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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0 H* h6 W- h1 [, U! E# B0 S
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
( }1 u9 n4 ^* X9 i# H8 FWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.# t" L4 l) T* f
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
2 a a$ ~" M2 g, h; [1 k9 Xthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
9 y. r5 U3 \) ^% d" wsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.* e+ l/ i4 l. w5 }& p
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
" @1 \" f! h7 c8 g0 E- vcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.9 f! g* q: h5 s U8 R
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected9 w5 E' }: E. E( M
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and- p' p. |. `# S9 Y! r
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
* t! U" i* w- J2 q- f% F2 z0 Amats and sticking accelerator pedals., b( ^# B( a+ e" \
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal8 Z' O% X" D8 F. F }
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp4 [4 O. V4 {/ I# m6 x6 C+ v
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
" |: \! n) g; g L& ]. t' N' {further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
) j$ R& ~6 u- w" V2 {$ l: R/ nnot stop her runaway Lexus.
1 @* D3 l. Z( }: |% W/ T"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,' I+ D3 w) ]: j6 f7 J! J
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second5 c& y0 v5 O0 n% v$ t' @
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
3 y% g( a* z; \8 M1 {( h. V; ~8 g; WTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues0 P' ^/ g) ?" i# k; e4 G0 R+ k8 r H
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said& a' z6 g7 I6 K' w) n- \
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
) L. q6 [1 a" Q* a& ^# W" Ydone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway0 p& {7 ^; T" g( F% e; C9 @" n
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
$ p. A4 n0 V* ~8 P: ]! {1 R- T) k0 linvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham." } q6 ~) W9 b- L
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
U ~5 U" k2 T5 Y6 Oelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of) B4 B3 |; r: T+ R& v
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a! _. F4 P! d+ |" M* U u
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he- ]9 s8 G" P# g5 G
said." {" r8 O. S% o/ K+ H" q
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what' W5 g( c! ~$ |) ^1 A8 [5 J( ~
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
3 h0 S, Q+ b( yabout driving our products," Lentz said.' d4 l8 c8 @+ q/ I
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
, f1 d) N8 B6 H% c3 @problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has% G1 ~7 p# O6 n' i# X {% h H
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6- e7 b" f5 P: W1 u. e/ _9 C
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
: e6 P' T9 h" G. b$ qunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
7 j' {, E2 d$ M* t; jissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
# ^5 e Y# }/ U: |, Nconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of5 n5 P& w5 w- F& P0 c% U) }
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
9 n+ G' P4 o1 d# X2 wdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
! q# \& l. M( I# Z6 R8 c+ q( hreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration! H. v, D) S. F- W! `4 H" f/ Q
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.+ [0 W0 w4 \+ W/ ]7 o8 s
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
[9 h/ U2 N) U0 P" X3 l: qbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he7 P- p; E3 `5 ?. A& ?$ C* ]' K
understood the pain.1 h, X- v. x- V s9 K, x7 w. {
"I know what those families go through," he said.
9 \, A2 ?, E" N: l" d3 V1 c# |. K6 iLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's/ V+ x' j% N$ `5 W1 k5 o+ ~6 b
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
! u# m8 B9 F" T0 ?But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman: U. [4 Q& |2 _$ F% _# k; w
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
" }4 R+ W( T+ J) ?in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,; Z3 \1 k7 ^, g: r9 q1 B6 h
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
: I$ C v5 C# Z0 E2 F( aStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were9 Q% Q$ n7 ]% D! v6 |$ k
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said7 ^( ?# N; K: y; {* \0 g! p. y
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas( } M: z! ~, M# k [/ G
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its, Z @3 B4 [7 I5 D' }
vehicles already on the road.
* D( O* {9 Y0 D& j E+ @$ u; uMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
; E, g& {$ L# z( ebefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full$ F1 y. B, ~" c0 G8 y
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and8 D6 N" l2 I* y4 _& D% c; _. i
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were3 l! i0 y- i/ ]# ~# b
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.4 j m9 ^+ }: ]/ C
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a, T4 i/ _6 Y1 @# i3 E l
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
5 m9 j' s+ t ]. F( D, sfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
+ U1 ]7 h, A( G2 M; x6 X7 JCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal4 G3 p1 L0 Z! x+ ?. L* J
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to1 a+ m9 ^( e3 ]$ P* y
restore the trust of our customers."
0 Q9 q$ O- `6 X; v# _# j1 fLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from7 h) x% c% O1 Y% c' u* {
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly$ R! m0 T3 p2 I3 ^6 R
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
% W- z3 E2 C1 Q2 e6 J; E: g3 b# jshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
5 F' n5 i" o5 I# j* I6 X" }" {' Uhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
. Q/ |3 W2 x8 d( A+ h' |that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
, e3 p% w2 o1 h/ r# dturn off the engine./ Q ~! Q7 F5 C
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of, K' i: }! n) f# D& t; `7 Z7 z& |
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
* u6 ^" C- G. j% l"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
, v. ?7 k7 S; Asaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
: `, `+ n" ^6 X* L& ^! zto her complaints.! W, _ h m% |# K9 ]- [/ O
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
5 x# r$ _8 M! breturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
9 V Y: b5 B8 _# V" z1 _malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.; p2 t; q; b5 K+ v' O& E1 ` S6 @
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
( ?$ ^( w; J& uthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited* ~% ]' S6 E( Y; {( P4 t
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut6 d: s( t# l+ E( m$ \
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."0 [: g( U6 g8 |2 c
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in5 b3 ^/ j% D) B. l
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
4 G5 Y w. K0 W& Mbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls' S2 F( F3 D% _# D1 E6 h
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer& j4 R+ g2 n3 i, B9 @
every question."% \, g, |+ i3 ]) y
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
) o; e7 w* W4 d% melectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The2 D( a" e" c4 U* b* R& d. A8 ~
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But, [: x6 B6 `, {7 }( W
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small9 ^: d5 F7 V* ]. p8 b/ |2 `7 r# f
number of vehicles
1 }1 q5 j Q& z7 x2 j8 E9 b4 qTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
; \9 D' X; d; J/ Fdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a0 c) W2 N I2 N1 H2 b1 d
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
( }9 z5 W5 @1 R0 V0 F8 }source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
2 A! Q# |5 t( WMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
- E5 J1 t8 P& v$ D& g$ F$ R: v, gwhere electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
0 I" S0 G5 k# v2 N' Z4 P! x, Ltrace at all.
- A ~) S4 O* O5 S5 \House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call7 `/ P0 ]5 j2 ?/ u- H8 Z
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
( q+ r b+ v) U' o% @ cacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the7 ~, P2 m; Q% f8 p( [3 o) v, `: I" Z/ s
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals. r3 v8 c, Y4 O" _ w$ ^
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,4 B2 d5 G* @" t) m
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
6 b# W! Y0 e2 V( I* ^other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
; l' ^# a, E# C' [! L3 r6 Z8 helectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
) C) D+ V: l) p7 k7 Pcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only8 t/ [! V; p3 X6 i
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
4 K$ l. i0 N$ uby Toyota's lawyers."
7 p5 A* E: b: h; |; o* m* z- iLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of, [* r' K }; Z9 R3 H, q* q1 V
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
( i$ n* Z8 t' |$ Ncustomers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he/ K, D# r- S; r! r2 O0 |
said.
7 Y! H. @& I$ y, Y"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
3 y, N8 C2 a2 Y, l+ W6 t" g3 ha rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our w, p3 i( s+ `* g+ U: f0 R& S/ C1 ]
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating# x; x; h' |8 g3 H5 a+ p9 b; \* K
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
. y+ b6 P$ H" O L3 PSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
, t7 h0 M8 F7 U8 imembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread6 x9 l8 l# ^& E, q
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
3 o( e7 e. M7 h4 f! _9 G {# U2 S9 qautomaker, at least in part because of the government's4 V4 e0 i X! H9 i+ U
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
9 ~! D a1 R* T4 x0 Z1 f4 `/ ]Chrysler.+ G; Z0 K9 @0 M" k7 f% ]
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax9 k. l/ s; |/ V+ h+ Z. W
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
: a, a5 g( Z- B6 t) K2 `Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
, G7 m% w/ O; l1 ]1 Aserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
( l7 A% s3 }, Y# [% bwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty' u8 @1 T( F0 u2 K1 l8 [
tough."
3 q0 v# Y) d) p- }---9 w2 s; s9 r- n4 A% _% o' F7 F
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom3 Q/ K @* C, c% F3 T- u# _9 `% @* P
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to B) l9 I2 u8 y- W6 V
this story." a6 J5 P2 @0 W+ O, P8 _
8 y" R$ z- X" _-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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