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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
1 w# l B& ~+ r' Q) vBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS! ?; s: q- l" f% Z' F ^, `
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
* a: M6 A5 B$ Q4 Z- l( Z# x7 N" Koperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
/ D: m$ P) |8 b; u4 E8 qthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"
1 ~: s: ~7 a0 y! }solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
) `" r- f0 p0 Q3 a& q C" O"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
5 V8 E+ r. _. p' rcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
- A r3 K; Z+ mHowever, he repeated his company's position that unexpected& W. Q+ Z+ p# Q" x; h8 L
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and: e; \! s1 Q0 s0 G2 J! B
trucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
( R: \" c2 A' B1 O& J1 b9 w! Bmats and sticking accelerator pedals.% k" I* j: T* r% [
He insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal6 a' X7 x6 y/ S8 W0 A" F! s: _
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp9 q6 w* L* e& c2 q4 L
criticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
! j. u p! n ofurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could
. U+ A9 _1 t+ @ cnot stop her runaway Lexus.
% R! w# @1 L6 U, A. r"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,* ?# E1 y. C, X9 I. |! A
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
0 D2 V3 d5 i+ O"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.! ?: G% U: y, A- r! e' ]
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
$ r, |# B1 S* g& o; xearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
0 [' ]! E& d" ~2 F1 Y1 Z2 S" M"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has' p& I$ P5 ?$ W" r m/ w" @
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway2 P# g; b! f% J$ o- I
through Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's! W5 f2 J ? K
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."6 a2 V: h0 p- p# p
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
. F- P# R5 {* f7 f, Eelectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of' B3 B! E! ]+ _. {8 w. r. ?
the sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a, G1 T. S* U+ o/ Y- a1 n! i
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
( |& q8 j3 x) O: @/ g! hsaid.
+ C: }3 G+ y* J1 ~' ^6 mAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what" ~% [1 X0 G7 ^5 s7 V- `, [
happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
% H( T8 O" s4 A! O9 [% Qabout driving our products," Lentz said.
# z h5 J- ?. Y5 nThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's
% k' k; s% c: W$ tproblems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has7 O4 c8 I6 N! B
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
- G. _% N! m2 O+ C; P3 w3 Pmillion in the United States -- since last fall because of
/ ~- ~* V2 U+ j8 ^unintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking
2 W. J; s3 s) V9 B$ J1 K2 Qissues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
9 l1 D$ z% e# J( G, s2 g1 S7 i' c% C dconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
5 q$ P3 P/ B; Utheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow& | k. q+ w8 V
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has
' k% \3 m9 {. Q7 o0 Vreceived complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
; J9 p6 c S z P+ Kof Toyota vehicles since 2000." H2 o. E0 R0 o% n
Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own
7 u5 ]& d. Q ebrother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he1 c7 |; ^+ v" j, a9 v0 x9 K8 @
understood the pain.
( Q5 L1 C7 A$ ^1 z9 |"I know what those families go through," he said.
9 j: w* c/ y+ ?$ h5 kLentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
" D, r5 q% B5 A! U1 Gfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.
1 ^' k8 N1 {7 ]0 P" X: XBut when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman6 l' z% ?4 Z& q5 k) L0 R
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put: C' H6 P. s' d' W& j( D
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,
8 k8 B& Y8 x$ pLentz replied: "Not totally." |) A \0 F/ ?
Still, he said chances of unintended accelerations were+ `3 u( L7 }3 Z
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said- r2 S$ v: M& I2 O/ d% ~
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas$ C" _" o5 r8 F# J, C8 [
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its) Y- ~, P" M5 ~5 V- L) Z+ N7 x
vehicles already on the road.; K9 e1 z! u2 g# U9 X; J
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify/ y6 b$ X/ d- z, x6 Q, d
before a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full
* c2 [0 i2 Y1 u, L, p8 Iresponsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
0 k3 ~! L/ T$ W0 eoffered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were
" D: A6 M& O; e2 F2 Q kkilled in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
- h) S# B$ q" A/ k1 k* O J"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
1 K+ l2 L3 p: ctragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony
- l6 s( D" f9 [% Nfor Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight
8 o& A) v+ T; qCommittee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
% o+ |# o' z% y' W1 A3 t, |- Mcommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to h# E* }$ D6 W% j1 P5 w$ C
restore the trust of our customers."! a" k# R& m$ k x! _
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from" v7 d( S/ K0 v! \8 Q, O' K& q. \
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly2 b0 A+ G O( |
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --; e" J- e/ [% T. `# k" V
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and
$ c' ]1 |: ?1 O8 Y2 F6 Zhitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough! c# X$ i7 e8 }( P
that she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and: X; T. \8 `; d
turn off the engine.7 t- s8 _9 l. H( m
Fighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
7 S6 Q) d, J; P6 N8 U! Q- gOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."' b# h, {3 ^2 m1 J8 v' i9 u
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
$ T& R L8 a5 D% R+ Ssaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond
" E. ]6 d+ l3 n0 H) y/ s7 qto her complaints.
/ R# \# j/ H8 I9 V) x) _4 [: y/ z! XIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers0 i* o2 Z1 T0 `. s3 ]
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic& ^- m# b7 {$ ~; @5 P E% `
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars. D! q8 Y: W3 ^+ o t" m4 D: {3 ^
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric0 [3 O- D5 y3 ?4 M) w
throttle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited. n3 x a- l; ~8 K* m+ T u% j6 L& ?, K
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut
# X4 b6 I8 N: D: Yoff or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."# L% E1 U# v1 T
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in. N9 c9 |3 `! g v; B4 l2 y
prepared testimony that possible electronics problems were
1 F+ O$ g8 ?% e+ K+ N* b% Mbeing looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls, g$ N+ |+ X% C
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer. w. b6 Y3 S$ w# v) \5 O+ Y* B
every question."5 `: B$ P( j! s0 e1 V* D- B
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether* ]& J. N5 R$ S2 y# ?- S
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The3 d9 [/ w' W( m
firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But% k/ l) x7 o! J& {
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small' `1 [5 u1 _1 C K
number of vehicles
% G2 ^8 m# A: }1 ?Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more; ?6 j5 X, y9 i! o& M2 D
difficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a- b `0 G+ ]( n
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one0 f$ A* X4 v/ R) u9 _; R* x
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.1 n# R6 K8 R9 v5 e' z$ p0 Q
Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,
5 a- |: q! ~* i4 ~1 H( }8 _where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
7 z( [& |4 B' e$ b# @1 ^4 W8 N4 rtrace at all.- H* X( q7 H6 H9 s8 n
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call$ V+ W- P9 b+ U; }
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden) E$ H: f+ k! i) k, `. g
acceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
4 J6 Q' T% L' n( c8 xrecalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
9 ~) c- l& `* N" L3 J) vRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,. q! W$ R' T% }
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
2 O* m0 U5 G0 \other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the1 z4 R9 x4 P5 D+ R' K# \% `8 g; q
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible/ q! H; C) \/ k1 D
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only7 d: q3 ~ P) x
such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained# o0 N; J" P. w" V
by Toyota's lawyers."
y& o/ L% k9 PLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of; K2 T* I4 u/ ?0 F" P- L
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our! v$ q8 s n, }7 e- G: s4 G
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
5 \( F' d& N- bsaid.
) ]" P* W4 k' G5 r; f5 E2 Q0 T" n"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
1 F1 N4 l3 d8 H1 F1 ^a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our, ]+ H* g" h7 U6 U3 N$ P
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
A7 p6 |+ x! a& J1 E2 f( Hofficer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.% } a% ^# n( U- l
Separately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying% g$ ^' @+ W, s
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread/ F# M; @1 P2 Z, d, i! N
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the) @0 `3 u/ H# f$ u% }
automaker, at least in part because of the government's! Z4 t$ j# K4 I" l) b& I+ H/ s1 [( H
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
) ^: i B* c3 P8 j9 j2 zChrysler.
/ Q: E+ x3 }& b"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax# ?# I+ H0 t l7 T' `. ]
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a0 o& v) N# f9 b3 S2 e- m3 E
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also+ t; s- U8 N" z6 s- H5 R% A) w$ x
served as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete- ?% F9 U" O. G3 r N% q- d" e
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
9 W4 }" O2 W" r3 F, Q, i2 Wtough."
: @8 N3 _, C# \% I---
" l% V+ p7 t6 o1 EAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom4 r3 m$ Z* ]2 J; `2 y9 a
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to- ?8 J$ i* B/ p" h
this story.
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) w p" `/ S. u-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
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