 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
, ?9 l/ O$ a8 Y! GBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS* }5 M; X7 I( C! V1 _, h
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
) r: Q0 w( z0 i3 \# M, S# H5 o1 ?operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that% [5 o) j6 W7 J) @- V: Z
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"- r- S6 [. p# i; |/ [1 S" l2 z( R# u
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.7 a9 o- o, N/ D! l" ^
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
3 }9 N( ^6 y( a) a6 a( l: e' l1 Ocauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
# o& Y+ i& y" h9 s" l6 S% g" DHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
+ U; Y. f( @/ z% ^5 Lacceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and. _7 P! \8 d# b& Z7 a2 r
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
) N6 @8 D6 Q; _8 \+ ]mats and sticking accelerator pedals.3 u9 k! V1 ~ t( ?
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
# b" x) S) R5 Iand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp# Q3 p: r- W& ?, S- D% M3 H
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
! ~3 L5 d* X- r$ z% O1 L8 u, Q9 y1 Ufurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
' _ g+ G2 T* }8 c) D& ^not stop her runaway Lexus.
5 \$ T. {" K2 U$ }4 ^( C5 v1 x"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
& k$ U- W5 h& r* h5 qTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
& v& D4 @. H# y"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
4 I3 T: k/ I9 L }Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues0 Y \' ^* ]' z o, \
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said& q, M0 q) l6 Y
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
; e5 |+ p) P0 R/ B" t8 Vdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway1 ~+ w) u2 M" z8 K* d3 |7 o" j
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's) C# L4 y! z+ R+ y) Q+ Y# e) ^3 ~
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
" X! e4 \3 p+ ILentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
! y3 d9 c6 R, m% }! l: e9 n+ celectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
# W" Z1 e6 f' k+ O/ N& [2 {the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a0 R9 [2 C: f @% u! x$ v
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he# m0 ]2 n7 R) W, z; D* ?6 U+ }
said.
1 t7 C3 @( |% j9 _As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what0 J6 z# S4 y8 u
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe$ G5 ~# j# l- f5 a5 c3 }/ ?
about driving our products," Lentz said.
2 K8 O: \! Y& ?" I" Q1 l9 u4 aThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's a: U" b7 l; i8 [
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has Z8 {7 X/ X& G7 r, ]
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 67 W+ ?: }: A! D
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
* h2 m/ j/ p) e+ O' S9 hunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking6 Z+ O( {% `+ O! m, K
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
V3 \: I: W; z. B8 D( kconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
$ y0 F& b4 [9 W" Z! Z3 ?9 y6 I" m% x8 otheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
1 Y6 F5 E- [9 E- j2 t8 `6 ^down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
. x) N! {" p. Xreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration! u1 r9 O- t1 Y5 F
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
& F% P$ N4 ^7 ^! m, T; j0 v' bLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
! P# V2 z7 ~5 |* j0 z: W$ B! bbrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
: M: j9 s1 k2 @2 Yunderstood the pain.6 r. g9 P# L. Y9 A' O; a3 E
"I know what those families go through," he said.% l }( \0 @9 k9 Y
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
) e9 |0 w @" o+ S' j E5 N3 J: ^0 Mfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
4 K E* J6 N, x. @7 uBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
6 w, C/ ~9 N6 q; j1 `Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
- \) T- [3 y& k5 g X6 oin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
4 u$ u( B% y9 L: L; B6 KLentz replied: "Not totally."% _3 Y1 z. e" s* T4 I0 G
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were n5 G7 o7 P- b" |' n/ D
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said/ {; k0 s# }* I D5 J
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas Z: l/ y; U7 C) D; f
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its l% G j5 ~% \! W% P z
vehicles already on the road.+ x* l9 m: W6 V1 j( \* |4 w
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
+ J6 f: a6 q* b X% Vbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
) u0 @: C8 Q5 C; e8 wresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
" r/ p- i, r2 Z0 d5 D8 w$ l/ Joffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were8 B4 V% d4 @" @5 B% R" V/ Y5 F
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
! [5 t2 v2 E2 L"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
/ _- ~8 }( N9 ?$ N2 _tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
4 H2 W. O/ U* Cfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight% M% p3 I: S' L1 d! A6 C
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal: p6 O- J9 n! P3 X: @- J
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to( V" H' x0 n$ k1 e0 X8 Q, a
restore the trust of our customers."
) T4 w9 L9 r+ b. C4 W% p' yLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from' ?/ @9 q& t5 J2 e; U
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
- | Z2 B0 j5 R5 ~5 }0 czoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
! U5 y6 F% s0 V0 F2 ?5 u( Mshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and- J4 M& p* h& |9 q- c0 z
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
4 i3 s( A8 _ e3 Q7 p4 Ithat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
, ?' V1 m8 T" ]# U! ~7 h' ~turn off the engine.) n6 G1 H/ X! s
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of9 p8 w3 f9 L+ P: ^& ?
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."! \! c/ e: ]. K- w0 s5 S" O* t) m
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she- I4 [+ t* O, h6 `
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond: O( r0 |/ j; B
to her complaints.
) {9 w6 F2 [9 O# QIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers p+ y8 O* D/ W2 A. b" u' c
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
) p5 N0 h# H& R( @3 `malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
- z* M" N8 O; ~- k+ ~ Z% m- n# J8 b"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric$ {5 k, S1 Y% y5 b3 o0 F
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited$ G% b) J2 F% [. j
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut) U" Q6 R6 D5 ` M# E" C
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
' V+ o4 E3 _. [6 @+ k# lTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in% s0 Z6 G$ d+ l+ x2 d+ k% Y) e& g
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
0 ]; \0 B! B* v1 pbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls t9 l7 Q. S# y8 {* W. u
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer- O q" L3 f6 E. l/ ~4 }0 E4 Z* t
every question."" j! j! L2 {* y
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether: I& `! d% x* }
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
3 F$ B. U6 Y7 Z9 t2 e H/ Ifirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
: |# C- J1 |) f. Z: Ccommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small
% G( ^: Z5 Z( c8 {number of vehicles8 Q2 m$ ~4 ]: \ ?! [
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more2 B( y+ Y w! D0 u/ v
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
; \8 z! V- }& C) W) H0 xmechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
9 d( k' c0 ?( T2 f4 Asource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
4 J5 k) @ Q2 K3 ~6 e$ M% _Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
' {( m; d# j9 f* J/ h9 {where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
2 D4 d. o/ ?. j( R8 X' V; {, ?' etrace at all.$ `2 N" j1 k4 b
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call! z) ` E2 ^3 k, Q/ [9 Y: j
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden8 F; C- }. v; \0 U: m3 z, k
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
9 w5 D9 s: Z3 a0 W1 a: Y! Frecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.* q! R: \' v& N
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,. ?* H0 I& _- E: Z: A Z8 M" O$ ]
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
. d/ V A4 G: ]3 u3 zother independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the h+ U' s/ c! e4 @5 e* h
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible$ H7 ~# L% g4 f: P" c- S
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
3 z! R$ g/ \7 n/ S' @such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained' p" i& q3 g& f& Q& w8 y. E
by Toyota's lawyers."
# U }; P& [7 FLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
$ Y$ o& Z' @. W: m/ D9 |( Mproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our- f e% Z V6 ]
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he0 n: }" G: z8 e, B' b+ y
said.2 [- g2 P: u1 ]
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
* V4 X) T6 w: s$ C! ba rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our" Y* u) L6 f: n6 t; P; R
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating0 P% z. s: ^, R0 Y5 f: b
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc., `( j t1 v# z" f6 F$ R7 E
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying. P& d* e% ]+ ^1 W9 I+ l* I% x# _
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread: w4 E* ~) j) p& [8 U. O" J. E! y
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the# B' ~7 C3 d& ]0 x$ q8 C
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
3 j- v7 |( h {/ d$ A+ ^9 l4 ]investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and3 R' M& p' W- P; U
Chrysler.
) U% q& h: W6 K9 e, J"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax% E9 R) H) w- {8 c/ m
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
8 q/ t: `9 b/ s: FHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
* V( [( E8 P) b' c9 Vserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete# I3 l; ^9 b M! y
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
4 c) C6 I$ P9 U7 D! Ztough."; S+ p8 a% D4 w
---
5 v7 u" H" Z3 B7 _* yAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom- u, @* p- E( d6 O& s
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to- O: i6 @6 }8 K8 R
this story.5 _1 u, l. e4 E- O( S# C
$ Y3 ^9 w6 P7 B
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|