 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
7 |0 t; p L6 J+ WBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
2 T; p; R$ Y6 ?2 Y' x3 z( l2 kWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
7 X# L, W* e& |* }1 noperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
. a! @- l: z3 t' q4 Wthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"% h1 B$ F" o9 r/ v9 y/ f
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.8 }1 r( B2 \" e4 _9 s0 m
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
5 n* o5 d- i3 i& z8 `6 N9 H6 jcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
& Y* \! ^+ S& \4 R( l6 _1 tHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected& j$ d& l# q) g/ Q' o% H6 y& [" T
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and! `: M) k' T/ |" B0 o
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
7 a0 o1 w, C; P' ]8 ]5 b# W% Nmats and sticking accelerator pedals./ r) |, Z# ?% n: j5 w
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
. K. \( n3 L( i; [# g$ g8 R, Oand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
% C9 T E* l3 F" I' P4 Wcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be4 k% L" Z: s6 x* X$ E" ]0 {
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
3 G; \; C3 u% Fnot stop her runaway Lexus.
$ j1 K! G$ }: G! ^"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
" P" v( l- t$ i$ `- @5 b+ I# @Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
* m# J- k4 D: ^- M1 @1 q$ O0 i"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.2 b- S' g# ]7 E
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
2 u3 _7 R& Y# q8 Vearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said1 k, e* d" Q5 P3 C* O1 W
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
- m/ k( i4 o* n, R4 Udone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway4 {$ m5 x+ [$ u8 i
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's6 m5 p3 f9 D$ Y; e% t% I6 S
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."& u# ?6 P8 o8 t
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
8 @. n7 W) b) C8 M! Q# melectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
6 I. I; w; }" q: ]& ethe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
0 K2 g: }8 u. Z9 Emalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
5 i, w: h7 E# k$ H' esaid.; J! E0 ]7 |, g2 i4 j
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
- ^6 |8 b' E7 b4 U6 D1 ?happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
% g% G9 ^/ x+ F0 Mabout driving our products," Lentz said.# I/ Y5 b+ F t" q& Q& G% l- t
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
2 c3 W2 {& q/ G. K9 N) vproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
6 I# A3 o4 b* `/ _3 u1 orecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6# `: V+ y9 @: A4 U3 {
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
; v% ^& c- d: bunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking, q4 ?7 r5 s! K8 k
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering3 x* d& l* ]. ~% u, Y, i) i; j
concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of2 A5 n0 M' [5 V: a
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
A9 i. r% p+ V1 U3 A" o1 [: t9 Jdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has* y% W' o- f% n! u/ G
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
) [0 N; e. N, ?% Xof Toyota vehicles since 2000. e+ {4 }' L/ u, v) ?$ s
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
% s$ [3 K( ^8 Z- W/ f' D8 abrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he3 [! T0 y; A' N
understood the pain.
' ?& \3 m, t: V9 C"I know what those families go through," he said.
! j0 G( f3 g" q7 G, L1 {1 sLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's1 n! J. X3 ~! |. w- N1 m* ~
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.6 S1 \5 m2 [9 H, `7 a
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
, w0 U- n0 t m/ bHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put- [/ g2 @, L: G. ?
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it," _$ p2 m+ ]/ C r6 C) C
Lentz replied: "Not totally.": a+ m! w8 D+ e, S/ L1 x" d
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
6 U. [- ]' E# t( j9 e8 {+ M6 m"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said4 U* [1 S: X* _' W# F
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
4 I: I8 `- s( {, e! v% M9 I" F8 M* Tpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
/ }) P1 {3 @3 _# X. H/ ^vehicles already on the road.
, ]# H# f# T n4 V8 D* F. cMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify4 }- O) @2 s3 Z. w
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full/ P+ c! H* |0 @+ A9 m
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
X1 W/ P& ?4 j: B, ]) g: ioffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were) t' n, q! y. J2 N
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems., Q$ X! G& S$ j( U6 j. M7 |" i
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
: e k, F9 }- {$ X5 u- a1 a0 ?tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony4 S1 a* k5 Z9 `# B; X" D) V
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
$ [* v# d7 {+ U+ JCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
8 K% ^! k/ o8 w/ u6 lcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to. F% q7 y: X/ Y5 g- ^' R1 Z, M
restore the trust of our customers."1 C6 d; W+ _' ^6 _' h, J& K' @6 F
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
! Y! ]" V Y% r( ?8 b; GSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly5 ^6 \9 a( H2 {# v, D
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --! D# [; I5 U h4 m! j& \8 j& u
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and& n& k( D& n/ H$ W7 l/ C e
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
' r& U) C X0 m. H+ J) ~that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and, I3 t# j% _5 }' ]% e _7 o9 O
turn off the engine.
& q) `# H" C& S3 QFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
, F" f; w9 v" `/ w( `October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
, ~/ {% g- J, C1 d5 U"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she/ Q2 b" t$ j; G1 c. Z9 b9 L: r
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
) Z8 M5 J) y2 W+ m' T0 B3 Uto her complaints.
& v4 h" Y( @, T) ]* NIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
+ A8 R0 U) [. {, Mreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
6 N7 _& `4 _4 s$ l( Nmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
* X# v3 _ D) n# O5 E! p"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
3 O- ~2 j+ K9 B, Q5 J Vthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
! t7 R8 [; S7 A1 X8 N/ E' _"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut* t. K. F* f3 r5 n5 a+ t6 \* F
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
$ L6 u4 A" h5 Y5 g8 g. S( ITransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
& U. w, h& \7 p0 |6 xprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
$ U* B7 c) e( jbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls# u5 R" g9 Y, E( N+ B' j
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
( L+ ]% ` S9 X) ievery question."
8 ~$ ?+ E- [" D2 a( }% {Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
% Q; _, F, E' Q" gelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
b$ q* M; x: F0 Cfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But' R' l2 [# s& r
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small6 Q1 t& W+ n Q! O+ m
number of vehicles
+ f4 J5 ]4 \* P; uTracking down an electrical problem can be far more* ]5 }! M ]3 t9 ^
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
$ D! E. Q3 Z4 v* [ emechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
' f! X* c4 Z: d, J( n: S3 {$ ysource, and they can come from inside or outside the car. r9 Q6 ?: H- o3 L4 ^! J1 b
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,/ C' L: i! p% [( h
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
- F8 u* w" ]8 Q: b3 Ptrace at all.2 K! l, w1 U6 V0 V+ Y
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
' c% B8 F& P; ~database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
( b2 n9 Z, j" zacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
! E6 j' G$ C& z, Irecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
; H% \" R2 e( rRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,: R8 Z, G! T6 l6 j( K
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and8 W: o5 z- [' X0 H8 s4 O
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
3 h& y/ P) h2 A9 Aelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
9 N- P B) J/ A) Ecause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
9 d5 \! S$ y# x0 s' ?6 J2 B5 ]such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
, o7 _; J8 j# j0 v1 Fby Toyota's lawyers."
n3 K( W! ^, B: j5 |- fLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of; T# Y3 a, N( O$ D# R( R, I3 X
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
0 P$ o' ]2 Z; w a" ~customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
4 H, {. p2 u! Y& T3 Usaid.
' _; ^1 X. u6 X p% {9 }"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
- C. N& ^4 u5 _& o* K$ @" La rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our, E1 E: k+ ^% _4 y ?
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating, I( H& v; n5 ?) u" _, H" r' e
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
+ k K- J. a/ B& o. jSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
( W6 H, `& `+ u5 N% V, \- Wmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
6 c8 \; N* \" q6 k& Crancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
, S+ O7 W$ q! }; S% A7 X2 U9 tautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
# Y: e; o1 V; R) ~$ r9 ^investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and" V5 y u' S- G1 }5 @5 S' P$ N
Chrysler.
$ [) X# c2 S& u; G"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax1 }6 c. }+ e* y
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
8 d4 P( N- m8 @8 XHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also' d1 }3 V% b" J5 ]5 j
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete4 |( a& Q+ n1 H) C2 p
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
5 p) p2 ~9 N, T2 R h4 Vtough."( O) l; U; |9 Q; k& Z
---1 f' S( S! a6 d* A$ k
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom8 |0 g5 A F9 h1 O
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to6 Q, ]8 S, V! B1 S
this story.
7 L% P9 G4 C4 O+ x; z; O, ~
# x; {1 W& D5 B" U) R/ k$ K3 ~-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|