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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9 O" a8 c8 g7 g& e! {
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
A( m; N5 c6 _Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.* ` |+ k; p% |' J
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that/ u+ }0 H2 ]7 {0 c! m% r7 e
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"' w3 r/ ^1 {6 l8 g
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.6 C# y" ~! N6 B. U v7 x
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
/ z, z9 q. y3 S$ zcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
9 ?; a6 q5 }. p* A2 M$ O9 \However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
3 G" |7 t. b0 }* ], qacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
% n6 l9 a+ l" e3 K3 a# mtrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
+ ?2 o- Z4 z- Q# r$ ymats and sticking accelerator pedals.: H4 j- ~) ]5 _ o6 h8 N( z
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
1 a' H6 D& j. p& A) m# yand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
) E0 F: I9 t& l( C1 Qcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be) r7 q# H/ W- b: l& r
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
; G* ]% Z2 O. H& xnot stop her runaway Lexus.' F1 P1 B) @0 f& j
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
3 y( ?( ~3 E0 M/ I. W, V' c" q5 BTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
9 B5 r' X, B, Z- i: \- S"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.; `. l( ^/ e. V- `9 ^& J
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues" J2 q* O+ y2 I9 H" f
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said: n s9 I. _. W0 o. Y
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
8 j( ~6 N! f- p5 c5 D+ ydone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway3 H& O0 h- y, l N- p9 [
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
* d$ {- R9 E, d* N8 iinvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."% v& @" L5 n" M
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
% j }% B' d6 B f3 @! ^electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of: t4 x2 _8 f X: z
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a& H0 T; I$ x7 ]" X. ~+ W4 [
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
6 m( W$ {: X/ f+ E% ]said.+ n2 F+ ?9 k; D- [5 F' P! y
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what# n8 X W8 L1 w2 C
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe$ b+ ~. S# l5 I( ~* T; a
about driving our products," Lentz said.; w: ~% X/ L3 u" T }- E8 f
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's& G. p0 q2 M: {5 v6 E! u
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
& V4 Y9 e) K/ J0 x7 e& A' u* M% frecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6" z8 C/ b- \/ e9 i) B
million in the United States -- since last fall because of/ ]$ Q) l: x! v5 Q5 b* H
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking! L# _) C# a! V# K( o/ `
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering/ H/ [" W# ?1 f; Z
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
/ c- y$ H+ N0 k; R) Ptheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
) }" F& g" M# X* V5 \down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has: @7 d$ Q: U4 V3 \
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
; p! C# F4 R2 f; Yof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
3 l- ~4 h+ U! W2 {0 q/ wLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own9 q' u( h+ E+ c; L4 q/ o6 t( `* n1 s% b, S
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he) p& h0 {2 P1 f' z7 A% c
understood the pain.- g0 h t$ X8 {# o7 I
"I know what those families go through," he said.
3 z8 n6 D8 B% nLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
. z9 W- M" k% S& Ofixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
! A, y! C/ u3 ^7 G1 \3 ^$ IBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
* g7 z+ i# P+ U. C+ ?( \' v3 |Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put3 V8 S, z p6 S* s/ r& i
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
* F+ `4 m3 G% b+ P. l: TLentz replied: "Not totally."
& Z# j; l: r5 T5 z$ T0 g) GStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
9 J1 s2 H) |1 M% x2 z$ R8 u: m"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
j+ g9 x. t6 S0 ?Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas1 k3 j$ B, y/ o n4 V! Y. g+ T
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its: b" I7 x# F. g! s u! e6 \, ~6 P
vehicles already on the road.- a9 H8 v) U( r$ T( j; u9 t
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
& ^: D" q z: I. r6 kbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
: F- c5 ~3 r+ a5 Zresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
" \+ p0 c7 U* Z. m4 @) a9 g" e3 U* Z2 ]$ Toffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were+ t4 M! v( J( F8 q$ L
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
) R% \# W" d7 b+ o- h"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
: Q, ~# A7 s, U8 B0 ^, dtragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony4 l7 p5 {8 B! S& _# u! Y
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight6 |6 l+ Y6 M% M* B0 v" ^: q3 i. x
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
. W) z/ s; H& Z1 L& u# P* b5 ^commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to4 ^! L3 t& ?/ S v+ D* ]& K
restore the trust of our customers."/ l5 D- O# c6 U* ]+ G8 M0 e
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from* `* B0 T8 E: l0 C3 {" Y0 ~
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly. l+ q/ Y; [# P5 l7 r% D
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
1 I" l/ P j% ~3 e1 ]shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and2 d/ @5 t1 y) s
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
( U2 Q' }1 f/ @3 X7 a0 o- ~( ]" wthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
+ E: r& k. [& D7 W% O7 aturn off the engine.
$ V; D& U6 G& } }. vFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
# Q1 J! r8 b, E) C0 }October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."1 u3 F T% m1 e+ N' }
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she; x, z) d# S7 n! u4 `4 K4 @+ m
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
# K5 j; H. B0 Q4 J0 u& Mto her complaints.* u( ]& Q3 d; P) K2 l h
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers# |. l) Y% L4 {, }
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
7 d/ j$ [7 G+ y' C, e! Zmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.6 Z" w K9 P* E+ O
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
0 }7 c1 X4 F' T# R& zthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited/ p# c5 R/ ?5 M0 g, ^
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut: y5 K) s4 V6 t8 L. W4 ?( g
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."* i: r: P T' u; ~
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in0 Y2 d& e6 U5 X' U" A3 u
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were6 g! F7 n2 N' A; a9 \- L0 L1 m
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls; `3 {/ D/ n; l2 M1 b% J9 V
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer" A4 r/ j9 `: M& s8 H; o4 v
every question."
4 n! m5 {9 Z7 _/ K$ SToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
- M% g% B) t* q8 G3 qelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The) Y! U3 k/ J) E: |. H
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But+ i4 W$ V# d- L
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small# P6 j- ~. u g" }% c. d( m
number of vehicles
6 s6 o& @; {% JTracking down an electrical problem can be far more- L5 j% J8 K/ X8 r# I
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a8 V8 Y+ |* J8 w( g, m. x
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one2 d& c+ a* q' Q8 k
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.: r0 f" P( Z& A: J( L/ `
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,& Y8 I2 T p; c2 f: Z! K' z
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no( u+ n% ` \8 s
trace at all.
: c# k7 W4 R8 h0 |House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
4 {# c2 t; Y3 Z* ndatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden( M: R/ F( N$ _
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
2 T: \* z. y F$ Rrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.& Z) C* {4 M- G; j0 A% j- y
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
+ k8 h$ _$ L8 |* m! e6 C! Ysaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and) N9 F' x2 X" a9 _/ O$ |0 J5 _
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the3 R _3 J+ Q3 k5 Q
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible9 T% `( ?/ d% o$ y* ?
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
) X# y% ] _% x6 i. h! Y1 G6 _such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
0 B% P1 E& j8 @7 aby Toyota's lawyers."( T+ g4 h; U- I$ w% U! z; f! k! C3 J1 M- K
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
h1 v% A2 p* ?0 f E( _( k- Hproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our8 l! ~7 R; }/ j5 E
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he$ I$ U6 X- J# V$ E4 W' l
said.
6 U8 }! w6 g, n"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
: T7 p% s. K4 i' Ba rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
k0 M: v) `- |1 q/ ugood faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
& r0 Z, s8 e* N4 Q8 O: e& @officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.6 s* T' P& x2 K3 q
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
: ]* D* p9 r- }$ \, Cmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread! Q1 [5 m( q* }9 x$ _7 q
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
9 R1 g# \) Y$ M+ Pautomaker, at least in part because of the government's! v( h. v3 g* c
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and4 }: S& Q1 o, Y3 B8 ^
Chrysler.9 [5 _( Q4 a5 o- W0 `
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax$ D8 i8 k0 k5 t- R; E9 Q
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a6 S( ^; T7 m% ^' {% x% U
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also1 Y, H5 [3 z# f9 }: w! k
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
9 b, P4 p$ w5 t4 H$ t/ awith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
% O+ B8 ?" h: V( p* w& p7 x# S+ Ltough."5 y; v3 L- `9 v& e8 o; h
---- b7 z1 Y, R4 s5 r8 L" `
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
, R. x3 w0 V7 ^+ t9 URaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
}/ D6 `/ J9 dthis story.
1 l0 ?, I Q8 a$ @ ~3 A* l+ t' ^+ x/ K7 P4 w8 L' R3 t, P% F* _7 q
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