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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8 W9 o9 H3 h" K( y! ~, c2 x
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
# Z L9 M0 W2 }; DWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.: [( f* H# L i+ c. u. B y
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
, @2 M- j6 Q& Tthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
& X" W$ k0 N4 Ysolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration./ s1 G0 l: H: f* e
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential$ q/ `$ @7 h' ^6 n* m3 W# |
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel. G- n/ p9 v/ {4 K
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
( h- U: q$ g# \' a4 [acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and2 }# X1 x. C* |5 Q
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
% P% D) E% p1 i2 h* S$ j e/ Z1 {mats and sticking accelerator pedals.
5 ?# b0 M% `0 }. I* x5 `4 JHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal* |; k/ ^/ n. S6 K: D6 b' B
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp' L. ]& L1 Y2 p1 a" ~8 D% k) [
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
! s+ F$ V. I0 W6 L0 ufurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
, R# R( d* V4 @- q, j3 n( a; m7 xnot stop her runaway Lexus.
5 Y0 z! i8 F( I* T$ w- e6 q"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,; O2 z8 [7 k! O/ D/ d5 D
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second. P* Q; \& }' }- D7 c+ x# ?
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
, H9 Z% T8 A, ~/ b7 o2 w& K% fTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
( y! S. U9 _# Z( w$ R1 ?4 R7 \early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said7 b* P: f/ c. M3 d' B& D: q3 }+ ?( ?
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has. M8 T) m. b) c7 T
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway: v- V5 Y6 G& s( ^0 g* _
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's0 N! F5 V% F5 r, c) n0 U
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."/ {7 H: P8 j! C6 W+ ~1 ]$ P8 L/ l
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
1 N- G* X3 H; R2 r3 g( K. `electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of+ s7 b9 m& X1 T% C e
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a# t# s# a. {% v
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
, n, T. R: |7 v2 `# u' ?" Isaid.; t& l. |( z ?" J, B& E5 `
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
" H: F2 g* w1 V- `, dhappened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
/ @: n* | g" g6 @% c+ [about driving our products," Lentz said.( |0 C0 T! o' k8 G' a1 g* J+ O
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
7 d2 B* o2 ~' `6 K: G/ G3 Sproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has5 e5 T" ~3 b( c- u& ^' K
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6- ^5 T4 j/ a* m5 c# s6 U
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
. H: [4 L+ T. W4 ?0 X3 w# ?unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
0 f6 G: x0 H k8 L0 A P# Rissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
8 l& j2 ~) _# b+ g0 a$ {concerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of% U- h' r/ I, b2 d9 V# o
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow
4 {# J' b. ?' M' Fdown, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has5 j) _8 |8 L0 @, F
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
% C1 l x& ]0 zof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
, ~$ Q4 R$ d$ L9 b' u6 a0 g2 e% ILentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own- c' F/ v ~$ X4 L/ r, P* k7 i
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he% z$ {8 H* Z3 l1 @+ R) X! l
understood the pain.& a! ?" U: b8 g3 @7 E$ a. [: \
"I know what those families go through," he said.
- X( @, [; ]( E! i* Y$ ]Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
9 U* ^ i* u1 x8 Nfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
: P! c+ D8 A3 P( A, xBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
( `. V9 A3 @6 c) H! |Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
8 N9 ?4 u1 B: Z! N7 N4 D/ J; r! l5 Cin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
3 u$ L+ |. Q2 T7 ]+ Z0 pLentz replied: "Not totally."
- y0 t5 Y9 |, N% W8 DStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were5 ]0 ]8 l u, w! {
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said; c$ R) j& H; `
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas U& V7 Y5 T& [. O* O
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its, T |2 D1 b3 b) ^/ M
vehicles already on the road.2 Q/ X( l7 T3 H9 y0 F
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
' U- M7 _6 W& H6 |5 l, H2 ibefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full' ~) Z Y* t5 M3 P3 z, a* L3 L3 V
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and. R; s; R, q0 r: }0 ?/ @
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were \ ]8 S7 ?- @: b2 B2 r! I8 ]
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
" b4 L* d6 K6 F' e3 A"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a8 ?/ V, @' U) E+ o* f
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony! b' G( c( b6 a+ w. y
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight; Y3 ]4 \, g8 O5 p
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal* `2 }/ s7 `/ b/ }8 R+ D# x( J
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to* _3 ~( t" h; R% U: J
restore the trust of our customers."
0 j. ~" B) E' d" z2 Z$ l# ] SLawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from4 n. U$ B: k( t, j
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly" R+ u9 z+ ?& S0 z
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --% c% E' f( v( [& k3 C6 c' }! @& X. h
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
1 X5 Z% a9 R* z: ahitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough- Z0 ?3 r3 w/ [ `3 ?# r+ g
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
& N+ ]6 K* Q- v9 R- Iturn off the engine.
h6 K* q- X& _. x( uFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of+ \! J7 j2 \& C! Q U2 q+ ?
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
4 U) k( _. z' U, A4 d"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
/ t2 |5 Z) i+ j! I( X; i% ~! Psaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
; X; @) k/ p' K8 |- F! z3 pto her complaints.: d; Z* T. A6 N5 v9 e0 W0 ]
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers# k1 A1 K! @5 m1 W- v
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic+ e! J" A8 X7 Y6 ?: n
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.2 o$ q, R0 o/ w5 Y1 p5 v
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
3 V% E0 D& T' Y' n& Pthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited# ]/ h, b% r0 t9 w4 ~: L
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut6 C+ b. D4 b8 b0 }
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
' t5 `3 z* h$ F9 oTransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in! {5 L( y8 ~9 i- Y% U
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were' x D& s6 D5 M0 k
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls2 M7 P8 z i. Y3 A: I
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer: x4 b1 F6 a( O9 q
every question.") {4 F/ o) B3 ^+ s! K, o* V7 t
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether! J f/ w, k8 n! l3 {
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The u" A/ `' g9 G
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But: W3 ~, i, L8 H7 w; Z
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
# d* ?0 \5 H" j6 bnumber of vehicles7 X8 q0 \5 c( h* t
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
; b2 ~( l' I# g+ A2 v9 F1 f9 J" z3 Wdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a% s; r# `: Q$ n, W$ O
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
' o% W* y5 u- xsource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
) o/ h- c7 A3 Y0 s( H, O9 E2 KMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,! Y7 M0 \6 f/ |* B
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
7 Y& v! P6 S4 s; N- ^trace at all.
, y7 F/ T7 H5 j# c {& hHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
' [7 Q6 p2 J+ u/ y6 T, mdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden& M5 G. O: R6 \/ |. i8 R% l
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the- d0 i" f; E6 Q: p% d
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
7 N I7 N: o$ q$ H9 a; fRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,: Q, j9 c6 x2 M. c+ H
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and) h! [# F/ b d( j
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the
5 M1 T; F; M1 U, K* y3 f2 ]- {electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible4 X C9 R0 J* J
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
: F+ B: y9 z0 V" |6 y+ I/ ?/ b* Csuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
; q; i( d! |1 l( f, ~% [by Toyota's lawyers."
* }# Y' p$ I4 \; n zLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
1 [0 [! Z' Z6 M9 X( Q/ n9 @problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our
* `* T8 h9 H/ @5 }0 \/ {customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he! O4 \8 M1 e# {5 e0 Z
said.
" H5 `& z7 T+ W! i& W. Y# w"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
) X3 e q" ~5 K6 T* k: O, Ja rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
+ H0 `$ ?- l4 X3 V* K5 x. _good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating& N; h% v8 O$ n" G
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
8 _9 N, G3 ~" m+ ]' F$ vSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
) t6 g8 O D% k6 D: l# a5 Y. O/ Amembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread8 r) H/ @' D6 A' T# t
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the$ B( r7 K% E: y5 K5 U0 z# O
automaker, at least in part because of the government's' s/ d; n, `8 @. i# e
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
: a# I1 O6 \, f- O9 D2 KChrysler.
' k/ S4 x0 h# r6 t2 E* B1 N. o"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax7 z& A* y3 ^+ @" v
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
. N' ~& U9 e0 YHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also! w/ d, g' _, A$ G! D
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete3 U' o* ^7 M$ i& X. P2 n, b
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
4 s2 u; M& w( r8 Itough."3 \, s+ u I+ B4 z( J; Q% F
---
8 B. _; ?0 T7 Z9 mAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom7 m2 n5 f8 B1 i4 S1 Z1 n1 t
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
$ j" |' g* I6 x4 zthis story.
, U! P+ f# M/ f! x) j1 O m
k; n7 [$ m4 I" i-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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