 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$ H$ v8 S" A5 s2 T( {# t. b- O2 O
By LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS
( m) i7 B7 `* dWashington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.
: y; z3 K, P" h, b0 woperations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
u3 r) L& J0 o$ }' o7 Wthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally") w8 l' ~9 f, e7 x
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.$ W& ]/ q! s* @: E3 ?
"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential
* x' A$ b0 Z4 s9 ?5 Fcauses," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.
, t. p, Q3 H5 G u: O$ }However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected" H i, X; u5 h3 c' B! {2 Z1 N$ y
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
$ @$ x7 B+ f, O6 l: M# r6 Htrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
}( `% p& d' I' M3 Tmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
" |; |2 c5 k3 X$ T0 V" A& q- [; SHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal- Q4 j( C0 z: q& E( i
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
0 C6 R' H' i- h6 Z0 Ocriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be
% n0 I4 y! I3 Q: ifurther explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could& T6 [6 v O- | b2 G- ^
not stop her runaway Lexus.
9 }- D- v+ M6 }, h7 Y5 N' \$ s y"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,
* M. c' W( ]5 J$ _$ n4 CTenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
; U7 ^8 Q- Q' f/ W* R"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators.
7 e) M1 g! H4 i# y8 TTexas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
6 l7 |! S/ x, E1 _, yearly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said& r2 M+ d/ t- f# B
"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has# b+ m7 Z1 l( N+ e ^
done something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
! ~- P: [) {3 Y4 I( I; mthrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's- v* w$ ^, r+ R4 C5 E; H/ Z3 [
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."6 R! V# d* D+ Y, Z: a4 d
Lentz said the company had not completely ruled out an
) G1 |; x5 }% ~7 b6 S' n% g( Belectronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
& M, N3 s Q3 c0 t$ K, Kthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a
% L. A/ L* c6 r' P) ]; imalfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he, h: G& ^" N3 H6 I$ D
said.
% x( \9 x: ]+ V. b* o1 J9 \" bAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
# X: o" R4 ?2 n4 ?$ _, J0 \happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
^3 P* t6 p/ u" J& ^about driving our products," Lentz said.. _8 v; v& n5 i7 h2 B
Three congressional panels are investigating Toyota's/ U2 d' Q4 L& A) b1 h
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has# b" M2 F% O9 A- o9 d2 b1 r7 U
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6
3 |9 R; T; k$ c8 _million in the United States -- since last fall because of
! ?8 A1 l& y% @. _' q8 nunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking9 _+ g- y2 Q: {/ r
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
- B b: V' D. u% l7 @5 E- yconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of
! {! R9 k' y$ C0 V: K( jtheir vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow/ D: T5 q3 u6 P# E
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has! ]9 Z: a7 k* |5 w: l
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration
0 m" k' R) x* a& y* W1 v! uof Toyota vehicles since 2000.
; j: A3 Y1 D. C' M' i8 ]Lentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own! u) g$ Q- i) `1 O0 u2 B
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
! |" F4 J2 H. c# dunderstood the pain.
( T( E. j- x5 K5 ~: d"I know what those families go through," he said.
8 s5 F8 [; F* p/ _( ELentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's
: e6 {7 s) g3 \2 g6 G4 g$ Mfixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.4 ~6 M1 p# l' j1 E, L
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
/ ?: @$ m' l& R, z& U0 d, M) KHenry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put4 |' t# Q* a8 L) Y h4 Z* }
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,4 A$ C# C; {$ B
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
; [8 F6 g- i$ P# V3 V, lStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were7 |+ ~/ u2 O* P5 h
"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said
" a# \1 @/ x3 }: t; Q; QToyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas
' H+ u3 c! \2 K! a0 `# A7 gpedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its5 Y: `7 f: g+ p
vehicles already on the road.1 ] `* S6 C, X3 A( }) M
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
' J8 ~* ~* o# i6 p- c+ } Fbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full: H. ?4 Q$ I# [+ V5 r `& H; }
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and
- V( `; M' B/ z% A( ]offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were2 c7 D; c* Y" ^# j/ ]; }8 c, t
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems.
' h% P$ ?7 G$ o4 s& J"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a
& B* N# M. Z0 f. G; W% utragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony% M" V7 m$ K9 R& o8 ~
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight2 |0 h) O7 y- m
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal
( h6 D! I" m" V: [7 r% Ocommitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to! @* k" \& T: A% O- R
restore the trust of our customers."$ t. U; k+ s+ P1 n0 u( u
Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from; P2 n, h6 F7 S3 E; s
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly" \ i1 C4 u$ _
zoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --2 S. \& U$ @+ y2 X$ U' ~- J8 _0 ~2 g
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and! U1 u# v0 _- ^; ]7 n3 }8 R/ m
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
" e# S2 N6 G& D. r6 wthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and
9 d! K/ f' J5 U( L, xturn off the engine.
5 u* Y; S4 [ m3 Q# z8 u! RFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of
% |) ]0 R1 F/ J6 F0 i& jOctober 2006, calling it "a near death experience."
& F4 @0 R) I0 S8 X"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
' U# ^2 g9 Y9 ^0 m8 B: {said. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond5 O; d+ m9 [% x- H
to her complaints.3 V0 J1 i" }! W( a. }7 |
In an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers
/ E7 u" S" G: n3 C; creturned again and again to the question of whether electronic' y: j7 Q1 D6 @2 x' M
malfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.
: H0 a! n/ M& t6 U7 f5 u6 X"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
6 l5 y/ `) X& D2 l) G1 {5 V; sthrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited7 k6 }4 m$ T% M' R4 u! Z
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut- T `1 y7 f# Y. G
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."$ g$ r7 ]/ _- A4 H
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
2 i) Y# j3 A) t9 S' c8 L( S5 |1 i# h! U% gprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were' X8 W* T- {. F
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls& x7 C7 l1 ]3 K5 {0 k
were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer2 N F C3 m. b- }
every question.", r3 |( n' e' T' b7 C
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether9 f. e( `7 y& {6 ]2 F0 |
electronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
7 b- J3 k* F0 L% t. G, Hfirm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But
4 B3 }2 H* r8 i* A9 M+ Qcommittee investigators said the testing studied only a small. C" f/ S. c/ O0 a: R6 C, n; P8 _
number of vehicles( j# i; t) a$ v
Tracking down an electrical problem can be far more
' Y/ m, W% A7 s6 U% cdifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a! s4 L3 S! B- y8 T2 V
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one) e5 ^- Q+ U, q2 }; u
source, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
1 M8 K( k8 T, _# H3 ]Mechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,4 \4 ~, n' s$ q, F$ H
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no# e& ~& t$ q7 T. J; `6 y9 [& b
trace at all.
8 @5 G2 K8 `1 x! k% p4 h% C" S# s: aHouse investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call/ y2 k3 f: H) i- [% W
database found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
: g8 ^8 H% I( Qacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the% r- U( X D c& X8 U' p
recalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
. X$ S* d' I5 N' S" d1 PRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee," M' [2 U. M0 ?7 W) B
said Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and
: \1 p" M0 _$ F/ O' {other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the% u4 e m) G* J
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible
, E+ c* d1 s( ^5 i9 [' N4 Z% a- w. b! m6 fcause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
- i6 g" N1 t) j" w) [such review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained' t$ V6 ~; o+ e4 U+ _$ m0 t& h
by Toyota's lawyers."
" v' c& w1 a, b( V z( l7 ZLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of+ I" ]6 g! E# H2 s$ b1 s. ^0 C% F
problems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our. i- G0 a W6 f: J8 U" }2 x
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he v& F5 w5 q9 L I8 u. N$ G: ~& [
said.! }" g3 a$ k: I# x0 i8 j( O
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with* a7 j9 Y* \* c! O
a rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our
i @/ @& U) d$ h* _2 W" ^good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating
- H; s5 G, E3 j: E" y& {6 s7 ^officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
4 i3 S/ B) |: o% w' R0 [4 l$ qSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying0 g( {3 z9 d j9 b
members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread
" \9 F: V4 Q" E' F" v f. J0 N5 `rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
: c- ?. s; J. Y3 qautomaker, at least in part because of the government's# Q6 g; w5 U+ _3 G
investment of billions of dollars in General Motors and/ P& }6 I; `3 ^& o. A1 B, i
Chrysler.
- R: _3 Z6 i: n; f0 W- O. D"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax+ K$ c5 z: d: T. f6 [
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a# J1 o* g' F. r
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
# K% H6 l- i, @/ u; S+ S+ I+ Aserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete
- Q/ j- T8 e; Uwith the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
, X9 I) J% J) d- f* ctough."
$ o* d2 @1 c; N! d8 i; S% v, C---
, Q" Q1 j/ ?$ O5 v" O: pAssociated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom6 k7 _+ K2 {! n0 R" c9 ^
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
K1 N. x& p# w6 _, fthis story.
# J2 N4 }# ]3 a3 S) n
) V' g- ]7 z. O: J, D/ @- x# l-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|