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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
7 O) a/ l* L J2 j7 _$ }9 EBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS0 e0 k# D2 J6 V: z& n
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
0 l/ B/ \# R/ b$ }) ~operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
1 w) e9 z m9 D* S* {) z2 ]the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally". g6 _/ Q) `; a9 @' E
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.7 M+ @- _7 s( T) X* ]
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
: C/ p$ E: @9 }3 H" Ccauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel. E& p; Q& H: P% u. T
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
& S$ F4 m L m! I2 K, k+ Q1 L+ uacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
) j' a2 {) X" }3 D, A- @trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
6 N5 x4 C; ^1 K8 K) q7 W# pmats and sticking accelerator pedals.6 f0 k( T; k9 u8 W3 P. H; j
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
* i+ a2 S0 G; g: R! zand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp( ?+ z. t- I' M8 n3 I
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
1 n% l) D8 l" Z! {further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could4 O5 o4 J; g2 z V0 v
not stop her runaway Lexus.( m* o/ W8 [% z. {6 n, n# y
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
1 R) a2 p1 d9 \ ^. N" n7 DTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
% o+ n7 M0 h) C3 A"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
5 [, L/ U2 `0 J0 E9 YTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
9 i+ ?" Z% b3 l9 ] Nearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said, T) A! [1 n! }, |6 X' d% M
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
- c8 H9 Y9 o, F; g1 w2 E" edone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway5 Q' @' e* w) m% m6 S0 t9 a- A
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
$ O" K/ {9 K) D2 a! J6 Qinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."4 F! E: g$ y# K1 b2 z. \* _ g) N
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an3 G3 Z7 P& H l) `
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
4 g2 q( Y# {6 n2 d: }the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
. D+ o0 l! u4 M, Cmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
9 z2 ]) H i% a1 c* J' c- c$ a" ksaid.
7 P3 R0 x! \' G: q m; l* A+ rAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what- B1 Y8 O* E! o
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
) U2 ?0 G( p' {- ]about driving our products," Lentz said.
# U. r; x' k4 l7 h- a) MThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's& i" V! Y1 w4 t; C1 z6 C7 l1 }! U
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
8 G% [# n/ f9 y# @4 nrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
& W. H% }% ?8 j) m7 }( k5 ~million in the United States -- since last fall because of
2 G, J- u# V) \unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking7 V$ X8 @8 A8 x) p2 Q" w
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering5 T. Y+ f8 A4 Y6 f+ H6 E
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
' `5 Y3 @( u$ {3 U& D2 ptheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow0 x- U' g1 [$ k& ?1 G9 X& s" W5 e% H) O
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
! g! b! v) Q Zreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration( n- s/ t8 D/ N
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.& [& C# s/ P* R( K( o$ B! q; p+ m
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own7 ^2 P5 n% w! W' d' `
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he2 Z) \ p$ m q& N! x
understood the pain.: `* ]) t3 u( Q% F% Y
"I know what those families go through," he said.% ~, ?2 b% }& H
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's$ G# v2 }; C$ b I
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
7 [0 F( M- u" K3 j) GBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman* ^# A9 x9 [1 `! x3 c2 H
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
6 g- [8 v1 p1 q7 u7 S' ~6 x! y0 [! G$ Cin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,1 q8 q- K: D! I
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
$ ^/ U7 [3 f/ i4 N# s4 r% HStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
% p2 d# i, m ^% t"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said& e+ Z% _2 h4 e! y8 B$ t$ _
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
" F4 V. J# j6 n0 y7 S$ Qpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
- b+ k4 X) Y3 Ivehicles already on the road.
2 n3 A+ A- [# w3 H: LMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify0 e& g7 Y4 y: F4 _2 d2 n
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
8 M- S* ?9 {, G; h5 @1 d4 v0 \responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and9 M0 i5 j" `; D1 |
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
$ L4 A' `8 D$ }" bkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.9 P4 I* j" z% j& U. w( B& Z
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
% _5 t$ F( t$ j0 Vtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony! p6 E& @: H. T
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
; u4 c9 s& {* _/ p% O' t5 G KCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
: K% `# s) q3 Z0 m: B: qcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to) S+ E' p4 b6 x+ [
restore the trust of our customers."
: `7 {% S5 T- G1 iLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
& w1 ~4 q: ^" aSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly4 G& _: L6 [8 [* T4 A
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --3 W5 c4 D4 _* Q w; a! C
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and4 }0 S; m- m+ a
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough" J* \7 \& R! K$ J# v# c. p
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
/ G; Z3 q5 ^* B/ k/ A0 C Bturn off the engine.
. p/ p2 E6 |1 L! A4 aFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
& i4 ` J" Z# q3 h" u+ D7 q% uOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
8 K) T1 n) q# s9 v; O"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
' m1 Y- Y: M3 p, ?3 V( n% K/ gsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond" ^7 ^' p+ o( `+ \8 R5 `
to her complaints.
) W6 ~( ?; s# g7 ~In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
, z! B+ ?+ n8 ^6 B( J- I' lreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic* ]+ T4 }, @# G0 M# h
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
. T ]" R. r! w4 P"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
; Z0 S* P% Y! b8 V3 Xthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
8 z" x- j m0 k"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut' r) i4 g4 `9 D1 I
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."8 h3 a6 I! _, X. y0 \2 O
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in; d1 q z6 K& x
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were! A3 J) E- N, l; \( `
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
. v/ T' ~# u% K/ Ywere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer% q8 H( }; k7 @& ^. I8 `
every question."
1 B' u% P" S0 H8 X0 d& W$ o. XToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
x) p0 q% T- Belectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
, ?) h. u. o" q+ X9 `- u" i" |firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But8 O+ ]. {$ {$ Y% T8 H
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small, P2 O* N7 F4 ]! a4 r
number of vehicles* E+ @6 d0 i u* c/ N
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more+ i- E; q1 }* N- I4 X! }
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a) l/ n, f7 n5 S4 y6 v7 ~
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one) U2 |, b u7 T' t
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.6 `; E8 X/ \% n7 {
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage," x! v. y) b, M2 n1 x- r
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
: J* w9 s" K U+ ]( Q& J( Jtrace at all.. j3 T- S/ ~; W4 U k2 t
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call+ D3 h' }5 |" h; r
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
# g! b2 ]3 M: `& ~9 t# Q: c. ]) R/ aacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
8 y6 C; f- M) b- ~% p' q( F% Arecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
) M* |& f) n3 a# ^7 D$ P5 KRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
/ c* J- o, C+ `/ M* s# Xsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
$ J% P# T1 K) A8 Jother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
0 O! { S' S* y. zelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
|+ J1 S% n. w/ j! d/ f& Acause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
- o; t$ b* R7 esuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained4 w5 [! p" D+ z0 y5 b
by Toyota's lawyers."2 n2 U- ?& f* B( v
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of, \( r( \! l( F G' F2 U
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our7 J& G: G5 V1 [% A5 s
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he/ }$ V0 N* l U
said.4 ?5 o+ @5 A. l5 J8 l* m
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
- `8 x9 {3 Y5 a% w# t4 A' }a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
$ Y5 v& r5 ^* V! z6 [& {/ Sgood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating8 O1 C$ J, n( V4 D" J& R! J" v
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
! T4 x4 n; k: J( `Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
, {+ H* n O! ~5 n1 _ S" L9 f. jmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread6 l- Q' Y) ]6 c- [8 |
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the& U0 C+ ^# s9 N* [ m: D; k/ r
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
& {/ n: _) G2 m- v, {0 pinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
) j4 c" U3 K, FChrysler.
3 u4 [) e6 V4 A' e8 |- n"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax/ i' @1 ?- U6 \( `3 _# W/ u
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a6 L* @4 d+ A) W8 `
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also- M1 Y) u; @6 H2 f( B1 u5 V# T; x
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
! X+ s+ k, C2 _with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
- e2 u7 @+ }1 y8 jtough."
! F' I- L* z! z+ c" V---" h6 t& h- F B3 c* h M
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
6 [0 m$ {! ]# {8 oRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to8 Z) T1 {. _+ ~; V( C
this story.
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-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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