 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
/ w9 d$ I3 \3 P) V* YBy LARRY MARGASAK and KEN THOMAS; t* N8 y9 D5 K9 o1 I# \5 b
Washington (AP) -- The president of Toyota's U.S.) m0 J N r. W8 x+ E' y+ w
operations acknowledged to skeptical lawmakers on Tuesday that
8 w' E8 b5 a6 ^! I5 r8 fthe company's recalls of millions of its cars may "not totally"( B+ r n! a3 Q, |7 X
solve the problem of sudden and dangerous acceleration.
, R8 m" Z& }5 B4 t# D"We are vigilant and we continue to look for potential) S% \" _* ]$ }% P8 \
causes," Toyota's James Lentz told a congressional panel.4 l/ S* Y! T, m! f
However, he repeated his company's position that unexpected a O0 b4 g' V1 i9 c
acceleration in some of the company's most popular cars and
; ^' Q2 v$ t7 r- Ztrucks was caused by one of two problems -- misplaced floor
0 A6 C3 e# P- G% G8 `* zmats and sticking accelerator pedals.
; m# h# } O3 }9 N/ C5 yHe insisted electronic systems connected to the gas pedal5 l" J* } {# d$ N( Y' b
and fuel line did not contribute to the problem, drawing sharp
- U- ^. r8 B2 q1 D% j( S7 f* m' Tcriticism from lawmakers who said such a possibility should be& j/ K# [4 E) I) ]/ x. u( l
further explored -- and from a tearful woman driver who could* q P) z* r+ `( T5 y
not stop her runaway Lexus.7 e M# U6 X. i# W3 K& w. S( s! O
"Shame on you, Toyota," Rhonda Smith, of Sevierville,5 Q4 a: n/ ]# s
Tenn., said at a congressional hearing. Then she added a second
: E3 i; Q4 G- o3 G' C"shame on you" directed at federal highway safety regulators. O+ x4 x, q! m4 a+ G
Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton cautioned his colleagues
) ~4 o$ i/ g8 M* \# Learly in the hearing against conducting a "witch hunt" and said
- t7 m+ K, r# y0 L" r/ G, p9 \"We don't want to just assume automatically that Toyota has
4 F4 _9 d) X* c: Zdone something wrong and has tried to cover it up." But midway
7 J9 A* A0 @; B, s! Ithrough Lentz's testimony, Barton said of Toyota's3 E& Y8 v$ T5 M$ t0 W( b( o6 p
investigation of the problems: "In my opinion, it's a sham."
, n, h9 c' \4 F( }8 F% J W8 b7 ]3 H* ALentz said the company had not completely ruled out an1 n# C# [; I6 A1 `$ ]4 t% f' E5 F
electronics malfunction and was still investigating causes of
% W6 c5 z1 z5 Y) C" W) gthe sudden acceleration. Still, "We have not found a0 L( @7 E+ V' F
malfunction" in the electronics of any of the cars at issue, he
3 e+ @7 [% \( q4 a) m. {said.
( g3 _4 T* z) |% B* T+ ?5 _. jAs to Smith's harrowing story, "I'm embarrassed for what
" F1 _; A1 F3 {+ l. |happened," Lentz said. "I want her and her husband to feel safe
- t+ U+ X" s! N# T* Q, qabout driving our products," Lentz said.
) f4 N+ w+ t- b$ W. dThree congressional panels are investigating Toyota's2 v5 C" F9 X( D
problems, which affect a huge number of Americans. Toyota has, f9 @0 v) X: A: J
recalled some 8.5 million vehicles worldwide -- more than 6, k/ L1 r- x& O! X
million in the United States -- since last fall because of
/ x; N* P- Y; N& S0 Y$ K3 hunintended acceleration problems in multiple models and braking1 V: b5 t2 f* @ P/ H9 {, j7 E; s# I
issues in the Prius hybrid. It is also investigating steering
6 ]4 Y# }( I3 e/ y( T7 {8 Aconcerns in Corollas. People with Toyotas have complained of5 J7 ?1 \, f' W* u! x
their vehicles speeding out of control despite efforts to slow% |! ~6 |9 x5 F! H7 F6 K
down, sometimes resulting in deadly crashes. The government has5 \' e7 @ W5 Q3 s3 B
received complaints of 34 deaths linked to sudden acceleration# z" n' w: q* f& t6 A
of Toyota vehicles since 2000.
: u# ]. o P3 Z1 N$ o. H d3 CLentz, who choked up while discussing the death of his own+ d3 B, w, @% E$ X* G; n% S3 t
brother more than 20 years ago in a car accident, said he
$ m+ W4 B1 z; B' b; _understood the pain.
6 V; ~8 b3 k: f1 u7 G"I know what those families go through," he said., L$ B! z& k: B
Lentz has said in the past that he was confident Toyota's3 X% C0 h' y( p
fixes on the recalled vehicles would correct the problems.1 M4 h0 e2 f% S w' ]
But when pressed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman2 K3 i- B0 Z9 x
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., on whether the two recalls Toyota put. f2 d0 z. A( A
in place to deal with the issue would completely solve it,1 e2 j: t; m# |2 }* x1 m
Lentz replied: "Not totally."
7 Q6 g- S0 b1 x$ y! pStill, he said chances of unintended accelerations were
8 P" X( [( o$ y& p"very, very slim" once the recall was complete. Lentz also said: u s# f1 z& g
Toyota was putting in new brakes that can override the gas# H+ Y( L4 ~3 z
pedal on almost all of its new vehicles and a majority of its \2 C W2 d; Z2 r
vehicles already on the road.3 l5 v0 u) H: m; i( n
Meanwhile, Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who will testify
& H4 P+ e8 J6 F5 L# C kbefore a separate panel on Wednesday, said he took "full8 ~/ n7 @9 {" t2 l
responsibility" for the uncertainty felt by Toyota owners and/ q. c. \( @# y% y3 ]' a
offered his condolences to a San Diego, Calif., family who were2 P, C6 @( C! Q' g
killed in late August, reigniting interest in the problems." V% ~9 r1 q5 c" b2 ?+ i7 p* s- H
"I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a# a$ [, x& V9 ~. l4 h
tragedy never happens again," Toyoda said in prepared testimony+ }" i! M$ A7 J7 {5 ~ E
for Wednesday's hearing to the House Government Oversight- S5 _! H& K% m/ J0 X
Committee. "My name is on every car. You have my personal' S2 R. ~& {& w& A- @6 D) }# ^
commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to
0 J4 Y# m) Q" d4 F2 M% H t- rrestore the trust of our customers."
) l7 }3 D* X; F- o) s$ u( ]Lawmakers heard a brief, but riveting, deion from, R% d, M, B0 i8 q6 V. K
Smith, the Tennessee woman whose Toyota-made Lexus suddenly
8 D' A, F7 s% U# f5 p; r- izoomed to 100 miles per hour as she tried to get it to stop --6 v g6 U: c) O& b; S$ }; }$ [
shifting to neutral, trying to throw the car into reverse and/ ^: n, t, q( I/ p! H
hitting the emergency brake. Finally, her car slowed enough
x5 ~. e* U1 i( g+ ~+ u# u$ G7 ` r! Cthat she was able to pull it off the road onto the median and% I& c S- T' D3 g y
turn off the engine.
% l1 m( O2 a/ B% M4 UFighting back tears, she described her nightmare ride of' W, y# x3 K, S5 K, t! C0 l
October 2006, calling it "a near death experience.", t" N4 e1 u/ Z8 f
"After six miles, God intervened" and slowed the car, she
9 e9 V# ]' R- [% v1 Ssaid. She added that it took a long time for Toyota to respond) a9 O# Y. `5 n3 V6 u/ l
to her complaints.
0 P, E; q/ |2 Z; ?7 q1 QIn an often contentious full day of testimony, lawmakers% N: ?8 k" u$ |$ p
returned again and again to the question of whether electronic
B5 d0 T: Z1 A. X) jmalfunctions may have contributed to the speeding cars.8 ? f# c# i; I
"We are confident that no problems exist with the electric
$ ^ Z( u) m: T* { athrottle control system in our vehicles," Lentz said. He cited6 }* Z7 t; I3 {: {7 A9 s
"fail-safe mechanisms" in the cars that were designed to shut6 @( q9 l! E) Z/ |) x C5 y
off or reduce engine power "in the event of a system failure."; w/ d% U/ O6 v9 O* T: _
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the panel in
5 m: a4 S: T5 wprepared testimony that possible electronics problems were/ t, c2 {$ Y, B+ x
being looked into by his agency. He said the company's recalls
3 C2 z$ @1 n1 S- _were important steps but "we don't maintain that they answer
% T1 _5 L3 ?: B/ u7 I1 Vevery question."9 O9 m9 K4 G, [2 p3 i1 m8 r( Q
Toyota hired a consulting firm to analyze whether
: l4 f+ f- C3 ?( t, q) F, o3 w* k# delectronic problems could cause unintended acceleration. The
1 {6 z6 Z- i. T+ \firm, Exponent Inc., found no link between the two. But4 |( r- d' b5 ^" X
committee investigators said the testing studied only a small
+ @( P9 V3 z8 {4 j# N" R5 Enumber of vehicles
: }0 }- B: f# i) X2 S5 T8 T2 JTracking down an electrical problem can be far more
$ N ~$ |" P& }3 Idifficult, expensive and time-consuming than finding a" ` |$ Q. Z' d5 k! H
mechanical problem. Electrical problems can have more than one
" C( k' R- o D2 j9 U- csource, and they can come from inside or outside the car.
' {) n7 _5 r& ^) c' ]9 a& k- tMechanical problems often leave clues such as physical damage,/ j7 Z, F; @" i! D2 V
where electronic troubles can be hidden in software or leave no
, ]9 h/ e; K. m5 \# y1 q2 g+ K1 Xtrace at all.9 B4 |! X; K" ~" i. ?: u8 f; R/ J
House investigators who reviewed Toyota's customer call
& G+ o% N, U, `8 x6 b. L1 J3 {( vdatabase found that 70 percent of the complaints of sudden
& d" ~8 Q2 M7 t6 m# v) lacceleration were for vehicles that are not subject to the
3 g9 c* G# ?# r7 B( W* |& {# Precalls over floor mats or sticky pedals.
# i; J3 U% G. |/ n. J* wRep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee,
' L/ ?" Z4 K! k8 b! Rsaid Toyota "misled the American public by saying that they and4 L6 G6 a) w, L
other independent sources had thoroughly analyzed the, _% b' A1 W- h: X$ o4 U
electronics systems and eliminated electronics as a possible( @- `/ H+ D# M$ f# j, z2 x6 P
cause of sudden unintended acceleration when, in fact, the only
- h' G5 t# t5 H0 B! Hsuch review was a flawed study conducted by a company retained3 h# Q$ {4 f5 [# w" X2 j1 M& c
by Toyota's lawyers."
4 @- j% h+ E( w M! wLentz apologized anew for the company's slow handling of
5 w3 a" m( F; P3 Uproblems. "We have not lived up to the high standards our r% }% O" d, ~4 z7 n" T
customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota," he
* t8 k) a% _7 q* y, V: }3 ?3 ksaid., p; ]- I8 Z, s0 S7 Q4 ]& o
"Put simply, it has taken us too long to come to grips with
( N( I% a; m! m! d( r& ka rare but serious set of safety issues, despite all of our, @* k1 S1 }$ e/ I
good faith efforts," said Lentz, president and chief operating- G3 J/ o! F$ Y
officer of Toyota Motor Sales USA. Inc.
4 T" i. ?: [/ b; o T8 `8 oSeparately, among hundreds of Toyota dealers lobbying
! i+ F2 [* ]+ b8 {" f0 _members of Congress Tuesday, there seemed to be widespread7 L# X0 I$ L, n
rancor toward a federal government they view as picking on the
8 u n1 O& b3 oautomaker, at least in part because of the government's
) I4 M! U9 I* U/ }5 einvestment of billions of dollars in General Motors and
# N0 P, [5 H% r2 ?/ J( IChrysler.# D" D; ?# Q* ?' ] F
"That's hard for me as a citizen to understand why my tax, u6 G8 a2 D/ L" o, U
dollars are going in that direction," Paul Atkinson, a- x* T; m( h) e6 s( K
Houston-area Toyota dealer, said at a news conference that also
5 X' N8 v" ]! c* Sserved as a pep rally for the visiting dealers. "To compete7 T9 R% l# d- ^5 c1 d
with the government as an individual entrepreneur is pretty
P" I) q/ R5 rtough."
. ~0 y( F7 z$ k _# {" z* C5 x---. K, k6 ~- j) Q' n, h0 h. P+ K$ ?
Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Stephen Manning and Tom7 C8 J/ j6 U, g' S
Raum in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to
_, D: o5 d/ [& X; O, {this story.
- [8 z9 \' ?8 j! B
: U6 y7 y' Q' ~# p# H" V; d' a-0- Feb/23/2010 21:04 GMT |
|