 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
|

楼主 |
发表于 2010-2-24 01:19
|
显示全部楼层
丰田承认换踏板不一定能全部解决加速问题) S8 L) D& w" E8 ?( V+ ]% F
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
, y9 O3 L* Z, z- w% kWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
- \* Y' u6 [3 q& m) Soperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
6 H: |7 }$ b( P& ?6 q; y9 @the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"% j! x3 Q; |8 n0 D
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
' D/ A% ^7 |# o" y2 n"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential: q1 T- G) F4 q; ~
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.6 G! ]2 X% O9 h$ W
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
" s* K5 B8 d( ?% dacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and( N2 K2 j) T+ k5 i- C
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor0 E7 d9 O; M5 s# i
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.7 d! U/ n6 n* V8 V0 ?( g O$ p
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal" a0 f7 U4 z! ?9 Y+ ~
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp; f' w. E/ ]; V" Z$ ^# Y
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be9 A' H" ^/ M- N1 `; U
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could* d0 u" u) O7 S! p5 D
not stop her runaway Lexus.
1 {4 f9 a# V5 u q2 g! `% l3 T) d" L1 w"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
9 s/ F9 J. r2 p; @) e' ]2 ATenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second3 R( A2 |2 u8 l" [9 F
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
( l9 ?: M, k) f$ D7 x6 ]- d/ j1 B$ {2 yTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
$ q9 C! ?8 ?, wearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said+ G2 q$ G. b6 t
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has) h2 R8 S6 Y$ X! v, @( j
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
1 S% K7 A' Y. } g0 Rthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's( H& G8 C) u) y5 g# s# R' u; ~4 r
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
! k7 C6 j7 {# [Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an" k6 ^) m! `$ d K. m. ?
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of+ l! ]2 o/ @. X; F
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a& m8 @- u( N: z# q# l
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he( Q# X4 R1 Y$ x3 M3 a, E9 K
said.' g% k! ?: z$ c
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what0 h8 E+ r4 A1 H3 X F
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe! p8 e& N; [. m h! C2 U% ^
about driving our products," Lentz said.( S" F; u: ]2 x8 ?/ i( H
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
4 M1 F, Y- p" q! sproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
/ e* D* b& R9 Z! C, k5 `6 Hrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
. v: a) K: D* n* Y4 K/ M t( L" Hmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
$ K3 v* O& I3 O/ M) F) `, Cunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking- {2 k* c7 [- ?6 X. g
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering$ P, P! n+ d; A r8 }
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
* ^, i! ]& a- gtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
9 I2 U; A" F0 M- Y* rdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has3 z; X5 {7 ?* y E! n( C2 _
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
9 J- K9 u/ _/ ?3 ~' i( v% u6 c! Eof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
8 F) x( a- ]+ c" E& rLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
2 }: }9 W9 o3 i/ ~ Ybrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
2 j1 ?3 b3 x7 N4 Punderstood the pain.
, d2 Q+ F, T, q! l+ w"I know what those families go through," he said.$ h! k# E5 y, H' E' I6 ^
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's* L3 T: E, T; _
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
; b, @4 S5 e( V+ W3 }' C) ]# ABut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
, {1 T+ Y9 m$ Y2 k) \3 THenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put- _( ?7 `! l, P a
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
+ G3 S& @; I* }2 YLentz replied: "Not totally."0 Z3 k0 S/ p- ]' M4 [
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were5 Q% }5 H( v& {
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said, X8 i( P6 b8 [1 F0 N
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
& W/ k. c a( x( bpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
0 g0 {& A. N$ z! S6 rvehicles already on the road.
# B! i: z9 I3 dMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify7 i6 f4 j1 B* ]( H% e6 j. h
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full" |/ G7 `0 Y3 @
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and( h' N& t% y3 D/ N6 I. G
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
) `4 k, ?& W9 U4 Z' X H; n& Nkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
1 \( Q1 ^* {1 j6 P+ A"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a- r/ e6 R5 \ l8 @7 b% l
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony* N/ c1 G4 b$ K G5 @
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
. r% p. s: ^4 W2 Z1 {Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
. _: N$ E* a! l3 |4 S/ B1 Pcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
! M2 O9 \7 v7 V3 D0 Zrestore the trust of our customers."
9 _! S8 A5 Q2 l: T; O5 ^Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
' e+ Z6 K; [% I" r+ M2 J3 H- J$ ~Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly8 E$ Y) |/ C% ?- C
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --9 H- `3 [; P) w
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and0 R6 l. G4 r9 A c9 x! R6 p
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough7 n6 V) Z f0 i- x* D6 W
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and4 H5 o. T) e% I9 `2 a
turn off the engine.7 k/ n+ P7 M$ \; Z8 u- g
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of- ?9 j- M& F8 H# Z7 p1 ^
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
2 H$ h" n7 O, B3 v! a"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she# K" h4 v- E$ w9 q5 C+ z A, c
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
4 \$ y% D$ ?/ J; e0 d& t) ], d' ?6 Pto her complaints.1 l9 ^" }3 {8 S8 L: X
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
, _; h1 S0 h+ W! S8 ~/ ^* {2 Preturned again and again to the question of whether electronic2 C1 _1 O% i( `: F6 N" W/ k
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
# u. }' d6 ?! H$ J) R"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
* C7 J' u0 O0 |7 T; n0 t! t, ~throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited/ a- f8 {& f7 ~2 l& j1 J% z# O$ y3 ~
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut9 Q& k7 N" t9 Q
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
7 H2 T, K' P: O$ m8 I2 zTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
( `& ~1 T! g3 m1 ~3 ]prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were: ^2 y E, M% \
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls/ T$ e9 r; ?1 R# X( T
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer7 n8 G! s- C. j! u- K% R
every question."5 Z; ~6 j! Y- R5 v& [
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether# d; U; x. d7 F- B: p$ f
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
: F# M1 p/ K! ?5 l9 p- rfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But! p4 Y# n1 _* ` N& C( p
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small) ~9 R' z; z9 {- V( k
number of vehicles, b) J- i1 Z q+ A; U( j. C+ E
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
! T8 C. Q% Z, T6 K$ h+ m7 Adifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a9 J# u3 g* o+ B* m+ G. u2 A
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one+ Q! ~' j& N1 X6 ]4 S; ]/ U
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
! i5 q! E1 J! ]/ h. w/ _: QMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,2 G; Z3 h/ {2 H: D, O
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no! @4 X) Y. |! U: Y/ j
trace at all.
" P. G) z' J) O; G" \House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
- i' a' e" `" a5 ddatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden3 M" C* Y) w* l9 ~5 J
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
% y" {: \7 q* ^$ X1 a" H& Urecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.- E8 t7 i5 ~/ f" Q2 {$ ?* r
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
8 X, }8 @ r- I6 Z: d3 o5 gsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and6 i6 l5 q9 v- p& [7 {" H
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the8 p; S, m( }$ `; o8 R" i
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
2 x5 N- X2 C" o7 P; S- Lcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only6 F3 P& H6 Y; ?
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
/ `" p1 f1 r& B; fby Toyota's lawyers."6 U1 Q9 ~8 }2 I! h) g9 T$ U, l
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
8 S$ r4 O# R! ]problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
9 }' L) [: W* g5 hcustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
, f$ |: e1 N9 Q- E% F: C/ Ysaid./ Z. c2 D/ L5 Y+ ~9 |) F0 [
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
- x" W- S, l4 [" x6 Xa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
4 e# h5 I& F5 E$ E0 `: I8 ~0 @$ Ugood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
/ P: ~0 V- k! c9 Vofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.' {. c! o' Y8 B& m- v4 c$ G( c
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying4 o. K( [+ `5 f0 _
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread9 c F% R& T, N. D% `/ @0 [+ \
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the) l2 }/ C! o* x
automaker, at least in part because of the government's. F. e$ s4 R- V) i" [, M$ H0 N
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
$ [ \3 u- |, H8 c% k# OChrysler.
; b0 y; q; R- n"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
7 @0 [$ l# z5 F1 c3 b+ r& Z8 X( v8 odollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
5 X! d1 N5 n5 m% W- L' vHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
0 d& r: m+ E i& p+ \6 H5 Y8 i( a* Oserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete/ ~1 m6 ]# p- y2 Y! m
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty5 b2 [0 @& L* e' p, [
tough."
7 P9 J, W% A& T5 N5 \, Q8 T* h---
( p- D+ N# s$ S% VAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
. Y, U5 b/ J" ^2 h: n0 l3 Y" \9 z1 ^Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to+ w( R2 }& E, N+ u6 _
this story.: O e: c. W3 a: c# l8 Q5 f7 r( _
3 k, o* f: @5 H5 G-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|