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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
/ a' p0 R; ]# v0 g: K; uBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS* |+ q" G% ]4 i' S8 J3 N, i: n
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
9 [; {1 Q. N! l! ]! B& J, y" loperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
4 e, l5 {4 H0 p+ X4 |! X# I5 hthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
; F# K( [& ?3 I9 }* G; I/ U5 k8 L1 m# Vsolve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
$ a5 U; x3 [1 ]: K"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
/ \5 X {+ t3 H8 V/ _3 Rcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.+ H- `. d* |4 f# c. x
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected
0 v8 `4 l& w# [9 d! d& @acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
, D0 k' t9 T* S4 b% Ptrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
3 W" F4 X$ v, F. n; Omats and sticking accelerator pedals.
& h) l. @" y: x( r# \: i2 aHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal
+ d$ h+ g, `+ C5 D# xand fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
6 K3 p4 o* l( C3 j% C/ ~# h3 ?criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
8 i, j6 _; u4 z c# D7 u' p. e, rfurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could8 Q' T' [. x9 _7 |7 z0 }
not stop her runaway Lexus.: C" W3 @' Y! ?$ f- C
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,4 l& ^, M9 t) ? f" t4 }
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second, n2 ]) E' \9 c; v! | k
"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
0 g" J+ a. @) ~, G- wTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues7 [7 R6 d3 h/ n3 ]
early in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said; ? c3 f( E ~* `3 `9 x
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
9 p/ W1 e, L& Y% A- ~done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
+ I4 G3 \* i4 u$ z* m" S8 Ythrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's3 m5 Z) u8 w! X0 V% `9 m
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."3 [; @% @9 [5 [6 O& ]
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an* x0 U# {% W" J/ L# P
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of; ~+ s0 x+ M+ r9 e% z+ I& ~8 p2 }; V
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a* H; P8 p* w2 [( ~% D
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
K" h# \7 S4 ?! n4 ysaid.4 Q; K9 N, m3 c% Q
As to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what+ ]+ e# }# o/ R
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
' {) |" Q7 t- D6 Sabout driving our products," Lentz said.
$ n4 P7 O: ]& L- X0 h$ I0 U; aThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
& E( d$ A# [5 \; p: sproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has
7 U2 L( T9 O6 `$ ~+ L& Nrecalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6; U' B! |* @2 \
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
[- d+ h8 x v- c: |( C8 Z+ wunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
+ }4 [4 l) K; U3 B0 s! s; X( yissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
" m5 M8 |, C8 t# x! yconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of+ g3 f8 Q& h/ U" r+ n
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow. \9 g% b- d9 m/ @/ z: L' q
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
( |6 K! d) |. w7 l% Greceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
, ?* _9 a! g7 U% w* }, j8 J, Z* c: [of Toyota vehicles since 2000.. H3 p* F0 z4 o
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own/ A F! H( G8 r' i
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
; D3 v# ]$ ]. g, [* J0 f: G3 Aunderstood the pain.( O2 T6 Z, g" n: m
"I know what those families go through," he said.
+ S! C9 J' r) f8 S5 mLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
, ?3 L8 q: I/ tfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
% [, J5 |) ]9 {9 M# GBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
1 ]$ G+ {% Y# V7 r! A$ KHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put
9 W5 b; u; @7 H }+ \8 ?in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
( r1 [2 [* r8 ZLentz replied: "Not totally."
6 d# ]! P9 ^5 l' D) N3 f9 j% {Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were, V' f8 F7 P' z* k- j' [! w
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
) ~7 C+ w5 O. g% O% g- \Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
. _+ x4 b0 ^* J8 N8 Z) D0 ^pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its7 K+ k1 }2 F0 v! a" W
vehicles already on the road.
2 c( ~9 X0 N& vMeanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify' ?; C5 z* \- O X# K& m' o F
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
/ C3 u: z; U; b5 uresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and# y+ r* p5 A' G
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
6 J* i7 \+ F; g d' K/ }- L7 B( ?killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.( \$ c- o3 V0 Z2 \$ d
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
0 z5 I" [0 ~2 k9 D; Htragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony8 z3 \# O3 V+ E$ M z
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
7 Y3 d4 v$ t" y& SCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
8 B$ c8 {$ m1 n2 o) l' e/ Hcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
$ A: F& [: ]$ z! R o. _5 x1 i0 jrestore the trust of our customers."
4 p( A/ e4 J- e7 ~* ULawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from
# Z3 n$ [* h4 h4 J% xSmith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly5 x$ U, k3 t6 J! h) P
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --
8 w. L: f: y* U& i! K( n& vshifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
! v. E/ [* h: x+ z( Qhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
( {4 {6 Q- J# jthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
9 r% c, G' D: S+ P; @6 F8 q4 Bturn off the engine.
" @! K+ y, g9 l3 w# HFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of9 g/ Q! V, U) O
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
* s/ D* o% `6 ~3 D4 y4 c- n"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
+ E0 H* P I: o1 p4 C/ T3 C' xsaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
8 z5 l2 l4 U% n0 a( S# Nto her complaints.
4 X# W% _% Q" v% aIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
* }, N8 G8 Z+ o0 z0 |0 j& }returned again and again to the question of whether electronic1 O9 M/ H& @; y+ Y" @5 [& `
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.' P( W" g% x- z$ r/ _( j* X a+ l
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric7 i7 V, o; @' Q, K9 ^" z# j3 w- T0 ?
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited- \- v9 {% S% |* C3 z
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut2 y2 K- e! ~3 I, q9 F
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."
7 q8 G& z. n" F4 D% |Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
. f* O1 v7 F9 H1 v4 \% \prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were6 t$ Q" t$ ^# w8 x+ Q
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
' \ k1 R# i7 H* @* r) twere important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
* u: D( X& k' ]. uevery question."
6 [& ~8 J' o& t7 b: `, i! WToyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
- k5 C7 r4 v* U+ xelectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The5 }; Z1 `' n' O
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
! }# D7 U2 E6 t: K! jcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small2 h0 p8 b( o7 j* L
number of vehicles4 d0 [: v9 p; k7 ~
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
6 ?: A0 K; l0 Q# d edifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a& {& v' F* G+ C1 z4 z. b( Y
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one, `* f; m1 t5 Y/ D" r1 K* d
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.. B5 ~4 S8 r2 b3 b
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,0 U( U8 @) ?, s* \
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no9 O- m3 ?4 O4 i8 y2 I3 y' P3 L% @4 F
trace at all.
: M3 G2 U0 B; p7 t$ x+ H( nHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call! S( b6 ]! h' t; {
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden" q* I& p6 J, p- t& @1 S* U4 U
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the8 \* c7 ^: r) H2 H7 T1 I2 ~
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
@, b; S+ n2 _Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,6 N# M6 J- ?& N, P
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and' z: G* l6 y& X+ C
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the [) g0 x. v5 E$ U5 y2 K4 e' m
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
# z& C6 H( x7 o7 m) hcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only Z8 ?/ s% c# u E
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained
# P+ F4 L$ q; s. H9 @7 aby Toyota's lawyers."% V( a6 a- j# a+ ] N4 ]! Q& f
Lentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of7 ?! @: @* W+ D) k
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our. d( I9 R0 o+ C" ^" F
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he( N# `+ B% e" O/ S- u# m& S1 H/ X
said.
. e$ t3 m7 ? n# Z" U* b. `+ h"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with3 U7 @! ^3 P" X, D7 V T1 i% K) I3 B. V
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our- c! P9 X/ _8 G8 O* q* L+ V( `, e1 }
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating9 L1 u) ~" m# K8 W( Q& k: _
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
& P" @9 H% ~- n+ Q' @* k& Y2 G# KSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
+ Z3 S, K$ L0 Lmembers of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread/ N n9 b/ c. }+ a9 I
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
- h- b2 i$ l+ P, V% eautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
1 P2 ?' @" U+ Z3 iinvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and! G D" e2 Z( S- d
Chrysler.
7 g% Y+ G; X& K7 c# o( O"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax5 S# Z/ @0 p1 Z* y6 N" J+ k# j
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a
. n7 j0 @$ u4 u( nHouston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
7 o& J1 _# n% c& t, ]- ~4 j7 Vserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete, E, L F( M1 v V% |" F
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
( \) J$ K: C8 k( `tough.". G* d% x. k$ Y; |6 N3 b
---8 T$ s9 H1 a9 B4 `
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom2 Q( G6 E% c% g( {" w/ A
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to: B# T1 \' T0 X3 |# T% g- L
this story.
" d. Y9 ?3 `5 t+ S0 y& y$ k4 c4 c3 i" @7 {$ M% y9 w
-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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