1 l" n M6 Y; L8 u% |
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has/ `+ ?# `' \( f D2 ~ v p) h
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration& S+ }8 j; n7 m& x7 v% T
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.3 J' ^/ z$ s. ~1 V
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
& h$ s8 U) V: m$ o5 J5 o8 o* V& jbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
& l. N3 C6 F0 u! k4 p: p. }( y8 punderstood the pain.
b/ r+ f3 o$ f0 a+ k"I know what those families go through," he said.
+ B' X r# Q5 }. ^0 LLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
/ A$ s, z" x$ T5 P f/ u' t4 N' f$ ufixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.1 c/ v F, @. u9 |. E9 G; m
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
( v# L: _4 W5 g) `Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
/ g+ J* H5 S% q8 U! Zin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
, [8 C" P# q! DLentz replied: "Not totally."
; M2 ?& F- p" r' p n1 W( s. }8 KStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were! t5 ?6 L7 H6 ^1 `; m
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
B; a' y# |5 F. U/ `$ w. t4 lToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
" \; m" c! }$ `+ ppedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
) q* A" V4 b9 w5 L5 u. J/ f3 Bvehicles already on the road.
* m, F6 d$ E; I* SMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify7 V; [! m/ w' l2 y* Z
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
6 r. h7 k9 M: T/ presponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and4 x# E! M0 ?8 O$ M* D6 n, F
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
9 I3 b1 c* \# m) E8 x! W+ d; @/ lkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.$ T* s5 r, B" r
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a" q7 o' J- J% b" B9 }: V0 v
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
7 c3 x9 G! c9 @for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight9 q7 m, q5 j2 O& w2 {0 K! f
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal, Z! x) R2 F5 \' @. C6 U5 X+ j
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to! A4 t4 D1 b& [, g' w
restore the trust of our customers."% S; K; ]$ G% D
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
) X+ K: _6 n4 s0 ~" ]Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
% {' s( }/ `' b. k) P4 R, jzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --& a5 ^2 g* Y# W j- B
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and! p0 k3 q: r/ k* n i4 M; ^5 D( U
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
4 P" S1 x! b; y6 n+ `* r% a: Nthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
& e8 g5 v' s8 R' ?, e% M/ m6 Y. p, Uturn off the engine.
9 P$ l1 \5 d: z% A9 s5 g% {Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of. G) i1 G1 c7 R2 S5 T6 y
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
1 y0 L( ~. p, ~"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
* X- Q, M4 t3 m, o3 S$ `said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond" t1 ]* l( Y6 k7 L
to her complaints.
) l8 I1 R( K# X5 ^! [" i. S# kIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers/ l9 B; C& `% P9 b9 d9 U
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic: z# P" `/ e9 I+ L5 ` J8 ?" m
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.# o% y6 N! R. I' a
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric1 J8 V" d8 K6 c) q) n. t
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
3 w, Y0 t6 Q- @) ?9 ["fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
: L3 X: M4 [/ v- ~% hoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
( [$ w1 S8 J8 O. _Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in! v- Z' A6 J3 n/ ]7 O
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
% P; y6 c% \) G6 e, Bbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
a" k; z+ U ?8 G. g0 a# [were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer. m; c' S+ i& |' g/ F
every question."4 ^1 U: q* I# V* d1 N5 @% ]2 [
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether- L# X- x; d5 k ]0 O/ t7 z
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
" r7 f# c$ J# Ifirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But0 l/ c: D# r5 A4 l9 N% f
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small! M+ j: N" a, [6 @/ N r
number of vehicles
7 P3 S" _1 H: p4 MTracking down an electrical problem can be far more2 E* M" w9 `$ G, I
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a$ ^5 L# I4 l: q5 g3 L- j
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one. V* w% d9 o6 E8 Z
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
* h' s% _- q; n7 k: n* eMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
' ?* M" d! [* O* I. Hwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no4 ]2 f! P/ `! @/ }7 l9 v: }' F" E
trace at all.( b8 H! `" z9 @$ Z. c7 i, q& v/ g
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
( p Q; L8 T7 |/ Z2 m, Vdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
4 N0 g& t1 |6 A6 G/ R; H# {acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the. o, ?$ L" D- H1 P
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
$ i* B) w5 }* e' L `Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,. x4 H A9 a1 z, k! e# N8 W
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
3 v2 h, }* j2 a S1 q1 A; t' ]other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
4 f3 o6 b4 s/ Z3 yelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible. L, Y( l, g9 T% ~( E! t
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
$ {9 M* c7 z9 z& j/ C5 n, O d- bsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained8 |0 o0 b# t' ?# r$ }' a( p" d& a: R
by Toyota's lawyers."
8 S7 p! N" u% [2 rLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
- ]/ o( _5 I0 m7 K7 ~1 kproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
1 I% q. I h: R& ^' f$ i% }customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
3 A X0 [" V, g$ v2 t1 U( h8 csaid.
1 B' U5 m! ?6 [$ C) _"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
3 b8 |* G- X. V4 A- o$ ]a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our$ M, V& f, R% e3 q: j9 c
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating3 i; K" d* Y1 K$ W* t) N8 L( E
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
* M7 q4 {% g* k9 ?0 k) y n4 DSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
3 C) B2 r1 S' `members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread5 R. x/ e8 H' v9 {0 e1 v! J
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the/ L, Z, z! @7 Y
automaker, at least in part because of the government's' K" x/ Y5 N. ~4 @
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and6 v5 n6 \; z- B
Chrysler., U% s5 Q/ V; G" C( b: c% u, I
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
. v9 |2 J1 o& U: r2 {dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
, ^; q0 G8 u) P K" y8 DHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also& s& S( h- [$ F6 |) w, @! i
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
7 C1 F5 o8 p" Y# J6 Iwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
0 J# g, G+ [( B' `( |$ ntough."! o4 G; S8 K: M+ h5 L
---$ K# P1 D/ D/ ~8 x* {1 W
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
2 B6 A2 [; D& Y- Z0 T% R& MRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to1 Y+ G7 \! ?& o" i1 H. G4 q% G, ]* U2 C D
this story.
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