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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
; B2 c* }3 W* J5 x& T/ eBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
: X) L; p7 r4 l/ f M: Y1 G6 FWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S. W/ r x' \+ F+ f* f
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that4 s6 ?' n+ O9 K8 U' W
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
' F) \* E& t) v0 ^' A( o* _solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.6 E4 O- F1 X8 \9 n9 F
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential+ ]' w1 g/ L% q( t: \; u8 S
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
; `! x" ?9 A8 W [3 y4 ~( nHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
& @+ t( Q8 d; K" nacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and9 ^0 _7 @' l& B. v
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor" u- @- K H( C& l
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.' x) P6 _: N! m$ n3 I" F' I
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
, n' y$ x+ @( i3 J C4 |$ Kand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp2 B8 s& F$ B# U* ?) a) I
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be1 i& v K4 F1 V! x# `+ @
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could; u! P6 H( c5 k3 b& I g0 F
not stop her runaway Lexus.
) h! E- }/ x8 h% I, I8 g"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
8 R+ w/ F1 |3 S$ E5 @$ Y+ TTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
4 M" Q; P& t' {0 R, e"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
. y: g$ z; a/ |% TTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
. l' J! t! ]# O% p/ {7 \5 Eearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
: o* A' B& ]0 L, u. i"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has+ b3 c2 i4 @7 `$ q: k
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway1 ^2 r! H9 A; \5 e, C
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's+ P0 o3 X& W4 O6 Z. @ `
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
- c; M! C" `6 ]/ {1 k* K9 sLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
9 Q6 A- {% x* o+ [0 g Helectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
- h8 i, \7 I$ {, F9 ?9 Qthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a; t0 s1 }' A& Q+ D5 Q; ?
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he0 d1 {4 A! f/ O6 L J7 G
said.
( F, `7 _$ i, e4 p- v, V" HAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what! o7 z7 T' y8 K3 w! Y- d
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
" b+ H& k# q! babout driving our products," Lentz said.- k7 q9 |1 \* I" o
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
. m* I0 O: k. i; l. Z2 ^, ?/ d2 |1 Nproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
) B3 I5 M/ E5 E' h! t( yrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6% J) V/ R8 \! l3 O" @- r; }
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
5 k5 u# A$ a7 sunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking$ y% c. `( O7 U s( r3 z) ~/ ]
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering( T6 ~, @+ D3 T
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
; r! z: u+ v4 F0 qtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
9 J0 f- |+ i. l8 ^" Fdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has ]3 x4 U! l8 y# s3 J+ A$ M
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration4 M$ |+ V' ^6 ~! {
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
( `' g- d6 N, |- l+ F3 aLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
4 D, L. M# V5 Z+ }7 l4 abrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
/ R) A. h1 H6 @% ^: g: r s# J4 Qunderstood the pain.
" B2 M* Y7 H$ R* U* n/ G"I know what those families go through," he said.2 Y3 R+ |) M" L: a6 M1 m' @+ i; A% p
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's+ N6 [2 n" F9 W
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.5 f$ v- H; G! P; r2 g# k; M, V
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman P4 O8 ?4 c2 v. H8 Q; F6 |
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put$ ` z) f- z Z
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
0 x4 e2 o7 n% p% w; D5 aLentz replied: "Not totally."
e+ g% h0 m" {4 b& B/ B6 VStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
0 z) w1 u7 J% P; G"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
5 x: l+ M7 n1 p, U! `) \- IToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
# ]# |2 ]- \+ `0 o, C" q# h5 qpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its2 }/ W8 y( q+ }/ ~7 ^4 W
vehicles already on the road.1 a- E5 }. f O% u0 n( V. J
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
, ]5 ^; T9 w8 }2 Bbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
% p$ M: M& D/ h3 F* Iresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and5 O" f3 r% E& E% H% l
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
5 n- T* h$ w5 p, E# Mkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
( }' z- P1 M2 ?"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a1 d* M* ?" g; I2 Q
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony- Y& H6 v7 b1 u: J. P
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
) [7 r' i- v+ F# aCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal6 j' Q7 E# t' v4 E; G) S0 M
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to+ \/ D6 [, r+ X, H" w! o
restore the trust of our customers."
7 R! O; ~1 }4 }. gLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
, j: r6 q$ l2 v# w& b2 m: ?Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
2 Y$ ~) P* P! [, szoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --# U; ~$ r' u! r* b# r) s
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
/ s8 p6 J8 e$ r8 f8 o# c& ^) q" Qhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough0 f6 [! G; J6 H4 F
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and9 Z! n4 `. B! K/ }" c
turn off the engine.5 f4 a/ H% i( n- j9 u
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of7 O% a! m* P$ v
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
: J; _- P9 h& y"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she' ^. v- T. a( D/ c. T+ {* [
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond. V! s) H9 L" Z+ j/ `. K/ D' }: n
to her complaints.; F. z3 ^5 T$ K% ]( u
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers$ { p% q( a3 U; f
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
; C2 \% n' ~; a+ b" ?2 @" r$ Lmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.# s/ A- d- A- O h, e/ \. }, A- @0 [
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
7 R% Y( {9 V- f, athrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
& }: [2 q8 O4 D, u9 K Q2 ]"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut) j9 ?5 V( Z: X
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
* W6 L" O+ u0 l! k3 JTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
8 Y# p1 E* m+ F' `2 J6 _8 m, `prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
3 y! R$ t9 Q6 m c7 I) ^being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls! s1 J- E4 ?' y0 [* {( t
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
" ]1 H; T. @7 A& }1 `every question."
4 P' o. |8 H Z, `+ vToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
* U* ^" C$ P1 K" Q$ h4 A3 C' E- Jelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
2 E3 ?- A5 e9 F' h6 @8 hfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But1 e: L! P' z$ H2 h5 j6 k
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small) c; f; I$ ~ i5 `
number of vehicles! I/ m0 J* K% h F+ n5 }$ W
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more5 G0 i4 a* V9 O9 _9 t8 i
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a& _$ k1 B8 P1 g$ I& F& ?
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
$ \: c# }! I) d- r5 k; Bsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car., s0 [ J8 P3 V0 u1 X: c+ \) |
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,$ d- m; x4 G, c8 G' e
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no2 I. L8 }2 e6 g( w+ }4 V
trace at all. H% Y6 g# W, D: ?
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
+ @8 N; k; ^+ @) l: ?" n: mdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden* V: g% o8 r7 p
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
' q1 ?9 Z( P" ` x& w$ brecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
% n a' Q/ D/ F$ c# Z- E# a! ORep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
|4 X) p4 O3 d# [said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
7 `) A. u3 X$ D/ hother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the2 Z# Y# V- O- B& l3 {* c( P
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
& s& s$ I2 I( zcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
1 J1 Q( V) M' q& |' j2 Hsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
( i R4 `' a. @" Dby Toyota's lawyers."
* {/ z7 h- p. n6 `' J# X2 x7 kLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of; S j* ]+ Z8 b! E8 x3 z
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
2 T- I- J) r3 E: P8 t- h+ `customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
$ b% N! a# H- K. _* p3 qsaid.! W7 g3 u/ P! E% C* d
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
9 W( u: H J" ra rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
/ b" d) I7 r$ G* ^( z: Cgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating( ?0 j! P2 V' k$ X0 u$ q6 R
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.1 Z; }8 c/ Z( Y$ e
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying" L- P& B W3 d- S: G1 h% L* }/ Z
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
5 ?. q6 a% z, Y" j1 ^rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
8 u7 P; m2 j- \automaker, at least in part because of the government's
6 |& a$ j* b. z% `9 Tinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
I$ U) N, i; n( Z' G7 H1 J6 XChrysler.
g9 Z% U, K7 F) A" L0 M"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax0 X0 b& ]" R! e/ A" P4 q
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
0 p* q6 W* R; C. p' ~. J3 ^! ]1 ?Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
, ^& o( e6 C- F( Sserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
+ c2 V* h0 n' |. m6 swith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty1 ?* E. G |0 x5 N
tough."( Z- I" w+ G; \8 Q" z* M
---
3 T' h8 h- X& H6 m( p2 yAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
5 L% X6 \- M! x1 iRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to0 f S; l% W& `% ^
this story.( K! m1 g* p# u. h2 F
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-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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