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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
+ b5 G/ B* Q6 |, B+ x( {By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS. A4 H& x( g& H- v: e
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.! {- [! [# c- v1 G. K- Z! u
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that8 b9 ~: K7 G6 V! S5 ^# S. @
the company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"4 L1 @3 i& i0 y0 @+ d# e8 z5 U" F/ J
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
$ k& c; c& B, ["We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential. O9 y9 J% q4 E7 ^$ g, f' Q
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.& ]1 D4 m4 Q! l& ^
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
$ b2 z4 q: ^' e" _acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
$ N9 R% w+ m3 O0 b) Ktrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor5 S% o- E7 i+ J- K% z
mats and sticking accelerator pedals.6 R1 o- T/ L- u; \. s! X
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
4 a, S6 a7 \4 r- M' @& z4 aand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp0 E$ v+ n+ ?( R4 B2 Y! G- Y- \: i1 {; I
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be2 e- I# T+ [! M" p* X& l
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could3 A. Z& x) m! S0 c" A& z7 m
not stop her runaway Lexus./ b: }$ q( k0 `7 f |! T" d8 ]" J7 Q
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
u9 j' C. g9 M- w# vTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second/ e+ I5 q- ^9 Z' z9 C
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
T1 H/ O1 g. gTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues3 n3 f W" ~! F; X' ~
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
+ e# j$ |% Q: _"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
$ q1 D: S8 T& c; Q# k: ?) R: _done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway! V& |! n7 d O
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's
' G0 u5 A1 T2 j4 S5 M9 C2 winvestigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
& @$ c( t" l8 i& _2 t3 \Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an. F" x, [5 |+ n( n2 S
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
% Y n# ^# u6 ?6 ^ k! h# u& X4 Xthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
) h6 ~/ D' ^& S( S' W( Zmalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he: ]) c. J" n3 i' ?
said.* i2 R i1 e: s, d: A9 N; k
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what4 Y+ V1 J: i% q! V' N! b* v
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe) ]1 Q$ W9 ?" m( g: q* ~% m1 j% o
about driving our products," Lentz said.; p O9 m z1 |7 M# {
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's- A7 D4 e3 I# P! ?1 ~
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has6 {) }& W" v0 T R( L: c- a4 j% l% Y- o
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
' `9 H/ X/ M: d/ Wmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
6 |- T: u1 j0 p- D( x9 c/ X& y, punintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
4 `) A8 W$ e" k7 jissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
( D& W8 m) Q9 K5 ^9 N$ @5 dconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of& y* l6 E A' f6 T4 ?) f0 K
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow/ t" [2 s" }/ F* p8 v c
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has/ o- @/ |7 w) M m
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
. C5 Y$ P" ]/ j h9 Mof Toyota vehicles since 2000.( ~! E7 W* Q# H$ Y4 m# K! W
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
1 ^; K( `6 k+ s" `brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
& V8 ~8 x1 U& f: c! S1 s. { P; ^understood the pain.
# S# [, A" x+ Z( t: Y"I know what those families go through," he said.
/ z" W4 f. i) t a/ O& ]Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's9 `3 u4 d, X& p2 ^% I& u. [
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
! D+ j( X, T* R5 ~. N2 ABut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
0 e8 _+ J* t- y6 O& eHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
/ S1 S- A( L! r+ O8 l0 q: Kin place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
$ h3 [( n% {5 Z' [6 D! q. bLentz replied: "Not totally."
. o5 S7 s* d& N9 Z' ?# QStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were; @" q$ c( o b# U
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said! j5 P r6 F* j* v, ` K
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
3 Y+ ~. _( t. J. Y' f: Z2 hpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its* B( h# Y, \. r4 u
vehicles already on the road.
^+ m7 p% L! i9 ?$ v: A ZMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify6 y% A: n& r4 B* O& l, W+ w
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
/ s: H; f7 i+ @. X1 mresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
. x* @3 j" E4 c) I+ ~offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were. i& \2 o$ l( S) v
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.- n' t0 Y7 l& v8 @
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a6 `& M/ L( e2 z- q" Q
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
. ?( r* \' e; Bfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
. e9 l& B9 a9 E5 HCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
' w4 Z& p" n9 g$ icommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to" s! T5 m: R# B$ D# f" a
restore the trust of our customers."* ~0 L, c! [) i+ V- c, ]
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from! m; ~% Z' @# a. g
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
) F2 Y1 ~# g$ jzoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
2 K# V1 X+ r1 L- gshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
8 I! J( k3 j3 g/ h6 Shitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough* Q P& K ^3 u ^
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and( `3 O: I8 I. ]; H
turn off the engine.1 \8 R! P4 i3 U5 \9 h9 t6 ?* w/ ^( B
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
$ H+ j/ [5 _4 O0 E; sOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."4 q% f; l2 H+ J& D2 o
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she* N3 D- a# m. q
said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
$ {% K/ @5 |( o w0 ?5 yto her complaints.$ x- J7 x! u" @4 U+ p* Y
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
; m! P# o: F- Jreturned again and again to the question of whether electronic
7 ^/ h/ z' k/ T5 d! x+ \: T5 mmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.1 F- m% M/ Z# b
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric/ y+ A1 j$ ~ i- \ D% M; M
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited
; H, H3 @; ]0 c" B- k1 X"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut6 Z7 t3 o$ G' m$ C
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
. g/ M( Y- V R/ z2 i2 ATransportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
* X9 ^+ {0 A, u1 m2 |prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
$ O# V5 f$ i) U0 `8 X# zbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls4 S1 J# B0 z4 u5 H4 H9 z
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer& }" n$ C ^" L
every question."
3 j5 Y' p h% S9 n. ^9 d: MToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
% y7 _2 ^' P5 L* ~( G% Ielectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
7 H/ S8 u3 F$ ^+ E: W6 s, Ifirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
) u! A# Q2 V" C, p' q- n$ s+ tcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small5 R3 F. o2 D# F7 H" }1 e
number of vehicles
. S: h/ r! m I1 ^( K8 tTracking down an electrical problem can be far more6 v ~2 A0 H! {2 c
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a4 `# ^& l& ]% U) x
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
- H9 m( O0 y0 |( ?7 Q }1 ~( ?* \source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
# {8 W' c' t. q0 R( CMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,; T1 l$ G [0 ~' @
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no" R1 s" ~ D9 s# U& O
trace at all. Q. C4 s5 o. A, y6 Y P
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call" n0 f2 ?, c5 \! ]$ x* f
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden1 N7 d0 Z' H8 r
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
7 q* Q; v5 K8 b/ orecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals., @3 ]/ p% p7 j) q* P
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
Z' @' X% B% A: c" V9 ]4 @said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and( |: f# d {+ F- X# i4 }) T( |
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the0 {) E! h6 t2 D, ^
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible# U9 h, W/ E3 s5 q7 U
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only1 r; S3 L" N9 h* i. M+ z; Y
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
9 c: A0 i/ m) r3 u% \6 r* pby Toyota's lawyers."
% m9 U9 A: W- d5 LLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
; d2 e* F% Z3 B8 Y* y1 e3 [problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our) s y/ @* r6 o
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
. _2 J' {* Q) D: Ksaid.
2 L" u3 U4 u+ v"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
& U7 D% L/ ?( }( G3 x* l$ Ta rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our! l6 C$ ?4 |, K& M
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating/ E# V7 C2 P, o/ h
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.; L5 y d% @, O8 R x; \
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying6 z# w: Q8 D4 d# S
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread: |5 Y+ [0 i, k y# @" h3 D) Z! z4 J
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the. v5 M9 E! o# F" [8 d9 I+ y
automaker, at least in part because of the government's
. Z( j5 Z" e# I5 ainvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and5 m" m' m7 W8 m& `
Chrysler.; y. t( q9 m5 c# Y9 f9 e
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax: A I! A6 P. c/ ]$ t
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a6 W' X3 o7 Y6 J2 B( l3 a
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also0 g7 O1 \2 ?5 V3 d) V/ V8 A* l4 x
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete1 o0 a6 h6 I# H3 r
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty6 z$ A. @, A$ B9 V9 w: p6 T
tough."
" k5 A1 d3 u) w1 k7 a9 }% l---2 U" ?/ e5 |2 G- _5 d7 F
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom5 u: j7 h/ b1 z" f+ J! x3 c
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to" [ I2 \' }6 I; f2 `0 a
this story.5 a% v+ \- c7 Q% ~: c# r0 I0 g/ N
3 Q) f& j9 i' {) T- n: i% ^-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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