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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( D# D2 l6 S6 e2 T$ {. n4 t5 i1 L1 U
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
6 G! {8 F* R( OWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.% B! C" V2 E6 I Z ^: v
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that! j( P/ n0 H( n, ]1 m
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
3 a8 X; G7 h0 tsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration./ Z# X8 z C0 q, t5 Z6 v$ Q: [
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential6 t1 M7 K5 o0 ?4 a! J: s
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
7 p# ^6 D; ]: ]; z2 s# u/ H9 }However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
% k: O- _* N( \ x* t" Hacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
% K' D- F$ e8 w, [$ N% L; Ytrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor2 D$ W4 K( P+ H. w
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
+ p6 j* R* N8 p5 h2 ]. K9 m- CHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal7 l6 S% Z" x0 t; r
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
: e W b) h6 lcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be# B0 q8 O- A% t P6 `. o1 o W @
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
: T" }3 i& X6 C1 Lnot stop her runaway Lexus.( u& g( a6 ?0 Y0 A9 D( E
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
: b2 e6 X3 S; V N5 b# W6 ~0 W' oTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second4 e, V, n- u3 w2 K) t" C
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
3 g6 s N5 f" ], i n8 K T, ITexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
: t# f% }( x5 p# I' f5 E" a; u3 Wearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
4 K8 h& t. |; W- N"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has7 ]% m# z& A5 r, k- P7 |
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
& n6 r4 K/ |3 b+ J Nthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's* k7 R7 {+ n8 `, M; E: F- c+ Z
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
, C0 N3 o4 O XLentz said the company had not completely ruled out an9 e2 N& i4 e* w- G* ?
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
2 X9 H, F" h# j% Bthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a, a0 _6 Z4 C! W& P+ u8 D
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
, F5 |" [; l! S i' hsaid.; i% x6 Z( g5 k; @
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
" k0 u# s6 l$ Q q8 ohappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
5 m3 _+ e- ~3 ]% J* [+ V2 ?about driving our products," Lentz said.
1 N% ^$ S2 C- wThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
9 v w; v* t/ t k: Pproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has2 \. Q% u3 `" g& x+ h9 ~
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6' C: H7 {1 |$ C4 s# O
million in the United States -- since last fall because of1 G r! b' U ?8 {3 X: ~0 o9 F
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking* |, H# f& {" r+ ]1 n5 P
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
; ]0 C, O0 q7 e7 U# K8 K6 |) mconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of$ B4 m& L5 ~* Z: Z) N2 g- |
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
/ ~/ v4 O% t; P1 [* m, Y2 X; Tdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has5 @. j7 ^! Y" Y# }' X
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
' f) I4 ~+ f' W* E( [* iof Toyota vehicles since 2000.3 k4 m q0 `! A- t3 V; E" z2 |, {. ]: u$ C
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own1 C5 A: X. h, ?
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he) |9 I: ?% G" J
understood the pain.& X/ Q1 _! U" L: x7 o `' Z
"I know what those families go through," he said.7 }- O! F/ t# F l( Z. k# x
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's& S0 i& v0 M" V \& P( E
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.6 Q3 n0 Y: h, X/ ]
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
# r0 b3 @1 N/ KHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
8 a. W6 L; k4 w3 Jin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
: P8 Z# f7 n6 K: |6 ~3 t3 j& @3 `Lentz replied: "Not totally."3 \, v; M7 T6 K" n
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were8 x0 T/ `4 k8 k h, g- g6 e
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said) n o( Y* r" i/ y! R& X
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas/ Y/ {/ v* L. r3 ~
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
T2 D4 M, O0 [4 C; Zvehicles already on the road.
4 Y5 j$ h H* r0 j. _Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify7 R, K. ?+ X( G) ]/ s7 ~: r
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
9 ^+ ^* M3 J% y# E- r' }responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
% P! j3 c, ]4 S" p9 doffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
5 K5 M/ o* ~1 _2 {6 rkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.$ R g5 _6 s" p6 |5 Y6 }0 ^
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a( W ~ M6 N) `
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
; ^! H6 [! M1 Afor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight+ S7 {! a$ Y' u( d6 F
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
Y7 d+ m9 O1 ^$ S& l* r5 U+ ccommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to+ w( a2 H' @# U5 V: N2 t! X# F3 x
restore the trust of our customers."
4 L* d. b: @" Z! ]% @, J; PLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from3 g. z8 B8 }6 m- X" ^) m. R
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
1 w2 X0 Y' o7 j8 Vzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --* A/ a9 J3 {" U
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and+ k7 p, z4 v+ H u
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough/ s1 x; U; |/ V3 y( o) b
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and, c1 ~! j1 ?; |! Z( k! Y2 Z
turn off the engine.
* f$ V: Y. _+ V& eFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of) R* q" B% d1 E8 b: v* o! n# P
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
8 S7 V+ q! _9 N; C"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she( ^4 s& m* M9 S+ t; M. V: M
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
: ^) Q+ L* Q+ s# qto her complaints.3 \- x- f" Y# B1 \. v! L
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
0 W/ o7 [, p |; Freturned again and again to the question of whether electronic: J7 W8 t7 d3 {9 Y
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.) c/ \& T/ {: V5 n2 S+ W% ^
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric) n7 M6 {# n2 ?
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited! Z- L5 j; C$ b7 {4 n( E1 i( P6 R
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut7 B' x2 n8 }/ s5 i' E+ p6 q
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."% X6 O6 X/ w+ {* ~/ Q
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
8 ]( m! H) i6 {4 I0 y& ?' Zprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
& \ M& f0 a% _' |0 w+ N4 W4 Y- ^being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
" K4 W! t* Y! @" o$ Ywere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
0 t$ f; Q; `! _" n/ j$ \$ Devery question."
! ?- n; e ^# C( ?Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
- s7 q' [- Z- \* e1 Pelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
9 ^ i; k7 S( H1 k& x l9 Efirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But+ _7 j A4 v7 }7 k* x8 I
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small c; P$ F' ^( ^
number of vehicles
+ I7 J4 q( c+ |( u( ^1 nTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
% w1 ?6 H' n* u- Y2 X* P* B" k+ [. vdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a; u* P% X W9 L
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one) m' R6 a' c: L/ \! F4 h, Q
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
0 t7 H9 S& k- W+ I" U" d2 L$ YMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,; n, X+ G) w/ o* P( ]0 @
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no+ H! e* h v/ S; G* N* Q( q( p
trace at all.
9 B- i6 Y7 d7 o+ |9 i" e" \6 V4 SHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call( l/ h9 f1 f, u- f( z
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden. ~4 {+ G; }! P# b7 S* U* `# p" X
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
6 Y6 x, ^+ W$ Hrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.6 u/ l( C F* i- l2 u
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,+ U; @$ E9 h1 C Y) t! a# C
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and. {. Y" t) H( f4 `" ~
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the3 _3 ?" q8 h" T% J1 n
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
( s/ Z$ [ U: ]' i" scause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only% `8 i' r n J. q3 D1 p
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
2 R$ o8 k, P' u( kby Toyota's lawyers."; g8 I+ s; h1 X
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of0 M/ C; I/ z& \5 W
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our% ~% r. I @9 [9 J% P% {
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he( u# I, H7 ?9 G8 r6 z
said.
) u* \: c6 N \( Y) ~/ e5 d"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with% h8 q9 I7 m; D- C1 |' f
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our4 h3 z, S3 z/ r9 D3 R0 I; N
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating6 s& w. d- x: n [( q
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
* Q9 h- G% ]' `0 C: j6 {Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
$ {& g& x" {7 a1 o4 ?) `% pmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
U: c" m& h: l; R. n2 ~rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
# [7 I6 T. D/ b& B8 Fautomaker, at least in part because of the government's0 `- U( Z* R% P$ S8 s/ j# m
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and5 U% d: B2 w( F, T3 G
Chrysler.
& O4 B: [+ C5 b% A6 l"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
, a5 O% H' h* o0 cdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
# H5 ]; K7 H1 L/ }$ q9 H C fHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also# x+ P5 e4 n( M/ L
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
" i$ M% ]5 T5 Y# s# F; twith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
- W2 J4 S& n9 Q7 Mtough."# ]7 ]2 q$ z+ w$ r* w& {
---
- Q' T! @9 P. kAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
) \/ e g3 N7 B( CRaum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to' k9 Q" A; V% Z: k& m
this story.
" J4 H, k3 i$ A9 A0 b
. w- k* Q- k: S! Z-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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