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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
V w4 R, N. q! }) \; qBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS$ q! V: }# T# O, o: X& G
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.8 u9 U8 p& |6 {/ G
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that5 \% v& B0 s( m9 S7 N" L- X
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
% g, J% @3 Q5 Lsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
3 w) K. l9 y/ `; f* ]! P) N& V1 ~"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential3 M. D! ^( `4 [- | {* m8 Z
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
- d& K9 Q [& tHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected/ Y' _0 t( w8 D: T
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
/ \ ^: K7 D0 G" ]0 rtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor! Y8 a. _) k$ B/ g3 g1 r( s) w
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.$ }" \( ?; C. R4 [7 v* Q
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal0 |' J( m, I" l' v2 U! b! u" f
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp" x; ]! _2 @- a
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be6 \* s8 i& U) g7 g% w1 i
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
6 t; f% ]- Z" K3 Dnot stop her runaway Lexus. R2 [1 d% B, k- _/ G
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
1 h0 j+ ^2 t4 w% J4 B0 G4 GTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
- {3 o2 Q7 \* W# P9 U R"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
3 R3 n, u u/ Y9 _Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
2 G" {# c$ l1 d# [4 jearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
1 L, u3 T+ L" B% G' |"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has. `- j% }! |' `% l
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
! z, J$ H* p2 L" mthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's. _3 `: i8 U8 x8 Z
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
4 ?; F% Z7 b" ^. t/ I! \ WLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
! G$ e$ E' P. `3 F8 l# zelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
^1 M8 F( u7 I. r* dthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a- v8 r1 L4 l- s2 p9 @8 R
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he# h# K5 P' H/ _. |! ]
said.5 h- q3 q6 {: |* X6 h. b4 C
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what% C. g2 \* H4 \7 w, i
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
1 O( H9 B$ g1 ^0 ~( vabout driving our products," Lentz said.
& r, w7 G2 g o% rThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's9 B) D; N/ _8 i) b5 o
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has4 x2 m* f: {9 ]0 H$ \) w$ r
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
$ E( ~' ]4 Z5 {4 R; omillion in the United States -- since last fall because of# G$ Z$ @8 N7 q' _5 m& ?8 f9 D6 y$ v
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
6 |* @0 m1 i: q& K" ~5 Wissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
1 v; f4 q- W0 m7 D5 ~, |0 uconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
" ~& x- E9 T K1 t. {0 ttheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
6 v5 _$ a: {. `8 i- zdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has$ O$ P' I$ ^2 W/ O4 M
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
$ ^0 H" G. R. i, N) eof Toyota vehicles since 2000.# d- _5 B2 M6 v0 F
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own8 g+ d( Z6 H: I. l% b: ?& ]
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he: m0 G- e6 J T6 j* j* Q4 r7 J
understood the pain.! y$ W% G# T3 W% F
"I know what those families go through," he said.
2 U. i+ [9 M2 m' f0 @, n ]Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
/ k) q5 I' N$ n! V# U( ffixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
; d# ]( W8 S8 S: u( Y0 yBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman' U' w" d% j8 o1 {& w( R0 D
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put9 q. M" e& X! U$ Z" J
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,6 w+ w1 U6 R0 S4 m7 P6 D
Lentz replied: "Not totally."9 b3 S) H9 b' `1 o
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
+ z) U- {5 K0 g* G( F0 I, z"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said" l/ P/ l J7 l( K9 I! X
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas8 s+ ]8 R3 `( B! U [+ _
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its- z* @ ]5 B2 v% _7 M4 Z: w
vehicles already on the road.% b: M' A! S6 i7 d r8 r+ {
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify$ h: f) ?! t- D2 h; T: l+ ^7 f
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
+ C6 ]* D' k4 F' t% d. Q& Iresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and' Q5 D" W! P Y. W2 g5 m
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were' u5 _; a$ _" o D3 x4 N6 Z
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
4 H( `& ^ `5 @& s"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a+ f3 ^1 e6 k) D$ G5 h* w; U' `
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony7 h" m, o2 K, o+ I- y
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight5 I F0 P- A$ ]& u
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
3 w2 ~9 W4 N* c& ncommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to2 n0 k* S4 h( U% L
restore the trust of our customers."
6 Q* ~; L3 p" j2 @6 J% f" Y. U% B2 [, lLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
4 M* x; r: M W) |3 e2 F! ySmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
* R* v- z' F$ G4 p9 D2 Dzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
" ?+ x6 V! V- Ashifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and1 b: z& r" R1 Z: D- n% H
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
# M3 ?, \1 o5 ]: s6 r% Wthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and* C8 P- {0 l: R% |5 G5 N; X2 F& S
turn off the engine.
4 B& V0 ?- @5 D. a( _. ^2 X- I6 B- {Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of; m4 ~3 S6 q/ g& L. H, @
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience.": Q5 c$ b& L4 K- S) |5 O
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she0 X$ J( b1 S9 k( @' G& a1 d
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond- U5 ]& ~- A" t5 n$ G
to her complaints.
1 T4 e6 U( o$ {- J2 nIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers$ I ~6 f' Z( G% q# q
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
3 w# r/ z P; O7 o: qmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
! K! a* M0 }2 H9 T"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric( @* Y% X8 b6 w% o. a- j* ^
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
" m/ F% Z! d% H* L' ?2 t$ C"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
$ ~- |$ n" v7 B9 j/ u9 T9 _off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
% A* n2 e: I: z) _7 OTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
& m3 [% o; k0 v$ Z, uprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were, X; A9 C8 p9 [
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
' O& c# k; |, J$ J% U" ]4 wwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
) c9 M- Y' ]! B2 xevery question."7 V) ~) w5 p n) t6 P z% N
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
, j' O" ^* z" g+ b2 Selectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The- A1 u& `1 w4 c" ^
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
; r0 }0 q$ n) ?6 u5 m2 ` @committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
! q) }5 Z( a2 P- a; {0 j T, enumber of vehicles
- N7 t* \. P0 ITracking down an electrical problem can be far more9 e* C) J5 g) }# Y# R
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
9 J, g8 D+ R/ `( omechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
) R) T- s) G7 Nsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.. P. L! y2 m' M7 ?
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,2 N2 U) x/ B6 I# M
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
3 E! A: a5 F) z) ?5 ltrace at all.& C0 d* D& x3 @& Q
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
8 ?- w5 U' X3 ^database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
* p, u1 _! `$ q9 j" macceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
" w4 k2 E! j( lrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
1 n) }9 `2 ?, a0 i5 rRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
- _! X' P9 {# E- ]said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
/ @* p( [, ]% k d/ Kother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
# s$ g2 C$ G1 d( X% f* Q1 Welectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
. C% c2 k+ G0 T5 r; f5 t" c4 Ncause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
) t V9 A. v- msuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
4 F: R& l4 D( o" ^+ ^% O, V+ H4 nby Toyota's lawyers."4 e2 D) {- M! H
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
1 T/ ]- A0 G" t: `problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
4 g' }% G& Q- j3 \9 jcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he) B6 b7 m3 N# C( Z+ @2 q
said.2 s9 n& [/ X* r8 {( L
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with) g$ o9 [" e1 F9 ^
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our& D5 W2 w# D; ^ v/ v g; j# Q; q
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
( m5 `( C; z. U: ?& J' p8 Fofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.! u" [+ d; F. m1 h
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying" G' O+ z; Q0 S
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread* J. q$ i9 N3 r/ v. }
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the# _6 Y: O8 C8 J+ {- S: d- u- _
automaker, at least in part because of the government's# d3 s% V% X/ a' D
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and* d5 _. I; h! o' }( m& u* A
Chrysler.6 H- d+ S9 O4 j2 m- f) D5 x
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax/ H( S+ E) R2 [
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
& `- e) i8 j x( R, u1 @9 iHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also$ z# c4 A% i% J, B3 `9 N
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete8 q. L' ]# U+ d
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty; g- w! K; Z7 @8 a& ]2 U
tough."
0 e- u: ^" [% Z5 E" b---
/ ^( Y, A$ C' d$ {, g lAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
" e* S5 m8 U7 D1 m' x* B5 x( mRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
' W6 E# T, s- O+ X) d5 ^this story.4 \# E! v, v3 o0 P* e
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