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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
$ l7 W3 K0 L% ^2 Y+ Y# i% A+ DBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
4 J7 Z$ C' c% f( y& a" VWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.8 c3 d1 a) J, \0 b" j
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
1 q# Z; Q7 o" O/ X* ~' Q! s7 Z1 Pthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"( V/ H) C' g' O
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.8 W" J0 B) E# q
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential4 {8 m2 B/ _6 p0 ^$ c t1 }3 C' y7 l
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.& i. G, l5 c5 Z; S* {
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected3 g; Z$ Z1 p7 l
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
/ \2 E- e% c0 V! g2 e, C7 ktrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor% w, ]8 p q& C* e
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.8 d# _) x) { a b# \
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal$ o/ w5 [0 i% ^; L
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
, O% O3 _1 Y" a; Ecriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
( J, I* Y' |" s; Ifurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
* l( N* q6 c* i: Pnot stop her runaway Lexus.. c: O+ r/ ]3 q1 S4 q" A0 C
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,3 m% y. }4 e$ K+ v/ T( w9 n" n" l
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second( {- ~$ k. C1 ]5 s
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.+ q, W' g, a4 E' c5 }
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues' Q1 y5 \4 v$ L, @
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
2 N1 g6 X( Y; M( f& t0 w& ~"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
( T* p" @& r" r5 D) G. H& Kdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
- J% o6 d: ]9 h' g; g) O/ ithrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's( P4 R# w* E+ S7 p- z% A
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
8 W1 `! f( R1 K0 z% `5 h! ^+ X9 VLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an- q+ Z% Z$ F7 M* u2 G
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of: D- O' T- z; B
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
@8 x" d( H4 ^! K- p# o# Rmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he0 U( @0 R0 R$ T. \8 K$ O) G p
said.$ W$ P8 @" _* h7 W8 M! l* N, B
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what6 B6 D9 u, T3 d+ O _* A
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe6 B5 T1 |) _, x, i) T
about driving our products," Lentz said.
2 M4 H' l2 _1 VThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's, D( d& @- e, w! B
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has: M$ K+ {' O" [" L6 [- ^
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
! Y$ @8 N- S# x/ zmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of/ U/ ~* t# \2 U! r3 M
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
% F6 |. H" `6 ^* x7 {: ] r, dissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering# ?3 H8 j! s0 ]. f
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
& v* x0 y& G/ N; Q \- g: stheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow1 P( X& @# I! F
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has8 ?3 t# w+ g6 }
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
7 J; A3 w8 _4 x! b0 [of Toyota vehicles since 2000.+ F, E( t& y( @: u' T$ `( R
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
0 j# U' [' W. p& w. b: nbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he2 M5 _3 B8 S" z' m: B
understood the pain.
I5 k* L0 {: C8 e"I know what those families go through," he said.* o7 ]5 O+ B8 R+ I7 k
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
: ], S: C) C2 C# n/ ]3 jfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.1 a7 b. c6 D" A
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
" {9 R' m v8 g7 d8 j+ gHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put1 J3 S4 g2 T4 z
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
' }2 @2 x6 Y. l# F: GLentz replied: "Not totally."
/ E2 V! V' m" X$ Y4 TStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
- @& e0 |# x0 U"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
/ Z# B. {- i' eToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
/ e' O: ]9 z0 J0 G: J. kpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its: r6 T. L; s# m
vehicles already on the road.+ S) m" X; z4 F9 f2 W
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
: e" O% H f8 r5 I# V6 Xbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full5 s' E8 q: q: m6 c1 _! U. u1 g3 r: Y
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
; U# A. w+ E6 U ^offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
/ r9 F+ S+ i" x s' ]! H0 f$ K- Pkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
5 h m/ E m. n2 {"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
* E/ L4 `2 l2 d0 M ftragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
( u* W u' N1 I: Yfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
; U( R3 {: Q/ ^7 R- l; r7 nCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
7 y# L8 L$ o y% R x+ v( ^commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
# C( l: Z% S4 g4 N8 m! C) Yrestore the trust of our customers."
! F& `( k# W& o5 Z% XLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
7 z L9 d; \ g( QSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
: R! e# ?4 @) Q7 Bzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --) g B. ~' z( i h- m, r
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
. z, ~3 H; } P# o7 l0 zhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
, z+ `2 s+ l! f; x* gthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and9 V0 w% T$ R0 L- `
turn off the engine.+ L- q! L! e" S
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of" n" `" C0 g% s
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
$ M8 ~1 z* q+ s9 F1 i7 _"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she4 x) O6 H+ v" x* t
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond. P9 O) o( l/ h8 a! k
to her complaints.$ Q4 A! e, w6 n+ a; d7 J
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers, K" L' m. ]" M4 l' q
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic) T1 x8 ~# |6 M
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
; b6 [$ g7 K* t" z! G& U3 O"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
( W5 E/ M7 x9 o ?$ Hthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited2 e0 V- W9 d! \
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut4 i' L, W8 R6 d& s" O6 |
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
4 U2 {/ }$ K; I c DTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
" l9 K8 B/ o4 Hprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were$ P9 Q, J3 J0 O- J5 [6 T
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls9 U$ L: c: B& ~' y& _
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer# v h8 z: D4 I( L
every question."
( m8 }6 v. n4 K; z) RToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether7 m! P Q: r, N z7 o$ C0 U3 J
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
$ [4 [" j, X0 }$ G1 B( ?) S- |, _& Ufirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
6 f ?+ m( x" \, L3 @committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
% l- ^) |9 \- y2 f8 ~; cnumber of vehicles
( l0 t& f& }$ C9 \Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more$ d( |$ ~7 n5 p) D' @8 O; q) P
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
1 I% j0 ]( U" `0 B1 Z+ M& G' emechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one& m p. v7 p) z8 K! ?! T0 Q
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.$ l# A- j. r% j1 g& C3 T) A
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,8 s1 m' ?3 ~8 ]/ m& g% z/ b5 F8 C9 S
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no8 p v3 }* ?# k
trace at all.
) h( m- t a' u) ]- w6 K" @House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call4 R4 {7 x0 P$ B
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden0 n2 x! G& _9 I4 w8 ] c, G3 k
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the+ o2 O( K' d$ a( r% i0 x M* ]* P
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
1 M1 M- P' f# ^8 `* D6 i) nRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
9 Y0 y% O# U9 o4 @7 v2 Jsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
4 j+ p- }( Z# uother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
4 H, y) V" t5 B: melectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
0 B( y9 k1 g L2 Hcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only9 v5 p+ _5 o, |% T! E
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
+ R3 w6 ?# m \; L; x* n# _6 cby Toyota's lawyers."! q5 f8 t. m. E! d% U! G
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of! M( S3 I6 x2 s5 h( t: A
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
/ v! Y$ Z2 |9 w. ]& {' d0 Y, R2 ccustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
5 b/ B/ W' C% j% T% m3 n, Isaid.
# I7 m8 Q0 Z. `"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
# J& w5 U. H2 T' u- oa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our* `) D! ~; v4 Z8 Z0 ~: P5 W/ h
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating/ R" @: X+ p; u0 f% f
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc. J0 _* R# S3 \- V1 S
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
1 K$ w( g1 C! kmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
: C" p% C G3 W* a( E. Trancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the, R/ @7 C2 L1 {/ N$ ~$ B
automaker, at least in part because of the government's, P2 h, U6 m/ n$ P
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
9 S6 G! ~8 C$ \# s- d7 r mChrysler.' P/ X: X9 t! B2 u
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
" W% ^. M1 I% `2 O0 o1 u- [! j/ A+ {dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a# `, C; C, Z- b( [ }
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
+ k) j2 C, [5 v4 U9 }' Kserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
* S$ r) i3 D! m1 V) m6 Qwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty' E; ?* z- k1 U2 F. m$ Z E& u- h/ w
tough."1 R: r, T" U% w9 p# D# W' k
---4 H4 B5 [0 c( s; _- \
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
- Q M9 b% w, D q, ]# sRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
4 h8 D, Z; Q/ A- T' kthis story.
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5 s# p& Z; i7 P3 W% `1 q! A-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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