 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: A# B1 C% X# a4 W @; ]/ Q
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
9 f% f+ k3 x* c% h0 GWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S." v$ @0 z( j; G% d
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that3 T, u( `9 s# ~6 B0 w4 v6 @
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"1 s; D0 ?4 i8 L2 o: a
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
. w8 U& s5 z+ F* d"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
/ a& s0 W' X% r3 ], \. C0 |causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
7 t9 j w, k8 G0 S8 b/ xHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected$ A6 I0 Y5 Z$ i. x$ M
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and' v9 O- s. p8 _+ `$ T8 @% e
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor) n( i9 T' j2 B. y
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.3 O) G5 P5 G' T# J0 _9 x. h
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
1 P( D- I, R9 y$ R5 b% p) z. Eand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp% W0 W$ A: }4 b5 l# c# q0 d4 E$ ~
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
4 y O& T \2 h. {7 ~& tfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could5 z# B: E1 N& I* ~' Q& A. E
not stop her runaway Lexus.4 O }! G6 v/ Y- A1 y" V; w
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,% u0 T' t: X$ G& r# N5 p" U& D; t# @
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second: e, U& L4 D2 K# A
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
6 R/ B$ B# I0 d. c* u- ZTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues7 U' b$ c4 O3 d" U0 L2 S
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said% _. y. y. v" q- T7 I
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has$ z2 l! S) N! Y7 G
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway% K1 {+ E- H' j
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
% Z6 e6 \3 _ D) G- C1 ^investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."& ]3 N8 X! [' z/ S( V2 O
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
7 L# x4 c0 y2 ^ m! {electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of7 C8 n7 N }/ U* u
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a; O, M5 h8 ~2 g7 V' h- V
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he% k/ W3 e- _) ~5 W. j
said.
, y. i: j0 w0 z7 B* lAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what, {0 O8 N) I! ] P! _2 H
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
8 W$ y1 a" J2 P& c Rabout driving our products," Lentz said.
( R" ]9 R# d3 m) K7 R7 g* A$ LThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's. W( |. Z4 C8 b: a6 B
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has- h) _$ a0 Q4 o5 s+ l2 H
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 62 q! p- D/ N: T# A& B6 w7 n# J
million in the United States -- since last fall because of; \: g: }6 p. Y! D0 `: T
unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
3 d9 y2 n& R& {: Eissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
- c% r) F% Z5 t; A5 A% @" iconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of! s1 x3 n' |0 Y
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
3 m' P. C: A. Q# q7 T' N2 k3 pdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
3 v5 H2 ~' R3 m1 t+ X* T; ~% K; w+ Dreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration& V$ O9 h9 ~ p t
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
) d+ S$ J0 h7 j+ h* f3 g( `& [Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own) ]+ `+ L" H a: ]2 }0 f
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
8 i( B$ n: Q- Funderstood the pain.2 O3 d4 {7 g( h# T+ U( k9 W
"I know what those families go through," he said.
2 n7 [) u1 ~! }1 B d* bLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
1 t' Q- u( I, K, {: Vfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
6 g' Q* ~0 o+ pBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
$ x2 |. z- J* c/ g, SHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
; d: ]9 {5 e; x/ \. ein place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,, k# |& I1 k; l
Lentz replied: "Not totally."0 H- U5 Q8 `# o1 [
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
: E0 m0 O; M0 Z6 O"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
$ M2 V! A3 L7 b9 `) |8 b9 |4 n( n9 IToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
! P# X4 b0 b& H4 x% C& \pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its
* K- p, q9 o, D; g/ R! _& Ivehicles already on the road.
( [4 \' Z9 T' k+ {# }/ n& K( OMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify+ ^7 w% p* T' }; b4 `- _
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
2 P4 y4 G! g F3 fresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
+ G9 u# {& c+ b$ M- J R; R3 n4 F" `7 loffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were" c% H8 {; M) A; K) g: {# `8 M
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.+ ^1 V* O% O3 A- T
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a7 d b9 E& P/ d/ e/ ~
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
6 \& ]' P) {4 C3 t" bfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
5 J t: ~' j9 T3 K j6 ICommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
6 b2 ?$ y4 a" w% w( zcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to: u* y3 w4 ?: T
restore the trust of our customers."2 V g$ d, r- m# q* |" Z9 b' [& `
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
1 {# D% x- j( s9 Y/ X7 l0 c0 hSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
, c1 Y* `9 ?" {0 f# W* J8 Tzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --- p& K7 D: A7 |8 \( N5 R
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
9 s. G0 f2 l/ z% {9 Z. x9 H1 Bhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough) {; g7 j0 Y# T+ E0 F- p
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and8 T) q; ]$ M( {; K
turn off the engine.
. N3 K; e; C( K, _Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
+ p* D' `) E4 b8 b( i" YOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience.". \) Q% H& b/ |/ x4 S
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she' R( s. k& c3 }5 ?8 O
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
* T/ x" [0 k- a+ uto her complaints.
* l: ]# Z. e$ tIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
& Z" q, @8 o: w$ z5 ]9 wreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
# ^' f0 `7 y" l7 m5 y+ d, h# m. nmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
5 w5 x( Z7 v3 m; S: ]! f"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric2 [3 ?$ x7 ~- C% ~9 }8 n7 q3 E( s
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited9 m9 g4 s3 p& |& Y' h
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
9 i8 \! F: t$ W0 S# T7 \& qoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
# i, l) @* u. f9 @( k9 v* _7 FTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in6 u4 y$ u- L& ?
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
4 k; m2 O4 l8 |1 l3 \1 t5 L+ M( t- }being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
1 G5 k! x( ^ c" q I% rwere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer/ L: W6 g; l8 }: u
every question."& O1 _: G; w% m G2 g2 g7 |
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether& L- p0 i* Z# f, r9 C
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
3 k7 n9 O4 ~* T# P! lfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But- M9 i7 x/ U3 N8 I' ~# M U; G x
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
3 @$ Z0 v/ ?: Unumber of vehicles; a& @3 k, c: ]: c
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more' X: ^ [( J. y( a; O7 e& ?
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a
1 v1 M* {" a, S$ ^mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
, E, _% b6 k/ j A3 bsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.6 P8 S+ d* P" q9 n
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,* f8 y3 ^& K0 y" P4 U6 y) }* g9 d
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no! A$ J5 I8 T, K# O4 e' i
trace at all.! J$ P* u9 {% m* X, D: I* v/ n
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
. q, |& {7 W) R v+ r; Fdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
/ j- j0 A& k, i% ]acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the# N8 v c& P# {+ g1 E0 j
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.. L7 o- {3 l5 [( Y
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee, I4 k6 f: N: g) z
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and+ x, P" C8 u! n: g
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
3 b; s" G$ N% E" k& Oelectronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
/ O: r$ T7 R! I" K* w: ecause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only) k2 b6 v7 e0 I, ]8 l/ ^
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained/ \3 x) P& l4 h7 f! r
by Toyota's lawyers."( G$ \( n) _: _% {* L2 u3 n
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of2 ~& `0 f& E9 W% E$ ^( _
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our8 [ x1 m$ T. V' v) u. w0 Z' s
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
- S' n$ s8 N/ X3 Lsaid.: R. e3 ?8 A, F' Z5 T1 S( q
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
! o8 e% i3 T/ qa rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our" j4 \8 C6 @5 K8 |3 e4 A) {
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating* d# L: U ~; f
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
, k% ~. G. Y3 |; ~Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying: k8 U4 M, l! Z3 m( \2 s' q9 ?+ r
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread' o- R6 E. ?( J: v- K) o0 P) n1 y/ N
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
) C. R6 T# n+ H& Y# h% g& cautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
/ k! Z+ Q9 ?6 ~3 U4 k$ } e, [investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and, ]+ D* V; e+ Z! l1 j
Chrysler.
% j* y9 i4 ]! n2 x1 Y"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax
: p: ?8 n2 I& P5 r' fdollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
& [& p6 X6 s$ I9 k7 B0 a' I5 f+ lHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also! x: g1 Y" V# `' l7 G) Z2 I
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete% n( A$ ]1 K% Z; @, S: g. Q# e
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty4 Q# K+ \- ~! O
tough."
; E0 ]4 \6 _# ^3 ]---
+ R; a' N2 M% q; sAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom
' y8 {6 ?+ M# i( H4 a4 `Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
- n; \" d- F$ e7 j9 f& sthis story.( F- t# e# l2 w% J F1 y. B
- ]/ O- k* w% L8 w
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|