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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
3 _' `8 @( a" X" m9 T$ f+ ~% eBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
( e8 d& s, E" _ CWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
; o- j4 ^4 f0 K* ]4 Coperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that/ z$ R% a8 q" \2 Y- o
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
0 j2 Y" x' R/ M( {$ X* }* Y2 a: fsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
2 T6 L) L' q$ h% g' [1 A( s"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
% ?( b3 C5 m8 {9 O" ucauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.* |# w4 ^. T5 W$ i* G- h2 h4 |9 \
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected7 e/ U+ h, i# [! d
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and% \! y8 I/ A" t
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
% {, m( V" o! ? kmats and sticking accelerator pedals./ W. q; p1 a( k& \: ]2 Q3 ~4 E
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
* T- u" f- D' eand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
/ a4 c( F b) G9 v. H1 s' g# Ncriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be2 j$ f7 F0 v# R: D0 {( I
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
! ]0 l2 O- P* g6 }' p0 B/ anot stop her runaway Lexus.
- K* a' G3 p( |7 p2 ~3 n"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
" F7 }$ e f* t, r6 i$ W0 }1 RTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second0 q. J! t* [. G0 C4 v! ?0 w) i
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
: e* |2 c1 W: X( r: |) VTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
% Q& n/ I2 ]) dearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said0 r9 W, F# ]: q' x% x3 J7 E
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has! o6 \3 [2 D( S |0 b
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
0 [2 A1 a2 n0 e( E" ^through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
6 D# Q) {$ g# O7 o5 G& zinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
0 u$ B4 C6 q: D) O; qLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
) V# ~9 l7 u1 H% ~% G" Uelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of- n8 i$ B( i7 p+ ]3 K( }! n
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a6 q% U8 q" r/ Z: r3 J6 y! [
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
6 C' J- L; T0 W5 M1 R1 Dsaid.5 g" m% o& P, Z% G; H5 R% x: t( d
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
, L( G/ X) o7 ?# u. X; lhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe) @: c- f, ]6 [
about driving our products," Lentz said.
! f& V: x0 w' v4 g- oThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's; e' k2 ~' d% [ n
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
% d; G7 J% Q$ {1 \% @recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
+ m9 W# d d" ` D) O9 dmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
$ Y; c7 C2 w% e) V# D* F0 c N" nunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking, W! D: Z0 Q+ j* F+ O7 H# s
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
, L$ r7 @ W9 [2 j3 p- |concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of. R$ t6 G& ?! u; G' T
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
8 x/ u9 b S: t4 u9 B+ b# [- ndown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
[ g+ V- W4 o- S. D9 ]) c C) Z }received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration$ W! P L. [" @
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
: e- {9 e- X* y, O; G$ Y7 YLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own% e8 C. a9 y* v4 t
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
2 ~; X0 f$ B! G% M5 u; Cunderstood the pain." ^. R2 p" ~* s; b
"I know what those families go through," he said.
3 t; H( P+ y* | }$ u3 ~- HLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
, V* w9 p( p E( {fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
+ C+ E; o* O; FBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman$ }/ q$ K6 w0 H& \+ C2 F+ q
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put8 t# X: ~, [3 s& y
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,( `$ l2 c) K3 u# Q
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
& [$ g3 O( u2 l0 l" tStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were7 j i5 e# F Z
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
' \- G/ i' Q, s% s N4 [Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
) l4 _& o' g/ O3 C9 Q4 {, ^pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its+ R3 `% U4 v0 y% r
vehicles already on the road.. a" j4 k! e( Z+ v s% d
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
) \: K0 \ b u- L7 Zbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
2 U y1 l( @. r8 m5 f1 H4 qresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and( T# {0 e0 [. H: T% F
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
- k2 b l' \8 {. q* D) x9 W0 [killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
M, I$ _" ^, r8 V' q"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
' c2 s' h! j$ I/ g5 ptragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony1 r! b T1 B! X( p
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight0 O* p& m# `, J: Q' g1 q
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
' }2 d" z6 O* ~3 E- ?* `commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to8 _/ x' J) E i Q& S! Y/ q; [' k1 p
restore the trust of our customers.") U' P0 m s3 d% e$ r; v
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from$ V" X: W. W/ b
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
B q3 |5 |& p. v9 ^zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
# O+ m+ h T6 {: B6 {shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
9 [. B- W$ l1 P2 I) w2 X% Z+ Yhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
% l( u9 l4 g, }- z/ |+ J8 Xthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
# ^8 u9 _) L3 r+ j' E* [turn off the engine.
/ ^/ ^/ f2 Z3 Y* i9 xFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
* C, A$ V6 w: L% J$ [5 H" _October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
% ^* T7 b4 o7 ^+ h }) ^; Q"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she0 |7 t" S( ~. Z/ \0 u( V
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
* F& \( x7 _% ^4 o: a3 Qto her complaints.
; O; z9 \) g* n8 zIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
1 V6 ~0 v; Y' Z9 g2 T& `" e" l/ K5 @returned again and again to the question of whether electronic; Q a0 o: i$ j f: v7 [7 v( \ A
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars., b1 A9 o2 V( _3 [$ _7 J& w
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
* k' w9 E2 p4 v7 q& K/ Ethrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited' O4 N v- f6 U
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut' M( _$ i% ^" y" T, w3 I- X
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."1 L; l: g- r: r: f' Y
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in, K, q) S" R) c8 h7 a- C/ B& ]
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were- y; j3 u' C( P( j: N" K
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
/ P3 E" \6 D; \) t; zwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer* l0 n8 z( I n5 E+ X
every question."
, r/ [) B/ }8 c1 G) Q- J0 |Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether! L$ b' ]; R/ L
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
. L% g E0 l) g$ C/ ifirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But) g3 Q( v! K2 x$ z; I4 N
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small- \# @/ ~+ R: d8 C! |- v
number of vehicles
* W0 S! Y5 v, m) j$ @( yTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
& l8 Q. Y5 \8 R7 rdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a! l! c+ ]5 X0 i
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
. x8 ?$ o2 k" d( [source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.. Y! Q* e. c; P" d$ l8 ]
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
5 E& H9 B+ v2 z ^3 Xwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
& p, P4 n3 Y0 K" N" v! D" Z9 Etrace at all.& g# s. j O2 C8 S( o# R' I+ B+ a
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
6 k5 ?3 T) @+ I$ w& M! \5 rdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden6 _7 h( F& r0 N' {- C' x# {
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
0 d+ c6 |( `# precalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.) d9 R& i3 @! G% M* ]( Q
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,. }! D/ C9 Y2 G
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
: g$ E3 R4 U7 @8 a9 Eother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
" j( v, q) y. |7 D* r- j! Selectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible- I8 T/ B) b: H
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
5 V' z. T. }, A7 Y, F5 Asuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained. E; O9 R- [7 P7 L h! V" e8 @
by Toyota's lawyers.", {5 J' u# T; @! \! b& Q
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
& g' n% }% D+ ?7 D8 {$ Y* Bproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our& M* \/ B% K( f
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
; F! l; Y: M1 k# Zsaid.9 X* F, j8 ^* ^( [+ h5 H1 h
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with/ Z4 U: w$ J2 i; x
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
% ?2 E& V; k, {good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
* |/ p2 V/ ]6 Q- C: T# Mofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.4 {. B% G7 o7 L2 J7 r
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
$ ~9 Z9 k4 Y9 x6 D- ]$ j fmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread" x. p+ t9 F: A$ m, j) y+ a
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the4 [# [' u- ~; d& _
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
5 N7 [5 t/ L& m) M0 W6 N" _investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
- `+ F. s' h0 N2 R* p. aChrysler.# G7 o4 `) R& \
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax f6 L) u+ b# |+ g$ Q
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
; P* @0 s6 v1 e7 M7 F) hHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also1 F0 F- m- Q1 L" ?5 P
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete1 z3 C: T8 w/ g
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
; [9 Q4 j9 L+ s6 R% f+ h I3 j k; gtough."9 P1 y b0 h- z6 y
---
7 L3 p, f: V$ K. l' k4 \- A) yAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
7 u! n2 u" \5 }$ K. \( DRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
( w1 ~7 g& C5 I( W' Z m* dthis story.* i0 C" B |8 m! u
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-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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